Pure GTD: not my Cup of Tea

Posted on May 12, 2008 by Bruce Keener

About a month ago, I challenged myself to use Pure GTD. The motivation for this was:

  • Feeling that my method of combining Covey and GTD techniques were getting stale
  • My watching one of David Allen’s inspiring GTD videos.

Well, it just has not worked for me. I do like, and use, many of the GTD techniques, such as organization by context, the 2-minute rule, keeping my list constantly up-to-date as new ideas and tasks emerge, and so on.

But, I also like having a plan for my day. I like setting down and deciding what is really important to me and what really has to be done this day and this week. I do not use the A, B, and methods of prioritizing, but other than that, my day looks like a typical FranklinCovey-type schedule. That’s what works for me. [By the way, while I do not use A/B/C priorities, I work at being mindful of whether a task is urgent and important, not urgent and important, and so on.]

Did I try hard enough to make pure GTD work? Maybe not. Some people make it work very well. At least David says he does. :-) And some of you probably make it work well for you.

But the exercise of trying pure GTD again was good for me nonetheless. And in the end, it reminded me that it makes no sense to abandon a system that works for you to experiment with one that does not. Oh, a little bit of experimentation is healthy, of course, and is one of the ways we learn new things. Too much experimenting can be unproductive, though.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update on this.

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  • http://www.billmyerscreations.com Bill Myers

    I had a feeling based on a couple of remarks in your last “GTD update” that your experiment would be short-lived. Nevertheless, I’m glad you found it worthwhile.

    I’ve decided to continue to continue to attempt to achieve “black belt” proficiency with “pure GTD.” My first couple of weekly reviews were agony — one of them took more than a day! But my last weekly review was much quicker and far less painful. More important, I’m becoming more productive, and finding it easier to rapidly switch tasks when necessary without missing a beat.

    You may also be interested to know that I decided to reset my HTC Mogul and go back to the base WM 6 configuration. Despite the limitations, I find the relative simplicity keeps me focused on GTD principles rather than software features. Others’ mileage may vary, but I find this suits my work style.

  • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce

    Bill,

    Good for you!! It’s doable, I know, and I may have given up prematurely. (In fact I may “secretly” try to become blackbelt, despite the fact that I am so accustomed to working with a daily task list. I know it’s doable.)

    I am also proud for you that you are focusing on using little software as you can get away with. I think that is a smart thing for anybody to do, and I think it is especially smart for folks like you and I who have ADD-like and OCD-like tendencies (since you have mentioned that in the past).

    I’m happy for you, buddy. Keep me posted!

  • http://www.billmyerscreations.com/blog Bill Myers

    @Bruce: “I’m happy for you, buddy. Keep me posted!”

    Thanks, and will do!

  • Adam

    I agree that pure GTD is hard to follow. I’ve tried the way my project management tool developers do it, and I liked it a lot. It’s a great method after all, especially when you use the right tools.