Getting Things Done by David Allen

February 23, 2023 6:09 AM

Quite a few people here have recommended this book for getting yourself more efficient and organised. I recently purchased it and am finding it extremely complicated, am I missing something here?

I'm reading through it and I'm finding the jargon overwhelming and the book doesn't feel structures, it's repetitive and not easy to follow or ironically, take action from.

Could anyone explain in a more concise way or point me to any resources that might help me break down the concepts and actions laid out in the book?

posted by Sunflower88 to Work & Money (27 answers total)

You might want to look at Allen's book Ready for Anything.
posted by jgirl at 6:15 AM on February 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

You are not alone. There is a whole industry around GTD which includes some short videos (I picked one of many) to help you get started.
posted by nkknkk at 6:16 AM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

You're not the only one who finds GTD impossibly complicated. You'll find plenty of resources aimed at helping you break it down into smaller pieces, but ultimately it may also not be the right framework for you. It was not for me - check out my old Ask here. Trust, there are simpler ways to do things and you don't have to follow methods that don't work for you.
posted by MiraK at 6:17 AM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

There's a reason why there are literally thousands upon thousands of self help books, coaches, seminars, etc. It's because not every set of advice clicks for every person. If you read this book and you weren't able to parse any meaningful advice for your own life from it, it's fine. It just means it's not for you. It's fine.

I bet if you ask MeFi here to recommend some self help resources for some concrete concerns you have you'll be able to find something more your speed.
posted by phunniemee at 6:18 AM on February 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

(Sidebar: MiraK I just read your old question and hope you're doing well bc you and OP are both me).
posted by nkknkk at 6:24 AM on February 23, 2023 [3 favorites]

nkknkk & OP: what's worked for me is to accept that I will always be triaging ito my messy home & administrative things that need my attention. These things will never be "solved". I think I had this fantasy that this was a mountain to be climbed, difficult but once I got to the top I'd be *done*? But actually we are rowing boats on an ocean that throws endless waves at us. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll always be a kind of wet and that's ok. Maybe other people are very handy and can fashion waterproof gear for themselves out of trash they find floating in the ocean, but that's beyond me.
posted by MiraK at 6:46 AM on February 23, 2023 [19 favorites]

No, it's not just you. I read Allen's book a few years ago and realized I'd spend a lot more time managing this system than actually executing on tasks and chores. Then, when you (inevitably) miss a step there's an additional feeling of guilt.

Honestly, I've built my own homegrown system just by using a Google calendar for family events and some spreadsheets for weekly / monthly / biannual / annual tasks - like I know every April and November I need to switch out snow tires on our cars so I just set a task the first of those months.

If you read enough of these efficiency books and just try out individual tips or tactics then eventually you will settle on a few that you like. The tricky thing is balancing the need for control and organization with the curveballs that life will toss you.
posted by fortitude25 at 7:11 AM on February 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

I'm a huge GTD fan, but the first thing I tell people who are starting with it is that the most important thing is to pick from it what works for you. If there are ideas or processes that don't make sense, don't use them. You have to make any system your own in order for it to be sustainable and effective.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 7:13 AM on February 23, 2023 [10 favorites]

Hopefully this is not too much of a derail (and I definitely agree with the other posters that GTD may not be right for you) but MiraK's comment reminded me of the recent 'non-productivity' book by Oliver Burkeman - '4000 Weeks'. The emphasis is on realising that you will never be 'done' and trying to come to some kind of peace with that. Also includes some actual practical time management tips, and a good discussion on how the author tried all kinds of systems (he used to write about them for The Guardian).
posted by sedimentary_deer at 7:23 AM on February 23, 2023 [7 favorites]

I'm a big fan of the book... but I don't actually follow his particular structure at all.

What I did take away from it is the following:
1) By creating a system where all your tasks can live, you can simultaneously have a life with many complex tasks and have mental peace.
2) As long as you have a system that you trust to hold all your "stuff", a ritual for putting new "stuff" into it, and a habit of doing "stuff" from the system, all is well. Exact implementation details are not so relevant.

I also am not sure that the book is for everyone. In particular, I think that it works best for people with average to good executive function (otherwise you're going to struggle to manage a system this complex) who are managing very high complexity workloads rather than people with below average executive function managing life. That's just my personal opinion, make of that what you will.

I also think that some parts of the process can be quite anxiety provoking for some people - if your organisations are due to avoidance behaviours at their root, making a big organised set of lists that result in you being reminded of these anxiety provoking tasks every morning as part of your routine will just paralyse you.

I've also found both Burkeman and Cal Newport very influential. Both of them make a point of encouraging you to think about why you are adopting a particular system with particular characteristics. You shouldn't let the idea of "productivity" turn your mind into some kind of Taylorist nightmare factory where you just check unnecessary and unpleasant tasks off a list in order to get a dopamine hit. I have a three hour block in my schedule every day for reading for example which is very organised but not very "productivity maximising" since I'm not actually trying to maximise an arbitrary kind of always-busy productivity.
posted by atrazine at 7:35 AM on February 23, 2023 [12 favorites]

I used to be a huge GTD fan, twenty years ago. Stuff I still do:

For actual paper I need to find again, I have one folder labeled “waiting.” It’s shoved in my desk and usually only has a few things in it, I don’t need the whole 43-folder system. I also have waiting folders in my work and personal email for stuff like order confirmations, plane tickets, details about events I registered for.

All time-based stuff goes in the calendar. A reminder for the day the trash goes out, the day to pay my mortgage, and meetings and appointments. My to do list app can do this but I want exactly one place to check.

To-do lists by context. I have a list for work tasks at my laptop, a list of things I have to physically be at work to do, a list of things to ask my boss next time we meet, a list of waiting-on things to make sure I get a response to things.

Regularly reviewing the system to make sure I’m not carrying stuff around in my head, nothing is languishing undone, and I still want to do everything on the list.
posted by momus_window at 7:43 AM on February 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

I know someone who once used GTD while they were working at a particular company--the founder really liked the GTD practices and made sure all new hires were taught them. BUT, the book that was given out was not the regular GTD book, but GTD for teens. Apparently it made things much less complicated while still giving its readers a good way to use the principles of the system.
posted by miltthetank at 7:46 AM on February 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

It was required reading at 1 job, but I found it too fussy and rigid. At another job, we were all given expensive (paper) planner, same. I apply the Urgent/Important matrix; it's simple and effective.
My takeaways from all the GTD stuff I've seen:
Take planning seriously and make time for it.
Choose a process and stick to it.
Capture tasks, appointments, ideas, images, whatever, in some organized way.
Whatever process you adopt will require maintenance and that maintenance is worth doing.
posted by theora55 at 7:49 AM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

I find GTD complicated too. I've never been able to implement it. Lately, though, I've had some success using Tiago Forte's building a second brain method. It's not quite the same thing, but it's close. For me, it fills the same needs and is much more workable in this digital age.
posted by jdroth at 7:51 AM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

I think it's complicated, but I liked it. The thing that really stuck with me is "what is the next action?". It just helps me break things down into right size chunks. Pick and choose.
posted by plonkee at 8:26 AM on February 23, 2023 [7 favorites]

The big things that I got out of GTD were

(1) have a trusted place to capture everything that crosses your mind in a "oh, I need to remember to do that!" way, whether that's a notebook, app, or whatever

(2) think about your next action. Like, "I need to do something about the spots on my houseplant's leaves" is a project. Your next action is "research why my houseplant has spots on its leaves," then "research treatment for my houseplant's leaf spots," "buy treatment for my houseplant's leaf spots," and "implement treatment for my houseplant's leaf spots."

(3) Make your to-do lists context-specific. At the most basic level, if I have "buy toilet paper" on my to-do list, it's not useful if I think to do that when I'm at work or when I'm in the bathroom. It's useful if I think to do that when I'm going to the grocery store. So I want to put that on my "errands" list, and I would have a "work" list and a "home" list...

And if I had a lot of stuff I would break it down further, like perhaps by having a list of tasks I can do when I just have ten minutes, or having a list of tasks I can do that need a big block of my full attention.
posted by Jeanne at 8:30 AM on February 23, 2023 [6 favorites]

I read GTD years ago and still use what I learned — BUT I don't do 90% of what he suggests. It just doesn't fit my life, work structure or personality. The most important concept for me was that if I have a trusted system for recording things that need to be done, my brain can relax. For me that means action items live in four places: my email inbox, a written list in a physical notebook, my google calendar, and a paper inbox.

1. EMAIL: Only email that requires an action (client projects, paying a bill, reply to a friend) stay in my inbox. Everything else gets archived (not fussily categorized, it's all just in the archive folder).

2: WRITTEN LIST: My written list is generally divided into two categories: today and future. I look at the "future" items a couple of times a week and move them to "today" when appropriate. If I am away from my desk when something comes up that needs to be added to the to-do list, I use my phone to email myself about it, then move it to the list when I'm at my desk.

3. CALENDAR: Anything that requires action on a particular day goes on my calendar. I check the calendar every day and add things to my notebook's "today" list as necessary.

4: PAPER INBOX: This is generally bills and weird one-off things that come in the mail that require action. I look at it once a week or so to see if there's anything I currently need to deal with.

This system has evolved through the years and works for me. Please don't feel like you are a missing something if any particular system doesn't work for you. Take what seems appealing, try it out, then change or discard as necessary.
posted by mcduff at 8:33 AM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

A lot of good answers here. But, the part of the OP's question that almost everyone has ignored is the request for reducing GTD to a simple to understand summary. I'll give that a shot:

GTD can really be reduced to two things:

1. Reducing Anxiety by off-loading tasks from your brain into a trusted system such as a task list, planner, journal, or electronic app.
2. A commitment to regularly Review and Reflect on your tasks, decide which ones to do, which ones to eliminate, and decide priorities according to a process you decide is best for you.

That's it, that's all there is. It only seems complicated because the author wants you to be able to do this with any technology and for different personality types, so he gives plenty of examples and processes, and it can seem overwhelming.

It helps me to think of Getting Things Done not as a productivity book, but as a philosophy book with productivity examples.

Finally, as other commenters have mentioned, it doesn't work for everyone. Hundreds of hours with the system has led me to conclude that David Allen is a man with high anxiety and high executive function who mainly works with tech-sector companies with detailed and technical tasks. The examples he gives are from his life (high-anxiety, high executive function) and the from the companies he consults with (tech sector firms). '

It works for me because I also happen to be a person with both high anxiety and high executive function, and my government and volunteer work is similar enough to tech-sector work that the processes translate easily enough.

On the other hand, there are dozens of examples in this thread alone of people for whom it does not work. Just remember, not even David Allen wants you to do everything in the book. He just wants you to take the parts that work for you, and to understand how anxiety about tasks can lead to a sort of work paralysis that you absolutely do not have to be a prisoner of. I hope you found any of that useful, and good luck!
posted by seasparrow at 9:10 AM on February 23, 2023 [11 favorites]

Piling on to say that I also thought it was unhelpfully complicated, and never implemented it.
posted by pinochiette at 9:43 AM on February 23, 2023 [1 favorite]

One thing I’ve learned from years of procrastinating by reading productivity/self-help books is that generally everything you need from the book is in the wikipedia summary. GTD has a lot of fans, so even the wikipedia page is a little too much, but you might want to scroll down to the summary to get an idea if the system is for you.
posted by betweenthebars at 9:45 AM on February 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

Yeah, I never got past the first couple of chapters. I found the book to be very wordy. My thought was that the author wasted a lot of your time on pointless hype, which was ironic for a book on productivity.
posted by alex1965 at 10:31 AM on February 23, 2023

The flowchart that David Allen uses in the book is a pretty useful summary. A fellow named Scott Moehring made an even better version (his page compares one of Allen's versions with his own, and has a downloadable PDF).

Seasparrow makes a good point: you can get a lot of value out of GTD even if you don't adopt the entire system. I'd disagree about the claim that one has to be a high-anxiety person to find it valuable. I'm pretty chill, but I work in a field where dropping the ball can sometimes have serious negative consequences for other people, and having a reliable system for staying on top of work has helped me stay pretty chill.

I've been implementing most of GTD since around 2005, and while I don't review projects as often as I should, I found that after a few months, it was mostly habitual.

I use an application called OmniFocus (MacOS/iOS, though there's a subscription-based web version) as my primary task list. It was designed with GTD in mind, though it can be used in other ways. I adopted it as a beta tester in 2007; other than beta testing I have no connection to the publisher except as a satisfied customer.
posted by brianogilvie at 12:18 PM on February 23, 2023 [4 favorites]

While I loved the book, I too could not really implement it. There was too much stuff attached to it.

I've had great success with Bullet Journaling, which actually has a few things in common with GTD. If you want to try it, get the original book by Ryder Carroll. There's an industry built up around it, and a community of people who are into specialized notebooks and tools, illustrations, calligraphy, etc. but the artsy-craftsy aspect of it is completely optional...all you need is any notebook (I'm using one of those speckle-covered composition books), a pen or pencil, and a ruler.

Bullet Journaling has a few elements in common with GTD (at least as far as I remember GTD...it's been a while). Carroll has defined a "practice" around it, but like the art, it's up to you how much you delve into it. Essentially:

1. Make an initial brain dump of everything you need to do, plan to do, and want to do.
2. Use Carroll's straightforward techniques (all contained in the notebook: index, future log, daily log, monthly log, collections) to write down your to-dos, calendar items, plans, notes, research findings.
3. Take a few minutes each day, and a few minutes more each month and year, to reflect on what you have done and what you need and intend to do. Items that aren't yet done get migrated to new pages, and you decide whether they are still useful, or are worth expanding into collections.

A simple set of marks (bullets) indicates items that are pending, complete, notes as opposed to to-dos, items that have been migrated to new pages.

I've found bullet journaling to be incredibly flexible and forgiving. The structures are simple and genuinely useful, and though I'm a thoroughly digital guy, keeping some things on paper is rather comfortable.

One thing bullet journaling doesn't deal with that GTD does is paper. I remember GTD as essentially a system based on a 20th century paradigm of paper -- snail mail, memos, print outs, folders to store things in and look at each day. Though the bullet journal is fundamentally ink and paper, it exists alongside your email, text messages, social media, calendar and electronic documents and assumes you have some way of organizing the hard copies in your life.
posted by lhauser at 6:14 PM on February 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

I am traveling and can’t reference the exact place in the book to stop, but I tell people to stop before they get to the How To Implement stuff. Get the concepts and ignore the overly-complicated system.
posted by ITravelMontana at 6:18 PM on February 23, 2023

As with others, I liked the book and the ideas but don't do most of it. It was all a bit much for my needs, but some things stuck:

* When you know something needs to be done, write it down. However that works best for you (e.g. your favourite to-do app). Don't keep things in your head.

* If something can be done now, in less than a couple of minutes, do it now. Otherwise write it down.

I'm far from perfect now - I end up with long lists of things to do that I don't get round to - but just those two points helped me.
posted by fabius at 5:15 AM on February 24, 2023

The thing about productivity management systems that they always bleed over into information management. How do you track, arrange, organize and utilize all the bits of information that comes your way? Any GTD type system inevitably runs into this system problem that the system itself creates overhead. It takes time, energy and focus just to run it, before you get any benefit out of it.
So on top of your stack of a papers or whatever, now you superimpose some GTD like structure which in itself adds time and complexity to the tasks you want to accomplish.
GTD for me has become a kind of template I refer to but don't actually utilize much once I have internalized it.
I have an In box and clear it out periodically. I maintain a calendar of events coming up. I review my list of tasks and projects periodically. That's pretty much it.
I went down multiple GTD systems looking for the perfect fit when I ultimately realized it was the information management that was causing problems, not the productivity system. GTD is useful but not very productive to actually follow when you add up the tax on time it creates.
posted by diode at 6:33 AM on February 24, 2023

Like atrazine, I got a lot of value from the book but my current system is barely recognisable as GTD. Whenever I need a refresher, I check the diagram that brianolgivie linked. It's an excellent summary of the principles.

I don't think anyone has actually used David Allen's folder system since smartphones were invented though. That's the first thing you can safely ignore.
posted by harriet vane at 6:35 AM on February 24, 2023