Some Thoughts From Tonight's Teleseminar (Roadblocks Ahead)

AugCarr

Registered
I had a couple of thoughts about the perceived tactical nature of GTD, as well as a response to the last question (Michael) from tonight's teleseminar.

First, a nod to serendipity: I too was a graduate of the circa 1999 Clorox seminars. Glad to see an alumni surface as being on staff with David.

David mentioned the perceived tactical nature of GTD on the call, but didn’t really address it directly (I dropped for a short period in the middle due to coverage, so I may have missed it.) I found Michael’s question actually aligned well with this subject.

I came directly from doing visioning work (Covey and the like) into contact with GTD. I had been struggling with implementing those great principals in the trenches of my life. By the end of my first seminar, I immediately "got" the connection between life purpose and tactical next action. I was sold on GTD as a methodology to finally align my daily grind with my life vision. That said, I have spent the last decade since attempting to work my way up the horizons to gain perspective while still maintain control. Getting it and making it work seem to be distant in time.

Michael’s question struck a chord with me. I want to be careful not to project my own experience onto his statements, but his reflection of where he is now reminded me very much of where I was around years four and five of implementation. I had been on and off with rigorous implementation, and was struggling with the balance between reflecting/processing and doing. My lists often seemed repulsive, rather than attractive. And I often found myself wanting to be doing something rather than figuring out what I was supposed to be doing, while being frustrated that my lists were not perfect enough to tell me what to do.

What I've noticed (and I think the new book addresses this pretty well) is that GTD, at all levels, requires you to answer a pretty tough question about everything that shows up: What does this mean? That question is harder to answer than we think it should be. I struggled early on with how much reflection is required to really answer that question at even the lowest levels of perspective. I think the difficulty of defining a "real" next action (as opposed to vague triggers) is evidence of how hard it is to truly figure out meaning. Now try to do that for your relationships, goals, and values.

I easily spent my first three years just getting proficient at next actions and projects. And so, for my first three years I would probably have said that GTD was primarily tactical in nature. But as I got more practiced at asking and answering this meaning question on higher levels, that connection to life purpose that I "got" on day one has become more true. And now I struggle to ask "What does this mean?" not with an email or a next action, but with my short and long-term goals. Why is this a goal for me? Is this really what I want? Or is it something I let into my life from some other person's agenda.

Herbert Simon suggested that most of what we call thinking is really just matching problems to old thought patterns and playing those out. Real thought requires a lot of energy and often forces us to face assumptions and other uncomfortable realities in working through them. I know my "reflection muscles" were in no real shape when I started, and for many years the weekly review was as much training as it was a productive. And it is easy to feel guilty because we feel like this "should" be easier, not take as much time, or that we need to be "doing" something rather than "just thinking."
Through my ten years of practice with GTD, this type of feeling of frustration with the system has usually come to me when I am not adequately addressing meaning on some level. Around my four year mark, I had gotten the tactical side down pat. Next Actions, Projects, and even one to two year goals were operating pretty well at that point. But I had some unacknowledged issues at the higher level that I was resisting addressing. Somewhere in my fifth year, I decided I was going to get back on the wagon and did a full blown top to bottom review. The results at that point triggered some significant life changes (a master’s degree, a new business, a child, and others).

A more severe version of this came two years after that when most of those changes came home to roost. Again, I was frustrated, disconnected from my lists, and anxious to just be doing something. My life context had so changed as a result of the earlier goals/projects that again I needed to seriously readdress meaning on multiple levels. The review actually resulted in me completely jettisoning my entire system (including the contents) and starting from scratch. I literally hit the big delete button, got a blank legal pad, and started over. Career change, employees in the business, lose 50 pounds (turning 30 + Grad school + new child + new business = tough on the body), deepen my marriage (tough on the marriage too), etc.
In my tenth year of GTD practice, I have to acknowledge a blessed life. I have been given a lot of opportunities, and GTD has played a serious role in my ability to capitalize on them. And very critically, as GTD has given me control at each level, it has had a way of forcing perspective at higher levels. And when I have chosen to ignore or resist it, that feeling of disconnect and frustration creeps in to let me know I’m avoiding addressing meaning somewhere in my life.

Michael, this may not be true for you, but my practice for myself when this feeling creeps in is actually to increase my weekly review time and stick to frequency. This will be very frustrating at first. You will struggle with the value of doing it. And it may take a few months to get past your resistance and start to gain real value. But for me, only when I force myself to seriously reflect at each level and ask “what am I avoiding / forgetting / unconscious of at this level” have I been able to figure out what the disconnect is about. I’m sorry to say it has never been easy or fun. And it hasn’t gone quickly either of the times I described above (took a year the first time, about four months the second). And I struggled and complained the whole way. And I expect that I’ll be doing it again in the future. The good news? It works.

I wish you all the best in your practice!
 

MichaelD

Registered
I appreciate what you shared

Great depth in what you share. This GTD thing is indeed a journey.

Oh -and hello from another X-Clorox GTDr

Best,
Michael
 

Mark Jantzen

Registered
Another Road Block?

I've encountered another road block where switching systems or experimenting with new tools becomes a substitute for a real Weekly Review.

I have tripped over that one a LOT.

It's tempting because adding new content into a new planner or software tool gives you that same feeling of getting clear, current and even creative. But unless you make the switch 100% you risk getting stuck with content in a couple different places and using your head for stuff again.

I recall Tiger Woods describing his equipment and how he is very cautious about making changes but he doesn't look back once he does make one.

Great teleseminar the other day!!

- Mark
 
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