Momentum - clearing backlog "drag" and getting a taste of "surfing" in a GTD sense

Graeme Thom

Registered
I was very much into learning GTD last year during the first Covid lockdown and joined GTDconnect (for several months), read the books, listenened to the audiobooks, watched lots of videos, and was very enthusiastic - but alas I never really got fully engaged and subsequently fell off the wagon. That said, at the time I did go through a considerable phase of setting up a large general reference filing system and buying many of the tools such as supplies, in-trays, and a labeler (which is awesome) and setting up a Tickler file (unused), as well as culling substantial amounts of paper, books, and other "stuff" - so it wasn't all to waste. In fact, just that process of setting up the reference filing system has really helped in recent months when I've needed to quickly check passport expiry dates and other critical paperwork and could locate the materials very quickly.

Over the past several weeks I started listening to the GTD audiobook again (many times, in chunks) and also the Ready For Anything and Making It All Work audiobooks which are a fantastic complement. I also have the GTD For Teens physical/audio book and that really helps too given the way it's explained for a younger audience - and I plan to also introduce my kids to GTD using these materials.

I'm using Nirvana as my digital GTD organizer and I purchased the PDF paper planner and am getting familiar with its contents. I've rehashed my Tickler file (from last year) and have adapted some of the kids' old toy boxes with wheels (which luckily just fit A4 folders nicely) for my supplies (folders, writing pads) and Project Support Material (hanging A4 folders). These take up very little room and sit beside my desk so I can just wheel them around when I need them.

I'm still very much a "work-in-progress" newbie and haven't even done a "proper" Weekly Review yet. And I'm still getting familiar with my Nirvana setup and its capabilities (I love this software).

That all said, I felt compelled to write about my recent experiences with GTD because even though I am still in a muddled state of incompleteness in terms of my overall GTD setup, having just done some of the baby steps - Mind Sweep, Capture, outlining Projects and Next Actions, thinking about my Areas of Focus etc - and all the other basic elements has already had a profound impact on my daily life and has accelerated my departure from procrastination.

There have been many things on my mind regarding home/work which I kept putting off (like on my inadvertent perpetual "Someday/Maybe" list) but after thrashing everything out in front of me and categorizing and nailing down even some simple Next Actions, I suddenly felt this urge to just start doing more and more things and dealing with the backlog drag. For example, I've tackled home gardening projects such as laying topsoil on the lawn with seed and new grass is now coming through, we bought a worm composting farm to dispose of our organic waste and the worms are taking off (I think I'm enjoying the worm farm more than the kids), and I've tackled important home/work admin type paperwork/projects well in advance before deadlines rather than leaving things to the last minute (as would normally be the case). It feels like the momentum almost has a life of its own and is lifting me off the ground and taking me along for the ride - I just keep "doing" - that's what I mean by "surfing" in a GTD sense in the title.

Mentally it kind of felt overwhelming at first to have this spurt of action with momentum constantly building - but now once I've "done" a lot of stuff in a day I can sit down and honestly "relax" knowing that while I didn't do "everything", I did accomplish a lot more than I would normally have done, and having the GTD "external brain" in its various paper/digital forms allows me to "check in" with myself and course-correct and reflect "on demand".

If this is how good it feels already even with my very incomplete WIP system having just started again, then I can't wait for what's around the corner as I tweak and refine my processes to get them on autopilot over the coming weeks/months/years.

I also highly recommend the GTD manuals on the various paper/software systems. Going through the Nirvana manual really helped me grasp the best ways I can adapt the software to my own GTD system. The paper planner (PDF) is also very eye-opening and I plan to integrate this too with Nirvana and other physical tools (Tickler file, Project support materials etc).

Nirvana is pretty awesome - the more I get to know its capabilities, the more I go "wow" with lots of "a ha" moments. The ability to search by keyword, Area of Focus, context, person etc. means you can literally tap into whatever you need to scan at the time - and the search result layout by Action state, Project, or Reference is great too. One day I'd like to maybe write another post on how I've set up my Nirvana GTD system. I use Nirvana's "Later" action state to park "future" actions within Projects that are on the radar but not yet Next Actions.

One point on software - I think it is all too easy to try and work out which is the "best" GTD program, and I used to be overly concerned with the bells and whistles and which software had the best "features", but now I'm less fussed about the cosmetics and am more focused on the content - be it digital or paper. I still have a lot of "capture" pieces of paper which I've yet to organize into Nirvana, and while I've not yet mastered completely clearing my physical/digital inboxes within 24-48 hours, I am making solid progress otherwise.

Thank you David Allen & Company, and the GTD Community at large. These forums are a fantastic platform to share ideas and help each other.
 
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John Forrister

GTD Connect
Staff member
One point on software - I think it is all too easy to try and work out which is the "best" GTD program, and I used to be overly concerned with the bells and whistles and which software had the best "features", but now I'm less fussed about the cosmetics and am more focused on the content - be it digital or paper.

Thank you David Allen & Company, and the GTD Community at large. These forums are a fantastic platform to share ideas and help each other.
So true, Graeme! Thanks for sharing about your journey.
 
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