GTD Masters: An Interview with Frank from WhatsTheNextAction.com : The Cranking Widgets Blog

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GTD Masters: An Interview with Frank from WhatsTheNextAction.com

This post is part of a series I’ve dubbed the GTD Master Series - a collection of short interviews with well-known GTD bloggers who many consider to be masters of their craft. Enjoy!

Author of WhatsTheNextAction.com, one of the most popular GTD-related blogs on the web (and recently featured in an article on cnn.com about David Allen and GTD), Frank Meeuwsen recently hit the 2-year mark with GTD and his productivity chops are sharp as ever. His blog is one of the few I know of where the author shows the human side of GTD - his failures as well as his successes. I’ve had random email conversations with Frank off and on for the past few months, and he agreed to do this little interview for me:

For those who aren’t familiar with you, would you give a brief personal introduction?

Hey there GTD-fans, I am Frank Meeuwsen. I am 33 years old and live in Utrecht, in the middle of The Netherlands. I am a Brand Director at Rhinofly (rhinofly.nl), a dutch internet communications agency. I have been involved in the dutch weblogcommunity since 2000 and have been active in writing for a dutch weblogmagazine (aboutblank.nl) and the organisation of the Dutch Weblogawards, the Dutch Bloggies (dutchbloggies.nl). Furthermore I am the proud father of a beautiful daughter Tess, together with my girlfriend Helie.

Since november 2004 I am writing on my own english weblog What’s The Next Action about GTD and personal productivity.

How did you get started with GTD? Was there a particular event/experience that led you to want to be more organized/productive in general?

It was somewhere in September 2004 I first read about GTD. Online ofcourse. I believe it was on 43folders.com who just started. Clicking through some posts and some other sites made me aware of this whole GTD-cult. I was not happy with the way my life was organized. I always felt I was running behind the facts, projects were running sloppy.

Because it was based on a very simple system, I had a feeling this could me very interesting for me. So I bought the book and well…it laid on my desk for two months. Because I was too busy getting stuff done and didn’t take the time to start reading it. But at one point I picked it up and read whole the way through the book in about 2-4 evenings. And I read it again. Every now and again I pick it up and read some paragraphs and some notes I took in the book itself. I read the book while commuting to and from work so one of the biggest problems was the real implementation.

In your opinion, what’s the biggest pitfall of GTD for people just starting out?

Trying to do everything in one evening and thinking “you are there”. Because you have your stuff organized, you have your list, you can see the actual color of your desk because all the clutter is gone. But what about a week from now? That is the big one. Sticking with the system. Get into the Weekly Review. That is the pivotal point of the whole system. Make sure you trust it and make sure it’s current and complete.

What’s the thing you like the least about “canonical” GTD?

In the book, David talks a lot about paperbased systems where email is supportive of paper. But in todays world, the truth is the other way around most of the time. Most people live in their Inbox and have some paper around that.
The other thing I found out is you must find your own way within the system. I always feel like Mr. Miyagi from Karate Kid when I talk about this part, but it is true for me. I found out for myself that it really doesn’t matter how you work the system, as long as you stay true to the five phases of GTD and you make sure you trust your system with all your heart. I wrote an article about this I still re-read every once in a while. It deals with a discussion I had with my (former) Tai Chi teacher about the principles of this martial art. I found a lot of similarities with GTD.

Which aspect of GTD did you find the most difficult to implement? which was the easiest?

The most difficult would be to get to trust a system outside of your own brain. It is still tough sometimes. Because we are so used to remembering things and even our culture really asks us to keep things in your head. Some of my collegeus look weird at me when at meetings I write my stuff down, even the tiniest actions I would do right after we finish the meeting.
But do this and make sure you trust your own system. Even if it includes writing stuff on your left arm…

The easiest part would be collecting. It feels so good to walk around your house and write stuff on papers you need to do. Actions, projects, someday/maybes, anything.

How did you deal with any frustrations when you first started with GTD? Do you have any “inspirational” items that encouraged you to stick with it?

I still have frustrations! Because I always want the best system, the best and easiest way to deal with stuff. And nothing really helps you with that besides yourself. So what it comes down to is that you are it. You’re it. There is no one else to blame when stuff does not get done besides yourself.

I don’t have real inspirational items like posters or wallpapers. I do read some quotes from time to time and sometimes I read little blurbs of biographies from succesful people. And most of the time I can somehow connect their way of life, their path to success (whatever you define as success, not necessarily money) to some of the stuff David talks about. And every now and again I pick up the books and read a few pages.

Please briefly describe your current GTD implementation (tools, applications, etc.).

Like Glen before me already said: The million dollar question! I hope that throughout these answers you found out that I am not a typical GTD-devotee. I don’t really work with an exclusive one way system. I have several subsystems that work for me and might (not) work for anyone else. But here it goes

Laptop: It’s the only PC I currently have. On my laptop I have a little diskpart called “My files”, which is NOT the same as the default “My Documents”. I hate that part of Windows, especially since it tries to sync with our server at work and well, it doesn’t. So I made my own directory with all important personal projects in it, some music and some downloaded stuff. I also have tons of PDF’s on it. Non-organized. Because of the software on my laptop.

PDA/cellphone: I have a HP6515 PDA/Cellphone/GPS-navigator. Cool gadget. But really clunky and not the best cellphone in daily use. The Outlook sync is perfect and gives me a lot of freedom and possibilities to work without my laptop. I don’t use my PDA for notetaking and recording. I can’t work with the stylus and typing on it is not fast enough for me. I’d rather use my Moleskine for it

Moleskine: Yeah, I also have a few Moleskines. Love the format, the paper and the cult behind it. I use my Moleskine for notetaking and braindumps. I have it with me all the time so I can quickly jot down some notes and process them later. Works perfectly! But it is purely an input device. The Moleskine-lovers will hate me for this, but when I have captured a meeting in my notebook, I process those in appropriate tasks and actions. Then I rip out the pages (OMG!) and keep them with the project file. This way, I will always have the original notes. Believe me, it has come in handy sometimes with clients who don’t believe they have agreed to do something.

Ticklerfile: I have my own hardcopy ticklerfile but I don’t know why I have it…On average I have 3 or 4 notes in them I need on a day. But most of the time, those notes go into my projectfiles or I translate them in NA’s. Tickets, brochures, coupons…that’s all that goes in there but it is not much. So I am still pondering if I should keep it or just throw it out.

3×5’s: The 3×5’s are in my car so I can capture random thoughts and ideas on them. Since they are not always that relevant (for instance, a song I hear on the radio, some errands, an idea for a potential client) they are processed at least once a week. I feel this is one of the advantages of GTD. Since I don’t have to think about all the relevant issues all the time, my mind gets some creative freedom and new ideas pop up. Whatever I do with them is totally up to the idea. Some work, some don’t.

Software
Good software is the backbone of my GTD life. I tried the whole Hipster PDA thing but I really need some sort of digital place for my projects and actions.

Outlook GTD add-in: At work we use Outlook. Period. No other mailprogram can connect with our Exchange server and I need Outlook for my co-workers to check my calendar and for filing purposes. So I bought the GTD Outlook add-in from Netcentrics. After some fiddling around I use it on a daily basis now. Every mail gets through the steps of the add-in and it proves to be a lifesaver every now and again. Sometimes I need to find a message quickly while on the phone. My projectlist and my taskviews are of great help with this.

The add-in is not perfect, it has its bugs. But you can work around it, they are not that horrible. Pay attention if you synchronize your Outlook with a PDA through Activesync. The add-in can give some quirky behaviour, with your Outlook crashing. Always open up Outlook first before you put your PDA in tha cradle.

Gmail: For personal mail I use Gmail. Despite the big Google-eye which may watch my email, it sure helps me filing important emails. I have made different labels for some projects, not all of them. Some projects require very intense emailtraffic, like organizing an weblogevent. I really need filing for those kind of volumes. What also helps me is the Greasemonkey Gmail macro which gives you keyboard shortcuts for Gmail. Very fast and very easy to use! Check Lifehacker.com for more info and a demo.

Google calendar: I am getting used to Google Calendar for some personal appointments. Best thing: The look and feel of a desktop application. The Gmail integration isn’t that magnificent right now for me. But I like it and it works for me. I am waiting for Office 12 to arrive so I can integrate all calendars through the iCal subscription format. Oh the joy!

Thinking Rock: Since a few weeks I started using Thinking Rock and I am getting used to it. It’s a bit difficult to get into but once you have your stuff floating around in it with projects and contexts, it gets pretty easy to navigate and work with it. I must say it gets a bit heavy to startup with a lot of actions, but I believe a new version is on its way

Mindmanager: This is my primary tool for capturing ideas and brainstorming. I have dozens of mindmaps in my filesystem on all sorts of subjects. From article ideas to brainstorms for clients to my own 20-50,000 feet mindmap on my life (which is always in development). I think mindmapping is a very very powerful technique and I can recommend anyone to try it out with your projects.

Google Desktop Search: The easiest way to find anything. Like my own Documents folder with PDF’s and other stuff. Nothing is in folders, I just type keyword and hit search. 9 out of 10 times I can find the right document.

Any Final Thoughts, etc.?

I do have to point out there is one quirky habit all GTD-addicts have: the use of Another Shiny New Software Tool. Or better yet: Another Shiny Piece Of Hardware! Yeah! “My GTD-life will not be complete if I don’t have software X or gadget Y.” Or what about “I will not get into true GTD-zen if I don’t own this magnificent piece of hardware which I should buy right now instead of cleaning the garage”. Now we all know, deep down in our hearts, that behaviour is ridiculous. You don’t really need a PDA to get your life organised. You don’t really need the latest untested alpha version of some Web 2.0 app to make sure you have your head still on. Come on…

And since this series is called GTD Masters, should I consider myself a Master? Well, apart from the Mr Miyagi part about GTD being a martial art, I don’t consider myself a master in implementation. I can talk for hours about the principle and the theory. But the implementation remains a bumpy road for me to travel. But we’re getting there!

Brett, thanks for the opportunity to let me ramble about this subject and have fun with your weblog!

Thanks again to Frank for taking the time to answer my questions. I’m always trying to find other GTD Masters for this series, so if you know of any, please feel free to email me.

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