implement GTD

On the whole, worth doing.

Though contrary to all the hype on the web, there are some downsides. It took me quite a while to get past the feeling of being overwhelmed whenever I looked at my long action lists. GTD also encourages whatever obsessive/compulsive traits you might have; worrying about writing everything down takes up a lot of time. It took me longer to make it a habit than I expected. Also, I think GTD underestimates the importance of prioritizing tasks. And, as far as I’m concerned, the context lists (at least all but errands and shopping) are downright worthless.

But now that the system’s running more or less smoothly, it’s help to get stuff off my mind.

I’m trying to get back to the elusive zero point, where everything is in my system. Unfortunately, these past six months have been the busiest of my life, so I just haven’t had enough time to implement GTD to my satisfaction. All I can do is chip away at it bit by bit. I have the basic principles down; but there’s still too much debris downstream clogging up my work flow. Also there’s a flood of new stuff coming in all the time. Just yesterday, for instance, I learned that I have a major project (on which my future prospects depend) that I have to turn around in less than a week. There’s hardly enough time in the week to do that project (in addition to my other work), let alone keep on top of my system. And if the project is a success, I will have a whole slew of new projects to get done by the end of August. It’s a little scary heading into this all without a system I trust.

I’m hoping that if I have the experience of everything being in my system repeatedly, I’ll learn to trust it more intuitively. But how do you get to this point if you don’t have the time? Dilemma: I need a good GTD system to handle everything coming my way, but I have so many pressing deadlines that I can’t find the time to set-up my system. I think the ideal time to implement GTD would be during a relatively quiet period, when you can try out the system under relatively stress-free circumstances and then gradually let more stuff into your life. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the foresight to do so a year ago. The irony is that the very stress that made me search for a good system is also making it difficult to implement it. Oh well…

I never thought I’d do it… It was always the one part of GTD that seemed way too rigid… After all, you can use almost any technology (hi or low) for the other parts of GTD…

But, the thing is, my filing habits have been suffering. Let me put it more bluntly: my filing habits have always been atrocious. In the past, papers tended to get dumped anywhere and everywhere. Their final destination was inevitablely one of several unmarked boxes in the basement, which I’ve never had the heart to go through and thus have lugged from apartment to apartment.

Things have improved somewhat. But filing is definitely a weak link in my GTD processing chain. I’ll let things pile up in my inbox because I know that I don’t know where they go in the file drawer. I tried to use the Noguchi filing system (i.e., chronological by most recent use), but in the end it just seemed like a big mess to me, and I found it really difficult to take stock of what was actually in my files. So now we’ll see if the electronic labeler is really as magical as the Big D.A. says it is.

I know I’ve posted a lot here recently, but it’s because GTD has motivated me to get truly organized for the first time in my life. I’ve been blown away by the simplicity of the idea: have a trusted place for everything and put it there the first time you encounter it. In the past, I never had a trusted place for anything so things just piled up (in my mind, on my hard drive, in my study). I tried to set up file folders organized by subject, but then I never used them. I rarely processed my notes; I left stacks of papers on the floor and desk; I allowed my email inbox to get out of control. So then anytime I actually needed something (and this was usually at the last minute), I had to search for it frantically. Now I’m trying to operate by a different principle: For every new thing that comes into my life, I must take a moment to determine what it is and put it in the right place or on the right list. (I can’t wait until this is an automatic habit!)

The key to success seems to be a clean sweep at the start. There’s a lot of effort up front, but unless you have a system you can absolutely trust, it’s difficult to develop the habit of processing your inbox. And without that habit, you can’t really get anything out of your head.

Funny thing about trying to implement GTD:

You try to get everything off your mind.

But without the habits in place, you find yourself thinking constantly about GTD and your less-than-trusted system. Obsessive, repetitive thoughts.

Update: I’m finding that some of my projects were big, amorphous blobs without a clearly defined outcome. Visualizing a concrete, specific outcome is helping me better figure out which projects are for now and which for later. I guess that some of my projects (e.g., “cultivate friendships”) really belong at higher altitudes (20,000+ feet). Instead, I need to break these things up into more concrete and realizable outcomes (e.g., “contact friends I haven’t talked to in a while.”) I suppose this advice to self would also apply to my 43 things items.

O.K., so I got all my projects and open loops written down. For a brief while, it felt wonderful. But then the sheer volume of my next actions started to overwhelm me. I think I need to go through my lists again and separate pressing projects from someday/maybe items.

In GTD, David Allen talks a lot about an intuitive approach to priorities and time management. If you’ve already taken the time to sort through your projects and open loops, you can scan your lists at any given moment and see what tasks are important and what you have the time, energy, and tools to do. That seems like a nice ideal. But I think my problem is that I haven’t yet done the work of deferring non-crucial items, so that every time I scan through my lists, I have to do the work of deciding these things all over again. The result: I get stressed out and avoid my lists.

The solution: more reliance on someday/action lists and the tickler file. I think the purpose of these is to give your mind a break. You get something off your mind and thus acknowledge it as a possible commitment in your life. But you also don’t stress yourself out by taking on too much at once. I like the term DA uses in the book: “Not now!” If you leave too much someday/maybe stuff in your active commitments, you feel like you’re breaking commitments to yourself, because stuff isn’t moving forward.

I’m going to prune through my projects ruthlessly.

Wow, I finally got a complete and up-to-date list of projects. Feels great.

I also began to re-organize desk at home, which is difficult, because my spouse and I share the same desk.

I’m in the process of organizing my work desk. I’m not sure if I entirely buy The David’s recommendation to use a single set of lists for both work and personal stuff. I don’t really want to bring my work lists home with me. But I do want to have the same routines and methods (i.e., the same basic system) for both places. We’ll see what happens.

I bought the abridged audio version of GTD. The content really surprised me. I’ve read a bunch of stuff online about GTD and thought that it was entirely detail oriented—just a method for processing things, like a computer program. But the book itself stresses the larger psychological payoff this system; it explains why anyone would want to do GTD in the first place. I liked the emphasis on psychological clarity, lack of stress, elegance and ease of processing. If I’m reading things correctly, some of the more “techy” implementations of GTD (including my own past attempts) seem to clutter up what is actually a very simple, elegant, and powerful system. The point I took away from the book is to make my system as simple, fun, and invisible as possible.

I also began a complete collection process for the first time. What a pain! But also what a rush! Already I’m inspired to do a thorough cleaning and purge of my apartment. I’m actually impatient to do so, as the little control I got during my intial collection process has burgeoned into a desire to simplify and clarify everything in my life.

O.K., so my GTD implementation’s gotten a little bit out of control. I feel like I have a whole pile of random next actions that I have to do but little sense of reason or purpose behind them. Recently, I’ve been in more of a reactionary mode, simply trying to cope with the flood of stuff coming at me. I hope sometime soon to have the chance to do a full mind sweep and get back to some sort of fresh start. Right now I don’t have the clarity to decide what I need to do and what I don’t. Hope soon to have a complete list of my actual projects and commitments…

Using index cards to manage tasks has helped me to understand the concept of atomic actions. One task per card makes it easy to close loops—i.e., to follow a task through to completion. But I’ve gotten a little lost in the actions and need a better way to link individual actions to projects and goals. I don’t think I’ve really gotten the hang of processing and review: what is this? do I need to act on it? is it worth my time to act on it? is it furthering my larger commitments, responsibilities, and goals?