Skippy Mesirow, a GTD enthusiast and advocate for transformative public service, shares insights on personal growth and resilience in leadership. He discusses the impact of stress, especially during the pandemic, and emphasizes the importance of mental health in public roles. The conversation explores navigating political challenges and the evolution of conscious leadership. Skippy introduces a courage method framework that aims to shift toxic behaviors into positive strategies, encouraging leaders to foster collaboration and understanding in times of crisis.
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Stress Reduction Through GTD
Skippy Mesirow reduced his stress from over 320 days a year to under 20 days using GTD practices.
He had his best year during the COVID crisis due to his accumulated personal transformation tools.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Journey Into Toxic Politics
Skippy got involved in politics after an unpaid internship with the Obama campaign and working on Illinois campaigns.
He witnessed toxic political environments firsthand, sparking his mission for systemic transformation.
insights INSIGHT
Leadership as Human Response
Leadership arises as a human response to environmental conditions, including toxic ones.
Toxic emotions like fear and anger hinder progress; healing starts by resourcing individuals to act consciously and collaboratively.
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Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen. The book provides a detailed methodology for managing tasks, projects, and information, emphasizing the importance of capturing all tasks and ideas, clarifying their meaning, organizing them into actionable lists, reviewing the system regularly, and engaging in the tasks. The GTD method is designed to reduce stress and increase productivity by externalizing tasks and using a trusted system to manage them. The book is divided into three parts, covering the overview of the system, its implementation, and the deeper benefits of integrating GTD into one's work and life[2][3][5].
David talks with Skippy Mesirow, a GTD enthusiast who is passionate about making a difference in public service, by starting with "the human in the mirror." You can hear Skippy's podcast and find out more on his website.
You can watch the entire conversation from March 2025 at GTD Connect®.
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Getting Things Done 
