GTD Lite

[Anonymous]

I wonder how many of you are like me; you've realized that you are never going to be able to pull off the full blown GTD implementation. Too lazy, too busy, lack of motivation, whatever the excuse, it just aint gonna happen. The GTD methodology is alot of work.

So, has anyone developed a partial implementation that works well (or well enough)?

Mark in Texas

[kewms]

What part of the methodology are you trying to eliminate?

Why does GTD seem like too much work?

Why do you need a GTD implementation in the first place? That is, what is wrong with your current organizing system?

I'm asking all these questions because your post was a little vague. Most of the people here clearly think GTD offers benefits that justify the effort it requires. Since you don't, it would be helpful if we could understand why not.

Katherine

[ludlow]

Seems to me (though this thought was better expressed by James Fallows in the now-famous Atlantic article) that the possibility of partial implementation is the greatest thing about GTD. I think my implementation is probably very partial.

At the most basic level you could just start carrying a ziploc folder everywhere to use as an 'In' collection bucket, and process it regularly. Or you could just try to get into the habit of asking 'What's the next action?' All good, even without a bells-and-whistles multiple-context PDA-based thing.

At another level, obviously, it's true that comprehensiveness matters, insofar as the peace-of-mind goal of GTD is best achieved by having *all* your nagging open loops either dealt with or written down in one place, waiting to be dealt with. Half-measures in this sense could be counterproductive, since if some open loops are written down and some aren't, you might be less likely to remember the unwritten ones than if you didn't use GTD at all.

That said I do personally think the initial two-day collection exercise as described in the book is needlessly laborious in one or two ways. Some personal suggestions:

*All that stuff about sticking a Post-It note on each individual bit of stuff, with the next action written on the Post-It, makes things clearer, but if you understand the gist of the process, you could skip it and go straight to making lists.

*As long as you rigorously separate "reference stuff" from "actionable stuff", you *can* hold off from organising the reference stuff properly. I did. And you don't need to buy a labelling machine.

*You could hold off from using contexts completely, if it made things less daunting. Contexts are still the least relevant part of GTD for me, though I know that for some people they are much more fundamental.

*You could decide not to set up a tickler file, and instead rely on your appointments calendar (for essential, non-optional things) and a regularly reviewed someday/maybe file, for non-essential, optional things.

Just my thoughts...

[Jason Womack]

So, has anyone developed a partial implementation that works well (or well enough)?

This is exactly how I got into the "game" of enhancing my own personal productivity. Long story aside, working 12 hours a day, plus weekends, was not sustainable. In 1997 I started this journey, as a participant, in the two day "process."

In those two days I learned very important techniques that I'm continuing to use to this day. And, the more I "toy around" with these methods, the better it is.

Starting where you are is an important aspect to creating a system that works for you. GTD Lite may be closer than you realize:

What are you already doing to keep your mind clear, to handle important work as it shows up, and organize a workspace that works for you?

I'm reminded here of two things:

1) Organized does not HAVE to mean neat;
2) Most "organizational" issues are really "processing" issues.

So, start where you are, with that sheet of paper, e-mail, or idea, and:

- Identify a next action; and
- Leave a reminder where you can do it (aka: stop thinking about it here.)

That, in a nutshell, IS getting things done "the lite version."



http://www.davidco.com/coaches_corne...article43.html

[MarkTAW]

GTD isn't that hard to implement and works precisely because you're 100% committed to it. 95% commitment means you have a nagging 5% floating in the back of your head somewhere.

Just put your stuff in an alphabetical filing system and get a to-do list. It's not hard.

[mochant]

This is a challenge all of us who are studying GTD face from time time. Mastery is elusive and, like the black belt we often discuss here, there are varying stages of accomplishment. Whether the challenge is figuring out what "perfection" looks like o achieving a balance between tweaking the system and working it, these forums are full of conversations that dance around this topic.

I tend to agree with Coz - it is worth doing, even if you haven't "perfected it". Getting closer to "mind like water" is a heck of a lot better than trying to doing nothing at all to clear your mind and your Inbox. Take it one step at a time and celebrate every small victory.

[kay]

I found that emptying my inbox and making a determination to keep it empty - that is, to deal with every piece of incoming email immediately and either do it, bin it, file it, delegate it or task it was the most useful part of the GTD process for me. Just this simple thing solved 95% of my productivity problems.

Because that part worked so well, I have been slow to implement other parts of the methodology (the filing, the project lists, the weekly review) even though I think they're a great idea. I'm currently in the middle of a huge "virtual shelf" processing phase, as my computer "shelves" (across three computers) was the worst mess in my life.

[dal1mdm]

Mark TAW,

Not trying to start a ruckus here, but I disagree. Its simple but its not easy. In fact, I think its primarily for Type A folks - the full blown version anyway.

I think that there is alot to be said for the piecemeal approach. We cant all be masters...

I'd settle for "mind like jello".

Mark in Texas

[dal1mdm]

Answers to your good questions:

I'm not trying to eliminate any part of the methodology - I'm trying to figure out how little of it I can implementt

It seems like too much work because its hard enough to just keep up, and I cant keep up with keeping up with it with GTD (the full install)!

I'd say too much slips through the cracks with my current system. I'm not staying current with current demands.

The complete GTD system takes more time than I think I have or want to spend on it.

[MarkTAW]

Mind like Jello. Sounds like a great idea for a cartoon character. Pointy haired boss, mind like jello guy...

At my first job I had to a lot of things I absolutely had to make sure got done by a certain time and I started writing things down. It was a sort of GTD before I read GTD. I wrote things down and they always got done. Maybe my internal compass was already aligned with GTD by the time I read the book, but it always seemed straightfoward to me. But as I've said before, I'm some sort of GTD freak of nature.

Whenver GTD fails for me, it's because of some sort of either avoidance - there's a reason I'm not emptying my inbox that has nothing to do with GTD, or because I haven't taken the time to define where something is supposed to go.