Comments on: 5 Things GTD Won’t Fix

By: Andreas

Andreas — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 15:40:41 +0000

GTD will/can not _cure_ AD/HD, but it can help you getting along by providing a way to organise things/stuff in an intuitive manner.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:37:02 +0000

Wellington–I’ve never seen a decent list manager that does not allow due dates. Outlook, Lotus Notes, OmniFocus, Entourage, Excel–any of them should have a due date field.

By: Wellington Grey

Wellington Grey — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:28:27 +0000

For me, the biggest hole in GTD is deadlines. There isn’t really an adequate way to associate due dates with actions.

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By: Michael Gorsline

Michael Gorsline — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:01:52 +0000

Five solid points. It is easy to start to see a very solid system as a panacea. Knowing the constraints is important. As a therapist the addiction and adhd constraints are two that have particular relevance. As strong an adherent to GTD as I am those are two, depending on how you define them, that usually require outside assistance. Aside from these five though GTD is an ace in the hole.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:26:09 +0000

I’m a psychologist and wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. I am not an expert on ADD, but have treated patients with it. In the process, I realized that I have many of the same ADD traits. I just never considered it a problem. I now believe that most ADD is really just personality. In our productivity-crazed institutionalized-learning culture, we expect everyone to sit in their chair until a task in completed. That’s probably why some of the most innovative thinkers in history did poorly in school.

It would be nice if I could stick with my GTD system and would always finish what I started, but most likely if that were the case, I wouldn’t have the creativity that I cherish. Some of the most “organized” people I know have never suggested a new idea. They help others execute their new ideas. It’s a good thing, too! A team of all innovators would get nothing done.

The bottom line for me is valuing my natural bent while trying to manage my weaknesses. What I love about GTD is that when I’m back from one of my creative jaunts, I don’t have to reinvent the wheel to be productive again. I have the system in place. I just have to use it.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:08:22 +0000

Hi Scott,

Step 4/Organize of the Natural Planning Model is where things like Microsoft Project, Gantt charts, PERT charts, mindmaps etc. come into play. Or, could be just a simple outline in a bullet point format. Depends entirely on the scope of the project and needs of planning.

I find lots of people trying to work only off plans, forgetting the purpose. If for nothing else, the NPM is so useful to bring teams into alignment on purpose. WHY are we building the house? For shelter or for a place we love to entertain friends and family? Good to know that on the front end, especially for the complex ones that have so many opportunities to get tangled along the way.

Cheers,
Kelly

By: Andrew M Whaley

Andrew M Whaley — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:42:32 +0000

Great article Scott. It’s nice to hear someone say concisely and openly what I’ve come to understand about myself over the years. I am a great GTD hypocrite and when my commitment to GTD breaks down it is in these exact areas. There is one little bone which requires a bit of picking. I have ADD. Not 80% ADD, but the “diagnosed as the Poster Boy for Adult ADD” kind of ADD. I would argue that, though it is not the silver bullet or a stand-alone solution, GTD is arguably a sort of cure, or at least a corrective for ADD. I’ll leave aside the scrap I desire to have with you over whether it is true or useful to view ADD primarily through the lens of “problem” vs. the lens of “opportunity” or “strength” and simply move to the core of the issue at hand. ADD is primarily a problem stemming from a lack of control of the “executive function” which resides in the pre- frontal cortex of the brain. It is this function that allows us to image a bunch of possible ends, scan over the possible means for each one, choose one set, place the actions within this particular means into a schema based on priority, context, and sequence, and then act- to completion, that is until the thing in our head is in the world. To put it simply, this is the process that goes from ideation to incarnation, or imagination to execution, if you will. ADDers can get stuck in an infinite loop of possibilities, relations, ideas, etc. With GTD, one can do with system what others might be able to do with grey matter and neurotransmitters. We ADDers can throw out possible scenarios like nobody else, identify interesting relations and likenesses as a clue to meaning and possible action, and even develop strategic approaches to these interesting ideas that would never occur to the blessed bean counter types, but execution can be a bit sticky for us. In other words, we can “make it up.” but we need GTD to “make it happen.” Clearly, one must use the will to act and GTD can not give you that, but it can remove the barriers and set you up for success. This is a huge topic and I beg someone with more expertise than I to write on it.

By: Scott Allen

Scott Allen — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:40:18 +0000

Kelly:

On the one hand, I agree that one could make the case that the Natural Planning Model works even for robust, complex projects. However, that’s again a matter of scope, because there’s an entire body of knowledge that goes into just step 4 of NPM.

I agree that a lot of smaller projects are overplanned, and a lot of them could do with a simpler approach, but I think to say that NPM can plan even the most complex projects kind of relies on a magical black box for step 4. There are some specific methodologies for estimating, task breakdown, sequence identification, identifying deliverables, etc., that, in my experience, are more complex and need a more systemic approach than just saying “organize it”.

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:37:39 +0000

David:
GTD will help you plan a complex project like building a house. Unfortunately, it will not substitute for experience. In order to implement GTD the implied task is that you know the next step. I have been down that road and I didn’t find anything that helped until I located a retired contractor friend who was willing to give me advice. As for smoothly transitioning between subcontractors, I wish you the best of luck.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:31:01 +0000

David Allen’s Natural Planning Model is a great project planning tool, even for robust, complex projects. Page 54 of the book.

By: David

David — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:28:07 +0000

Another thing GTD won’t do is help you plan a complex project. You couldn’t schedule the contstruction of a house, for example, by making a list of all the tasks involved and then picking Next Actions out of it every day. You have to know how to keep the carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and HVAC guys busy and not stepping on each other. Do you know of any resources that offer more detail on planning and implementing projects that fit with GTD?

By: Matthew Cornell

Matthew Cornell — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:30:51 +0000

Hey Scott, excellent post. I completely agree: No system can do it all. (I wrote a short response here, if you’re interested: http://matthewcornell.org/2008/04/10-gtd-holes-and-how-plug-them.html#comment-1607)

> 1. Self-discipline

Hear hear. I’m in the same boat. For me it fluctuates depending on my mood, energy level, health, and motivation (internal and external).

And guess what? This and its relatives (e.g., focus, procrastination, perfectionism) are issues humans have been struggling with for ages. (Side note: I think the subject of personal productivity is in some ways the modern version of meditation and mantras from thousands of years ago.)

> 2. Attention Deficit Disorder

Big idea – made me think. Much appreciated. I think we each bring to living and doing different strengths and challenges, which inform what we can do (and maybe what we *should* do?) That’s why it’s important not to compare ourselves to others, at least not too much. Can just anyone write a book like “The Virtual Handshake?” No. Can we all create a method like GTD? Of course not. However, with the kinds of communication networks we have in the last decades, we are exposed to so much excellence that we sometimes forget the filters that are in place. I wonder if it was easier to appreciate our own talents before recorded music, for example…

Sorry for the tangent! Glad my post was useful.