GTD in Practice

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OCDMike82

Registered
Hi everyone,

Maybe this is a stupid question but are there any resources for showing what GTD looks like during an actual day in the life of someone using it? I understand all the concepts in theory but it would really help to see them in practice when someone is going about their day at work or in their personal life.

Best,
Mike
 
FocusGuy

FocusGuy

Registered
OCDMike82 said:
Hi everyone,

Maybe this is a stupid question but are there any resources for showing what GTD looks like during an actual day in the life of someone using it? I understand all the concepts in theory but it would really help to see them in practice when someone is going about their day at work or in their personal life.

Best,
Mike
Click to expand...
There are a lot of videos about David Allen showing how he uses GTD and many interviews. Lot of free ressources too on his website.
Anyway if you look at 10 experienced users you will see ten ways of doing it. You will find the same process (5 steps + project list + Next action + F + Smb List- and the same core principle, but the way of organizing and managing stuff will be different (Digital or paper etc etc..)
My opinion : GTD is not about theory. GTD is about control and Horizons. All is experience and practice. Begin by collecting, clarify and do The rest will flow.
 
mcogilvie

mcogilvie

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In addition to the resources mentioned by @FocusGuy, I learned a lot from the original GTD setup guide, which was for Outlook. I have never used Outlook, but the concrete examples really made it clear what went where and how it all fit together. Nowadays there are setup guides for many different apps. A lot of the Engage part of the workflow is likely special to you, your work, your life, so that can be hard to integrate. I really like the collection of short essays in David Allen’s book Ready for Anything, which addresses more of the ideas behind GTD.
 
schmeggahead

schmeggahead

Registered
OCDMike82 said:
it would really help to see them in practice when someone is going about their day at work or in their personal life.
Click to expand...
I agree, Mike.

I remember in a video, David pulled something out of the inbox and began clarifying, he demonstrated how the inbox helped with interruptions. He simply jotted down where he was in the current task, tossed it into the inbox, and talk to the interrupter. When finished, he pulled the item back out of the inbox and resumed.

Seeing it physically demonstrated stuck with me.

The other thing that helps is to have a GTD buddy to do the weekly review with. The "how do you do this" part of those session can be a goldmine.

Clayton

Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, who was sitting in a tree, "What road do I take?" The cat asked, "Where do you want to go?" "I don't know," Alice answered.
"Then," said the cat, "it really doesn't matter, does it?"
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures In Wonderland
 
Q

Quicksilver10

Simon PN
OCDMike82 said:
Hi everyone,

Maybe this is a stupid question but are there any resources for showing what GTD looks like during an actual day in the life of someone using it? I understand all the concepts in theory but it would really help to see them in practice when someone is going about their day at work or in their personal life.

Best,
Mike
Click to expand...
Not a stupid question at all and I strongly agree about the value of seeing GTD put into practice. You may find David Allen's book Making It All Work useful, as there is a lot of focus on what GTD looks and feels like in the day-to-day world. The book includes a practical case study (Gracie's Gardens) which shows quite extensively how GTD can be applied to this (imaginary) scenario.
 
Mrs-Polifax

Mrs-Polifax

Registered
I also would like to see and learn how the details of GTD are handled in actual practice. A video would be cool.
 
RS356

RS356

Registered
schmeggahead said:
I remember in a video, David pulled something out of the inbox and began clarifying, he demonstrated how the inbox helped with interruptions. He simply jotted down where he was in the current task, tossed it into the inbox, and talk to the interrupter. When finished, he pulled the item back out of the inbox and resumed.
Click to expand...
I remembered this as well and needed to look it up. Here's David on dealing with interruptions and another video of David processing his inbox. Powerful stuff!


 
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