Chapter One - A New Practice for a New Reality

The two key objectives:

1. Capturing all the things that need to be done (ever)
2. Trusting yourself to make decisions regarding Next Actions you can implement at any moment

The problem today, constant change. Fuzzy boundaries to our work, that change. Makes defining what you need or can do hard.

Traditional approaches to time management: calendars, to do lists, assigning priorities. Can't cope with a changing environment, ie a random call/interruption.

Idea of clarifying goals (Big Picture) fail due to:

1. Distraction
   
2. Ineffective personal organisation, create resistance to projects
3. Values often highlight areas that need change, overwhelm with things to do

But, big picture is still important, it just often creates more things to do (less simple).

Idea that over or under reaction causes you to be controlled. Less effective results.

Principle: stress comes from appropriate managed commitments.

Open loop = agreement with yourself. Tracked by sub conscious. Pull attention away from where it belongs. Open loops can be big or small. Often have more than you are aware.

Basic requirements for managing commitments

• if it's on your mind, it must get out. Must be captured.
• Clarify exactly what your commitment is. Decide what you have to do (if anything)
• Once you've decided on actions, must keep track in a system you review regularly

"You have to think about your stuff more than you realize but less than you're afraid you might"

The idea of 'knowledge work', where the task and results have to be determined. Demands risk, no right answer, just choices.

Have to think about your work before you do it. Outcome thinking makes wishes reality.

Why things are on your mind, you want something to be different than it is, but:

• haven't clarified outcome
• haven't decided next action
• haven't put reminders of the outcome/action into a system you trust

You can't fool your own mind.

Problem: thinking about something when you can't do anything about it (dead batteries in the torch). Waste of time to think about something repeatedly without making progress.

Stuff = anything that doesn't belong where it is, which has no action or outcome determined by you yet. Stuff isn't controllable.

Problem with to-do lists, lists of stuff rather than actions.

Need to get in habit of keeping stuff off your mind, by managing your actions (NOT time, information etc).Difficult to manage actions you haven't decided on, the problem often is a lack of clarity on what the actions are.

The value of a bottom up approach, most people so involved with day to day activity it's hard to get a big picture view. Need to get in control of the now.

Horizontal control = coherence across all activities. Tracking all the things you need to do at the moment.

Vertical control = scanning along the horizon, planning projects.

The goal for both is the same: getting things off your mind.

Most people only review and make lists when urgent; 'black belts' make lists for every project in their life.

Need to be making choices based on options, rather than what the options are.

Too much stuff on your mind distracts. Your mind reminds you of things you can't do anything about.

The First Read

I brought the book 'How To Get Things Done - The Art of Stress-free Productivity' in Melbourne sometime in early January. I've read it somewhat thoroughly, trying to absorb key concepts rather than nailing down my specific interpretation or the way I'm going to implement it.

My next step is the progress of re-reading the book and reviewing it; taking notes that not only provide a guide for me and others, but again help to pound the principles of GTD into my paradigm.

I'll be doing it chapter by chapter, aiming to get it done on the 16th of February, which is when I go down to University in Christchurch. The reason I'm doing this is so that I can have a 'clean install', and not have to worry about all the baggage and mess I've got up here at home.

A GTD Journey

Like anyone who is both on the Internet and interested in personal productivity and improvement, I've heard a lot about GTD. There are dozens of sites like Lifehacker or 43 Folders that are either totally dedicated to David Allen's book, or devote a significant proportion of their site to it.

I've read a bit about GTD here and there, glanced over a few summaries posted on the web, read a few articles relating to various ways to hack GTD, but never until now actually read the book.

This site is about my journey from first reading the book to eventually becoming a 'black belt' GTDer. It'll be a log that contains all my notes, my changes to the system, my struggles and triumphs not just with GTD but with productivity in general. I've decided to make this separate from my other blog, Adam's Blog (which covers more of my exercise routines, politics and philosophy) in order to help people that are interested in my venture to see my progress more clearly.