(Jonny Goldstein)

When David Allen wrote Getting Things Done back in 2001, no one predicted it would rise to #52 on the Amazon best seller list and spark an entire productivity subculture.

Like many productivity gurus, Allen recommends prioritizing tasks and eliminating distractions through to-do lists, calendars, and turning off e-mail notifications. But Allen’s theories differ in a few key areas. Unlike Covey’s “Begin with the end in mind,” Allen advocates dealing with today so you can stop worrying long enough to think about tomorrow.

So what happens when GTD meets personal finance?

Here’s four key GTD concepts, and how they can be applied to your money management:

1. Clear your head by capturing anything and everything that has your attention
   Allen observes that in the information age, the majority of work has to be defined before it can be done. You can’t do anything until you know what you’re trying to do.
   Application: Get everything related to money out of your head and onto a piece of paper.
   No matter whether you’re a financial ninja or a novice, simply writing down all the stuff you’ve been meaning to plan–like financing your kid’s education–will make it FAR easier to tackle. Don’t worry about planning anything, just get it out of your head onto paper.
   
   
2. Operate from the ground up
   GTD methodology says you will only be free to think long-term when you have successfully organized today’s urgent priorities.
   Application: Track how you spend your money.
   Determining long-term financial goals without knowing where your money is currently spent leads to cognitive dissonance. Tracking need not be obsessive. You don’t need to budget every last expense in order to realize your savings goal. As with other tasks, GTD suggests you should focus on a few key areas where you can have an impact, perhaps you can cut back on eating out, or spend less on iTunes each month.
3. Define projects into outcomes and concrete next steps
   Allen says 90% of to-do lists are projects, not actual to-do’s. Break all of your projects into actual to-do’s.
   Application: Look at your page of financial projects and break them into actionable to-do’s.
   A project like “taxes” will probably include tasks like “gather forms”, “pick tax software”, “enter information in tax software”, and “file taxes.” Once you’ve broken these financial projects into actual to-do’s, you can add them to your calendar and general to-do list.
4. Have as few inboxes as possible–but not fewer.
   Focusing all your incoming information into just a few buckets keeps things simple. Fewer inboxes means your brain can focus on thinking rather than remembering.
   Application: Streamline your financial accounts.
   Close unnecessary financial accounts or leave them at the minimum balance. (Exception: Closing unused credit cards may impact your FICO score.) Use dedicated accounts for savings , checking, and Roth IRA or 401K.
5. Build a trusted system so you don’t have to rethink things
   The brain is a phenomenal planner, yet incredibly forgetful. And we’re hyper-aware of that–even while writing this blog post, I worried whether I planned enough time to do my taxes.
   Application: Automate financial reminders whenever possible.
   Mint.com can send you an e-mail a week before your bills are due. (I’ve integrated my recurring financial to-do’s into my regular to-do system–I use Remember The Milk configured for GTD.) Since you can use the Mint dashboard to view all your bank accounts in near real-time, consider switching all your accounts to electronic statements–better for the environment too.
   
6. Do a regular review to “clear the decks” and keep your brain clear
   No matter how smoothly your system functions, your brain will still collect stuff. It’s just like cobwebs–every so often they need to be cleaned out.
   Application: Do a regular financial brain dump. Review your accounts regularly.
   Some folks like to review how they spent their money every week. Others prefer a monthly review, so you’ll need to find your own rhythm. This is also a good time to acknowledge failures and celebrate successes.
   

More resources:

The Getting Finances Done blog has two great posts on GTD + Personal Finance: Part 1, Part 2.

Hot off the presses! Here is the summary of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (The CARD Act) from the Senate Banking Committee:

Strengthens Credit Card Industry Regulation and Supervision

• Requires banking regulators to evaluate the policies and procedures of card issuers to ensure compliance with card requirements and prohibitions;
• Improves data collection related to rates, fees, and profits;
• Provides each federal financial regulator with the authority to prescribe regulations governing unfair or deceptive practices by banks and savings and loan institutions.

Prevents “any-time, any reason” Increases in Interest Rate and Terms

• Prevents credit card issuers from increasing interest rates on cardholders in good standing for reasons unrelated to the cardholder’s behavior with respect to that card (universal default ban);
• Prevents issuers from changing the terms of a credit card contract for the length of the card agreement (ban on unilateral changes to card agreements);
• Allows customers who close their accounts to pay under the terms existing at the time the account is closed;
• Requires interest rate increases to apply only to future credit card debt.

Requires Fairness in Application of Card Payments

• Requires payments to be applied first to the credit card balance with the highest rate of interest, and to minimize finance charges;
• Prohibits issuers from setting early morning deadlines for credit card payments.

Protects the Rights of Financially Responsible Credit Card Users

• Prohibits interest charges on debt paid on time (double-cycle billing ban);
• Prohibits late fees if the card issuer delayed crediting the payment;
• Requires credit card statements to be mailed 21 days before the bill is due rather than the current 14;
• Requires that payment at local branches be credited same-day.                                 

Prohibits Exorbitant and Unnecessary Rates and Fees

• Prohibits the charging of interest on credit card transaction fees, such as late fees and overlimit fee;
• Prohibits issuers from charging a fee to allow a credit card holder to pay a credit card debt, whether payment is by mail, telephone, electronic transfer, or otherwise;
• Prevents issuers from multiple over-limit fees for exceeding a card limit, and allows such fees only when a cardholder’s action, rather than a fee or finance charge, causes the limit to be exceeded;
• Requires issuers to offer consumers the option of operating under a fixed credit limit;
• Requires issuers to lower penalty rates that have been imposed on a cardholder after 6 months if the cardholder commits no further violations.                                                   

Provides Enhanced Disclosures of Card Terms and Conditions

• Requires cardholders to be given 45 days notice of any interest rate increase;
• Requires issuers to provide disclosures to consumers upon card renewal when the card terms have changed;
• Requires issuers to provide individual consumer account information and to disclose the period of time and total interest it will take to pay off the card balance if only minimum monthly payments are made;
• Requires full disclosure in billing statements of payment due dates and applicable late payment penalties.

Ensures Adequate Safeguards for Young People

• Requires issuers soliciting to persons under the age of 21 to obtain an application that contains: the signature of a parent, guardian, or other individual who will take responsibility for the debt; proof that the applicant has an independent means of repaying any credit extended; or proof that the applicant has completed a certified financial literacy course;
• Limits prescreened offers of credit to young consumers by prohibiting consumer reporting agencies from furnishing reports in connection with firm offers of credit that are not initiated by consumers under age 21.  Allows consumers who are at least 18, but not yet 21, to choose to receive such solicitations.

Emily Peters – Credit.com's personal finance expert and former TransUnion credit bureau insider. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com editor.