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A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

blog.zenkit.com

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Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#121

Post by joaorico »

In theory, GTD is great.

In practice, it comes up short in several ways.

TLDR - For some years now, I use a system called Agile Results [1]. It's a method (with less marketing behind it than GTD) which has been gaining traction for a lot of good reasons. I couldn't be happier with it.

I won't get into the details, but its biggest edge against GTD is the flexibility. With Agile Results, you can let go for a couple of hours or days, and the system doesn't fall apart, it's more organic. It's oriented towards Results in several domains of life, in a balanced way. The manner in which it breaks down the hierarchy of projects, temporal horizons and relative importance of tasks is the real key. It solves the same problems as GTD (eg, your mind is for thinking not remembering [of course, you can still incorporate spaced repetition for what you want to remember long term]). But it solves them in a way which is more organic, focused and iterative. If you only implement a portion of it, it has the proportional benefits - it's not all or nothing. It also lets you integrate parts of other productivity systems.

There's a book about it [1], and a 30 day program to getting started incrementally [2].

I realize it sounds like hyperbole, but, after some years using it, I consider the problem of productivity essentially solved.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Results-Agile-Way-Personal/dp...

[2] http://www.30daysofgettingresults.com/

[3]http://www.asianefficiency.com/agile-results/

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#122

Post by BeetleB »

I first encountered GTD in 2007. After about 8 years of trying, I finally accepted that GTD didn't work for me.

I think any workflow management has to be tailored to your personality. I digged that from the start and did not fall into the trap of being 100% David Allen compliant.

Some of my issues:

- My lists grow long. Way too long. I recall he suggests looking at the Someday/Maybe during the weekly review. That just overwhelmed me.

- Not enough attention is paid upon "upkeep". I know you're supposed to clean things out every week, but it was a lot of work, and mentally draining. David Allen did not seriously address cognitive load.

- I could never work out a system to handle "Waiting For" tasks. Managing it all on paper was impossible. And software never seemed to get it right.

- Although he talks about the 10000 ft view, etc - I felt he didn't give any real advice on looking at the bigger picture. GTD is an excellent way of focusing on minor projects while neglecting major ones. One needs to prioritize, and he just expects you to prioritize somehow.

Those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

It definitely was not a waste of time, though. Some positives that came out of it:

- Not treating your Inbox as a TODO list

- Getting a filing cabinet (this paid dividends immediately)

- Making me learn more about org-mode customization in my attempts to implement GTD in it.

- Self knowledge about what works for me and what doesn't.

GTD is the flow that everyone goes through before encountering what works for them.

I later discovered the One Minute Todo List (http://www.michaellinenberger.com/TheOneMinuteTo-DoList-Eboo...). This filled in a lot of the gaps in GTD. His explanation of work stress in his book was very relevant to me.

However, even that didn't fully work for me, and I continue on my quest.

Lately, the thing I'm realizing one thing: As long as I don't control my inputs, nothing will work for me. Inputs are things like:

- Work my boss gives me

- RSS/Facebook/Twitter/News feeds

- Email

- Pretty much anything else that feeds into your TODO lists

Allowing a lot of stuff to get in to your inbox (GTD inbox, not email inbox) will make managing it much harder. Take a deep look at what category of items get in there, and start applying limits. I'm experimenting doing that with email by making incoming email based on whitelist only: If the sender's address is not in my whitelist, it will not show up in my inbox, and the the sender will get an email with instructions on how to get their quarantined email into my inbox (i.e. prove there is a human behind the email) as well as their email address in my whitelist.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#123

Post by bluetwo »

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…

I agree there isn't an emphasis on priorities in GTD. I keep my project list in rank order of importance, which he says is unnecessary but it is helpful to me.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#124

Post by fapjacks »

criddell wrote: post #106
swah wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This works very well for me. The trick is put the gym clothes without thinking about your feelings and thoughts. Then proceed to walk out the door with the same attitude, supressing the internal chatter..

Would you say one should just do it ?

This is exactly how I've done every insane, amazing, stupid, disgusting, crazy, dangerous, phenomenal thing in my entire life. From eating balut to asking my wife out to maneuvering under fire.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#125

Post by andyjohnson0 »

swah wrote: post #86
kaybe wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a second step to this: 'You can stop if you want to.' Just washing one plate does not mean I have to wash all of them. Stopping after only half of them is acceptable and preferable to not starting. So I can pick up and wash one without worrying about the full task.

A similar trick works for avoiding sugary treats: don't strongly oppose this desire - instead say to yourself you can eat it at a later time and move your mind to something else. (When you finally eat whatever it was you so much desired, you didn't really fail, because you are only consuming 1 unit for those 3/5/whatever days, instead of one every day...)

The cafe where I buy my lunchtime salad also sells a range of excellent cakes, which are very tempting. I've learned to tell myself that I only need to exercise self-control (and not buy a cake) while I'm in the queue to be served. It sounds obvious, but consciously reminding myself that the situation I'm trying to avoid is time-limited is a great help.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#126

Post by moshiah »

fapjacks wrote: post #124
criddell wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you say one should just do it ?

This is exactly how I've done every insane, amazing, stupid, disgusting, crazy, dangerous, phenomenal thing in my entire life. From eating balut to asking my wife out to maneuvering under fire.

Please describe the balut, and if you'd recommend the experience.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#127

Post by pault »

EpicBlackCrayon wrote: post #115
chasd00 wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In college a friend of mine gave me a book on Zen Buddhism once as a joke more or less. I read it cover to cover, what you describe is very zen ( well it is as much as it isn't I suppose ;) ). When i was reading that book i was in college and I remember dreading and dreading studying for a particular boring class. I was miserable thinking about it and then it just sort of dawned on me, i got up and went to the librar…

Do you remember the name of the book?

Not the OP but The Wisdom Of Insecurity by Alan Watts is a total life changer in my experience.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#128

Post by bachmeier »

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…

I actually disagree. By being explicit about all of your decisions to do things, and how much time it will take, you learn over time about the tradeoffs and stop doing worthless things. If you capture, review, plan, and think about where you're going long-term, you will stop doing things that have no value to you. (At least it worked for me.)

Whether it works for everyone, I don't know, but the first step is to get control of all the necessary information. Then you can decide if you need something more.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#129

Post by bachmeier »

zimbatm wrote: post #22

Every time I tried to do GTD it just makes me unhappy. It is something related with encoding all the little things, put them into boxes, organize. And ultimately becoming the robot executing the tasks that I have set for myself. The list becomes the things I have to do, it grows larger and larger, there is never enough time. Instead, let the brain do what it does best; forget. Put the really important things in the c…

> The list becomes the things I have to do, it grows larger and larger, there is never enough time.

I'd argue that you're not doing GTD the right way if that's the case. If you're doing GTD, you should be making decisions about what you should and shouldn't be doing.

> Instead, let the brain do what it does best; forget. Put the really important things in the calendar, like Tax and VAT returns. All the rest in not important. Then pick two tasks for the day. It's all a bit fuzzy and that's what I like the best; it leaves room for my creativity.

That's what should happen if you're doing GTD. There's no way you can "forget" if you know there are dozens of open loops floating around. If you're not explicit about the things you have to do and the things you're not going to do, there's no way you are going to be able to focus on your work.

Re: A Beginner´s Guide to Getting Things Done

#130

Post by ryangittins »

swah wrote: post #86
kaybe wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a second step to this: 'You can stop if you want to.' Just washing one plate does not mean I have to wash all of them. Stopping after only half of them is acceptable and preferable to not starting. So I can pick up and wash one without worrying about the full task.

A similar trick works for avoiding sugary treats: don't strongly oppose this desire - instead say to yourself you can eat it at a later time and move your mind to something else. (When you finally eat whatever it was you so much desired, you didn't really fail, because you are only consuming 1 unit for those 3/5/whatever days, instead of one every day...)

I use this trick when I want to buy something online which I don't absolutely need. I'll add it to a wish list on Amazon (or even put it in my cart) and then leave the site. When I come back a few days or weeks later, I often find myself asking why I ever wanted that thing in the first place and remove it.
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