Retirement and GTD

TMac

Registered
i retired 3 months ago and have found that my use and success of GTD has been sorely lacking.

When I was working, I had robust lists with projects and deliverables. I implemented GTD years ago and felt that I was on top of my work. When I would hit overwhelm, I knew I needed to take a deep breath and look at my GTD system. I used task managers to keep it together. Now I believe paper will be my best tool.

Given my newly retired world, I’ve lost focus on my personal organization. I’ve found that I have been exploring different methodologies to organize my world. At heart, there has to be a use for GTD for someone at this stage of life.

I would love some thoughts or suggestions on how to recapture the pursuit of “mind like water”. It would be interesting to hear from others who have successfully faced this challenge.
 

bdavidson

Registered
Congratulations on reaching this milestone!

It sounds like you’re struggling to populate a satisfactory Projects list, so perhaps you will benefit most by reviewing your Areas of Focus to see if they are still appropriate for your new season of life. Maybe it will be easy, or maybe you’ll discover that you don’t have a satisfying plan for how to be retired, which could then become a GTD Project to define your higher horizons.
 

TesTeq

Registered
i retired 3 months ago and have found that my use and success of GTD has been sorely lacking.

When I was working, I had robust lists with projects and deliverables. I implemented GTD years ago and felt that I was on top of my work. When I would hit overwhelm, I knew I needed to take a deep breath and look at my GTD system. I used task managers to keep it together. Now I believe paper will be my best tool.

Given my newly retired world, I’ve lost focus on my personal organization. I’ve found that I have been exploring different methodologies to organize my world. At heart, there has to be a use for GTD for someone at this stage of life.

I would love some thoughts or suggestions on how to recapture the pursuit of “mind like water”. It would be interesting to hear from others who have successfully faced this challenge.
GTD with no @work component? It's great! I was maintaining two separate GTD systems according to my rule "nothing personal on systems that I don't own" and now I have half of the "GTD burden"! :cool:
 

Tom_Hagen

Registered
I believe it's hard at the beginning to implement so huge change in life. But later you will get used to it. There are lots of things you can accomplish, for example you can watch top 100 films of all time, the same: books, you can develop your hobbies (photography / DIY / ornitology / stamps / ...), learn new skills, languages. If you have family / friends (area of focus) you can spend more time with them, do sth for them (projects in gtd), you can focus on your health. Enjoy you life - that I wish you.
 

TesTeq

Registered
I believe it's hard at the beginning to implement so huge change in life. But later you will get used to it. There are lots of things you can accomplish, for example you can watch top 100 films of all time, the same: books, you can develop your hobbies (photography / DIY / ornitology / stamps / ...), learn new skills, languages. If you have family / friends (area of focus) you can spend more time with them, do sth for them (projects in gtd), you can focus on your health.
My experience seems to be different. All my life I was setting goals and now I prefer a goalless life. Isn't it great to look out the window in the morning and say: "it's a beautiful day so I will walk or run, or windsurf" or "it's raining cats and dogs, so I will read a book or watch an interesting documentary"?
I prefer to enjoy the life instead of forcing myself to accomplish some artificial goals!
Enjoy you life - that I wish you.
 

mcogilvie

Registered
i retired 3 months ago and have found that my use and success of GTD has been sorely lacking.

When I was working, I had robust lists with projects and deliverables. I implemented GTD years ago and felt that I was on top of my work. When I would hit overwhelm, I knew I needed to take a deep breath and look at my GTD system. I used task managers to keep it together. Now I believe paper will be my best tool.

Given my newly retired world, I’ve lost focus on my personal organization. I’ve found that I have been exploring different methodologies to organize my world. At heart, there has to be a use for GTD for someone at this stage of life.

I would love some thoughts or suggestions on how to recapture the pursuit of “mind like water”. It would be interesting to hear from others who have successfully faced this challenge.

I’m not retired, but I see it on the horizon.My job as a college professor gives me busy semesters where there are many demands on my time, a lot of them not easily controlled. During winter break, which we are now finishing, I have more control and more time to reflect and catch up. I’m not idle, but I am able to devote more sustained time to projects important to me.

I think this is probably a good way for me to think about retirement. I am fortunate that older friends, now retired, have organized a book group, a regular poker game, and other activities which provide ongoing interaction with good friends. I am cultivating a deep Someday/Maybe list with an emphasis on travel, and I think my higher levels of focus may grow too. As David Allen says, “The value of future planning lies in the changes it causes you to make now.”
 

Oogiem

Registered
When I was working, I had robust lists with projects and deliverables. I implemented GTD years ago and felt that I was on top of my work. When I would hit overwhelm, I knew I needed to take a deep breath and look at my GTD system. I used task managers to keep it together. Now I believe paper will be my best tool.

Given my newly retired world, I’ve lost focus on my personal organization. I
Why not just adapt GTD methods to pursue whatever strikes your fancy? Fully half my GTD system is fun hting, projects, goals and ideas that have nothing to do with runing the farm but are just things I want to do. I basically retired from the ordinary work world 20 years ago to farm but it's notfull time (sometimes only half time as in 12 hours a day ;p) ) but I still can't imagine making it through life with out GTD.
 

David Parker

GTD Connect
I retired from working for a living five years ago . . .

At the beginning of this period I did an early GTD Annual Review, which is a big Weekly Review plus a Mindsweep and Horizon Review.

It was great seeing what I could ditch, and what I couldn't, at least for the time being, as I ran my own company and that would take a while to completely run down.

I started to add all the things that had sat on my Someday/Maybe lists for ages.

I just changed my focus. I still do the Weekly Reviews. There are still bills to paid, errands to run etc. But all my planning is now around what I want to do.

The Annual Reviews are still valuable for setting and resetting my Horizons of Focus.

I have taken the opportunity to try different GTD apps and without the need to support both work and personal systems, that's become easier.

I've relied on the GTD approach for nearly twenty years now and it's part of my life.

Give it time. It took me probably two years to really hone my system to my new world of not working.
 

treelike

Registered
My experience seems to be different. All my life I was setting goals and now I prefer a goalless life. Isn't it great to look out the window in the morning and say: "it's a beautiful day so I will walk or run, or windsurf" or "it's raining cats and dogs, so I will read a book or watch an interesting documentary"?
I prefer to enjoy the life instead of forcing myself to accomplish some artificial goals!
So does that mean that your 30k and 40k lists are empty? Do you still review those levels at appropriate intervals in case something turns up?
 

TesTeq

Registered
So does that mean that your 30k and 40k lists are empty? Do you still review those levels at appropriate intervals in case something turns up?
I am a huge fan of Someday/Maybe list and monotasking. So my Someday/Maybe list is long but my 30k list is very short. Currently it is "write and self-publish a next book". I don't believe in grand 5-year visions since my life was always bringing me great surprises. For example once upon a time I called my friend to hire him but he... hired me. :eek:
 

treelike

Registered
I am a huge fan of Someday/Maybe list and monotasking. So my Someday/Maybe list is long but my 30k list is very short. Currently it is "write and self-publish a next book". I don't believe in grand 5-year visions since my life was always bringing me great surprises. For example once upon a time I called my friend to hire him but he... hired me. :eek:
"Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans"
 

treelike

Registered
I would love some thoughts or suggestions on how to recapture the pursuit of “mind like water”.
I suggest that you still have "mind like water", it's just that the water is a bit too calm for you at the moment. That, or you're fed up with the scenery and need to move the ship to waters new.

In other words your organisational system is fine but retirement has meant that you've lost purpose at some level(s). "Humans are purpose driven machines". Therefore your new "job" is to find purpose to replace that which was previously provided by your work. I believe that this can only be achieved by experimentation, trying new things, retrying old things, seeing how they feel and modifying goals in light of what is learned. This process alone can result in a rich and varied Project list, similar to what bdavidson said.
 

ArcCaster

Registered
My experience seems to be different. All my life I was setting goals and now I prefer a goalless life. Isn't it great to look out the window in the morning and say: "it's a beautiful day so I will walk or run, or windsurf" or "it's raining cats and dogs, so I will read a book or watch an interesting documentary"?
I prefer to enjoy the life instead of forcing myself to accomplish some artificial goals!
TesTeq, you strike a chord! I have been doing the same thing -- start by checking the weather, then move and observe and react to the present and to my environment -- so I am spending more time in 'reaction mode', taking care of things and taking advantage of opportunities and spending time with people that I used to skip because they did not lead to a goal.
 

TesTeq

Registered
TesTeq, you strike a chord! I have been doing the same thing -- start by checking the weather, then move and observe and react to the present and to my environment -- so I am spending more time in 'reaction mode', taking care of things and taking advantage of opportunities and spending time with people that I used to skip because they did not lead to a goal.
Yes! And it doesn't mean totally goalless life. For example currently I am working on my new book. But first I check the weather and I write only when it is unpleasant. I can count on the weather since Warsaw is not a tropical island. ;)
 

Castanea_d.

Registered
I am reading this with interest because retirement is in the fairly near future. I have some ideas as to what I hope to do, but I know that it will be different. At this stage (still working), the idea of "Time Available" takes a new meaning beyond "I have twenty minutes before that meeting." Now it sometimes applies to larger projects - I must consider whether the constraints on my remaining time mean that I shouldn't start something. Or perhaps I should, with a big part of the plan being how I can pass it on to others in a few months. It is all very interesting.
 

Tom_Hagen

Registered
I am reading this with interest because retirement is in the fairly near future. ... It is all very interesting.

I think GTD also supports retirement part of life. Even if you want to be like TesTeq and to look out the window in the morning and check if some beautiful girl is passing by ;) and to lead goalless life GTD still would be "in use" as system of options / choices. You can "order" something from this menu or don't. You can be calm about things not doing right now and also you can be calm about every posibilities because they are in your system and waiting for you looking at you with their sweet eyes.
 

TesTeq

Registered
I think GTD also supports retirement part of life. Even if you want to be like TesTeq and to look out the window in the morning and check if some beautiful girl is passing by ;) and to lead goalless life GTD still would be "in use" as system of options / choices. You can "order" something from this menu or don't. You can be calm about things not doing right now and also you can be calm about every posibilities because they are in your system and waiting for you looking at you with their sweet eyes.
I had the luxury to prepare for this mindset in the pre-retirement time. For example in summer I was routinely shortening my work hours when the wind was appropriate for windsurfing. Quick wind assessment via weather portals at 2 pm and... at 3 pm I was often windsurfing... ;)
BUT I had to know what I was NOT doing when I was windsurfing!
 

Xtopher

Registered
I made this transition myself recently, and have been having the same questions about what my GTD practice means to me now. I adopted it around 2005, and it's seen me through several job and life changes. I don't have all the answers yet, but here are a couple key takeaways so far.

1 - Anchors. Getting ready to go to work, arriving at work, etc. These were all the rhythmic hammer beat of my days. After I left them I found that I had attached triggers to these for using the GTD system. Without these, we can feel unplugged and ungrounded. Pick yourself some new anchors. They may seem silly, but that's ok. You just need a new reliable timed set of events that you can use to trigger you to check your system, do weekly reviews, etc. "Leave work on Friday afternoon" is gone, but maybe "Saturday morning breakfast" is a great replacement!

2 - Time. Stop attaching tasks to time! I was already a firm believer in this for years, because modern life (especially in the tech world) creates a fools errand if you try to promise a task by a certain date. And nothing presses the self-fail button like moving yesterdays tasks to an already overloaded "today" list! Instead, use your GTD projects as containers for projects, interests, hobbies, commitments, volunteer work, etc. Then you either schedule a block of time on your calendar to work on it, or you just decide to do whatever you please on any given day instead. But either way, you do not schedule tasks! The only exceptions are things like "take out the garbage every Tuesday night", "replace furnace air filter ever six months", etc.

3 - Contexts are even more valuable than before. Things like "errands" remain about equally valuable, but I now find myself much more focused on a location or interest area than before. For instance, instead of thinking in terms of projects, "Record a new song", "Learn X new scale", etc., I now wake up and feel like playing "guitar" for a while. The Guitar context leads me to all the projects that I at some point decided would be valuable for me to pursue. This ensures I'm not just noodling and goofing off, but adding real value and satisfaction in my time spent on interests. I don't have evidence yet, but I believe this will be a key to make sure I don't wake up 20 years down the line and wonder wtf I've been doing all this time!

4 - I'm finding that my project support materials/software/services are FAR more valuable now than in the past, and far more than my projects/contexts list. I am mostly using ToDoIst now for nudges and reminders, and putting the bulk of what I work with and think about into other places, like Milanote. It's the analog of spending more time in the woodshop and less time talking with others about what you are going to do in the woodshop once you get there! I can now check my GTD lists maybe once a day, and do a check in and sweep, but otherwise I put all my time into the intrinsically rewarding things themselves.

5 - Don't rush the staged changes. It's cute how we all think we can step off the warp speed treadmill, take a weekend off to sleep in, and then in one sitting completely retool our GTD system (and life!) :) We all do, so no worries. But I'm 9 months into this thing and feel I'm maybe... maybe on a good day, halfway to what I really need going forward.

Would love to hear more thoughts from anyone! There are so few of us in this position to learn from!
 
Top