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Your GTD System Isn’t the Problem

By Brett Kelly, on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007

Since starting my current job about 7 months ago, I’ve garnered something of a reputation for being “the organized guy”. A couple of the higher-ranking people there had attempted to embrace GTD (with varying degrees of success) and were ecstatic to have somebody on-board who could attempt to convert the rank and file. I got a chance to talk one-on-one to a handful of them to see where they were in terms of “implementation effectiveness”, etc. It was a rather eye-opening experience.

Much of what I saw sort of mirrored what I regularly read about on other GTD-related blogs and websites. People really like the idea of GTD and could definitely see the benefit, but were really having trouble making it work across the board (at work as well as at home). In my experience, these types of situations stem from one of the following two symptoms:

The person adopted another person’s “configuration” almost exactly.
The person is constantly fiddling with different tools/applications, etc. and never actually settles on anything.

First, what we’ll call “the copycat” – let me begin by saying that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with adopting the tools that another person espouses as long as they work for you. When a GTD evangelist shows up at your desk and instructs you to buy notebook brand x, pen brand y and install application z (because that’s how they do it), they’re doing their student a disservice. Almost invariably, the pupil will have an especially difficult time getting their teeth into the concepts behind GTD because they spend so much time futzing around with the specific array of tools that was prescribed to them.

Now, “the fiddler” – This is the guy (and I know what I’m talking about here – this was me about 3-4 months ago) who spends just about all of his time poking around the web, looking for specific GTD implementations that other people use. I suppose this either comes from a place of “the grass is always greener”, or perhaps they just get bored too easily with their paltry Moleskine, or maybe their current web app just isn’t ringing their bell the way it used to. These are the types that get so caught up in modifying and tweaking their system that they don’t actually do any of the things on those lists. Again, I speak from experience – I’ve tried just about every type of notebook, pen, paper and software imaginable as a candidate for the “perfect” GTD system. You know what I’ve discovered?

There’s no such thing.

The problem is not with the tools, they’re doing exactly what they’re supposed to do – the bidding of their master (that’s you). Seriously folks, this stuff can be done with a couple boxes of super-cheap folders, a pantload of blank paper and a low-tech calendar. Or, it could also be done using a $80 piece of software, a leather blotter and a pen that’s worth more than my car. It’s all about what works best for you.

So, having said all that, I offer a challenge to anybody who fits into one of the two categories described above (one for each)…

For the copycat: Start over. Do what you imagined yourself doing when you first read GTD. I’m pretty sure we all pictured ourselves hunkered over a desk covered in index cards, or over a keyboard typing into a personal wiki. Think back to what that was and make it happen. Stick to it for at least 6 weeks. At that point, you’ll know which parts of the system aren’t working for you (if any), and you can dispatch them with extreme prejudice in favor or something that will.

Fiddlers, listen up: Switch to paper. I’m talking the absolute lowest-fi system you can tolerate. Get rid of the fancy notebook, the expensive software and the pen made from the carcass of some endangered species. Go buy a couple boxes of crappy manila folders, a box of bic pens, a few reams of plain white printer paper and a pocket dayrunner-style calendar. Use only these tools (aside from your phone and your brain) and set yourself up caveman style. Force yourself to live in the GTD wilderness for awhile (which is paradise to some, by them way) and you’ll start to appreciate the way some of the higher-tech setups work. Or you’ll fall completely in love with it and never go back.

My point is this – it’s about the habits, not the gear you use. Force yourself to write things down, empty your in-basket, maintain your lists and file your junk. No piece of software, fancy notebook or pen is going to do it for you. A good doctor doesn’t become a great doctor because he has a better scalpel.

Good luck!

Technorati Tags: gtd, productivity, moleskine, tools, omnifocus

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http://blog.scottjelias.net Scott Elias

I think you’ve hit it on the head here, Brett. We’re often looking for the “silver bullet” and figure we can save time figuring out our own system if we just “tweak” someone else’s a little bit.

Great post. Thanks!
http://www.blackbeltproductivity.net/ Michael

Another great post full of insight. I am definitely a ‘fiddler’ and am taking my Christmas vacation next week to do a HUGE revamp of my system. I want to strip things down to the basics, while keeping an eye out for an online list manager. There are a couple of projects out there that I am keeping my eye on. Hopefully, I will be able to get invited into beta testing, if so, I will post reviews through Black Belt Productivity.
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http://www.jamiephelps.com Jamie Phelps

Brett, thanks for another great article. Too much of the productivity web is about what Merlin calls “salty peanuts,” and I’m always glad you don’t put out that kind of content. This is a great wake-up call. Someone should post it up on the 43F board.
http://www.stephanmiller.com Stephan Miller

You are right about making it simple. I spent a few days tracking down and trying software. Then a few weeks trying to use the software I thought was the best. I am back to a Moleskine.
But I also more of a ZTD convert than GTD. Even simpler.
brendan

Hey – nice post. I am a fiddler, but I think that’s OK and here’s why: I just started GTD and I’m trying to find a combination of tools that works for me. Once I get that, I’ll stop. At least I think I will.

OK – I’ll set a deadline: 1 Jan, 2008 – I’ll continue to use whatever is working for me then.
http://hdbizblog.com/blog @Stephen | Productivity in Context

I was a fiddler for a while this year, looking at and trying new things. Then I became a reviewer, analyzing and tweaking the things that worked and didn’t work. I pretty much have it narrowed down now, and it’s mostly paper, with bigger projects managed online.
Works for me, feels great. Thanks for the eye-opener.
http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/ Matthew Cornell

Hmmm. In my experience, there *are* some tool- and infrastructure-related issues that can stop successful implementations. For example, the action-management tool must be very fast to use. And setting up critical infrastructure related to things like document workflow is also a challenge for people. That’s why customization and long-term analysis is often required.
http://www.thedailysaint.com Mike St. Pierre

Great advice here. I see the copycatting often, especially with the use of planners or PDA’s. They often end up as paperweights instead of product. tools.
http://brettkelly.org brett

@Matthew – I don’t disagree with that, actually. I’m all in favor of people tweaking and adjusting when it’s beneficial to the overall process. I just think that people can get kid-in-candy-store-ish when it comes to the infinite number of permutations/configurations that can make up a GTD implementation.ca
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Perry Martin

I’ve recently read a post at Wrike.com.blog http://www.wrike.com/blog/11/13/2007/Make_Wrike_a_part_of_your_7_habits_for_becoming_highly_effective . It’s about 7 habits by Steven Covey. I do agree your organization depends a lot on your habits, but you need a tool, that will press against you and make you do something if you can’t organize youself. It can be a beeper, email notifications or other things, but sometimes you just need some help from the outside. That’s it!
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Danny P

Thanks for the straightforward encouragement… today was a good day for finding your post…

I am definitely a fiddler and already started this week that process of tearing myself away from the ‘need’ to sync this to that, to try-out the newest on-line service, to have the fanciest forms or notebooks… and I’m getting back to a paper calendar with some lists…. you’re right: six weeks sounds like a reasonable test drive.

Wish me luck! -D.
Robert

I agree with the “forge your own way/simplify” method, when GTD doesn’t seem to be paying off or taking off.

I just want to point out, GTD is designed to be a system for making the most of your available time to get things done…not to track resources and time per task, planning out long-term cross functional projects, with full cross-linking of information snippets from multiple sources and search capabilities.

It seems to boil down to: get it out of your head and into a trusted system, organize the work to be done by context with enough granularity so you don’t have to think about HOW to do a task when the time/energy is available to actually do some tasks; you’ve already done the thinking in a concentrated way so now it’s all about DOING in that moment. [Real efficiency comes in the moment, real efficacy comes in the planning.] Oh…and review your system regularly to make sure you have updated the lists with all the completed and new tasks and projects that have come up or changed since your last review.

Unfortunately, I don’t think David Allen emphasizes enough one aspect, for me: when you finish a task, ask yourself (and record the result) what’s the next step now that this task is done…sort of a focused “mini-review” immediately, if possible. Is this new next task doable in 2 minutes, if so do it, rinse/repeat. If it’s not doable, record it in the proper context and review your lists to see what to do next.

People seem to try and shoe horn in resource/project tracking into GTD, and it’s not built for that purpose.

Just my $0.02 worth, maybe less.
Guy

I see the point Robert is making.

But how /does/ GTD harmoniously fit in with “planning long-term cross-functional projects” etc.?

The ideal thing imho would be to have a system that automatically displays the relevant steps in the plan for deriving the next actions, and then manages the next actions GTD style. Separating the two into e.g. MS Project and OmniFocus an maintaing a sync is a major PITA.
http://www.suplido.com/joel Joel

I must admit that I’ve tried just about every GTD app for Mac out there. That makes me a fiddler-extraordinaire.

Even if I’ve developed my own GTD system, I kept on trying other methods — just because an evangelist was eloquent enough to present his/her own system.

Thanks to your eye-opener, I’m reverting to Actiontastic, iCal, and Treo which have all worked flawlessly.
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Robert

@Guy:

I don’t think GTD is designed at its foundation to track which tasks relate to which project. You have a lists of projects (for your weekly review) and a list of tasks by context to choose from. Tasks don’t link back to the project, and projects don’t link to the tasks, except by your gut feeling. The same gut feeling used to pick which tasks to do in priority when you have time/energy/context for more than one.

I feel that David Allen leaves it up to the GTDer to make a call on which tasks to do, without tracking priority on paper, as it were, because as the day progresses, and as projects progress (and new ones emerge), the priorities are fluid and shift constantly. Perhaps on a day to day basis, like the Franklin Covey method recommends, you could assign ABC, 123 priorities to daily tasks, but again, once you write it down, all it takes is one phone call, meeting or drop-by to change your whole day/week/project’s landscape. Then your recorded data is incorrect.

Personally, I don’t have to track much more in a month for reporting except time on projects, by product ID, for budget reporting. So I could just look at my calendar and estimate meetings per product, and if I actually dated the tasks when I marked them as completed and recorded each task’s time invested for me to complete, I could make the process easier on myself at the end of the month nd have more confidence in the numbers I am reporting…something to think about.
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airwhale

Been there – done it all, it seems. I do love to try new software, and I am a gadget geek. I used to carry my Palm Pilot, with every type of app on it, constantly tweaking without getting very much out of it. Also, the constant hassle of having to sync the Palm, handle conflicts, duplicates and other errors, hardware errors that left my Palm drained for power, wiping everything clean, finally put me over the edge.

Now I run a dead simple system based around Google Notebook (which I can access from any of the four computers I use daily) and with a simple pen and pad as my main capture tool. I also use my phone’s voice recorder as a fast capture solution on-the-go. Plain text, tagging and GtD style lists are making my system much more efficient than it used to be. I think the simplicity is the main success factor.

Good article, btw! Thanks!
amzg

A combo of paper and software. Let me explain why:
In deed paper has benefits for fiddlers as there is very little to tweak. However, GTD specialized software do come with some benefits. So, this is my suggested solution: Use the specialized software for the weekly reviews, only. At this point it’s okay to fiddle around. When finished, your actions and projects lists are perfect and you print them for use over the next week (or at least a few days). When time for review again, whip out the paper lists and update the system, etc.
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http://www.annetanne.be AnneTanne

“A good doctor doesn’t become a great doctor because he has a better scalpel. “

I hope you'll never have to undergo surgery by a surgeon with a bad scalpel
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http://whoopeelife.com Gunady

Very bold idea

I don't think it's always about “the neighbour grass is always greener”. As for I myself, I adopt the some GTD method simply because I was too dummy to build my own :-p I've tried using paper. It just doesnt work for me. I then switched to making folders and using .txt to manage my tasks and activities. It worked just great back then. But now I'm changing to outlook-integrated Franklin Covey GTD.
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davidrallen

Andy,

All right-on stuff.

David

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