Principles of Getting Things Done

I should begin by mentioning that I am by no means a GTD expert. There are plenty of sources out there for information on David Allen’s Getting Things Done system, including the book and Wikipedia.

However, to add a bit of context to my system, the high points of GTD, at least from my perspective are:

• Productivity is improved and stress reduced when mental energy isn’t wasted on keeping track of what you need/want to do.
   
• "Stuff" that arrives in your "inbox(es)" should:
  • Be done immediately if it’s quick;
  • Launch a new project with its own to-do’s;
  • Be stored as a future action in a context-based to-do list;
  • Be incubated as something you might want to do someday; or
  • Be filed or tossed.
     
• Actions that you need to take in the future should be classified based on the context that can be done.
   
• Lists of projects and actions should periodically be reviewed, to ensure that they’re still relevant, to make sure they don’t fall through the cracks, etc.
   
• With everything organized and with no cracks for "stuff" to fall into, you are free to decide what you should be doing based on the context you’re working in, the energy you have available, and current priorities.

I should also add that one of the other aspects of GTD that attracts me is that its adherents focus more on the methodology, rather than necessarily prescribing tools. It can be adapted to pencil-and-paper just as easily as it can be implemented in an übergeeky setup.

My Situation
 

The main aspect of GTD that attracted me was the idea of context-based lists, as my "work life" and "personal life" tend to blur together more than most people’s.

I have a flexible work situation, due to my family situation. Depending on many factors, I can work from home or from one of several different offices. My work schedule can vary from day-to-day or even hour-to-hour, and so, it’s not always possible for me to forecast what I’m going to be doing in any one day until it’s actually happened.

Therefore, I am very reliant on my calendar to keep tabs on definitely-scheduled items (calls, trips, etc.), and juggling my to-do lists for home and for work has traditionally been a challenge for me.

Further complicating matters, I have two computers — a laptop from work, and a tablet of my own. I use them interchangeably, and rely on a utility (unison) to keep relevant files synchronized between them. I am a heavy PC user; I hate paper.

Although I avoid hardcopy like the plague, I am a packrat when it comes to data. I hate deleting email since on many occasions, I’ve been saved by being able to dig up some relevant nugget of information in an archived and nearly-forgotten note from way-back-when. Packrat-ness goes against the zero-inbox philosophy some members of the GTD cult have, but I’ll discuss how I reconcile that later.

And, GTD makes a big deal about "projects". In my job, I provide support for about a half-dozen businesses. While I do have some "normal" projects, a large portion of my work is ad-hoc. Therefore, the GTD emphasis on "projects" and "next actions" doesn’t really resonate that strongly with me. I do make reference to "projects" in my system, but more often than not, they’d be better described as "roles" or "functions".

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