 April 12th 2008
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Last month I presented nine reasons why GTD sucks. Naturally for such a contentious topic I got a lot of comments, so I thought it would be fitting to do a roundup and summarize some of the best remarks from the readers. Thanks to everyone who contributed, hope this post give you something to think about.
Nick Cernis: “productivity systems are simply too complex to begin with. Die-hard productivians will argue that ‘complex lives need a complex system’, but the simple fact is that they should be trying to remove that complexity from their lives, not add to it.”
Nick makes an excellent point. It’s similar to the idea of prevention being better than the cure. If our lives are so complex why don’t we deal with the root problem and simplify it, rather than developing ways of managing it?
Shawn Levasseur: “GTD is about Getting Things Done, not an all encompassing philosophy about life, the universe, and everything. It’s process management. Complaining about how GTD doesn’t address the need to be creative and innovative, is like complaining that you can’t hammer nails with a screwdriver.”
Tannage: “I found GTD more of a set of principles rather than a system. GTD’s greatest strength is its flexibility; with a bit of work and cultivating the right habits anyone can find a way to make it work for them.”
What I’ve found about GTD is that many of the principles in it transcend David Allen’s system and are great habits to develop in general. Breaking everything down into next actions, for instance.
Rolf: “The book has too many pages, which obscures the high-level thinking by giving too many examples for paper-based systems. It wouldn’t be any relief if David extended it now, to account for always-on people too.”
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