How's GTD helping you?

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Parth

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Recently, I have been asking this question a lot. Why I started GTD and what are the exact benefits I am getting from it.

The problem is I am not using next actions list a lot and is it really worth to continue GTD forward.

Would you like to tell how GTD is helping you in your life and why you got started in the first place?
 
Murray

Murray

Registered
I started GTD because I somehow came across the book in a time when my life was a murky sea of commitments forgotten, problems avoided and opportunities missed. And the book offered me a vision of hopefulness that I could one day engage with all the stuff of my life in a way that was far more empowered, creative and relaxed.

There were numerous iterations of attempting GTD over the years. Sometimes I was only half attempting it and not getting a lot of benefit from my system, although I think it still kept me engaged in a way I hadn't been before. And there were periods of not attempting GTD at all.

These days my commitment to my GTD practice is much more consistent, I've been gradually streamlining and honing how I do things, and I'm getting more and more benefits from it. Just a few examples as I reflect now:

- I'm present with the people in my life and get a lot more connection, clarity and resolution in the moment rather than leaving stuff that has to be dealt with later
- Where things are not yet resolved, I'm able to handle the uncertainty without going numb to the situation
- I've opened up my capacity to have creative ideas about all areas of life
- I have clarity about whether to make a commitment, say no cleanly (or just keep my mouth shut), or tell someone I'll consider it and get back to them (and give them an idea of when that will happen.)
- When crises or opportunities arrive I can quickly reprioritise and refocus. For example last week I found out I have 8 weeks to find a new rental apartment and move house. While I don't know where I will be living and the exact timing, I knew exactly how to define the successful outcome and start engaging in the here and now. And I'm finding plenty of positives in this new reality.
 
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Murray

Murray

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Parth said:
The problem is I am not using next actions list a lot and is it really worth to continue GTD forward.
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I wonder how much of your stuff you are entrusting to your system? I just ask because in the past I've sort of half done GTD and doing it that way takes a bunch of effort and yields not much benefit.
 
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Matt_M

Registered
Great question, however, before I start rambling on about my personal reasons for using GTD, I wanted to ask some clarifying questions (no pun intended):

  • What's going on in your life? I am not prying or anything but just asking if you have a lot of things going on in your life at the moment: spouse, family, friends, work, career, education, personal things, etc.? Maybe not?
  • Do you do a good job managing the agreements and commitments you make to yourself and others? Would someone describe you as a person of your word, being dependable, a reliable team member, etc.? How would you describe yourself?
  • How relaxed and generally "present" are you with the people, places, and things going on around you at any given time? Do you find yourself being preoccupied, mind wandering, thinking "Don't forget to ...", etc.? When was the last time you had fun and the world just faded away in the moment?
  • How is your personal life? Are you taking vacations, going to the doctor/dentist/eye doctor regularly, thinking about where you want to be in 5, 10, or 20 years? What does retirement look like?

I ask these questions because when people to sit back and reflect on how they're doing in life, more often than not, there's a lot of "Yeah, I've been doing good at this one part but other parts have gotten stale / forgotten". Folks often realize, they need to be better at managing themselves and being honest with what they can, want, and need to do.

GTD provides the framework and method to get a better handle on those things. It's hard to decide what to do when you're not really sure of all of things you could, would, should be doing. That's it, in a nutshell: GTD gives you the ability to look at those things in your life and keeps them in focus.

It takes a lot of time, continued practice, and consistent effort to get good at GTD. Much like exercising, building relationships, doing a profession, etc. Don't give up and don't be too hard on yourself if you fall off the wagon. Everyone does, including David.

For my personal ramblings:

A lot of the attraction to GTD, for me, is just the ability to manage commitments to others and myself. I think we can all remember a time where someone promised they'd do something for us by a date and then broke that commitment. We naturally begin to trust that person less and not hand them important things or believe them when they make claims. I don't want to be that person.

As well, I have met many people in my life who seem very composed and always on top of things. It seems like they are prepared for anything and dependable. I think everyone wants to be like that, me especially. I needed to be better at managing myself; not only for professional purposes but just for life. If you don't have a grip on life then life's got a grip on you. That's no fun at all.
 
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ivanjay205

Registered
GTD grounds me in reality, to me it is that simple. There are two tools I am very thankful in my life I came across. YNAB for personal finances and GTD for productivity and just life management. GTD presents the reality of the situation but is fluid enough to move with how priorities shift. I know when I am engaged in too much and can back off. I know when I am off my long term goals and can re-adjust. Most importantly, I am consistently the most prepared, aware, and engaged in meetings and other activities involving others in my organization. That is because of GTD. I know what is on my landscape and can prioritize for it

I also thank GTD for helping me keep calm during chaos. Again I know what is on my plate and can manage through it.

As far as explaining to others... That is where I struggle to find the help to do get that across. Others always comment on how structured and organized and on top of everything I am. When I mention GTD they roll they eyes like I am part of a cult lol. There loss I guess...
 
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gtdstudente

Registered
Parth said:
Recently, I have been asking this question a lot. Why I started GTD and what are the exact benefits I am getting from it.

The problem is I am not using next actions list a lot and is it really worth to continue GTD forward.

Would you like to tell how GTD is helping you in your life and why you got started in the first place?
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Parth,

GTD methodologies are applied to know where life has one 'standing' relative to reality without any concern/worry in knowing where one is 'standing' relative to reality in regards to commitments/obligations/responsibilities in order to be as 'adult/mature' as possible without any/excess vexing by knowing one is doing ones' best as best as possible in doing as much as is reasonably good for oneself for the good of others.

After failing in attempting to develop a methodology well before GTD was 'codified' by David Allen; became engaged with GTD for the above reason(s)

In regards to using Next Actions list(s) on this end, Next Actions need to be credibly self-evident without any hint/distraction of deliberation [the Next Action death-nail?].

How to overcome? While not always possible, the smaller/tinnier the Next Actions the better . . . if all Next Actions were 3-5 minutes each . . . is a good day in the Next Actions neighborhood to 'get the GTD train moving' for appropriate engagement for longer Next Actions.

Always have as many "real no-brainer" . . . at least one Next Action on the Next Actions list(s) even if it is less than Two-Minutes, whose purpose would be to 'get the GTD train moving' . . . sometimes dumbing/humbling-down GTD is the only way through GTD?

Hope that offers you some answer to your very good GTD concern(s)/question(s)

Thank you

Another GTD 'tip' that might help in emptying/fulfilling the Next Actions list(s) is how many Next Actions can be cranked out prior to the next calendar commitment for sense of calm urgency without worrying even about 'priority, time, or energy' just applying the intuition option.

If you so GTD please, what say you?

Thank you
 
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FocusGuy

FocusGuy

Registered
i started gtd about 20 years ago because i was overwhelmed. now i use gtd because i dont know how I could work differently. Control and perspective is everything.

I wont say it is easy for me. It needs for me a lot of energy to maintain And review. It takes a lot of time for making and organizing stuff but it gives le a bird eye about all my engagement. I can choose what i could be doing or NOT doing.

with omnifocus it gives me a kind of cockpit. Each week i choose my projects i will work next week it is my strategic review which comes after my weekly review (on friday)

sometime i dream about a way of doing thing easier. But the true is that I can t get rid of GTD. Every time i try something else I fail.

i think that gtd is like a good coach for me. He wont tell me something i like for my pleasure. He just tell me the truth, point the reality and suggest << you better work on this or that now, this week or later Or even someday...>> and sometime it shows me the vacuum of my life. Its also gives me hope and shows opportunities to me or suggest good ideas for running my company or even my life.

but there is a price to pay.
constancy, energy and beeing strictly rigourous. Nothing is free in this world ;-)
 
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schmeggahead

schmeggahead

Registered
Parth said:
Why I started GTD
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I'm not sure either, it's been so long ago. I do remember that the 2 minute rule did a lot of heavy lifting in the early part of my GTD journey.
Parth said:
what are the exact benefits I am getting from it.
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It has varied over time. When I had limited capacity to do serious thinking in a group (read that noisy / distracting setting), I was able to do my thinking off line and just work from my lists.
Parth said:
The problem is I am not using next actions list
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I am going through a spell of not using mine very much. Still, having already done the thinking on so many things, when I encounter something, I know what the next action is on that open loop (because I reviewed it recently) and I'll do that next thing when I see it instead of saying "huh"
Parth said:
is it really worth to continue GTD forward.
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As a skillset, GTD is valuable in every way. One skill in the GTD skillset is the ability to match rigor with need. This is learned over time. Am I doing too much doing and not enough reviewing? Am I investing in marking every next action with an associated project when I rarely use it?

Another skill to build with GTD is to give what has your attention the appropriate amount of attention. Everything we think of could become a project or a someday maybe, etc. In the beginning of my journey, everything I captured was yelling at me "you must do this" when in reality it just clogged my system with imaginative ideas that were parked way to high in the attention list with outcomes defined and next actions crafted. So the skill of capture is also something to hone. When I created a reference system where I could easily park thoughts that came into my head, I learned how much something was worth. Some I never needed to capture in the first place. I realized the time I was spending cataloging that particular capture item was way more than it was worth. I began to recognize this at capture or clarify time.

The reason the weekly review is the cornerstone of the method is because that is where you work on another skillset: culling what your are willing to give your attention to during the following week. I know I only have so much time given how much will arrive and be completed each day that isn't in my system.

The answer as to whether GTD is worth doing going forward is tied to whether I am invested in honing the skillset and emerging aptitudes for reading the room of our life and work rapidly with appropriate accuracy. My answer to this is an emphatic yes.

Hope this helps,
Clayton.

The next morning, I looked at what I captured yesterday and went "wow, that's silly" and tossed it. - Paraphrasing David Allen Monologue.
 
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PierrotBel

Registered
GTD gives meaning to each of my actions.
Beyond the existing rules (the 2 minutes rule, for example), there are unsuspected benefits:
- I tended to take screenshots of everything on my Iphone and have a saturated phone. Now, I look at my pictures and my captures several times a week, it allows me to sort them, to print them if necessary, to save space on my cloud and therefore to save money
- On my upcoming appointments, I now look at my calendar and my whatsapp messages. I think of taking my tickets to travel earlier when I travel far from the city where I live and thus save money and have more choice in terms of schedule.

In short, I am more conscious of my actions.
 
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