{"id":3562,"date":"2010-04-05T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2010-04-05T17:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gtdtimes.com\/?p=3562"},"modified":"2021-05-23T17:16:16","modified_gmt":"2021-05-24T00:16:16","slug":"a-journey-of-reading-getting-things-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/04\/a-journey-of-reading-getting-things-done\/","title":{"rendered":"A journey of reading Getting Things Done"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A few months ago, a new GTD implementer named Michael started sending me his experiences of reading Getting Things Done<\/em>.\u00a0 He read a chapter a week and would recap what he learned. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading these, as it’s been fun to see GTD through a newcomer’s eyes.\u00a0 He just finished the book and sent his final summary. I thought you might all enjoy this.<\/p>\n

Over the past few months, I\u2019ve gone through Getting Things Done (GTD) with the proverbial fine-toothed comb, reviewing one chapter each week. During this time, I\u2019ve completed a second draft of a novella and moved into a new apartment.<\/p>\n

At the very least, GTD prepared me to fully complete these two tasks and any other task that I might happen upon. The novella is a complete story, beginning to end. I\u2019ve organized my new apartment into a livable space, and I\u2019m completely unpacked.\u00a0 Learning how to identify a task and follow it to completion has been a key element of my GTD learning experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most important GTD tool for me has been defining actions.<\/strong> For example, I know what action I need to take in regard to my application to a writer\u2019s workshop is to \u201ccomplete the required components, print, and mail by March 31\u201d makes the process much easier. First, I know the parameters of the task. Second, I\u2019m confident that following this task will get my application to the right place, at the right time. I don\u2019t need to worry that I\u2019ll miss a scholarship or fellowship, either of which could save me a lot of money<\/p>\n

What GTD really gives me is confidence. <\/strong>I know that as long as I do my weekly review and keep everything on a list, nothing is going to fall through the cracks. However if something does, I am in a better position to deal with problems, as I know where everything else stands and when events are happening.<\/p>\n

Some of the tips in GTD are very helpful, and I would not have tried them, if I had not gotten so much benefit from the rest of the book. At the top of this list is the labeler. When I first read about the labeler, I was convinced it was just an expensive toy. Frankly, I\u2019m still convinced it\u2019s an expensive toy, but I\u2019m also convinced that it works wonders, anyway. I don\u2019t know why the labeler works better than handwriting, it just does.<\/p>\n

What got me started in GTD was a simple Google Search for \u201cGetting Started in Life.\u201d I was attracted to GTD because I already had the book, which means there\u2019s a lot more to this book than just reading it or owning a copy. The work required to implement GTD to its effectiveness is a lot. It\u2019s something I had to think about on a constant basis:<\/p>\n

What is my relationship to my work?
\nWhat do I want to accomplish?
\nWhen do I want to accomplish it by?
\nWhy does this need to be done?
\nHow am I going to do it?
\nWhich should I do first?<\/p>\n

These are questions that GTD does not answer, but it helps me create an environment in which I can answer these questions. The beauty of GTD is that it allows my brain to prioritize by controlling the flow of stuff that needs to be processed.<\/strong> I still scan, look to see where the fires are, but I can identify fires before they light, now. I can look at something and say: This will take five minutes now or five hours two weeks from now.\u00a0 I can deal with it accordingly and somewhat in advance.<\/p>\n

I still have room for improvement. The filing system I have at home still needs work. Specifically, I\u2019m short on hanging folders, and my cabinet just becomes a pile of mess if it doesn\u2019t have hanging folders. I still have large projects, like write a screen play, which are ambiguously defined and have near deadlines in comparison to the amount of work they require.<\/p>\n

By in large, next month looks like it\u2019ll be better than this month. And, I get the feeling that I can keep improving month after month. This has a lot to do with GTD and organization.<\/p>\n

Kelly, thanks for reading all my emails over these past months. For April, I\u2019m turning my attention to Script Frenzy, which is to write 100 pages of script in a month. I hope to move on to Ready for Anything<\/em> and Making It All Work<\/em> very soon. These past two or three weeks especially, I\u2019ve been doing just a little more than I feel comfortable with\u2014probably only because of GTD that I can do that.<\/p>\n

Best,<\/p>\n

Michael<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few months ago, a new GTD implementer named Michael started sending me his experiences of reading Getting Things Done.\u00a0 He read a chapter a week and would recap what he learned. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading these, as it’s been fun to see GTD through a newcomer’s eyes.\u00a0 He just finished the book and sent … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “A journey of reading Getting Things Done”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[22,69,83,739],"class_list":["post-3562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-productivity-tips","tag-getting-things-done","tag-implementing-gtd","tag-community-contributions","tag-inspiration","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA journey of reading Getting Things Done<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"X Community Contributions X Getting Things Done X Implementing GTD X Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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