GTD for me?

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kingmonkey

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Hi there,

I have not read any of the allen literature yet but have browsed the forums but fathom out just what the GTD system is. I have a few questions and apologise if this has been done before.

1) In a nutshell could someone explain the basics of the system.

2)It appears from the boards that the system is predominately business focused and people seem pretty organised to begin with. How can the GTD system help me who has proplems organising any of my activities?

I suppose i have many more questions and intend reading the books its just i am in desparate need of organising myself and want to stick to a system that will help avoiding all sorts of problems that delaying action causes me.

I am a student whom only just manages to keep deadlines. but also stuggles with some of the most basic of activities/commitments!

3)Lastly just how difficult is the system to stick to and what benifits has it brought to any of you guys/girls?

Again apologies if this is going over old ground but any info or encouragement would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
R
 
Re: GTD for me?

kingmonkey said:
I have not read any of the allen literature yet but have browsed the forums but fathom out just what the GTD system is. I have a few questions and apologise if this has been done before.

1) In a nutshell could someone explain the basics of the system.
Click to expand...

Getting Things Done is a process you use to match your reality with your wishes. Here's how I say it in seminars, "GTD is about doing what you said you would do, in the time that you promised." In a nutshell:

Collect/Capture anything you have to/want to "do" out of your head; so that you can...
Process/Decide/Define just what your comittment is to that outcome by identifying the next action and (unless you DO it right then)...
Organize/Leave a reminder of what you "said" you'd do later, where you'll see it...later. Then...
Review the options "where" you can do them (@office, @computer, @errands, etc). Then (of course)...
Pick AND do what you can do, when you can do it, with the time you have, the energy available, and work on the high priority items (with all the above considered) as you need to.

kingmonkey said:
2)It appears from the boards that the system is predominately business focused and people seem pretty organised to begin with. How can the GTD system help me who has proplems organising any of my activities?
Click to expand...

I say Getting Things Done is about Getting Anything Thing...personal AND professional, big and little, paid or not. If you have organizing difficulty, I might suggest you start with the COLLECT phase. The organize phase only shows up AFTER you identify outcomes and actions.

kingmonkey said:
I suppose i have many more questions and intend reading the books its just i am in desparate need of organising myself and want to stick to a system that will help avoiding all sorts of problems that delaying action causes me.

I am a student whom only just manages to keep deadlines. but also stuggles with some of the most basic of activities/commitments!
Click to expand...

kingmonkey said:
3)Lastly just how difficult is the system to stick to and what benifits has it brought to any of you guys/girls?
Click to expand...

The system is easy to stick to...you see, most people who don't DO what the Getting Things Done methodology teaches actually break down at the PROCESS process.

In order to get ANYthing done, you must:

Identify and identify WITH the outcome; and
Identify the very next action.

You do those two things, about everything, as soon as it shows up...you will be more productive. Students, business people, parents, I've even worked with retired doctors...they all use the process!
 
I actually was primarily interested in GTD for managing my personal life, though I have certainly seen benefits in my professional life as well.

I, too, read a lot on the message boards here, and on other discussion groups, before actually buying and reading the book. But, I never really understood it until I read the book.

For me, the benefits of the system were so readily apparent, that it's very easy to continue using the system. In a way, it's very common sense. Of course, in order to move forward on a project, you need to define the next action associated with it. It makes sense to keep things out of your head and in a system where you can see appropriate reminders. I just needed to read it/hear someone say it, to understand - but it makes perfect sense!
 
I'm using GTD for personal and professional and agree that it's difficult to grasp without reading the book. Or, better still, get the GTD ... fast audio and workbook - I found this was a faster implementation track than the book.

Cheers!
 
It's one of those books that you need to keep reading

Why? Because you'll get something different out of it each time you read.

I've read it three times so far. The next read should happen, oh, in another month or so...
 
I agree. Just buy the book and the fast CDs. If your time is worth anything, they will easily pay for themselves many times over.

Once you've implemented those, start working your way through the board. There are 17 pages of posts which contain many great insights and contributions.

Craig
 
cheers for the imput guys/girls.

i guess my concern was that this system seems to apply to busy/organised/business type people.

But i can guess that GTD can apply to all types of activities. Im quite unorganised in every aspect of my life. its like there is a sort of blank hole in my mind when it comes to planning and organising any activity. I tend to see the whole picture rather than the individual conponents.

I havent got hold of the book yet. I know the following might seem trivial but i decided that my room needed tidying. A task i frequently put off. But i sat down and wrote down the individual tasks involved with creating a "tidy room" and then tackled each task individually. I found this a great relief and though i completed the task in two sittings i was sucessful.

I am guessing by starting GTD, you get into this mind set of breaking things down into parts and so tasks dont seem so overwhelming in a way that spills over into every part of ones life. I am just speculating at this point.

Any imput from chronically unorganised people that have benifitted from GTD would be appreciated.

Apologies for bad spelling. Its late.

From

R
 
GTD for Me?

Chronically unorganized? See the whole picture but miss the components? Have you ever considered that you might have ADD or ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder)?

There are other threads on this board specifically about that topic. Also one of David's staff did a write-up on GTD for ADD'ers. Maybe one of the non-ADDers can help with the specifics. (I have ADD, myself - details are not my strong point :oops: )

Good luck!

Janice
 
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