Picasso44
Registered
Hi all, I'm new to the forums and somewhat new to GTD. I'm looking for input on developing the pillars of GTD- backlog to zero, capturing and organizing ideas, daily and weekly review, etc etc- into habits.
To provide some context, I joined a GTD group at Columbia University last year, but after about 4 months I left because I felt that despite the great info, the group wasn't being leveraged effectively to help us all stay dialed into our daily and weekly actions. In short, there was no accountability, no real traction with our process or progress. It was a safe place to share our struggles and celebrate our successes, but the people leading the group seemed disinterested in whether or not we were actually 'doing' GTD.
I'm a huge fan of the methodology- when I'm on it everything falls in place, my life hums and I feel great. There's no doubt in my mind that it works for me. The problem is I'm only ever able to really stay on it for maybe 5 days to a week at a time before things start to slip. My life is now filled with many new and complex responsibilities- I'm starting a new business, finishing my thesis, I moved onto my girlfriend's 40 acre farm with her two kids (this should take up about 8 places!), money is tight, the house is old with infinite projects, plus I have the rest of my life to contend with.
I know that if I were dropped into this situation and had already internalized the GTD methodology into my psyche and behavior I'd be able to ride the wave, but to build up the habits in the midst of all this chaos and uncertainty is proving to be very challenging.
Here's my main premise- if I had the money to hire a GTD coach I would have someone in my corner to help hold me accountable and provide feedback and support for an extended period of time until I got the flywheel going and started to internalize the facets of GTD as my new "how I do things" at which point the coach would, ideally, become unnecessary. This is very much like the idea of scaffolding in developmental psychology- you work with a "more capable other" until you internalize the skill. I can't help but think that there are lots of other people out there who have a lot on their plate, who are responsible for managing their own schedules, who don't fall naturally into organization and productivity, but who are convinced they could learn it given the right environment. If the 62 pages of search results on GTD Connect for the keyword "procrastination" are any indication I'd say I'm probably not alone. It seems to me that people who fall into this category could team up into small groups and help play at least the accountability and support role that a coach would play. Everyone benefits and it only costs a little extra time.
Very curious to get your opinion on whether you think this seems feasible, and if so maybe brainstorm some ideas about how it might be done in a practical and time effective manner.
Many thanks
Paul
pdj2110@tc.columbia.edu
To provide some context, I joined a GTD group at Columbia University last year, but after about 4 months I left because I felt that despite the great info, the group wasn't being leveraged effectively to help us all stay dialed into our daily and weekly actions. In short, there was no accountability, no real traction with our process or progress. It was a safe place to share our struggles and celebrate our successes, but the people leading the group seemed disinterested in whether or not we were actually 'doing' GTD.
I'm a huge fan of the methodology- when I'm on it everything falls in place, my life hums and I feel great. There's no doubt in my mind that it works for me. The problem is I'm only ever able to really stay on it for maybe 5 days to a week at a time before things start to slip. My life is now filled with many new and complex responsibilities- I'm starting a new business, finishing my thesis, I moved onto my girlfriend's 40 acre farm with her two kids (this should take up about 8 places!), money is tight, the house is old with infinite projects, plus I have the rest of my life to contend with.
I know that if I were dropped into this situation and had already internalized the GTD methodology into my psyche and behavior I'd be able to ride the wave, but to build up the habits in the midst of all this chaos and uncertainty is proving to be very challenging.
Here's my main premise- if I had the money to hire a GTD coach I would have someone in my corner to help hold me accountable and provide feedback and support for an extended period of time until I got the flywheel going and started to internalize the facets of GTD as my new "how I do things" at which point the coach would, ideally, become unnecessary. This is very much like the idea of scaffolding in developmental psychology- you work with a "more capable other" until you internalize the skill. I can't help but think that there are lots of other people out there who have a lot on their plate, who are responsible for managing their own schedules, who don't fall naturally into organization and productivity, but who are convinced they could learn it given the right environment. If the 62 pages of search results on GTD Connect for the keyword "procrastination" are any indication I'd say I'm probably not alone. It seems to me that people who fall into this category could team up into small groups and help play at least the accountability and support role that a coach would play. Everyone benefits and it only costs a little extra time.
Very curious to get your opinion on whether you think this seems feasible, and if so maybe brainstorm some ideas about how it might be done in a practical and time effective manner.
Many thanks
Paul
pdj2110@tc.columbia.edu
