I recently watched a video of David Allen talking about GTD (I’ll share it with you in a separate post).
It inspired me to challenge myself to go back to pure GTD. As regular readers know, I have been a long-time fan of combining GTD techniques with Covey techniques. I have done well with that combined approach, but it is feeling stale. Frankly, I think it’s time for me to give myself a kick in the butt, and to get back to basics. I’d like to see if I can achieve a GTD black-belt status. I have so much going on, and I continue to pile more stuff onto my plate, and it just seems like time for me to do this.
So, here are some of the things I have lined up for the weekend and the coming week:
- Immersing myself in David’s Ready for Anything: 52 Productivity Principles for Work and Life
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- Re-installing the GTD Add-in for Outlook.
- Doing another mindsweep, and ensuring I convert all that I write down into appropriate next actions or open-loops (or projects).
- Getting a better handle on the stuff above David’s 20,000 foot level. I am confident in my ability to use GTD to handle the 20,000 foot and runway level stuff.
As I mentioned, David’s video was sort of the tipping point for me on this. But, it has been building for a while, with a lot of you influencing my decision. Many of you are avid GTD practitioners and your comments on how you are using GTD often inspire me. Yes, folks you do inspire me, and you have great insights, and I love it when you chime in with your thoughts in the comments. It’s great that we can all learn from each other, isn’t it?
Well, I just wanted to share this with you. This is sort of a major deal for me, because I have been using combined techniques for a long while now. Frankly, I probably developed some bad habits because of it, and it is time for me to go back to pure GTD. Wish me luck.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Holy synchronicity, Batman! Just yesterday I decided it was time to take my application of GTD to the next level. Our motives and goals are so similar it’s scary.
My employer appears to be in a death spiral, and I believe I have three to six months to find another job in this lousy economy. I need to find a sales job in the near term, but I’d also like to address this gnawing sense that I should have been pursuing *art* as a full-time career all along. Like you, I’m overloaded beyond measure. If ever I needed to be applying GTD at a black-belt level, the time is now.
While I don’t see anything inherently wrong with mixing Franklin-Covey with GTD, the danger (at least for me) would be the temptation to continually try to tweak the system. I’ve found that applying GTD rigorously results in a system that quickly goes on “auto-pilot.” I use the Netcentrics GTD Outlook Add-In and a plain vanilla Pocket PC, and I’ve gotten to the point where I can use both without thinking about them.
There are a few “leaks” in my system. I never got around to putting together a “Horizons of Focus” map, nor am I good about capturing ideas that hit me while I’m away from my laptop.
I *know* it’s worth pursuing GTD “black belt” excellence, because the principles of GTD have already helped me. Not only am I getting more done in less time, but I am actually confident that I can face this potential personal crisis and emerge victorious. It’s not that GTD has given me new abilities, but it has shown me how to leverage what I already have inside.
Tell ya what, if you would be so kind as to update us on your progress, I’ll chime in with mine. Perhaps you and I, and the rest of your reading community, can provide mutual support.
Rock on, Bruce!
Rock on, Bill!
I think the problem that I have gotten into in combining GTD and Covey is my constant “need” to prioritize everything, which really goes against the grain of pure GTD. I should be able to rely on my intuition and the good judgment that has gotten me through almost 59 years (well, good judgment most of the time), instead of wanting to prioritize everything.
The other problem is that the crutch of the combo kept me from ever fully exploring the upper levels of GTD. I don’t think I ever gave the various “elevations” their due. To me Covey Roles was good enough, coupled with some goals. But, I think proper use of the “elevations” will help me better define goals, and ensure that I am assigning next actions to them when I think appropriate, reviewing them every week.
I am not sure how I would go about a progress report. But, I will keep the thought in mind (and put it into my open loops), and we’ll see what emerges.
Best wishes to you in your mess. I am confident you will do well. You are clearly intelligent and full of energy, and you have great creative talent, which perhaps now you can shape into a career.
Bruce: “But, I will keep the thought in mind (and put it into my open loops)…”
It probably belongs in your “Someday/Maybe” list. As an aside, that’s another one I need to get better at using. I often skip that one during my weekly reviews. It’s supposed to be a parking lot for commitments that aren’t ready for prime time, but I’ve been allowing it to become a graveyard.
@Bill, you might try breaking your Someday/Maybe list into two: Someday, which you really expect to do, and Maybe, which you might or might not do. Of course, this will not absolutely prevent you from blowing either off, but it might help a bit.
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