How GTD changes perceptions of you

I have been doing GTD for around 2 months now and am glad to say it is working well for me. I have noticed changes in myself, but the interesting question is whether others around you e.g work colleagues notice this too.

I have definitely noticed a change in the work environment around me, for instance being passed more and more work to do, much of which is not even my area of responsibility (thanks to GTD I am just about keeping on top of it;) ). It seems that people are perceiving me as being "reliable" and "organised" and that if they pass it to me they can rely that it will get done. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing! It reminds me of the line from Spiderman: "with great power comes great responsibility":-D

I am interested in hearing from fellow GTDers how they have experienced people interacting differently with them as they progress to Mind Like Water.

Clarkey - I have seen this manifest itself time and again, not only for me but for other GTD'ers who demonstrate an above average ability to see commitments through. It has led to many opportunities for advancement, new business opportunities, and an ever-increasing number of personal and professional references. The fact of the matter is that people prefer to associate with and rely on those who have demonstrated they can and will do what they promise to.

This is an unintended, but completely satisfying consequence of having touched MLW on a regular basis ( I still am not there all the time and am comfrotable with the notion that I may never be).

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Originally Posted by Clarkey

It reminds me of the line from Spiderman: "with great power comes great responsibility"

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You know David's line is "The better you get, the better you better get." I think I actually like your quote from Spiderman better...

I would say definitely that I have seen that in my own career after implementing GTD for two + years ... and I'm still a long way from black belt on this. I am picking up more and more work; some of it outside the scope of the responsibility of my current job description.

I think the real key to "Mind Like Water" for me at least with this is the great responsibility of looking out for your ability to meet those committments and quite frankly the WIIFM factor.

Still not sure that's I'm also getting more requests than I can handle and I'm having to say no to some of them. That means I need an up to date project list and I need for my boss to know what is on my plate. Sometimes it means deciding that certain requests either don't get filled or they get kicked back to the requester. (Why should you be doing their job for them?)

Also if you are taking on more responsibility and meeting committments the question is are you getting promotions, raises, and bonuses that reflect the contributions you are making at work? Of course you may need to wait a year for that conversation with your boss, but its worth having...

The changes with GTD are great, and I have been splash for those, and very happy...

Recently in a meeting I express that we need more organization for certain procedures at work and explain that all of us can be a little more organized, starting by me. Another manager stand up and said: "If you think you are disorganized, I am out of luck" he continue saying that I am the only person in our office that can be trusted for files and actually have a desk that you can do work on it.

That night I start thinking about what he said and understand that the problem is my standard has changed for since I start GTD, I regret not to have a picture of my office before, but the reality is, as Julie Flagg said, I am a recovering disorganize person, and I need all the help I can get.

That is my GTD story, but for now I have more to do and more to organize and improve...

Best,

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Originally Posted by apinaud

That night I start thinking about what he said and understand that the problem is my standard has changed for since I start GTD

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That is definitely a lesson worth remembering for all of us. Whilst in many cases we often end up discussing the minutiae of GTD in this forum in our strive for perfection, if we could all compare ourselves to before we started GTD then we would no doubt be very happy with where we are. I guess if we are only even 50% of the way there, that is going to look a whole heap better than the average worker.

Thanks to all for your interesting replies.