Count Me Out of GTD Connect

[Mark C.]

I was very excited about GTD Connect. But it seems that there has been no new and exciting content to justify the $48 per month price. All I read by the GTD Staff in response is that they are working to improve things "very soon". I do not feel that I am getting value by the content here. I know that Allen & Co is in the middle of their move - by that is not my problem. If they are moving and nothing of value is happening here - our monthly fees should have been waived.

David Allen has done amazing work in helping people take control of the way we work and how to effectively structure and prioritize our time. I respect and appreciate all that he has done.

And while I respect people who want to earn money, I sincerely believe that the prices that David Allen charges for everything is a big rip off. From the $800 Italian Leather Desk set to the $48 per month for this site which has become very stale and not worth the money for me anymore.

I have decided to let my subscription lapse at the end of my billing period.

Best regards to everyone.

 

[Carla Guarisco]

Hi Mark,

We are sorry to see you go and truly appreciate your feedback.

Please know that I am always available to assist you and other members with navigating the site to find content that addresses your current interests and/or challenges.

We also welcome suggestions from members for content or features that would be especially exciting and interesting to them.

We wish you all the best!

 

[12hourhalfday]

I completely disagree. I have gotten content from 1 interview from this site each month that I have paid 200-400 for seminars that are attended once. Not to mention access to this community that I can't get for free. I am a member of a study group that came from this community that has helped me share knowledge that is worth a lot more then $48 a month.

People can't see the forest for the trees or the amazing content for the $48 a month. Like my grandfather used to say when kids left the dinner table,

"Fine, more for us".

Please keep it up davidco, I love this site, I have been looking for something like this for a long time. Thank you.

 

[sirris101]

I completely disagree. I have gotten content from 1 interview from this site each month that I have paid 200-400 for seminars that are attended once.

Do you mind if I ask which interview?

 

[12hourhalfday]

Do you mind if I ask which interview?

Many of them have been worth more then $48 but one's that come to mind are:
Marc Orchant
John Frager
Steve Leveen
The entire creative questioning series
Arianna Huffington
Mike Williams
Alan Nelson

As for the rest of the audio content:
The weekly review teleseminar and the dealing with interruptions video really helped to improve my work life.

 

[jackiwhitford]

Priceless

I have joined GTD Connect off and on over the past two years - not because of the price or the volume of content. It was simply because of medical family issues I had to deal with. When my priority is aging family with severe health issues, I cannot focus on work or GTD or me.

When things settle down, I slip back into GTD Connect and always find new ways to make my life easier, more relaxed and more productive at the same time.

I find all the interviews and CDs offerred extremely valuable. Since I work from home most of the time I can play them over and over again, make notes, work on the parts of the process where I procrastinate the most, and share what I have learned with others.

I think the best thing about GTD Connect is sharing the process you have mastered with co-workers, friends and family who are overworked and stressed out about their lives. You can also share your seasoned work experience with people in the forum who are in job situations that are new to them. By sharing what you have learned you help others and take your own growth to another level.

As far as desk products, I do buy and use a lot of the folders, etc. offerred by David Allen. I wear out paper folders and envelopes at an alarming rate and his sturdy plastic ones are tougher to destroy.

I prefer the leather desk products of Levengers, which some may also consider pricey but I think are worth every penny.

Having said that, I think the discounts offerred to GTD Connectors on David Allen CDs, etc., are too good a deal to refuse. I recently bought the new live seminar CD set and the Week in Review set and I am so glad I did. I can listen to them over and over again and take notes and create new habits to help me live the life I really want.

Remember, you do not have to buy David Allen products to learn something new. The free interview CDs alone impart enough AHA moments for me that are worth the price of the subscription; as do the white paper reports, personal assessment, and all of the wonderful GTD Connect Only podcasts.

And if life gets chaotic you can do what I did and drop out for awhile and come back again later.

The David Allen staff are incredibly supportive and user friendly. They really do want to make everyone's experience something to remember whether you are at a live seminar, on the web site or in GTD Connect.

Just my two cents.

 

[12hourhalfday]

Tips to get Value out of the site.

Tips to get Value out of the site.

• Get an ipod!
  Get an ipod or any device that supports pod casts and use the members only pod casts. You will be amazed on how much more worthwhile the site becomes. This becomes exponentially better if your car stereo supports axillary devices. Being able to listen to the podcast in my car was a novelty at first but over time I found myself quoting podcasts left and right. It was amazing how much I was retaining from driving around listening to interviews.
• Take advantage of the What's new Feature and e-mail updates
  The what's new feature will save you time going through each type of content in order to find what you want. To me the week in GTD e-mail update adds a personal touch (And I get a little grin whenever I see a thread I started or participated in featured). I found this thread this way.
• Use the community
  Post to the forum describing who you are and what you need. Ask for advice on content for you specifically. If you do this regularly it pays back tremendously. I have found information on building self confidence, Martial arts resources for practical use and productivity, team building content as well as other useful resources and web site suggestions.
• Use the Davidco Team
  Carla and others (including David) on the Davidco team can be very helpful when asked for advice on getting value out of the site and clarification on content. I have found out about discounts for seminars that weren't posted, learned a little bit more about the company and staff, and gotten help with the connect site and podcast this way.
• Use the advanced search feature
  By searching for keywords in the advanced search selectively looking for forums, articles, and/or audio you can narrow down the best content (There is more then you think). Try terms like energy, meditation, organize, tools, "web search", Office, "Office Tools", and any others specific to your world. If you don't find what you are looking for, post to the community asking for content. People here since they are paying to be here have a different idea of quality of content and you will get a much more serious result than a free forum.

 

[vivek]

All views great ..keep them coming

Mark,

Thanks for posting your views. I learnt things from your post as much as everyone else who posted in response.

I do feel the pinch of the high cost..... There have been months when I have not used the site as much as I would like to ... but as suggested in earlier post... for me ... Getting an iPod and listening and listening again ... some of the interviews and teleseminars have helped me tremendously.

The key here is "repeat listening".... if you haven't at least repeat read or listened to at least 50% of the posted material I would strongly urge you to try re- listening some of that stuff... and see what value it brings.....

I understand the argument that to re-listening something... you do not have to renew the membership... neverthless ... do listen and read the material again ... I sure have had results which I never could have expected.

 

[pwhite]

Contribute TO the community

Tips to get Value out of the site.

• Use the community
  Post to the forum describing who you are and what you need.

I think we could all benefit if we all contributed more TO the community.

For example, pick some specific aspect of your system, photograph it if possible, and post explaining your method. Then encourage others to post about their method, with photos, screenshot or mindmaps preferably.

I'm sure we all sit up when we hear in the interviews some minutiae of the interviewee's or David's system but wish we could see a photo. I know it's a bit voyeuristic but we can share more easily in this closed forum. You can still frame photos or collapse mindmaps to hide sensitive details but make a point about your system.

I know it will take some effort but if ten people respond similarly you have leveraged your effort and seen an invaluable diversity of ideas from others.

Please feel free to check back on my posts/photos and post further comments/photos on your own systems.

Pick a topic today, take some photos this weekend, start a new thread and post about some specific feature of your own system that you would like to share.

If you see such a post by someone else, then reply with photos/mindmaps and details of your own system.

If you don't have mindmapping software then download and install Freemind now:
http://freemind.sourceforge.net

It's a two-minute action !

 

[Tara]

Getting your money's worth from GTD Connect

Hello all (and especially Brian who flagged this thread for me),

When I joined Connect a year ago, I was determined to get my money's worth from it. I made a solemn pact with myself that I would be fully engaged and really work at it. Here's what my membership has done for me.

I've listened over and over to inspiring and valuable GTD In Conversation interviews. The ones that stand out most for me are Mike Williams, Sean Finn, Alan Nelson. The In Conversation features alone are worth $48 a month for me.

As for the suggestion from pwhite about contributing to the community, I could not agree more. The GTD Virtual Study Group is membership led and run. There is no support from Allen & Co whatsoever for this group--it's entirely inspired, supported, and run by Connect members. The folks who call in to this group and make real contributions on a regular basis are true GTD Champions in my book (to see what I mean, listen for Barb, Brian, Augusto, & Dan on any one of the podcasts).

Is the cost to Connect somewhat high? Yes, sometimes it seems so. Have I been 100% satisfied with Allen & Co? Not always. Some of the responses to the comments about the price of the desk set seemed blatantly self-serving and out of touch at times. However, I recognized early on that this is a work productivity company, not a communications group.

In closing, if you are dissatisfied with the value you get from your Connect membership, I invite you to participate and engage more fully. As with all independent learning experiences, you get what you put into it--no more, no less.

Peace and best wishes to you all,
Tara

 

[apinaud]

Usually I resist to post on this rants, but I will make an exception.

I joined Connect the day it was available, almost 2 years ago, and like others looking forward to get the money out of this investment, and like others once in a while go into this same discussion with myself...

What I have get out of Connect:
1.- Wonderful GTD content: Tech GTD (I always want more of this HINT), great In Conversations, Great Creative Questioning, Great Papers, Great Discounts.
2.- The opportunity to share and met brilliant GTD Minds.
3.- The opportunity to spend, share and met GTD mindset around my area.
4.- The opportunity to learn, share and improve my practices thanks to the Virtual Study Group.

The cost it is $48, that it is a fact, if it is worth or not it is a perspective issue, I have worked this system to get the most out my $48 and I am really happy, the support I have always get from the DavidCo team has always been great, they have always been professional and respectful and I appreciate that.

The important think is that you are getting the value, I see this membership as a Gym Membership (yes GTD is for me like a mental Gym), you are paying the fees, DavidCo is allowing to access to the facilities, but if you do not come, participate, and use it are always going to be expensive... For me, I try to come to this Gym as much as possible, try to get something out everyday, so far I have enjoyed a lot.

As Tara said: "you get what you put into it--no more, no less."

Best,

 

[12hourhalfday]

Compliments to Apinaud.

I see this membership as a Gym Membership

Awesome analogy!

No wonder I love GTDconnect so much.

 

[Carla Guarisco]

Timely invitation

I invite you to participate and engage more fully. As with all independent learning experiences, you get what you put into it--no more, no less.
Tara

Talk about synchronicity! The latest "This Week" asks members to contribute to the next GTD Journal...looking forward to your dynamic submissions.

Send them to me at carla@davidco.com or connect@davidco.com (fyi...same inbox )

and Happy Solstice to everyone!

 

[Barb]

Brian

Awesome analogy!

No wonder I love GTDconnect so much.

Admit it, Brian. You're sucking up :} (only kidding, my friend)

I too participate in the Virtual Study Group. In case you missed some of them, we've talked about GTD and the family, GTD and travel, higher altitudes, you name it. I encourage EVERYONE to call in live and enjoy the fun (the stuff we talk about before Tara starts recording is worth your time alone)

 

[Tara]

Talk about synchronicity! The latest "This Week" asks members to contribute to the next GTD Journal...looking forward to your dynamic submissions.

Hi Carla,

Is this an issue that has yet to hit my inbox? I can't find it.

thanks,
Tara

 

[TesTeq]

Additional motivation.

What's the problem? For many people GTD Connect works. For some it does not work. Everybody should use her/his own judgement to decide if the membership is worth $480 a year.

For me this fee is the additional motivation to not fall of the wagon.

 

[Milton's Red Swingline]

This post prompted me to look at my subscription and ask myself, "What the hell have I contributed to Connect?" "Am I getting my money's worth by diving into some things like the Forums or some more podcasts?"

So, I decided to take some pictures of my mess of an in-basket and invite people into my processing. Now I've got the "after" pictures up on the thread.

So thanks for inspiring me to give a little more to my membership.