bcmyers2112 said:
Am I wrong? Are there multiple systems that recommend this get-it-all-out-of-your-head approach rather than just writing the "important" things down? If so I am curious as to what they are.
I think you are probably right: Off the top of my head I cannot recall anyone else who stresses that. It has always seemed to me that everyone takes this for granted. It is a tacit assumption that you must write your stuff down in order to be able to organize it (classify it, group it, prioritize it, whatever each particular consultant recommends) - no one seems to be suggesting that you do this planning in your head. You might want to check out Mark Forster or Stephen Covey or any of the others who write on the subject. But I think David Allen is the only one who emphasizes it. And apparently it is good that someone did, as it is perhaps not as obvious to people as most consultants seem to have believed.
bcmyers2112 said:
I'm not saying you are wrong for liking or identifying with another part of the system personally.
I know. I just want to make it clear that I do not at all dislike all those things that people are referring to - processing your mail, getting stuff out of your head, wording your actions clearly etc etc - I am totally for it. And think it is good that DA mentioned all those things in his work. It is just that I believe that they are timeless pieces of advice that are not in any way unique for GTD - your grandmother would tell you the same thing (and grandmothers probably have for centuries). I have never heard anyone anywhere (consultant, philosopher, grandmother) contest those principles. They seem to be universally and tacitly understood.
What I am trying to argue is my perception that the things that really stand out as different or controversial about GTD, things where other consultants take entirely different views, are in the areas of using dates and priorities, and the whole approach to select the action in the moment rather than pre-plan it. Do you disagree with that?