Students Implementing GTD

[Vexir]

Has David Allen ever said anything about implementing GTD for college students? On how it could work or may have to be altered?

I'm just beginning my adventure with GTD and am about to enter college. I was looking for a way to be far more productive and streamlined in the way I work than I was in previous years; college being at this point in time the most important part of my life.

Edit:// I found this GTD variation:http://calnewport.com/blog/?p=15 - Any opinions from the hardened GTD veterans around here?

 

[Todd V]

GTD & Academics

You can check out the GTD and Academics blog I wrote up about a year ago. It describes six unique difficulties for implementing GTD as a student/academic.

 

[Brent]

Has David Allen ever said anything about implementing GTD for college students? On how it could work or may have to be altered?

I'm just beginning my adventure with GTD and am about to enter college. I was looking for a way to be far more productive and streamlined in the way I work than I was in previous years; college being at this point in time the most important part of my life.

The principles should apply no matter what you're doing. You still need to collect stuff, process it, define your commitments, review them weekly, etc.

Edit:// I found this GTD variation:http://calnewport.com/blog/?p=15 - Any opinions from the hardened GTD veterans around here?

Some aspects are great, but there are a few significant issues.

In particular, "The project scope is insufficient for the needs of a student, as, typically, the first action for the project gets put on the next action list and the project itself isn’t visited again for another week." No, in GTD you aren't limited to one action on a Project per week.

The article calls the Tickler "not as relevant to students," which I don't understand. I'd think it's particularly relevant to students, who have a lot of near-future deadlines and would want to be reminded of future work when it's time for it.

The article also states that the "unequivocal" best time for a Weekly Review is Sunday morning. Undoubtedly the best time for the author, but not for everyone. Pick a time that works for you.

 

[sdann]

In particular, "The project scope is insufficient for the needs of a student, as, typically, the first action for the project gets put on the next action list and the project itself isn’t visited again for another week." No, in GTD you aren't limited to one action on a Project per week.

The article calls the Tickler "not as relevant to students," which I don't understand. I'd think it's particularly relevant to students, who have a lot of near-future deadlines and would want to be reminded of future work when it's time for it.

The article also states that the "unequivocal" best time for a Weekly Review is Sunday morning. Undoubtedly the best time for the author, but not for everyone. Pick a time that works for you.

He really does say that about a project being reviewed only once a week. If only it were so easy ("sorry, dear client/professor, I won't be done with this project for you until 13 weeks from now - I have 13 tasks.") . I agree with Brent. In fact, I say that is a really big misunderstanding of GTD.

Re the tickler, there are so many things a student can put in a tickler file: when to begin drafting your thesis, plane tickets home, bills to pay, a note to call grandma, etc

 

[ipodfansmail]

Funny

Awesome post,Thanks for sharing.

 

[JohnTim]

I like the idea of being able to take care of my project faster by completing more than one action per week, but I was disappointed that this didn't work. The principles should apply no matter what you're doing-you still need to collect stuff and process it! There are some aspects which make sense (e.g., weekly review), however there is also mention in GTD about how "the project scope isn’t sufficient for needs as students typically put their first actions on next Action List" or when they do visit again...it's only once every two weeks? It just doesn't seem right since many people have different schedules so maybe change these times accordingly?"

The article also says that the best time for a weekly review is Sunday morning. As in my case, I need articles for website I am using Link Test they best writing service in the world I can say. But not everyone has access to this schedule, so don't be discouraged if your preferred day isn’t listed! You can still create an effective plan and learn something new each week no matter what hour works out better than others

Focusing on getting things done every single day will make sure you're always prepared with valuable information at hand when needed most - even though there may only exist one specific moment in which these reviews seem like they should take place (like right before dinner).