How many really mastering GTD?

[JMTee]

I've been reading a lot about people who are 'trying to implement' GTD,
or who are 'struggling with' or 'starting over with' GTD. I'm a GTD
wannabe myself, but I don't seem to be able to quit get there, or feel
that I at least still have a long road ahead of me.

What I'm wondering is, how many of you guys feel that you are actually
successful with your implementation of GTD. How many of you can say
that you have successfully incorporated GTD in your lives - and not
only partially, like I have? Judging from the mails in this forum, for
example, I have a gut feeling that most people are not happy with their
GTD status. Am I wrong? Is mastering GTD an ever elusive goal? Or is it
just natural that it is people with GTD problems who mostly write on
this forum?

[Tom Shannon]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: 43Fo...@googlegroups.com [mailto:43Fo...@googlegroups.com] On
> Behalf Of JMTee
> Sent: Thursday, May 25, 2006 8:51 AM
> To: 43 Folders
> Subject: [43F Group] How many really mastering GTD?

> What I'm wondering is, how many of you guys feel that you are actually
> successful with your implementation of GTD. How many of you can say
> that you have successfully incorporated GTD in your lives - and not
> only partially, like I have?

Define "partially, like I have".

GTD doesn't seem to be all or none. If you bowl, you aren't either a pro or
a novice with nothing and no success in between. For myself, there are
things I'm good at and things I'm not as good at as I'd like to be. But it
all helps.

Tom S.

[Mike De Bruyn]

Damn, I almost got away without posting here ;-)

On 5/25/06, Tom Shannon <tsh...@gmail.com> wrote:

> > What I'm wondering is, how many of you guys feel that you are actually
> > successful with your implementation of GTD. How many of you can say
> > that you have successfully incorporated GTD in your lives - and not
> > only partially, like I have?

> Define "partially, like I have".

> GTD doesn't seem to be all or none. If you bowl, you aren't either a pro or
> a novice with nothing and no success in between. For myself, there are
> things I'm good at and things I'm not as good at as I'd like to be. But it
> all helps.

My advice would be:

- Record how many things you do each day. Just with tick marks. Just
a simple count.
- Keep a record of it as you implement the philosophy of GtD.
- So long as the count is increasing you are doing fine.

People "fail" because they seek perfection -- and they do because it
does not exist. Just get more done each day and you are on track.

--
Cheers,
Mike

[JoshD]

Mike De Bruyn wrote:
> Damn, I almost got away without posting here ;-)
>
> On 5/25/06, Tom Shannon <tsh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > What I'm wondering is, how many of you guys feel that you are actually
> > > successful with your implementation of GTD. How many of you can say
> > > that you have successfully incorporated GTD in your lives - and not
> > > only partially, like I have?

I can just second what people have said, here.

Before three or four months ago, GTD had made a huge impact on my life,
but I was still iffy on a lot of things. Now, really, after six or
seven full weekly reviews, in a row, I can say that I feel like I'm
really successful with it.

It's a practice, like meditation is a practice: you aren't practicing
for a performance that'll be over. You're practicing so that today is
better than yesterday.

And you're recognizing what you didn't do well today, so that tomorrow
will be better than today.

This is a forum where we tend to check in when things aren't working,
and we need help, or we're searching for the right tool. I'm glad you
asked this, because it does seem like it would be easy to get the
impression that we're all wandering around in the dark, seeking
perfection. So, just to be clear:

Just really giving yourself permission to try helps.

Forgiving yourself after the first, second, and fifteenth time isn't
perfect, still helps.

Each time, you get better. And "better" means actual benefits, not a
sticker on a GTD report card that you can stick on your fridge.

Eventually, you realize, "wow. I just got through three days of work
that flew by because I wasn't thinking about anything else but what I
was doing." If you're anything like me, that was *impossible* before.

And I've only partially incorporated it. But I'm committed to getting
better.

Cheers,

Josh

(Wow, I sound like a self-help tape. Kill me now!)

[Mike De Bruyn]

On 5/25/06, JoshD <jdim...@gmail.com> wrote:

> (Wow, I sound like a self-help tape. Kill me now!)

Yeah, but you are so dead on right in your view. Just as they say
"life is not a dress rehearsal", GtD is not a goal to be achieved.

--
Cheers,
Mike

[Scott]

I can't say this with all areas of my life, but with the application of
GTD, I'm really happy. The key for me, though, occurred in a flash one
morning about 7 months ago. I'd been struggling with putting all of my
pieces together, mainly around figuring out how to track all of my NA
(Next Actions) in a way that made sense to me.

Boom, that morning it dawned on me: I don't work or think in Contexts.
I stopped trying to do those @phone, @office, @home ideas, and instead
organized myself around @Project1, @Project2, etc. In doing that, I was
also able to finally tweak Entourage to be the only software I use for
my GTD system.

So my advice is to realize that GTD, as described in the book, is
simply one out of 200 ways of getting to the empty mind. Be willing to
tweak the hell out of your system so that it fits with your brain, your
lifestyle, your path. Find the method that actually makes you happy and
infused with glee. That's what has worked for me.

[AndyH]

I started GTD whilst I was out of work and am now religious about it at
home.

At work I want to use it but as soon as I arrived I found that someone
had left. There was a gaping hole and each day has been a chaotic
struggle to get through the work. Its all very well saying that you
should keep lists, but my problem wasn't remembering things, it was
purely the sheer volume of work that had to be done as well as learning
a new discipline.

Gradually things are getting under control and simple things that I
implemented like progress sheets on jobs means that everyone knows what
has been done and what hasn't. Its like a mobile GTD Project with tick
boxes meaning that part of the process is complete and boxes that have
no ticks meaning that it is Waiting For someone to do something.

GTD has made a huge difference to me. I used to be so overwhelmed with
outstanding stuff that a lot got missed. I am much better now.

The crux of the matter is to get a system that works for you. Mine is
Notebook on the Mac and a hipster PDA. It works for me, but I know
others prefer iPaqs etc.

[Nik]

At work, I'm completely GTD'd. This was forced by necessity: Too much
going on, too little time to do things.

This doesn't mean that my weekly review happens every week without
exception, nor does it mean that my inbox is always clear. There are
always speed bumps. However, my core task list is in a Kinkless GTD
file, and pretty much everything makes it in there.

At home... Well, GTD is less well suited. Too many shared
responsibilities with my partner, and frankly, it's a small enough
set of tasks that I can keep it all in my head without stressing. So
I keep a few projects in a home Kinkless file, but that's about it.

So I'd consider myself fully GTD'd and converted/implemented/
whatever. I'd also call it a great success. My worklife is much less
stressful, and the habits from GTD make their way into my home life
even though I'm not sticking to the specific system.

--Nik

[Christian Mekkaniak Eriksson]

No one can be a master of GTD IMHO. Maybe with the exception of Rev.
Allen. Being a GTD follower since 18 months, I have found that those
that are successful with their GTD implementations are those that have
stopped trying to fit their life into GTD, and instead tried to make
GTD fit their life. I belive this is one of the reasons why many
struggle with GTD; they try to implement it "by the book" which is in
most cases impossible.

So, I aim to mastering my life and time, and GTD is one of the tools I
use.

[JMTee]

Thanks for the sound advice and inspiration. Especially the advice of
'practising GTD so that today is better than yesterday' resonates with
me. Eventhough I don't consider myself being yet where I wanna be with
GTD, I can say, when looking back, that I've definitely made progress;
quite dramatic in some cases. Maybe I should redefine what 'mastering
GTD' means to me. And as somebody put it, in the end it is not about
mastering GTD but your life. So true...

[orangeandbrown]

I think that's the best advice. Even David Allen says you aren't going
to do everything in the book. What you want to do is modify the
system so that it fits how you work. If that's not mastering GTD, then
so be it.

[Matthew Cornell]

Great question! I've been doing GTD for almost a year, (at hopefully
increasing levels), and I agree with others - it's a practice that
takes time to master. That said, it should be giving you some benefit
fairly early on, or what's the point? It has helped me a ton, I have to
say. (I blather about it at http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/, FYI.)

Don't know if this will help, but I just finished "Mastery: The Keys to
Success and Long-Term Fullfillment" by George Burr Leonard and I found
it really applies to the practice of GTD. It may help to consider
Leonard's "keys:" Instruction (maybe attend a seminar, borrow the CDs
from someone), Practice (stick with it), Surrender (accept yourself for
being a beginner - we all are!), Intentionality, and The Edge. (OK, I
don't have a good handle on the last two, but hey!) From the book:

> "How long will it take me to master aikido?" a prospective student asks.
> "How long do you expect to live?" is the only respectable response.

To which I add: "three days".

Cheers!