GTD gone off track

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doctoruri

0
Hi,

I started using GTD a few months ago, but I stopped using it just because I lost the momentum. How do I get back on the wagon?

I have a lot of tasks on Evernote, but I am not doing anything from there. I am not doing any weekly reviews, or updating the Evernote list anymore. I do not feel the this list is something that I get back to often to really believe that it substitutes my memory.

In short, help.

(Sorry for the duplication of posts, but I couldn't find an answer for this through the search in this blog nor on google.)

Thanks!
 
GTD is ultimately about behavior change and persistence. And for that you need motivation. I suggest that you take a couple of days off and read the three excellent books of David Allen. Then - with that extra leverage - you should se the value of this whole life-work-reminder system and get back on the wagon...
 
Hi, Doctoruri!

I rely on the fact that I can fall off for a period of time - sometimes squarely on my face - and pick it right back up again. But it took building a good foundation first, and maybe that's a place to start.

There are a bunch of things you can do, but consider starting by doing NOTHING except listening to a couple of podcasts:

• Listen to (or re-listen to) the Getting Started with GTD webinar.
• Listen to the Black Belt #1 - Organize webinar (I believe that unless your system is set up, keeping up and keeping current is impossible.)

Then jump in with just a baby step... listen to (and do) the Guided MindSweep webinar. Simply having a list that, frankly, repels you won't serve you. A mind sweep will probably give you a nice boost of energy to hop back on.

It took about a year for me to feel like I really had a handle on my system... and to feel free enough to adjust it to suit my particular habits...but I had to lay the groundwork first, and you will, too. It's worth the effort.

Hope that helps.

Dena

Dena Dahilig
www.denadahilig.com
 
I guess it depends on whether you've fallen off track for a little while or a long while (I've done both). If you think a lot of the next actions, projects, someday/maybes, etc. in your lists are still valid, I'd suggest hunkering down for an extra-long weekly review to get current. If it's more severe than that I'd suggest "rebooting" and going through the whole start-up process fresh. You can print everything in your Evernote lists and through them in your inbox with everything else. As far as staying on the rails, well, that depends on why you fell off. Just remember it's OK to fail a few times on the way to success. In fact that's usually the only way to get there. :)
 
The best thing that I have found to get myself back on track is to do a mind-sweep. I will sit in silence and bring my workbook from the class with me in order to spark some items I need to do and write out everything I can think of. I will then go through and sort each item to projects and actions. After that, I like to organize them on to my Outlook tasks. Then I have steps that need to be taken. I will even carry around a notepad with me to meetings and write down things that pop into my head so that I can add them on Outlook.
 
It is simple really.

GTD is not free. It required discipline to deploy and maintain. Sometimes it can feel like it is not worth it. Whenever those feelings come up it means a couple of things.

1. You forgot why you wanted to do it to start with.
2. You (probably) have not been doing the weekly review.

I bring the weekly review as a point because if you had been doing the weekly review, you would have seen the order that was being formed from the chaos and remembered why you want to do the GTD dance to start with.

It is common, especially when starting out to fall off. We get caught up in the busi-ness of doing and forget to maintain. Because your mind is clear because you were organised because you DID the GTD dance, it allows quite a while before the fog comes back and you notice that you are out of the practice. The confidence of the clarity gained by the GTD dance makes you feel like you don't need it anymore. Of course we find that it does not last as long as we hoped.

Just remember. It is not a system. It is a systematic way of thinking. Start again and climb on board.

Do a mind sweep. Gather those loose edges back into your in-tray and process, process, process your mind back into sanity again. 8-D
 
When I fall off the GTD wagon, which I've done a few times, the first thing that I do when returning after it's been more than a couple of weeks is declare task bankruptcy. I either delete all my tasks, or stash them all somewhere. I create my immediate projects and their next actions. If I didn't delete all the tasks, I create a project for going through all my old tasks, and go over them over the next couple of weeks.

In this way I can be back on the wagon in minutes, instead of hours or days.

I'm also trying to be more and more selective about what's in my current lists, as opposed to Someday/Maybe. Falling off the wagon always seems to be associated with big current lists. And, in fact, big "someday" lists are also a problem. I can't seem to persuade myself that certain things will NEVER matter, but I'm trying to drain as much information as possible out of my GTD system and just store it in reference files.
 
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