One of the first things I notice about many new GTD converts (says the guy who has been doing it for all of 8 months now) is how ready they are to try to recruit their friends and family (myself included). I would venture to say that Getting Things Done is lent out more than any other book in my house (and we have a mess of books here). If I’m not rereading it again, I’m forcing it on one of my poor friends, telling them about how it will make their life so much easier and how it will help them lose weight and be a better lover. Ok, so that last part might be a slight exaggeration, but the point is this – GTD begets GTD, I think. People who really get it are excited to share it with others.
Here’s a cold, hard fact about GTD evangelism: Most people don’t care and aren’t interested.
Not what all of us productivity enthusiasts want to hear, but it’s the truth. First, not everybody is interested in having to read some book and buy a bunch of crap just to make sure they don’t forget their dentist appointments and kids’ birthdays (even if you can do it for around $20). The way I see it, people fall into one of three categories in terms of personal organization and productivity:
- Uber-Productive – the kinds of people that have blogs about personal productivity and drool over office supplies
- Completely Hopeless – they have no clue where anything is, nor do they have any real way of organizing their lives and business.
- Everybody Else
If you ask me, the vast majority of humanity falls under #3. They have their ducks in a row (to varying degrees), but they have managed to survive as adults without being arrested for masses of unpaid parking tickets and haven’t had their mortgages foreclosed upon. They don’t have pristinely-configured filing systems or handy little note-taking devices in their pockets. They just make sure the dry cleaning pickup slip is on the fridge so they’ll see it.
These are the people who will politely listen to you rave about GTD, but quickly dismiss it as soon as you’ve gone to see the selection of pens at the new Office Depot. And, really, can you blame them? While you and I might be all a-quiver about how great it feels to have your life in order, your goals and tasks properly outlined and accounted for – there are masses of folks who are just fine without any of that stuff. Why? Because they don’t think they need it. And (get ready) – they might be right.
For all the things GTD is, I don’t believe it to be something that everybody needs. Don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty much revolutionized several areas of my life. I think the reason for that is that I sat firmly in category #2 in the above list. For all the people who love to go around telling people how awesome GTD is, your time would be better spent with folks in that category.
Which isn’t to say that you won’t get the occasional convert from #3, but (in my experience) they’re few and far between. Now, once they forget an anniversary or miss a crucial meeting with somebody, they might be a bit more willing to listen. But, for now, they’re not taking you or your ramblings seriously because they haven’t had any sort of catastrophe that left them yearning for what you’re selling.
Don’t lose heart, young spreaders of GTD gospel – just understand that you’re not going to convert the world. At least, not as quickly as you’d like.
Technorati Tags: gtd, getting things done, productivity
Written by Brett Kelly
GTD, Productivity