“Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex and intelligent behaviour. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behaviour.” — Dee Hock
I’m reading David Allen’s Getting Things Done book and this quote really stuck out at me. Totally true. I know a few people to whom the latter belongs to.
Anyways, this is a really good book. I’ve already gotten some fantastic ideas from it and am already shifting my way of thinking, and I’m only 1/4 through the book. I’ve been trying to ascribe to the GTD “methodology” through the use of GTD-related software, but I have yet to turn it into a lifestyle.. so far it’s been nothing more than a few bits and pieces here and there, mostly relating to my work with Mandriva which has really had the advantage of keeping me and getting me focused. Of course the GTD “methodology” could be used everywhere — from work, other hobby projects, and personal life too. I’m always looking for ways to be more efficient and by reading this I’m seeing what I’ve been doing wrong, what I could be doing better, etc. Really good stuff. I plan to read it through once then go back with my highlighter once I’ve got the overall concept so I can really amplify the parts I struggle with and really need to have sink in.
Anyways, highly recommended. Even if you think you’re efficient now (and you could very well be), there’s always remove for improvement and doing things better/faster/easier should be an aspiration for anyone who has less time than they’d like (and who among us can honestly say we have *enough* time for everything we want to do?).
7 Comments
I’m using the GTD method on a daily basis for one year, and it has completely revolutionated my way of thinking how to work. Some kind of paradigm shift
I’ve choosen Gnome Evolution to implement it. I hope one day all Mandriva workers would attend a seminar from David Allen on GTD 
For implementing GTD you can use this web-based application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version and iCal are available too.
Cedric.. a seminar would be a fantastic thing. =) But the book is doing quite good for me to start with and, I suspect, once I’ve finished and re-read it, I’ll pick up even more.
Dan, I’m going to have to look at that web site. That looks like it could be quite useful. Thanks!
I used and taught Covey and Daytimer for many years before reading David Allen’s GTD book and switching to GTD. And then I found an application that allows me to view my entire GTD at work on my Win machine, at home on my Macs and even on my cell phone. And another app lets me call in tasks to my GTD without any writing or typing, great for those thoughts that hit me while driving. I’ve written about my experiences with GTD in a blog post at http://johnkendrick.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/more-getting-things-done/ John
Thanks, John. I’m going to check that out and see if I can come up with more implementation ideas.
I’ve finished the book this morning and started re-reading it again this time to actually get right into it and do the “first steps”. Should be interesting. =)
Just out of curiosity.. After a few months with GTD, have you managed to keep up with it?
I tried it about 4 or 5 times already, but I managed to keep up with it for at most a month. After that I went back to the old way of handling things. There are just too many things that I couldn’t handle in GTD way.
I have… the parts that I implemented. I haven’t done the whole thing, at least not for all areas. I just haven’t had the time to do the initial braindump and organization. Mandriva kept me far too busy, and when I was done with that I just didn’t even want to think about it.
So I’ve implemented parts… using the 2 minute rule with stuff to do immediately, making sure things get filed immediately (mostly receipts and whatnot), and using software to track projects, next actions, and someday/maybe lists (but those aren’t full lists and I’ve been slipping there).
It’s made a huge difference with me using my calendar tho. My calendar is completely up-to-speed with what I’m doing and is definitely a trusted part of my system.