Rumors of my death were only slightly exaggerated

Yes, things have been quiet around here. I’ve spent last 14 months recovering from Sepsis, double pneumonia and ARDS and Long Covid. 13 months on oxygen. Not fun.

Eric and grandson, David I’m so thankful for the doctors and specialists at #KaiserPermanente for their care. Looking forward to resurfacing slowly, perhaps a podcast or two. Open to ideas.

Along the way, my Intentionally Productive and GTD skills helped me in ways I could not have imagined. I hope to write or podcast about that before long.

This post is a long-overdue thank you to those of you who reached out in prayer, encouragement and generosity. I am grateful to each of you for your support.

Eric

P.S. In late November 2021, I made a limited time offer to early respondents of my Workstyles and Key Frustrations Survey to call you and discuss your responses. That was shortly before I was hospitalized. If you were one of those early adopters, please reach out to me via the contact us form so I can get in touch with you.

What happens when you raise intentionally productive children?

They grow up and do extraordinary things.

I encourage everyone I coach and mentor to teach productive practices (whether mine or others’) to their colleagues, friends, and family. Some of you were surprised to learn I started teaching these to my children when they were three!

Last June, David Allen (my mentor) invited my daughter and me to speak at the global GTD Summit in Amsterdam.

Eric Mack and Wendy Haddad speak at the 2019 GTD Summit in Amsterdam on a panel titled "What's It Like to Have a GTD Family?"

This event featured dozens of notable speakers, experts, and innovators from around the world, including productivity experts David Covey and Marshall Goldsmith, former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, and bestselling author Dan Pink.

While there, Wendy and I spoke on a panel with David on the topic of raising children with productive principles ⁠— not to turn them into box-checking machines, but to give them freedom to accomplish whatever they want.

You might find Wendy’s perspective on all this inspiring, as she shared what it was like growing up learning how to get the right things done in a freeing way.

David Allen, Mike Williams, Eric Mack, and Wendy Haddad speak at the 2019 GTD Summit in Amsterdam on a panel titled "What's It Like to Have a GTD Family?"

I’d love to hear from you in the comments: What productive, time-saving, value-creating skills have you learned from (or taught to) your family?