My thoughts on GTD
Earlier this summer, I found the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen on Audible and downloaded it. I normally use Audible for non-fiction books on politics, philosophy, or history since I would normally not pick those types of books up to read, but am very happy to listen to them while I drive, walk, or work in my classroom. I never download novels to listen to because I would much rather read them.
So, when I saw Allen’s book on Audible, I thought that it might be a good one for me to download and listen to (since it’s definitely not one that I would pick up and read); however, I was skeptical because I have listened to and read many books on personal management, and none of them have inspired me to take control of my life and organize all my junk. I was pleasantly surprised by Allen’s common sense approach.
Being an enormously unorganized person, I’m always trying little things to trick myself into being even a little more on top of things. I’ve owned 2 different Palm Pilots in the last 4 years, and have used them with varying degrees of succcess; however, it seems that when the newness of the toy wears off, so does the efficacy of the system. Since Allen’s methodology doesn’t require any specific equipment, it’s not as likely to lose its impact as the toy becomes less fun.
Now, to the nitty gritty. The reason Allen’s approach works so well for me is because it is flexible. It doesn’t use daily “to do” lists or artificial systems of priorities. What it does is gives you a place to catalogue all of your committments where you will refer back to them when you can actually perform the actions needed to fulfill them. You have actions to do at the computer while you’re at your computer, actions to do at school while you’re at school, your Walmart shopping list while you’re at Walmart, etc. It breaks projects (defined by Allen as anything you’re responsible for that will take more than one action to complete) down into action steps (the next physical step required to move the project forward) and context (where do you need to be to complete the action). I can’t think of anything more simple and straight forward.
Since my work gives me a 3-month break in the summer, I have used the time to slowly integrate the GTD system into my life. I have sorted through all of my stuff from my desk at home, to the garage, to my storage unit in Price, and finally to my classroom. I have captured all the committments that I have into one place, creating context-specific “next actions lists” to allow me to make progress on all of them. I’ve learned how to use my Palm Pilot effectively to help me make moment-to-moment decisions about what I’m doing and–perhaps more importantly–what I’m not doing. I’ve never felt so in control of my life.
I’ve always thought that organization stifles creativity, and I think that’s why I’ve fought it for so many years, but as I’ve integrated GTD into my life and routine, I’ve found that the opposite is true. I have more time to create and produce things that have been on my mind for a long time. I’ve written some music this summer, started a couple of major writing projects, began the process of applying for graduate school, and prepared for the coming school year better than I ever have before. All of this while working part time and pausing to have a baby. It’s amazing.
I would encourage anyone to pick up Allen’s book. It is well worth the time to read.
