I'm having great difficulty learning GTD

[Hazelip]

I can't read the damn book. There's just too much corporate speak for me to slog through. I find that as I'm reading, my mind wanders complete off-topic, and I have to go back and read a few paragraphs to a few pages at a time. This, in turn, frustrates me to no end, and then what I'm reading doesn't sink in.

Is there a quick-and-dirty guide to this system anywhere on the web? I just need to know the basic principles, how to capture, how to sort, how to define next actions, and how to review. I don't need to be served the Kool-Aid in a fine cut crystal goblet, a paper cup would work just fine, thank you.

This makes the second time in two years I've attempted to read this book. I can read through computer manuals and after-market books and user guides without hesitation or losing focus. But, though I've seen people benefit greatly from using GTD, I have no Earthly clue how any of you actually completed reading this thing.

I'm mostly interested in getting GTD going in an index card system as I've been toting around a few cards in my pocket for years. But, it was mostly a scratch pad and there was no organization to it at all. I'm very forgetful, and I really, desperately, need something like GTD in my life.

Thanks for your patience, and any help you may be able to provide.

-Jake

Edit:
I did find the following post: http://www.davidco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5446 and I think I'll be able to adopt/adapt this to meet my needs. But, I'm still finding some conceptual difficulty with assigning contexts and next actions. I don't normally have trouble understanding new concepts, so I really don't know if I can describe how truly frustrating this difficulty is for me.

 

[ceehjay]

A Few GTD Summaries

http://www.minezone.org/wiki/MVance/GettingThingsDone

http://www.gyford.com/phil/writing/2005/01/03/getting_things_d.php

http://www.davidco.com/blogs/jason/archives/2004/06/a_systematic_ap.html (jason Womack's summary of how he does the Weekly Review)

http://web.archive.org/web/20030712...F+Files/Articles/David+Allen+Summary(PDF).pdf

If you find any of these useful, I recommend you save the document if it is a PDF, or to Word or other document software, along with the URL so you know where you found it. I usually copy articles I like because things do tend to disappear from the web.

Carolyn

 

[ashoraka]

Try listening to it on audio www.audible.com

 

[thoppa]

So, the book really isn't that hard to read. In fact, I thought it was much more approachable than other books in the genre (ever try to read the 8th Habit???). Seems like a mental block more than anything else. The audio would be a good start.

Else, just take it really slow. Some of the things don't click right away. Just slog a chapter a day. All the supplementals on the web I've seen are just that, supplementals.

Perhaps reviewing those other items will make the book a little more approachable for you.