Comments on: Ask The Readers: What Don’t You Like About GTD?

By: Kelly O

Kelly O — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:04:27 +0000

I read GTD over the summer, and have really not found a practical way to apply it to my administrative support position. I like the capturing ideas, but the classifications can be confusing, particularly when there are some things that fit none or more than one classification. I’ve had the best luck with a combination of Julie Morgenstern/Franklin Covey simply because of the ease of use for me. I like the concepts in GTD, they’re just not practical in my life.

Patty, I also appreciate the emphasis on the quality of work done. So many times the things I find myself doing are Covey Q3, and that’s definitely not fulfilling on a grander scheme.

By: Rolf Katzenberger

Rolf Katzenberger — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:53:38 +0000

In general, I’m very much satisfied with GTD.

To me, there’s a lack of organization principles for electronic stuff. The sections on how to deal with paper are not so helpful for me, since I don’t have that much stuff on paper. On the other hand, I don’t like boring discussions about how to cope with the concrete deficiencies of Outlook, Google Calendar, Blackberries, Thinking Rock… you name it.

Instead, I’d really love to see some GTD-style organization principles discussed, from some of those who work with electronic tools of any type, too. Reasonable thoughts about folder structures, tags, archiving structures for reference material and the like.

I guess to do this you must be willing to look beyond the limits of your current software. After all, when you join a different company, install a new operating system or simply have to maintain your reliable system in different environments, it’s the basic structure that counts, not the actual tool.

By: Patty

Patty — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 17:01:51 +0000

I think GTD is easier than other systems I’ve tried (Franklin Covey for instance). The weakness of all of these systems, especially Covey, is that no aspect addresses the quality of the work being done. I could be the most organized person and still do crappy work yet look like a star in terms of the system.

By: LJ

LJ — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:25:24 +0000

Katy, I find exactly the opposite as a web developer. My tasks come in to me in discrete chunks, each trackable and billable with an external reference number. Granted, I run a separate system at work, where my contexts are @SQL, @VS, @PC, @Email, @Call etc. I have trouble with contexts at home, because things overlap.

By: Katy

Katy — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:05:31 +0000

I really hate the way that Allen glosses over project management. The references to projects are all in the context (no pun intended) of anything with more than one action which is all well and good but he doesn’t go on to really say (in my eyes) how each project should be managed and tracked.

Also, I think GTD is geared more towards traditional office work. I find it really difficult to fit in the idea of contexts and next actions with my job as a web developer (which I’ve blogged about extensively so won’t bore you here).

By: Al at 7P

Al at 7P — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:30:19 +0000

Hi James. My issue is shared by many others who talk about GTD… when following the book, it’s hard to implement. However, when tweaked to fit one’s lifestyle, it can work well. The problem here is that people fall off the bandwagon before figuring out how to best tweak it to fit their lifestyle, or simply give up because they never thought about tweaking it.

By: LJ

LJ — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 17:03:03 +0000

GTD overwhelmed me. With all the projects and next actions, I was getting to the point of ignoring my next action list simply because there was too much on it. I now practice a hybrid approach of GTD and Do It Tomorrow that allows me the complete capture process of GTD with the limited work load of DIT.

I have also had a problem with the higher levels described in the book. Although I agree that a bottom-up approach is better for more actual doing, I don’t have the luxury of deciding what I will work on or not because I am not a CEO and not in charge of my work.

By: Ayomide

Ayomide — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:14:20 +0000

Even more interesting though James, is that I originally checked out GTD from the library because I heard that it was great for business people! I want to be a social entrepreneur when I grow up, and so I love learning about the business lifestyle. Then I googled David Allen a little bit more and found out that GTD is now practically a religion on the internet. In fact, researching GTD is how I found your blog! But I love the concept, and I’m determined to figure out a way to make it work for my life. Being organized is too exciting a concept to pass up!

By: James

James — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:51:09 +0000

Thanks for the comments. I agree about GTD being complex initially, it’s been pretty much two years since I read the book and only now do I feel I’m understanding it and have adapted it to my own needs.

Ayomide, you make an interesting point about implementing it for students. GTD is written for CEO’s so there is certainly a scaling problem.

By: Ayomide

Ayomide — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 18:56:51 +0000

What I don’t like about GTD is that it’s a but tricky to implement for a student lifestyle. By student, I mean high school student. Of course, this is probably not an issue you have to deal with, but it is one that’s been stumping me for a while. The thing is that finding a place in the system for homework, and those kinds of assignment deadlines, and required reading that you have to do is not very easy. Can’t wait to read your airing of GTD grievances post!