read and implement Getting Things Done

Trying to set up GTD.
Logged everything into OmniFocus. I still have to have a review process.

I started reading today, need to take this seriously. I could use a change in my life… I want to say no to procrastination!

I’ve been using a GTD system that seems to be working with a combination of a Mac-based application called OmniFocus along with an iPod Touch version of it as well. In the past I’d start to implement things, but as life got busier things would fall through the cracks and I’d miss things and then the whole thing would fall apart. The key for me has been the ability to capture things that I need to do where am I and to check them off and to know that nothing will be lost. It’s simple and easy to use and while it can be intimidating at times when you keep adding to the list, it’s actually good to see the things that you need to do as whether they’re recorded or not they need to get done.
Now I feel a bit more relaxed as I know that I’m staying on top of things and not missing anything. It’s a great feeling to see things crossed off the list and it’s been eliminating a lot of the procrastination that has tripped me up before. Now I look for things to cross off my list all of the time.

But I’m not keeping on top of my inbox and tickler files, I never finished reading the book, and I have lots of big life projects that aren’t getting the attention they deserve. Right now something like picking up the dry cleaning is way more likely to get done than figuring out my career. Re-opening this goal previously given up on.

I was dong this with Toady, but he was busy working on his master’s. Then he lost the book. I am done waiting. I am SICK of seeing this goal on my list. It is making me feel like a failure, I can’t even get through the book! No wonder I don’t get anything done!

I have read parts of this book several times. I like parts & know parts of it are not for me. Now I am just going to read and DECIDE if I really want to implement it. I think I am likely to implement parts. I did start emptying out my email Inbox today. I decided that as I approached 4000 emails, it might be time. A lot of them were just ebay notices, and inspirational quotes. File & tosssss!

It was a good task to do between laundry & dishes, but boy is it mind numbing!

I want to accomplish more in my week. If Barack can do it, I can!

Well, I finally went through my big 4 drawer filing cabinet and have a GTD style file!!! It feels great. Now, just to get rid of the rest…

have the book infront of me,...but dont have the time to read it all through..any tips for specific parts that are a must read?

Well, i’ve finished reading Getting things done. Some parts I skimmed since the author tends to boilerplate quite a lot in the book. What I thought was lacking in the book was a reference section where everything is condensed into a few pages for a quick recap.

So what did I think of it? It’s not bad at all. It does base most of it’s stuff on manual tools such as the retro pen and paper and loads of folders for filing. I fortunately am in a position where work is digitally stored and categorised. The hard work is literally done, leaving me with my inbox to sort out. This (and remember the milk) are the areas I will working GTD on. Though you can see the difficulties of implementing stuff that’s mainly done via pen and paper hard on the PC.

The processes it teaches are quite similar to what I originally had. i worked at a zero inbox methodology where I treat each email as something to action, they are filled into appropriate sections once I’m finished with them so a zero inbox would literally mean I have done all my tasks and have nothing to do.

The book teaches you to store things under sections such as “next action” for those tasks that need to be completed asap, “waiting for” for tasks that require following up by someone and “tickler/someday” for things that can be done… someday. I was particularly keen on the “someday” folder as it was something missing from my system, work out of the ordinary were collected into the system and stored somewhere where I knew I could access and start work on if I felt it was time. Everything begins to feel more logical when you start implementing it though. It’s hard to persuade someone to implement this since people tend to be resistant on their current methods and systems. Bringing a new system introduces the idea of “when it’s not broken, don’t fix it” so I’m quite stuck in telling people what they should do. But I suppose I can give my feedback on how the book has changed the way I work.

I’ve not implemented the task full yet (so I’m not counting that as complete) but soon I will.

Usually I’m not a fan of reading books that “teach” you to do things in a certain system. I myself am already pretty organised at things with my holy sync grail and my always empty inbox at work. But after hearing enough entries posted on lifehacker and seeing this article about using GTD on remember the milk. The curiosity of looking into this methodology has increased by ten folds. It seems like every geek’s dream. A world where tasks are managed, organised and logically categorised and worked on in a stress free process. Something that seems quite a far fetched ideal.

Nonetheless I bit the bullet and ordered myself a copy of the book. I was pretty amazed after reading a few chapters of it. The fact that we use our brains to do constantly remind and remember “stuff” that needs doing makes you suddenly realise how inconsistent we are as humans. Things really make sense in the book so my goal is to be able to follow this book and implement it at my work area. I probably won’t need to do the manual stuff purely because I work pretty much online and on the computer meaning there isn’t any paperwork to file at my end. This will be interesting.

So yeah, if you’re interested I recommend you grab a copy of David Allen’s “Getting things done”. It’s the perfect read for those who constantly have things on their mind.