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A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

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Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#41

Post by lloeki »

thibran wrote: post #21

Write down ideas... I'm very skeptical that this would work, because I have ideas about all kinds of topics all the time. My list would be so crowded and mixed that it would be hard to prioritize anything. At the end I would see on paper that there is too much stuff going on in my head, something that I already know...

> At the end I would see on paper that there is too much stuff going on in my head, something that I already know...

The point is that you get it out of your head, and let it go, to focus on the task at hand. The fact that this physically accumulates outside of your head, is just a side effect, and just points out that you can't do everything, and so you have to let go of some task or idea, maybe for today, maybe forever.

I used to use GTD, but nowadays I mostly just use the "capture" part, a.k.a LET IT GO OUT OF MY SYSTEM DAMMIT. The remaining steps just sort themselves out as things are falling into very different buckets: a. very general life goals (non actionable by themselves due to their large scale, virtual nature, and can only be achieved by habit as well as internalising what I truly want, but certainly not with reminders), b. whatever I fancy doing when I happen to have some free time (for which I may go back to a quickly jotted draft of step 1, and since I'm in the mood for it, well, I just do it), c. very concrete errands and other mundane tasks.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#42

Post by dogruck »

miguelrochefort wrote: post #2

Getting Things Done is by far the most influential book I've read. It has changed the way I think about everything. However, I have never been able to find a good implementation of the system. I know that David Allen (GTD) and Charles Simonyi (Intentional Software) were working on something at some point, but I haven't heard anything since.

I use OmniFocus as my tool.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#43

Post by AhtiK »

submeta wrote: post #37

I read David Allen's book in 2002 and immediately started implementing it. At first it felt like godsend. Capturing every "open loop" (everything that is not the way it should be = everything with a delta between current and desired state) and deciding for each of them if there is any action that I need to take and if so, what the very next step was - that practice alone released a ton of energy and gave me a sense o…

That's why I've combined GTD lists with Eisenhower Matrix (prioritizing over Urgent-Important quadrants). Random but good video explaining it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT89OZ7TNwc

I did run a software product once that was combining GTD and Eisenhower Matrix, which worked quite well. It's now discontinued but a short video in case interested is still online, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22S_1Qjq2J0

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#44

Post by lloeki »

cJ0th wrote: post #16
ThomPete wrote: post #7

GTD is the utopia of productivity. Everyone attempts to reach it but almost no one (if any) ever will. Those who get the closest realize that you can't live your life like that. In my world GTD become a goal in itself rather than a way to better manage your life. With a few exception (calendar) I lived my life in a way that would make a GTD enthusiast cringe. I am always impressed by those who attempt to do it but ne…

> Those who get the closest realize that you can't live your life like that. This has been my experience. After a while I had to realize that it is too "top-down" for real life. It also made me realize time and again that I often didn't have a clear goal. And when I had one then I was so committed that there was no need for any system except the occasional sticky note. It's a classic example of a great solution (it r…

I used to use GTD, but nowadays I mostly just use the "capture" part, a.k.a LET IT GO OUT OF MY SYSTEM DAMMIT. The remaining steps just sort themselves out as things are falling into very different buckets: a. very general life goals (non actionable by themselves due to their large scale, virtual nature, and can only be achieved by habit as well as internalising what I truly want, but certainly not with reminders), b. whatever I fancy doing when I happen to have some free time (for which I may go back to a quickly jotted draft of step 1, and since I'm in the mood for it, well, I just do it), c. very concrete errands and other mundane tasks.

GTD is a worthy attempt at formalising things but in doing so it's way too generic and thus doesn't pragmatically cater for the very different situations above. IOW theory and practice are the same... in theory.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#45

Post by PeOe »

submeta wrote: post #37

I read David Allen's book in 2002 and immediately started implementing it. At first it felt like godsend. Capturing every "open loop" (everything that is not the way it should be = everything with a delta between current and desired state) and deciding for each of them if there is any action that I need to take and if so, what the very next step was - that practice alone released a ton of energy and gave me a sense o…

Hey, thanks for your comment. I also think so. GTD is more keeping track and less actually defining priorities or what to do first. Nonetheless, it´s a very efficient system if you already know where you´re headed and know where your priorities lie.

My favourite author, Tim Ferris, has brought the 80/20 analysis to my attention. It´s really great for determining how to set priorities and deciding what to focus on. It´s simply, asking youself "What 20% of sources are resulting in 80% or my desired outcomes & happiness?".

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#46

Post by peruvian »

jstewartmobile wrote: post #31

This was mercifully shorter than the Cal Newport book. That's about all I can say for it. Ivan Sutherland had the secret, and it only took one paragraph to share it: ' I used to hate washing dishes. I would delay as long as possible. Eyeing the daunting pile of dishes, I would say to myself, “I'll be here forever at this dumb task.” The enormity of the task deterred me from starting. I still dislike washing dishes, b…

As much as I respect Mr Newport, a lot of books like his could be one long form blog post (or paragraph!) instead of a 200~ page book.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#47

Post by barrkel »

ThomPete wrote: post #7

GTD is the utopia of productivity. Everyone attempts to reach it but almost no one (if any) ever will. Those who get the closest realize that you can't live your life like that. In my world GTD become a goal in itself rather than a way to better manage your life. With a few exception (calendar) I lived my life in a way that would make a GTD enthusiast cringe. I am always impressed by those who attempt to do it but ne…

I think GTD can be dangerous for people who like systems too much; a bit like people who play RPGs because of the rules around bookkeeping of stats and deciding of battles, rather than for the imagined world the bookkeeping keeps honest.

I'm highly task-oriented in my work, but mostly it's just a list of lists, maintained in a text file with infinite persistent undo. Every task starts out as a line, gets a few sub-lines when it acquires some definition, and gets broken up into multiple separate tasks if it's too big, or it only gets partially done and other tasks remain.

I don't live like that much outside of work (unless there's a specific longer-lived process, like moving house or something), and my process is very light weight. I think GTD starts out too heavy; it would be better done iteratively, starting with something very simple that works 80% of the time, and then adding more if you're so busy that you need the extra process. You could then start reading the book and put it down early on with enough to get by, but still be able to pick it up if you need more.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#48

Post by agumonkey »

jstewartmobile wrote: post #31

This was mercifully shorter than the Cal Newport book. That's about all I can say for it. Ivan Sutherland had the secret, and it only took one paragraph to share it: ' I used to hate washing dishes. I would delay as long as possible. Eyeing the daunting pile of dishes, I would say to myself, “I'll be here forever at this dumb task.” The enormity of the task deterred me from starting. I still dislike washing dishes, b…

I used this numerous times. It works often but not always.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#50

Post by ThomPete »

dogruck wrote: post #40
ThomPete wrote: post #7

GTD is the utopia of productivity. Everyone attempts to reach it but almost no one (if any) ever will. Those who get the closest realize that you can't live your life like that. In my world GTD become a goal in itself rather than a way to better manage your life. With a few exception (calendar) I lived my life in a way that would make a GTD enthusiast cringe. I am always impressed by those who attempt to do it but ne…

You make the bizarre claim that nobody successfully follows GTD because you’ve never done so, and you know many others who have also failed to do so. That’s like a fat dude looking around at the donut shop and saying “nobody ever sticks to their diets, haha!” I’ve used GTD for years. I just shattered your claim.

Did you read what i wrote? You proved my point :) you dont do it anymore.
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