Without exception, . . . ?

[gtd solo-studente]

Without exception, A L L control and all GTD control begins with extrinsic capturing ?

One is unable to control what one is unable to capture ?

Thus, a non-negotiable GTD principle ?

Thank you very much

Control-Freak . . . only when inappropriately attempting to control the uncontrollable instead of being Mind Like Water ?

 

[achieve]

You are fundamentally correct that capture is the non-negotiable principle.

However, let's subtly refine the term "extrinsic capturing."

While much of our initial input often comes from external sources (emails, meetings, calls, etc.), the GTD principle of capturing must apply to everything that occupies your mental bandwidth—regardless of its origin.

This means capturing:

1. Extrinsic Input. Imposed obligations, received information, appointments.
2. Intrinsic Input. Your own ideas, plans, goals, commitments, and sudden realizations (e.g., "I should really learn Spanish," or "That marketing strategy needs to be revamped").

The moment an intrinsic thought (like a brilliant new plan) enters your mind and demands attention, it becomes an "open loop"—a cognitive distraction. Your brain doesn't differentiate between an email demanding action and your own desire to write a book; both are disruptive until they are externalized into your trusted system.

Therefore, we can confirm your principle with this critical clarification:

All GTD control begins with capturing everything—both intrinsic commitments and extrinsic demands—to transform mental noise into manageable data.

While the rule is to capture everything, the system is designed to be efficient.
You generally do not need to capture items that are part of your automatic flow or immediate routine.

For instance, you don't need to write down "brush teeth" or "take a shower" if these are standard, sequenced habits. The value of capture lies in extracting the disruptive, context-shifting thoughts—those items that are "jumping out" and using your mental bandwidth.

The ultimate efficiency is self-managed. If you find yourself capturing things that offer little value, you must reflect on the purpose. The goal isn't to micro-manage every second, like rigidly logging every routine action in a diary. The goal is to maximize mental clarity. Capture what you need to forget, so you can focus on what you need to do now.
Finally, consider this perspective shared in another discussion: Crafting a clear Next Action is essentially writing a reminder for your future self. In that light, the Capture step is simply writing a very early note for the 'Task Assigning Self'—allowing you to move the item out of your head immediately, and making it much easier later to decide when and where to prompt your future self to act.

 

[gtd solo-studente]

You are fundamentally correct that capture is the non-negotiable principle.

However, let's subtly refine the term "extrinsic capturing."

While much of our initial input often comes from external sources (emails, meetings, calls, etc.), the GTD principle of capturing must apply to everything that occupies your mental bandwidth—regardless of its origin.

This means capturing:

1. Extrinsic Input. Imposed obligations, received information, appointments.
2. Intrinsic Input. Your own ideas, plans, goals, commitments, and sudden realizations (e.g., "I should really learn Spanish," or "That marketing strategy needs to be revamped").

The moment an intrinsic thought (like a brilliant new plan) enters your mind and demands attention, it becomes an "open loop"—a cognitive distraction. Your brain doesn't differentiate between an email demanding action and your own desire to write a book; both are disruptive until they are externalized into your trusted system.

Therefore, we can confirm your principle with this critical clarification:

All GTD control begins with capturing everything—both intrinsic commitments and extrinsic demands—to transform mental noise into manageable data.

While the rule is to capture everything, the system is designed to be efficient.
You generally do not need to capture items that are part of your automatic flow or immediate routine.

For instance, you don't need to write down "brush teeth" or "take a shower" if these are standard, sequenced habits. The value of capture lies in extracting the disruptive, context-shifting thoughts—those items that are "jumping out" and using your mental bandwidth.

The ultimate efficiency is self-managed. If you find yourself capturing things that offer little value, you must reflect on the purpose. The goal isn't to micro-manage every second, like rigidly logging every routine action in a diary. The goal is to maximize mental clarity. Capture what you need to forget, so you can focus on what you need to do now.
Finally, consider this perspective shared in another discussion: Crafting a clear Next Action is essentially writing a reminder for your future self. In that light, the Capture step is simply writing a very early note for the 'Task Assigning Self'—allowing you to move the item out of your head immediately, and making it much easier later to decide when and where to prompt your future self to act.

@archieve

Indeed

Your reply is super comprehensively complete, insightful, etc. . . . all without excess-&-defect to boot . . . most helpful

With all due respect, you have at least one wondering and if you are comfortable answering, how long have you been a GTD practitioner and age-stage (20s, 30s, 40s, etc.), with-or-without AI ?

Thank you very much

 

[achieve]

@archieve

Indeed

Your reply is super comprehensively complete, insightful, etc. . . . all without excess-&-defect to boot . . . most helpful

With all due respect, you have at least one wondering and if you are comfortable answering, how long have you been a GTD practitioner and age-stage (20s, 30s, 40s, etc.), with-or-without AI ?

Thank you very much

Thank you for your very kind words. I genuinely appreciate them. I also appreciate your curiosity—it gives me a welcome opportunity to step back and reflect on the bigger picture.

To answer your questions directly:

I’m in my 30s. I have been seriously practicing and refining my GTD system for about seven months now. However, I wasn't starting from scratch in terms of personal organization.

Regarding AI, I do use it, but in a very specific way. It acts as a sparring partner or a polishing tool. I write out my own thoughts and experiences first, and then I might ask it to help me structure or refine the language. I review its suggestions meticulously, and I would say that over 95% of the substance is my own. I never let it fabricate ideas for me. For instance, in my reply to you, my initial thought was to address the 'intrinsic vs. extrinsic' distinction. As other related points came to mind later, I used AI to help me seamlessly integrate them into that core structure.

If you're interested, I can elaborate a bit on that journey.

My first encounter with GTD was actually when I was very young, probably in middle school or even primary school. I had no idea there were books about it; I just thought it was some kind of "success-ology" trend. I was intrigued but had no idea how to implement it, so I eventually grew indifferent and forgot about it.

In 2022, I came across Holly Gabrielle's YouTube videos on the Bullet Journal method. That was a turning point. Inspired, I read the original book, The Bullet Journal Method, a couple of times to fully grasp the system. It was then I realized that a system like this could be incredibly powerful for managing one's life—not just for expressing emotions or keeping a simple diary. The specific formats in BuJo for logging tasks, future plans, and monthly reviews introduced me to the joy of systematic management. It felt like I had a friend who would never forget my commitments and who could show me that my past wasn't without merit, even on difficult days. I grew to love the tool.

However, I eventually found that BuJo wasn't as strong when it came to managing complex projects. Although you can create "collections" for a project, they often got tangled up with daily logs.

This led me to finally read David Allen's book in February of this year. I found the concepts fascinating and saw how they could integrate with my existing system (which has since evolved beyond pure BuJo). I then discovered this forum and was amazed by the wealth of practical wisdom shared by the community.

In April, I posted my first thread, seeking advice: Experiencing Friction with GTD After One Month – Seeking Workflow Optimization Advice
I was struggling back then, I listed every single undone task under each project, resulting in long, anxiety-inducing lists. The community helped me embrace the principle of defining only a single "next action" for any given project. It’s like a video game where only the current objective is displayed. This dramatically improved my efficiency and kept my action lists clean and manageable. I also learned that not everything captured is worth processing and, crucially, that I shouldn't try to be a robot. When my "executive function battery" is in the red, it's vital to "let go" and prioritize high-quality recovery (like a 15-minute nap) over forcing myself to work. True rest is a legitimate, high-value action in the GTD process.

Then, in May, I shared an insight in this thread: From Obsidian Overwhelm to Clarity: My Journey Clearing the Inbox & Linking Projects to Next Actions (with a little help!). I had realized that every project needed a corresponding Next Action, and I was using Obsidian's bi-directional links to connect them, so they were no longer scattered across separate lists. While I feel I could have written the post better, it captured the essence of that breakthrough for me.

More recently, in The Truth About GTD Software Tools thread, I learned from others about applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies. I used data analysis to monitor the leading and lagging indicators for my sleep and discovered the real factors affecting it. I also analyzed why some of my tasks were stalling, shared my findings in the Thoughts about keeping working modes separate thread, and received some incredibly insightful feedback,which was fantastic.

All in all, I'm still very much on this path of exploration. And though I may think about this a lot and have achieved some results, I want to be clear that I still have many shortcomings in my daily life. I'm not an efficiency master or the most productive person at my company. I'm still me, but I know I'm growing, and the GTD philosophy is helping me do that. It also helps to be on a forum with so many friendly practitioners who are so generous with their incredible experience. Honestly, seeing David Allen himself appear in a thread I had replied to was just amazing and a true honor. It all makes me feel very good about this journey.Thank you again for asking—it was a pleasure to recount these steps. I hope this forum continues to thrive and that we can all continue to grow together.

 

[gtd solo-studente]

Thank you for your very kind words. I genuinely appreciate them. I also appreciate your curiosity—it gives me a welcome opportunity to step back and reflect on the bigger picture.

To answer your questions directly:

I’m in my 30s. I have been seriously practicing and refining my GTD system for about seven months now. However, I wasn't starting from scratch in terms of personal organization.

Regarding AI, I do use it, but in a very specific way. It acts as a sparring partner or a polishing tool. I write out my own thoughts and experiences first, and then I might ask it to help me structure or refine the language. I review its suggestions meticulously, and I would say that over 95% of the substance is my own. I never let it fabricate ideas for me.

If you're interested, I can elaborate a bit on that journey.

My first encounter with GTD was actually when I was very young, probably in middle school or even primary school. I had no idea there were books about it; I just thought it was some kind of "success-ology" trend. I was intrigued but had no idea how to implement it, so I eventually grew indifferent and forgot about it.

In 2022, I came across Holly Gabrielle's YouTube videos on the Bullet Journal method. That was a turning point. Inspired, I read the original book, The Bullet Journal Method, a couple of times to fully grasp the system. It was then I realized that a system like this could be incredibly powerful for managing one's life—not just for expressing emotions or keeping a simple diary. The specific formats in BuJo for logging tasks, future plans, and monthly reviews introduced me to the joy of systematic management. It felt like I had a friend who would never forget my commitments and who could show me that my past wasn't without merit, even on difficult days. I grew to love the tool.

However, I eventually found that BuJo wasn't as strong when it came to managing complex projects. Although you can create "collections" for a project, they often got tangled up with daily logs and context-based lists.

This led me to finally read David Allen's book in February of this year. I found the concepts fascinating and saw how they could integrate with my existing system (which has since evolved beyond pure BuJo). I then discovered this forum and was amazed by the wealth of practical wisdom shared by the community.

In April, I posted my first thread, seeking advice: Experiencing Friction with GTD After One Month – Seeking Workflow Optimization Advice
I was struggling with a Markdown file where I listed every single undone task under each project, resulting in long, anxiety-inducing lists. The community helped me fully embrace the principle of defining only a single "next action" for any given project. Once it's done, I archive it and return to my project list to define the next one. It’s like a video game where only the current objective is displayed. This dramatically improved my efficiency and kept my action lists clean and manageable. I also learned that not everything captured is worth processing and, crucially, that I shouldn't try to be a robot. When my "executive function battery" is in the red, it's vital to "let go" and prioritize high-quality recovery (like a 15-minute nap) over forcing myself to work. True rest is a legitimate, high-value action in the GTD process.

Then, in May, I shared an insight in this thread: From Obsidian Overwhelm to Clarity: My Journey Clearing the Inbox & Linking Projects to Next Actions (with a little help!). I had realized that every project needed a corresponding Next Action, and I was using Obsidian's bi-directional links to connect them, so they were no longer scattered across separate lists. While I feel I could have written the post better, it captured the essence of that breakthrough for me.

More recently, in The Truth About GTD Software Tools thread, I learned from others about applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies. I used data analysis to monitor the leading and lagging indicators for my sleep and discovered the real factors affecting it. I also analyzed why some of my tasks were stalling, shared my findings in the thread, and received some incredibly insightful feedback, which was fantastic.

All in all, I'm still very much on this path of exploration. Thank you again for asking—it was a pleasure to recount these steps. I hope this forum continues to thrive and that we can all continue to grow together.

@achieve

Again, thank you for your thoughtful and comprehensive replies

Your GTD development has been most fascinating and impressively inspiring

You are clearly a fast 'understander' . . . as and aside, and in the spirit of Heraclitus, 'learning' seems to be more about Dopamine than truly Understanding; touché to you

So much more can be appreciatively expressed . . . still need to improve keyboard skills . . . ugh

Once again, thank you very much for your very professional GTD feedback

'Keep on GTDing'

 

[gtd solo-studente]

Thank you for your very kind words. I genuinely appreciate them. I also appreciate your curiosity—it gives me a welcome opportunity to step back and reflect on the bigger picture.

To answer your questions directly:

I’m in my 30s. I have been seriously practicing and refining my GTD system for about seven months now. However, I wasn't starting from scratch in terms of personal organization.

Regarding AI, I do use it, but in a very specific way. It acts as a sparring partner or a polishing tool. I write out my own thoughts and experiences first, and then I might ask it to help me structure or refine the language. I review its suggestions meticulously, and I would say that over 95% of the substance is my own. I never let it fabricate ideas for me. For instance, in my reply to you, my initial thought was to address the 'intrinsic vs. extrinsic' distinction. As other related points came to mind later, I used AI to help me seamlessly integrate them into that core structure.

If you're interested, I can elaborate a bit on that journey.

My first encounter with GTD was actually when I was very young, probably in middle school or even primary school. I had no idea there were books about it; I just thought it was some kind of "success-ology" trend. I was intrigued but had no idea how to implement it, so I eventually grew indifferent and forgot about it.

In 2022, I came across Holly Gabrielle's YouTube videos on the Bullet Journal method. That was a turning point. Inspired, I read the original book, The Bullet Journal Method, a couple of times to fully grasp the system. It was then I realized that a system like this could be incredibly powerful for managing one's life—not just for expressing emotions or keeping a simple diary. The specific formats in BuJo for logging tasks, future plans, and monthly reviews introduced me to the joy of systematic management. It felt like I had a friend who would never forget my commitments and who could show me that my past wasn't without merit, even on difficult days. I grew to love the tool.

However, I eventually found that BuJo wasn't as strong when it came to managing complex projects. Although you can create "collections" for a project, they often got tangled up with daily logs.

This led me to finally read David Allen's book in February of this year. I found the concepts fascinating and saw how they could integrate with my existing system (which has since evolved beyond pure BuJo). I then discovered this forum and was amazed by the wealth of practical wisdom shared by the community.

In April, I posted my first thread, seeking advice: Experiencing Friction with GTD After One Month – Seeking Workflow Optimization Advice
I was struggling back then, I listed every single undone task under each project, resulting in long, anxiety-inducing lists. The community helped me embrace the principle of defining only a single "next action" for any given project. It’s like a video game where only the current objective is displayed. This dramatically improved my efficiency and kept my action lists clean and manageable. I also learned that not everything captured is worth processing and, crucially, that I shouldn't try to be a robot. When my "executive function battery" is in the red, it's vital to "let go" and prioritize high-quality recovery (like a 15-minute nap) over forcing myself to work. True rest is a legitimate, high-value action in the GTD process.

Then, in May, I shared an insight in this thread: From Obsidian Overwhelm to Clarity: My Journey Clearing the Inbox & Linking Projects to Next Actions (with a little help!). I had realized that every project needed a corresponding Next Action, and I was using Obsidian's bi-directional links to connect them, so they were no longer scattered across separate lists. While I feel I could have written the post better, it captured the essence of that breakthrough for me.

More recently, in The Truth About GTD Software Tools thread, I learned from others about applying Lean Six Sigma methodologies. I used data analysis to monitor the leading and lagging indicators for my sleep and discovered the real factors affecting it. I also analyzed why some of my tasks were stalling, shared my findings in the Thoughts about keeping working modes separate thread, and received some incredibly insightful feedback,which was fantastic.

All in all, I'm still very much on this path of exploration. And though I may think about this a lot and have achieved some results, I want to be clear that I still have many shortcomings in my daily life. I'm not an efficiency master or the most productive person at my company. I'm still me, but I know I'm growing, and the GTD philosophy is helping me do that. It also helps to be on a forum with so many friendly practitioners who are so generous with their incredible experience. Honestly, seeing David Allen himself appear in a thread I had replied to was just amazing and a true honor. It all makes me feel very good about this journey.Thank you again for asking—it was a pleasure to recount these steps. I hope this forum continues to thrive and that we can all continue to grow together.

@achieve

Ps. In the hopes of reciprocating your kindness

Pps. in regards to "success-ology", its Etymology might also appeal to you for additional perspective:


Clipped from" etymonline.com

The meaning "accomplishment of desired end, favorable or propitious termination of anything attempted" is by 1580s, with ellipsis of adjective (as in good success), which is attested by 1540s.

On this end prefer the original 'definition' for success: "succession, order of sequence.", perhaps for 'accomplishment' as an end since 'means' are actually secondary ends . . . or . . . 'micro-ends' to 'macro-ends'


Meanwhile, how "success-ology" through GTD is applied herein to Ends

Ends applied:

Remote Bayesian ends, aka, Someday / Maybe

Remote committed ends ['Life-Centricities' that are perennially Decreasing-or-Increasing] aka, Areas-of-Focus

Proximate ends, aka, Projects

That which moves the needle(s), literally, since Apparel production from start [growing/shearing/tanning] to finish can make many successions vividly clear:

Immediate ends, aka, Next Actions

Intrinsic ends, aka, Next Actions

Very good

thank you very much

As you see GTD fit. . . .