Getting over GTD

For those of you who don't know, GTD stands for Getting Things Done. It's a book (and an entire system) about productivity and organization by David Allen. If you are at all "into" the blogosphere, you most likely understand that GTD has developed a sort of "cult" following, with devoted users coming up with new and inventive ways of implementing the GTD philosophy into every aspect of their lives. If you haven't read the book, try checking out sites like 43 Folders, Organize IT, or GTD Wannabe. Or, read the following articles to get a sense of what GTD is all about:

• Getting Started with GTD
• Best Practices for GTD and Administrative Assistants
• GTD Primer (A Chapter by Chapter breakdown)

In this article, I'm not going to go into the intricate details of the GTD system. Instead, I'd like to share my own personal experience with GTD. First off, I have to admit that I've never read the book cover-to-cover. There, I said it. I've tried but these types of things get tiring quickly for me. There's only so much time I can devote to learning how to effectively use my time. I start feeling incredibly impatient and anxiety ridden. My mind starts going over the hundreds of things I should be doing rather than reading this silly book about organizing those things. GTD devotees would say I'm the person who needs it the most !Even though I haven't read it cover-to-cover, I've read a bit of all the sections and I've certainly read enough in the blogosphere to give me a broad understanding of the system (see the incredibly detailed articles above). While it's not extremely complicated, it is very specific and, in my opinion, quite demanding. It has a lot of good points, though personally, I find the stringent approach to be a little too much for my constantly changing life. I don't have the discipline to stick to one precise way of doing things, which is probably the source of my existing disorganization. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a chaotic mess or anything. But I could do better. GTD is not, in my opinion, the answer for me. However, there are a few golden ideas I've taken from it (and implemented successfully) so I wanted to share them with you, just in case you were wondering what all of this GTD stuff is about.

1. Only use one inbox for information. Whatever it is - a notebook, a box, a binder - only use one place to gather information. When it's strewn across a variety of places, you just increase your opportunity to neglect something. I used to be the biggest offender with this. Partly, this happened because I like organizational tools. I love pretty binders and notebooks and planners. Of course, using multiple things to track tasks or "to do" items or even phone numbers is a total waste of time, energy and space. Plus, you run the risk of forgetting or losing things because you have so many places to check for information. Minimizing the items used for collecting information has been a big shift for me - and an incredibly beneficial one. Now, I collect all of my tasks on one pad of paper throughout the day. Anything that is not completed by the end of the day gets copied into a separate task book that is reviewed each morning. Still not perfectly streamlined but much, much better.

2. Break down your "to do" items into "next actions." Don't simply look at a large task and put it on your list. For example: Get Bachelor's Degree. That's not really a task and it could just end up sitting on your list forever. Instead, break down these big tasks into their "next action" steps. For example, instead of "Get Bachelor's Degree", you may add the task, "Write to University to request application packet for Business program". That is a manageable task that can be crossed off by doing something. Breaking down large projects like this has done an amazing amount for me. I used to look at large jobs and feel overwhelmed with all of the steps involved. I had no idea where to start. Now, I simply look at the next thing that has to be done - nothing more. Doing it this way helps get you moving instead of just staring at big, looming projects with fear. This blog got started by following this process. I knew nothing about how to blog so instead of adding "Start a blog" to my to-do list, I added "research how to start a blog". Each time I finished one action, I added the next one in the step-by-step process.

3. Keep a "Someday/Maybe" list. One of the tools in the GTD system is a Someday/Maybe list. This is simply a running list where you can put ideas that occur to you which are not important now but may be in the future. For example, I might be interested in taking some classes on coaching. So I've included that on my list. I've also included things I'd like to add to this website, places I'd like to travel, books I'd like to read. Basically, it's a list that you can review at any time for ideas and reminders of the things you could be working on. It's like a big goal list that doesn't have to be anything too serious or strict - after all, it's a maybe list. Nothing on it has to be done.

4. The review process is vital. Though GTD has quite a few very specific times and ways for the review process, I think it's simply important to make it work for you. Just do it regularly and don't forget it! After all, what's the point of collecting all of this information if it's never reviewed? Evaluate the items you collect in your "one system", monitor next action steps (and add the next one whenever you complete one), and don't let your someday/maybe list just sit there collecting dust. Whenever you are bored and looking for a project, pick it up and find the next action for something on there. Then, add it to your to-do list.As I said at the beginning of this article, this is not by any means an exhaustive review of the GTD system. These are only a few key points that really hit home with me. Maybe one day I'll actually finish the whole book and I'll gain hundreds of other wonderful insights. Until then, I don't think I'll consider myself a GTD-fanatic.If you are a GTD-fanatic (or if you're considering becoming one in the future) check out this Massive List of GTD Resources that was created by Leo at Zen Habits. I think you should be able to find everything you need to become an authentic "GTD cult" member! Please share your experience with the GTD system in the discussion below. I'd love to learn the "golden nuggets" you guys may have gathered from it.