When I started off on GTD the same thing happened to me a couple of times.
GTD makes us look right across all of the things that are underway or that we have committed to in all areas of our lives. Most of us would have been more accustomed to the forward looking, next dead-line, fire-fighting, way of looking at work. It can almost seem as if GTD does not deal with dead-lines, that it somehow disregards and dismisses them.
The horizontal view is one of the great tools in the GTD tool-kit, but it isn’t the only one, and GTD will not function properly if we only focus on the horizontal point of view.
The natural planning model for example will turn your attention 90 degrees to the forward view. As soon as you apply the natural planning model to any project, you will find that several dates emerge which should go on your hard landscape. Most important of all is the finish date, and it should go in your diary.
What things need to happen before you hit the deadline? When do they need to be done by? What is the next action?
Horizontal control plus an empty in-basket bring on a great sense of calm. That’s ok. But many of us have been stressed out for so long, that we are reluctant to leave this oasis of tranquillity and plunge back into the work. Although GTD promises peace of mind, this peace of mind is not the final objective of the system. The objective is productivity, relaxed productivity.
I found it hard at first to dive back into the stormy waters of work after I got my first hit of calm. But now I realise that the advantage of the system is that when I work, I am not preoccupied by what I am not doing, and so my mind can focus better on what is in front of me.
Hope this helps.
Dave
