Double your income in a year ... by reading!? An update on reading for learning, plus a current list with brief comments

Reading "Meta" Thoughts

As I mentioned earlier (see How to read a lot of books in a short time) I've been reading like a madman. Why? First, to understand how David Allen's work sits in relationship to preceding efforts (part of my self-defined Master's Degree in Personal Productivity), and second to simply see what happens. (I tell people I'm mixing into a stew pot everything that catches my attention [1]; I don't know a) what it will taste like, or b) if it will even be edible - read value -> income - but that's what my current path seems to be.) I wanted to share a few ideas regarding the economic and intellectual value of reading non-fiction, and to give a quick update on what I've read, because I've had some "what are you reading" requests from readers.

First, something provocative: In his book Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible [2], Brian Tracy encourages us to improve ourselves by reading an hour a day in our fields, expose ourselves to lots of ideas (i.e., possibilities). More specifically, he gives us his Guaranteed Formula For Getting Rich:

Invest as much in your mind each year as you do in your car." "The average driver spends $600 per month on his car... In the first year of practicing this formula, you income will increase 25 percent to 50 percent, or more, and your entire career will take off.

I love it! I've shared this with friends, who uniformly react very positively, or very negatively. Sadly, in my case we have only one car (a '95 Geo Prism), and our monthly expenditures aren't steep. Thus, I felt good having negotiated ~$200/month in wish list purchases with my wonderful wife.

Related to this is Tim Sanders' encouragement from Love is the killer app (one of my favorites) to READ BOOKS!!. He suggests an 80/20 ratio - 80% on books, rest on articles and newspapers. (He has much more on reading, including a four-step program to make knowledge work for you, which he breaks into aggregation, encoding, processing, and application.) One thing I love from his book is the idea of talking what you're reading:

When you talk about a book, it forces you to know it inside and out.

(I now try to keep a list of books in my head for conversations with new contacts.)

The last thought before listing my recent reads is that I'm satisfied with both a) the scanning technique of Jason Womack's that I describe in my How to read post, and b) the idea of "if you are recommended it more than once, read it," which has really paid off. (This is a specific example of the listening to your environment strategy.)


Recent books

I'll finish up with a list of what I've read so far, plus a thought or two that stood out from each. Note: In the last few months I seem to be averaging about 10 books fully read and summarized per month. This is about 1/2 or 1/3 of the ones I receive (i.e., a good percentage doesn't make it past the scan stage - something I may have to think about).

As always, I love to hear your reading suggestions!

• Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcom Gladwell - A bunch of interesting stuff, but a bit verbose (Gladwell is clearly brilliant, though). Got my attention: Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (behind the nose): plays crucial role in decision making. If damaged, causes suffering trying to make decisions. A GTD connection?
  
• The Strangest Secret in the World for Succeeding Today by Earl Nightingale - Great audio tape from way back. Got my attention: We become what we think about.
  
• Love Is Letting Go of Fear Gerald G. Jampolsky - Very nice book. The Big Thought: To perceive the world differently, we must be willing to change our belief system, let the past slip away, expand our sense of *now*, and dissolve the fear in our minds.
  
• Love Is the Killer App : How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders - Great book. The Big Thought: It's very good to intelligently and sensibly share your intangibles with your bizpartners - your knowledge, network, and compassion.
  
• Time Power: A Proven System for Getting More Done in Less Time Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy - Mentioned above. Here's a goodie: The success formula that never fails: T x R = P ("talent times relationships equals productivity").
  
• Organize Your Office! Simple Routines for Managing Your Workspace by Ronni Eisenberg - A ton of ideas, but relatively unrelated. Tips for working with an executive assistant:
  • physically open all mail
    
  • train to process mail (take 1-2 weeks)
    
  • crates file folders for mail passing: urgent, to do, to approve, to sign, to read, to file, to toss?
    
  • color code urgent ones (red = urgent, etc.)
    
  • create index at front of file with >1 item
    
  • teach if background info required, then pull
    
  • return items in same folder to assistant
  
  
• How to Have a 48-Hour Day by Don Aslett - Only a few take-home goodies I found, including the idea of keeping a frontlog, not a backlog.
  
• Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner - Lots of ideas. I love this quote:

  The risks that scare people turn out to be very different from the risks that kill people. And they are also different from the ones that cost us money. Emotion is the enemy of rational argument. And emotion is more potent that other emotions.

• Nightingale-Conant's Insight Audio Cassette Series, tape one - four shows (Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar, Jack Zoofelt, Ernst Nightengale), all mostly great. From the last, a definition of success: loving what you do, and being happy with your choices.
  
• Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, John Christensen - Another great book. Four ingredients: Choose your attitude, Play, Make their day, Be present.
  
• The Organized Executive: A Program for Productivity--New Ways to Manage Time, Paper, People, and the Electronic Office by Stephanie Winston - Lots of good stuff. Here's a favorite quote:

  The real cause of a paperwork crisis is a problem with decision-making: picking up the same piece of paper five times and putting it down again because you can't decide what to do with it. ... The key to paper management is processing: that is, channeling each piece from your in-box to its appropriate destination.

• The Personal Efficiency Program : How to Get Organized to Do More Work in Less Time by Kerry Gleeson - Really useful stuff, with a lot of GTD overlap. I've really internalized his ideas about work, and that we're not trained in how to do it efficiently. For example:

  Although most of us have been formally educated to work in our professions, few of us, especially white-collar workers, have been taught how to work efficiently and effectively. Too many white-collar professionals have no idea how to organize themselves or how best to process their work. They may understand how to draw an architectural plan, write a clever ad, or negotiate a deal, but they can't effectively organize their week or cope well with interruptions and unexpected new opportunities and priorities.

• Organized for Success : Top Executives and CEOs Reveal the Organizing Principles That Helped Them Reach the Top by Stephanie Winston - An OK book, though I do respect Winston quite a bit. I like her organization "laws," including Organizing Law #1. Relentlessly process all papers and emails, personally or through an assistant. She's also the author of the TRAF system (see How to process stuff - A comparison of TRAF, the "Four Ds", and GTD's workflow diagram).
  
• The Business of Consulting: The Basics and Beyond by Elaine Biech - Quite a few things to consider when starting your own consultancy (a tad overwhelming at this point, I have to say). Here's something to wrap your mind around: If you are just starting, consider offering 100% satisfaction guarantee.
  
• How to Study and Make the Most of Your Time by Bob Kizlik - Not a book, but hey - good stuff anyway. This seems to be a standard college approach to studying: Use SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review.
  
• Free to Succeed: Designing the Life You Want in the New Free Agent Economy by Barbara Bailey Reinhold - Quite a few good thoughts from an impressive local author. Here are her 10 essential strategies for the new free agency economy:
  1. learn to tolerate ambiguity
     
  2. forget the old identity
     
  3. forget job descriptions and bosses
     
  4. button the wallet and stash the credit cards
     
  5. take back time
     
  6. save time for relationships
     
  7. develop skills or find help
     
  8. remember the bigger picture - look at trends in your own and related fields
     
  9. get a gang - support group, networking group, board of directors
     
  10. find a coach. someone who understands free agency, is informed about your field, and builds your confidence
  
  
• What Should I Do with My Life? by Po Bronson - Interesting concept, couldn't make it through. I like the idea of thinking about whether you're comfortable with the inevitable cocktail party question ("What do you do for a living?")
  
• How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life by Tom Rath, Donald O. Clifton - Another great book. There's a nice summary at Filling Kids' Emotional Buckets.
  
• The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman - Interesting and important, but couldn't finish it. I like the idea of untouchables: people whose jobs cannot be outsourced. He lists four categories: Special (only a few people - CEOs, stars, sports), specialized (knowledge workers whose skills are always in demand and not fungible), anchored (most Americans - work that must be done in a specific location, involving face-to-face contact), and really adaptable. More in the wikipedia.
  
• Time Management for Unmanageable People : The Guilt-Free Way to Organize, Energize, and Maximize Your Life by Anne Mcgee-Cooper - I remain skeptical - I think Allen's system applies, but I'm surely biased. I do like the various dimensions she provides for thinking about how we work - two opposite ways of viewing time (monochronic and polychronic), and two ways to approach life, time, and work (convergers and divergers).
  
• Taming the paper tiger at home by Barbara Hemphill - I have trouble separating her concepts from her product (software that mixes reference and action - a GTD "no no"). However, I've definitely internalized her idea on clutter and decision-making:

  Paper clutter is postponed decisions; paper management is making decisions.

• Sham : How the Self-Help Movement Made America Helpless by Steve Salerno - A welcome, questioning voice on the world of life coaching. Made me realize that I'm not interested in certifying myself with one of the current coaching organizations, or taking the professional organizer track. (Can you see an atheist doing feng shui?)
  
• Networking - The great new way for women to get ahead by Mary Scott Welch - My first introduction to the positive world of networking, so I have a soft spot for it. I use this almost daily to introduce myself: "I'm calling at the suggestion of ____, who thought you might be willing to talk..."
  
• What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School by Mark H. McCormack - A nice book with lots of ideas. One I use daily: Always introduce yourself if you're not 100% sure they know your first and last names.

References

• [1] Allen says Pay attention to what has your attention.
  
• [2] I like books that have a Big Thought (as defined in Love Is the Killer App). Sadly, this work seems to be more of a quasi-related mixture of principles, steps, tools, techniques, and formulae. I very much respect Tracy's work (Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time is next on my list), but I can't recommend Time Power.
  

What does it take to work with flourish?

Have you ever worked with someone and noticed they seem to slip in little flourishes as they happily go about their business? I'm thinking of the programmer who gives a little viola after typing a tasty morsel, of the pianist who adds additional movement during a rapid passage, or of the actors who bow for the audience with grand flourish. I was reminded of how uncommon these flourishes are when my five year old daughter and I recently enjoyed the antics at the great local college pizza place, where the workers (young guys from the University) like to toss the slices into the air then catch them on the paper plate before sticking them in the oven.

This got me thinking: Why don't we see these more often, and what does it take to enable us to work with flourish? I think the first ingredient is joy. If we are feeling heavy and weighed down with duties and responsibilities, how can we add these light touches? Second, I believe we need a supportive work environment at which we feel good about what we do. Who wants to put on a show (which is what a flourish is, after all) when you're not feeling playful yourself [1]?

So what's the connection to personal productivity? Simply this: After adopting Getting Things Done (the system I use for mastering the deluge of stuff entering my life) I now have the lightness and energy needed to let those little flourishes express themselves. For example, when making tea, I now sometimes give the cup a flip before setting it down. (And no, I haven't broken any ... yet.) Or I'll sometimes when my daughter has music on I'll let a few guitar moves come out (nothing to showy, mind you - we are very tasteful people).

In other words, once I got a handle on the modern world's (often severe [2]) distractions, I've found it is natural to perform the work of life with flourish. So how about you - Do you work with a flourish? What would it take to do so?


Related

• In Use Pizzaz!, the authors point out that having a little pizzaz lets us stand out and be noticed. They have some suggestions, including:
  • Using illustrations or pictures,
    
  • telling funny stories, and
    
  • making outrageous statements.
  
  
• In GTD Is Conscience-Clearing, the author reflects on how GTD's collection phase helps to clear the conscience:

  When I sit down and empty my head by putting every thought on paper, my heart gets poured out as well. Weights are taken off my chest. Burdens are lifted from my shoulders.

References

• [1]I think this came up partly because I recently read Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul, John Christensen. The book's Big Thought is that our attitudes shape the places we work, and are important. According to the authors, the four ingredients to make work fun and productive are:
  • Choose your attitude,
    
  • Play,
    
  • Make their day, and
    
  • Be Present
  Highly recommended.
  
• [2] In Why can't you pay attention anymore?, Edward Hallowell talks about Attention Deficit Trait, a disorder related to ADD that has environmental causes. He considers the core symptoms distractibility, inner frenzy, and impatience, and links it to difficulties staying organized, setting priorities, and managing time. He claims it can undermine the work of even gifted executives.

The crucible of teaching: Want to learn in a hurry? Teach!

When I decided to seriously consider switching careers to productivity coaching, I realized that I'd have to create my own "Master's Degree" in the subject [1]. The program I made up includes:

• extensive reading of competing/complimentary time management books,
  
• weekly blog posts to help explore the concepts through writing,
  
• "clinical" practice via one-on-one coaching with clients, and
  
• one-to-many presentations at workshops and seminars.

To that end, I committed this January to design and facilitate a four hour workshop on campus, something I've never done before. My thinking was this would help me quickly deepen my knowledge of the field, and simultaneously evaluate whether I'm any good at this kind of work [2]. I'd like to report on how the first half went, what I covered, and some tips I found helpful.

Note: The workshop described below has to do with managing the multitude of information streams that workers at the university have to deal with.


Status and outline

The interest on campus was overwhelming, and I decided to cap enrollment (at least for this first round) at 25. I spent a ton of time preparing for it [3], and presented the first session last Wednesday. (I decided to split the workshop into two two-hour sessions with a week between.) I thought it went great [4] - my estimated timing for the parts was very good, and we had lots of discussion and questions. I'm really looking forward to the second half this Wednesday.


Issues and challenges

The main challenges for me were:

• Deciding what parts of the content could be reasonably covered in just four hours,
  
• Choosing how to present that material,
  
• Managing procrastination [5], esp. with such a large new project,
  
• Having the courage to face the fear of failure and looking like a fool (in spite of daily visualization of wild success), and
  
• Working to enjoy the process, even while being well outside my comfort zone [6].

Advice for new trainers/teachers

Finally, I'd like to share some information that I found helpful when getting my head around this huge new project.

First, in the article Ten Tips for New Trainers/Teachers Kathy Sierra tell us:

• Keep lecture to the absolute minimum.
  
• It is almost always far more important that your learners nail fewer subjects than be "exposed" to a wider range of subjects.
  
• For classroom trainers, the greatest challenge you have is managing multiple skill and knowledge levels in the same classroom! Be prepared to deal with it.
  
• Work hard to get everyone to complete the lab exercises, but NEVER give out the solutions in advance!
  
• Do group exercises whenever possible, no matter what you've heard.
  
• Designing exercises
  
• Leave your ego at the door. This is not about you.
  
• Have a Quick Start and a Big Finish.
  
• Try never to talk more than 10-15 minutes without doing something interactive. And saying, "Any questions?" does not count as interaction!
  
• Don't assume that just because you said it, they got it. And don't assume that just because you said it five minutes ago, they remember it now.
  
• If you're not passionate, don't expect any energy from your learners.

She finishes with:

Remember: It's not about what YOU do... it's about how your learners feel about what THEY can do as a result of the learning experience you created and helped to deliver.

Second, Marc Shiman passed along these very helpful thoughts:

1. What do you want your audience TO DO when you get done with the workshop? There's your goals. Focus on that. Then - focus on what you must achieve for them to DO what you want them to do. Some achievements might be "complete understanding of the system", "complete buy-in and commitment", "establish that they have a problem", etc.
   
2. The human brain has a short-term memory of 8 minutes before it stops absorbing. Once you hit that 8 minutes of information, it needs to be transferred to long-term memory. That's the role of the exercises. Try to structure everything in chunks - short presentation, reinforcing exercise, and, most importantly, thorough debrief.
   
3. Use a variety of activities, people get easily bored which is a learning killer. Have them discuss things in a large group, have them discuss in small groups. Put them through very structured dialogue, put them through very open ended dialogue.

Last, a friend who teaches in high school suggested attitude really counts, and encouraged me to let my passion for this work come through. He thinks passion is absolutely necessary to reach the audience, but not necessarily sufficient (you have to know and repeat your content.)


Conclusion

Naturally It ain't over till the fat lady sings, but so far it's been well worth the effort and challenges. However, the real hope is that my students take away something that significantly helps them manage their stuff. In the first session's group sharing exercise I heard lots of issues around stuff - challenges facing many of the participants that were emotional and went deep. And that's why I'm doing this - to try to help by sharing what I've learned.

And this is just the start. As Jason Womack says in Positive Focus on Successful Outcomes:

To be honest, it's a dream come true. Why? Well, I think I'm finally beginning to realize what this is about ... really.

NB: This is after teaching 50 seminars.


References

• [1] Creating your own Master's in Personal Productivity is an idea that hit a nerve with readers, esp. Marc Shiman and Pascal Venier.
  
• [2] I've always loved public speaking, and being in the spotlight (I'm a rock-and-roll guitarist from way back when), and I enjoy making people laugh, so I thought it would be a good fit.
  
• [3] I've heard various estimates of the amount of time required to prepare for an hour of in-class content. My WL&D person said 3:1, and a fellow worker suggested 8:1. The best I can tell, it ended up being somewhere between 10:1 and 15:1.
  
• [4] I am rather looking forward to learning from the participant evaluations after the second session.
  
• [5] A corollary to this post: "Want to overcome procrastination? Commit!"
  
• [6] You may enjoy reading Don't close it.
  

Related

• In his excellent book Love is the killer app, Tim Sanders says

  When you talk about a book, it forces you to know it inside and out.

• In Time power, Brian Tracy suggest we become teachers in order to learn (which is a primary reason I blog):

  What the experts have found is that if you think about how you would teach new material at the same time you are learning the new material, you seem to absorb it and internalize it far faster than if you just thought about learning it and using it for yourself.

  
  

Some common GTD questions, with answers

I'd like to share some questions that have come up recently, along with my answers.

Table of contents

• How many collection buckets do I need?
  
• What's the best tool for ubiquitous capture?
  
• Do you use a tickler file?
  
• How do I work a combined digital/physical situation?
  
• How do I choose what to do next?
  
• How do I handle too many next actions?
  
• What will I physically have when the program is fully implemented?
  
• Should I use digital or analog organizing tools?
  
• How do I handle unproductive meetings?

How many collection buckets do I need?

About the "Collecting" phase: I was thinking of defining a physical place where to put the "In" stuff, and also a basket where I will put some post-its as a reminders of things which are either: 1) too "ethereal", or 2)physical but way too big. Do you think this is a good starting point?

I think Allen would say the fewer 'In Baskets' (collection points) you have the better. In your case I don't see why you'd need more than one; at my office I have a stack of paper-holding trays, and the top one is my In Basket (it's labelled so others can use it too). If you have something that's too big to fit, put a 'place-holder' note just like you were thinking. If you'd rather use a real basket (wire, wicker, etc.) by all means do so; it should be something that is functional (and pleasing) for you.

Regarding 'ethereal' items, an example would help, but I'd just write them down on a piece of paper (or sticky, etc.) and put those in the basket. The main point is to get it out of your head, and into one place that you'll empty out every 24 to 48 hours. At *that* time you'll process it using his workflow, and file, create next actions, etc.

What's the best tool for ubiquitous capture?

About the "ubiquitous capturing tool", I was thinking of a A6 paper agenda: I've used the Palm for 6 years, I love it, but capturing things on the spot is most quick with paper. I'll use the Palm to put the lists, as DA suggests. How does it sound? Also, the PocketMod is very very handy. I've been using it (in non-GTD terms), and I'm very satisfied. I'm using a pencil, instead of a pen, so I can delete the "Done" items.

This sounds great. I'm the same way - paper is quickest for me for capture, but use whatever works for you. Again, it doesn't matter what you use as long as you train yourself to a) put it in your In Basket frequently (don't let those notes sit around in your pocket, etc), and b) process your In Basket every day or so, in order to 'harvest' things to go into your organization buckets - Someday/Maybe, Reference, Waiting For, Next Actions, Calendar/Ticker, and Projects. (And thanks for reminding me about the PocketMod - I love it.)

Do you use a tickler file?

What about the tickler file? It sounds a splendid idea to me and I'm willing to try it out. What's your opinion on the subject?

It's really up to you. Give it a try if you're interested. As an alternative to the tickler file, I've chosen to use the "calendar/holding file" technique (as Stephanie Winston calls it) in which I put a date-specific reminder in my calendar, and put the associated "thing" in a holding file (I call mine "Action Support"). I do it this way because I didn't have enough items in my tickler to warrant the overhead required to manage it. Here's a blurb on davidco about the ticker: The Tickler File.

One nice thing about his system is that he really encourages us to experiment and adapt it. Many of the basics aren't negotiable, but the details are flexible - which contexts to use, ticker, etc.

How do I work a combined digital/physical situation?

I had an e-mail from my boss, asking me to call a co-worker. I called the co-worker, got no reply, and left a voicemail message. I was left with the e-mail; what to do with it? Instead of putting it in @Waiting For--which I am poor at checking--I printed the e-mail and put it in my tickler for tomorrow, to remind myself to call the co-worker again tomorrow if I haven't heard from him by then. I'm pleased at the effectiveness of this solution.

Do you all find yourself taking a digital action and making it physical? Can you give the rest of us some examples?

My take on it:

• put "call [co-worker]" on @calls
  
• add deadline to calender, if time's a factor
  
• add it to project list ("assignment [__] from boss") if call is part of multi-step effort
  
• if the email contains important information for the call (or project), you can a) print it and file it, or b) save it in an @action-support email folder. Regarding where to file the printed message, I'd put it in the project folder (if it's a project). Otherwise I'd put it in an "Action Support" folder (AKA "Pending" or "Holding"). It's a kind of catch-all for paper that doesn't quite deserve its own folder.

You'll notice that everyone has a different solution. That's one of the great things about Allen's work - it's adaptable. However, it's also a double-edged sword that can lead to confusion for people new to it.

How do I choose what to do next?

I have 8 NA's in my @Computer. One is approx 5 min, three 10 min, two 15 min and two 30 min. When you use Context,Time,Energy,Priority concept how do you choose NA's to act on now? Let's say you have 45 min till the next hard landscape action. What would you choose: one big action or a few small?

As you say, you've 1) used context (you're at your computer, so look at that list) to do the first round of decision-making. (Naturally you might also be near a phone, and have @Calls you could make, but let's stick with your example.) And 2), you know times available and needed, so now energy and priority come into play. I think the gist of GTD "doing" is that you need to integrate all your choices in your head, and make a call. If you're working during your "prime time" (am for most people), then you may want to tackle one of the "harder" ones. (Note: I can't tell whether "longer = harder".) I sometimes use my internal anxiety meter to determine which to work on - it's based on deadlines coming up in the calendar, which is hardest, which I'm procrastinating on, etc.

How do I handle too many next actions?

Is anyone else overwhelmed by the longer GTD lists like me? Mine gets around 175 and hovers there...it's quite overwhelming and I find myself looking at my list less frequently than when I just kept 2 dozen tasks on it.

That's a great question, and is big enough to be a separate post by itself, but here are a few tips from the davidco GTD forum that might help:

• make a temporary list for the day to help focus
  
• move some items to Someday/Maybe
  
• make sure actions are really do-able
  
• focus on projects (and their actions)
  
• limit your NAs - are all important?
  
• only list the very next action for projects, not parallel ones
  
• hire help
  
• block off an hour or two on your calendar, put your phone on voice mail, and just attack your list

What will I physically have when the program is fully implemented?

What I will physically have when the program is fully implemented?

If you walk around the outside "buckets" of the workflow diagram you end up with:

1. Lists/support for the four key action categories - Projects (the master list - one line/project), Calendar (computer, portable, etc), Next Actions (list), and Waiting For (list). People often split their Next Actions into separate "context" lists, e.g., @Calls, @Home, etc.
   
2. Folders for:
   • project support materials (one per project)
     
   • general reference material (one per topic, project, person, or company)
     
   • Someday/Maybe (one)
     
   • tickler (43 of them)
   
   
3. Filing cabinets - Folders get stored in filing cabinets, a minimum of one set (2-4 drawers) within swivel distance. Optional: Second set of drawers for secondary (longer-term) storage. Simplest is to mix project and general reference in one A-Z system. If you have secondary storage, that will be its own A-Z system.
   
4. An in-basket for collecting.

Note: You should not have any piles in your workspace. Everything goes into one of the above places. For example, when you're done with a project (at least for now), put its materials back into its folder, and file it. Some people like to use a stacking shelf for "current" projects, but this is only to make accessing them slightly easier. The key point is to use your action system (Projects, Calendar, Next Actions, and Waiting For) for reminding, *not* stacks.

Finally, the only "non-stuff" in my workspace is supplies, reference material, decoration, and equipment.

Should I use digital or analog organizing tools?

GTD is tech-agnostic, so I suggest you go with your preferences. If you're having trouble deciding, here's a quick summary (from Organized for Success by Stephanie Winston):

• digital: reference, connectivity;
  
• paper: capture, memory prompting

However, in the end the tool doesn't matter; the habit of daily processing is more important.

Here are a few other resources:

• Paper vs. electronic: Many great tips, plus a table comparing the two approaches.
  
• 6 Criteria for Deciding if an Electronic or Paper Calendar is Best for You
  
• Paper versus electronic organizer quiz
  

How do I handle unproductive meetings?

Here are a few tips, but most require a change in the person making and running the meetings. However, deciding whether to attend is within your control. Even if "mandatory," you might convince superiors to let you off if you can give a compelling argument on time lost, work not done, etc.

From The Personal Efficiency Program by Kerry Gleeson:

1. Identify the meeting's purpose.
   
2. Prepare properly.
   
3. Keep the meeting on track.
   
4. Be decisive.
   
5. Distribute meeting minutes promptly and stick to the decisions made.

Also related:

• You Have to Start Meeting Like This!
  
• How to Design Small Decision Making Groups
  
• You still want meetings. Here's how to make them useful. - Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals)
  
• 10 Steps To Better Meetings

I hope these help. If you come across good resources, please pass them on!