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At first, I would love the idea that GTD brought, perhaps I can solve all this mess, but now I simply read your blog for ideas and reviews and perhaps some inspiration for something I can't particularly solve.
I abandoned GTD a while ago, simply went for a project manager to take care of work, a calendar for personal matters and a clock to simply see what I'm doing with my time. At the end of the week I see if I wasted too much time on work, I compensate on something else.
Basically, forget the rules that I couldn't apply and simply go for the simplest thing that can work (and I tried several).
For the blog I recommend a bit less GTD and continue almost everything the same, perhaps check if there are other methods, that's it, I will still read.
Alex
Maybe I'll use it as a coaster?
I should add that most of us are more productive because of GTD, we just all seem to go through a similar path and find it hard to keep up.
I am not abandoning GTD. As I say, I still find it to be the best option available. I just recognize that I need to find either: a) A better way to implement it or b) Figure out what aspects make it hard to stay on top of it and figure out solutions.
Please stay with it and keep on reading. Thanks for the comment!
1) JUST SAY NO - to yourself or to anyone else who wants a piece of time that you don't have to give. Sometimes the volume of tasks reaches a point of critical mass whereby no amount of "management" will get them done, and you just have to start saying no to new stuff, and maybe to existing stuff as well.
2) K.I.S.S. - see previous remarks about the yellow legal pad and the Post-It notes. Ink and paper are the most simple method of keeping track of the things that need getting done. Might actually be all you need!
3) TECHNOLOGY COULD BE THE PROBLEM - It's so easy to hit the Evernote button that you will find yourself putting stuff on The List that isn't really necessary. If you never got to it, how important was it, really?
Remember, tech has gotten better/smarter/faster... but we have remained human! Take things at a more human speed, and there will be no need for stress, guilt or elaborate systems for personal productivity, the maintenance of which becomes yet another thing on your To Do list.
Tink *~*~*
I agree with all points in principle, but whether it is practical for someone to do any or all of them boils down to what people want out of life. (There is something to be said about pairing down and finding more balance though, I have an interesting post in the works that talks about some research on work/life balance vs finding career success.)
I'll probably be writing a bit about tech's role in productivity as well. It can play a big one, but it has to get out of your way and "work like you do" in order for it to really help. That's the hardest part about being a developer who cares about the experience and not just writing code.
Thanks for stopping by and chiming in!
-Andy
I also think we're in the midst of a shake-up, where all of the start-ups that built tools on the periphery of usefulness are struggling to justify their relevance in these tough times. For example, nobody can convince me that a "social media aggregator" is going to save me any time!
The most popular tools such as Basecamp and Backpack just don't reflect the way I think and, while I like the idea of using them, in practice they ALWAYS cost me more time than they save, and they indulge focus on the details rather than the big picture of what's important and what's not.
Great comments. Thanks for adding to the discussion.
As I read things like "The most popular tools such as Basecamp and Backpack just don't reflect the way I think" I see it as a good point, but immediately wonder what sort of tool would work the way you do? What is lacking? I have the same gripe in that I need something that works the way I do.That is what I aim to figure out. Whats the next *useful* evolution in productivity systems or software.
As an aside, I understand point about big-picture thinking, but at some point someone needs to get in the trenches. For example, I use Backpack to do high-level research and brainstorming. Then I go over it with someone that works for me and she uses the debrief + Backpack to create the details in Basecamp and manage projects. I can't deal with detail, so I work with someone who can :)
-Andy
I will repost an excerpt from my comments on Brett's post:
"Like any _religious_ book, I feel it is best with Getting Things Done to take away the basic tenants and overall message and them make your own path to true enlightenment. Leave the details and zealotry to the new converts because, in time, they too will either loose the religion or find a path of their own."
Lets take the religious stuff further. If I accept the system is good and I am the "sinner," then what can be done to minimize my sinning? Would the availability of better tools enable me to screw up less? Or is the system actually not as good as I think it is and in need of a new set of principles that better reflects our technology-driven world? Maybe its both?
So much to explore :) Thanks again for weighing in.
<http://zenhabits.net/2007/04/zen-to-done-ztd-th...>
Hmm. I hope not to throw the baby our with the bathwater though. GTD *can* work, right?
I think it can work, just need to figure out how to better apply it to the digital world. We'll be exploring solutions over time. I don't like that people just say "GTD sucks" then you discover they are still doing 80% of GTD in their "own" system. I think the key is figuring out what about the other 20% is making GTD hard to stay behind.
I'm by no means expecting a panacea for my productivity woes, and perhaps that's where people fail (the religious road to Damascus moment - then the crushing disappointment when they realise they haven't changed at all).
I'm using RTM - and don't think the technology is my problem. It's definitely better rewriting task names and reassigning them to contexts/lists using a digital tool than paper. And my handwriting doesn't make for attractive lists :)
My problem at the moment is doing the review (of course, same as everyone) and - as you say above - moving beyond collection into tackling those tasks. Still not escaped that email inbox really..
My wife loves GTD though although there are signs she is falling off the wagon :)