Is GTD Best When Messy?

[JeffB]

This thought occurred to me last night as I was reading about the many digital tools out there. It seems to me that the implied promise of a digital tool is that everything is neat and in control. What I am learning for myself is that the capture habit especially should be rapid and messy, very stream of consciousness.

I'm wondering though, especially for the digital inbox and the need to capture, if perhaps digital tools discourage that free form stream of consciousness that writing a passing thought on a piece of paper encourages you to have?

With Todoist, I have forced myself to use the inbox as a genuine note taker. The statements I leave myself as inbox tasks when I review them later sometimes look like they're half baked, but it's enough to get me to think about them. When I get the thoughts out quickly, no matter how they look, I usually deal with them more effectively. When I started Todoist, I tried to be too precise in capturing a thought digitally, and it was actually less effective.

Just curious if anyone has had a similar experience.

 

[Folke]

I use my digital (list app) inbox very little. If I am in a rush (or if my thoughts are messy) I find paper unbeatable, and if I am not in a rush I prefer to phrase and organize the action properly straight away, thereby bypassing the digital inbox. And in a mixed scenario, if I have time to write it into the app but have difficulty finalizing the processing, I use a special context (Sharpness) to identify actions that I need to rethink or clarify.

 

[Gardener]

perhaps digital tools discourage that free form stream of consciousness that writing a passing thought on a piece of paper encourages you to have?

The opposite is true for me. My handwriting is slow and somewhat painful, and I don't keep much paper around. So if I write something on paper it's likely to be in an actual notebook, and I perceive that I'm "wasting" a perfectly good page. And it's a pain to reorganize thoughts on paper, so I try to keep them organized as I enter them. On the computer or when entering a thought on my phone, there's less of a sense of permanence, and reorganizing is easier.

Edited to add: In fact, I'm so much the opposite that if I want to have a bunch of neat, organized, slowly filtered thoughts, that's when I'm likely to go to paper. I bought a traditional bound lab notebook for just that purpose, because when I enter those thoughts on the computer I tend to lose track of where they went. With the lab notebook, I'll still be able to find them in a year.

This may be affected by the difference between my typing and hand-writing speed. Last time I took one of those online typing tests I was typing 110 wpm. My hand-writing is more like twenty words per minute. (I just got curious and tested.) That handwriting speed just can't keep up with any sort of stream of consciousness.

 

[nick_ross]

During the weekly review (that's not always, ahem, weekly) I do a brain dump onto a sheet of A3 paper to clear my mind - writing half formed sentences, but getting the essence of the next action down.

I then type that into my system - although as my typing speed is much better than my writing speed, I'll fully formulate the next action to clarify what I need to do - that then goes into my action lists, job done.

The A3 paper looks pretty crammed at the end of it - but must admit, looking at a big sheet of paper full of little boxes with tasks on it does make me think I've done a good job capturing - surely there can't be anything else left in my head!

 

[JeffB]

I appreciate the responses. One thing I am allowing myself to do is to not be so precise, don't judge what is in my head, just get it into my (paper/digital) inbox for the Capture step. I find that I was being too precise in what I took out of my head, and was blending steps 1 and 2 at the same time. There is a reason why you capture before you clarify. The capture process isn't about making judgments on what is in your head, that is for step 2. I get that now.

I use my digital (list app) inbox very little. If I am in a rush (or if my thoughts are messy) I find paper unbeatable, and if I am not in a rush I prefer to phrase and organize the action properly straight away, thereby bypassing the digital inbox.

This speaks to the seemingly eternal debate of what's better, paper or digital? The answer is always, whatever agrees with your eye, and whatever you will use more consistently. Whether paper or digital, it's important not to judge what's in your head as you get it out. I use a mix of both lately, and I don't judge. As long as I empty all inboxes, what I got out of my head will be waiting for me.

The opposite is true for me. My handwriting is slow and somewhat painful, and I don't keep much paper around.

For me, I think this is about understanding the Capture process better. Digital or otherwise, you've got to get stuff out of your head. I need to remind myself to not judge what I get into the inbox. (even if I can barely read my writing sometimes )

Yes. And nothing beats a paper notebook for reading and learning from paper books...

I am with you Tes Teq. Journaling is a different form of capture. I started about five years ago. What a healthy habit to have!

 

[bcmyers2112]

I love playing with digital apps (i.e. toys) and manage all of my lists digitally, but for some reason have never been able to get the hang of digital capture. I've tried some apps like Drafts for iOS that have gotten rave reviews, but for me it just feels more natural to use paper for capture. So that's what I do.

I've never given a lot of thought as to why I like paper better for capture. You may be right that for at least some people, digital tools are inhibiting when it comes to random capture.

But I don't think the issue is digital vs. paper capture per se. I think what's important is to have a capture tool with you at all time that you can use effortlessly. Whether it's a pad and paper, a smartphone, a small recorder or something else entirely, the important thing is that you have a tool available at all times and use it.

 

[JeffB]

@bcmeyers2112, I agree with you. Whatever you use to capture, just capture it without judgement. I really "got" the capture habit when I stopped trying to clarify and organize as I was capturing.

 

[bcmyers2112]

Whatever you use to capture, just capture it without judgement.

That you should free yourself to capture "without judgment" is a good insight. If a particular tool makes it hard to do that, it's not the right tool for you. I hadn't given it any thought, but there is something about writing that makes me feel freer to capture without inhibition.