My GTD interview with Wired News
Following David Allen’s example, I’ve decided to post the entire e-mail interview I conducted with Robert Andrews about Getting Things Done. We discussed a number of topics that, due to space considerations, din’t make it into the online article.
Hello Marc,
I am a reporter researching a story for Wired News about Getting Things Done and I would very much like to interview you by email. May I ask a few questions; I’m going to throw a lot out here, from which perhaps you can pick and choose… ?
Why is there a need for this book? Why has it been popular - are we so disorganised? To what can we attribute the popularity of the book and the participation in the “way” of GTD? Perhaps the volume of conversation about GTD on weblogs like yours has been a significant factor?
The big why’s, eh?
The need for the book is a cliche but true nonetheless - we’re all simply trying to do too much, in too short a period of time, and without a plan. The disease is overcommitment and a cure is developing a trusted, action-oriented system that aligns the here and now with where you ultimately want to get to. Most personal productivity systems I’ve studied in the past focus heavily on one or the other but GTD has a unique balance between the two. It’s very much in the spirit of the martial arts metaphors David employs in his writings and seminars. The promise of GTD is that it will help you sustain a state of ready repose where you are prepared for anything that might come up, balanced, and tuned into your physical, emotional, and environmental state.
I think the reason GTD has resonated with so many people from so many walks of life is threefold. First, it avoids proscription - GTD is a very flexible system that is technology and platform agnostic. You don’t need a special planner, software package, or operating system to practice the method. Second, there is a very large and, as you have observed, evangelical community of practice that has embraced David’s ideas. The support system this community provides is one of the finest examples of customer evangelism I have ever witnessed and I have learned as much from other GTD’ers as I have directly from David. Third, it resonates with knowledge workers in particular because many of us live in a world where real-time communication and “always on” gadgetry has completely blurred the lines between the work day and our personal lives.
When and why did you start getting organised with GTD? Were you disorganised? What has it done for you, and why did you start your blog? What is GTD a cure for? Doing more work better, creating more time for life?
I’ve been studying productivity systems for a long time and have always been hyper-productive. I have a lot of curiosity about many subjects and have had a very adventurous career that has included work in the newspaper and publishing, advertising, corporate communications, digital graphics, hardware and software industries. I call myself a “recovering graphic designer” and have worked hard to develop whole brain thinking skills.
It certainly seems that the web is abuzz with many new converts to the GTD way. Why in particular do you think web users (and, in many cases, avowed “geeks”) have taken to GTD with such aplomb? Perhaps they see in GTD their own desire for organisation? Perhaps it is the condition created by the excessive data that is a hallmark of our modern digital lifestyle that GTD sets out to solve?
A big part of this phenomenon is the interactivity that thew web and blogs encourage. The community of practice I mentioned above has a lot to do with the proliferation of GTD content as well. When you find something that causes fundamental and sweeping changes in your life, you tend to look for others who have had similar experiences to engage with. It doesn’t matter if the agent of change is the Grateful Dead, extreme skiing, a particular technology like the Tablet PC, or a personal productivity discipline like GTD - I have found myself engaged in building and sustaining community in each of these areas in my life.
How much of GTD is about computers/technology? What kind of software is out there that people are using for GTD? Looks like it’s not just about software - where do the Moleskin notebooks and Hipster PDAs come into this and how do they weigh up against, say, a Palm Treo?
It’s not about technology at all. The technology aspects of GTD are are a side-effect of the agnosticism I mentioned earlier. Particularly on the web and in discussion groups and blogs, you’re talking about a demographic group that has a deep affinity for technology and putting it to work to help solve problems. So it’s a natural consequence that much of the online discussion of GTD tends to get wrapped up in discussion of gadgets and software. The threads that have emerged about the Moleskine journal or Hipster PDA are, IMO, a manifestation of some techies’ desire to get back to basics, to simplify. The tactile experience of writing in a journal is gratifying for many of us. The “cool factor” of a life hack like the Hipster PDA is a sort of Luddite indulgence practiced by people who have too much technology in their lives already. So it’s ultimately not an either/or proposition. I’ve written a number of blog posts about how I use both a Treo and a Moleskine in my daily work and life. Each provides a useful piece of the puzzle in my personal approach to GTD.
A number of people have tried, with varying degrees of success, to build software solutions to support their GTD system. There are Palm and PPC programs that sync with your PC, add-ins for Outlook, templates for everything from Excel to InfoSelect to Goldmine to Ecco to address the process David defines in his workflow. There is no “holy grail” application that is necessarily better for everyone - it ends being a personal decision about how technology can be mapped to your personal work style and environment.
Are there any particular items of software/hardware/pen ‘n paper you would recommend or that you use yourself? Have lives have been changed by GTD, and whose? Yours?
In the context of what I just said above, I am a big fan of Microsoft Outlook. It is a unique environment for managing your day in the way it combines your e-mail, calendar, tasks, and notes (in Journal) in a single environment that reduces the amount of “context switching” required by using multiple applications. I’m also a passionate advocate of mind mapping and Mindjet MindManager. There is an excellent add-in for that program called ResultManager that provides a very unique visual framework for managing your commitments and next actions. I’m also a committed Palm fan and believe the Treo 650 is the current state of the art in converging the required components of a highly mobile piece of the overall puzzle. And I’m a Tablet PC evangelist. I believe it is the most flexible and productive form factor I have ever used and I’ve been using PCs since the TRS-80 Model II running CPM from an 8” floppy disk.
Have lives been changed. Without question. That’s why some people talk about the cult of GTD. Has it changed my life? Irrevocably. GTD is one of the cornerstones of the way I live my life. I think in terms of next actions, physical contexts, and achieving a “mind like water”. It helps that I studied martial arts for a number of years and can really identify with some of the storytelling techniques David employs. Achieving that elusive and almost Zen-like state of ready repose is a highly desirable goal and once achieved it’s a state you want o be in as much of the time as possible.
It’s been observed that GTD has become a kind of “cult”. It has many devoted followers who are evangelical about the cause, unflinching in their quest for total organisation and regard Getting Things Done as a holy book in that respect. Logically, David Allen would be their leader in this journey and you would be a disciple, right? :)
If you insist ;^) I often refer to David as my “guru” or as one of my “heroes”. He’s an amazing person, full of charm, wit, and genuine compassion for others. It radiates from him. And he believes in his “mission” - you can hear it in his voice and his writings. I’ve had the good fortune to get to know David a bit and I walk away from every interaction with him feeling energized and excited. He is a person who “lives large” and takes great enjoyment from what he does. I’ve often been quoted as saying that “if you don’t love what you’re doing, you should be doing something else”. David is a real role model for that philosophy - the difference is he provides some valuable insights and techniques to help his readers get from where they are to where they want to be.
What do you make of this? Why does GTD stir this passion in people; how do you account for the devotion of so many people? Perhaps the need for simplicity and organisation is an innate property in all of us? People bookmark GTD-related links, share them, write software that can make good on the GTD philosophy - there’s a level of devotion that has raised the book’s prominence and given the philosophy a life of its own. So what do you make of this cult status?
I’m not sure I can add a lot to all the gushing I’ve done above. I know I sound like a “Kool-Aid drinker”, a “true believer”. I am. Look at my e-mail signature. Those are my “freelance” projects. I also have a full-time job at a great company populated by incredibly smart people doing great things. And I have a family that is the most important thing in my life. I manage, somehow, to keep all of this moving forward. Sometimes I have to renegotiate some of my commitments - GTD has provided me with the recognition of how important this is and how to do it well.
That’s power. To be able to live a full life, doing things that I’m passionate about, and achieve success in those endeavors. Anything that helps me do this is bound to be important. And we have a natural human tendency to want to share our bounty with others - especially those closest to us.
It’s been said that geeks are searching for a digital Martha Stewart, an online lifestyle guru. Sounds like Allen is being fingered for this role - what do you reckon?
Sounds like a bit of a stretch to me but people do love labels.
Are there any core rules, processes or practises required if one is to live by the way of GTD? I’m interested in running a separate piece on the doctrines you have to abide by in order to simplify your life. What are the key workflows/procedures? I understand there are some PDFs showing this stuff. I’ve read about a five-step workflow and other methods, and what is the “natural workflow” method? What are the steps Wired News readers, new to GTD, should be taking to get things done?
The single most important discipline that is essential if you are going to be successful at integrating GTD principles and practices into your life is review. Daily and Weekly Review. If you review your action lists, your commitments, your Inboxes, your mid- and long-term goals - and you do it on regular basis - the system works. Regardless of how you choose to implement the particulars. I have a co-worker who does his GTD using nothing but a yellow legal pad and a file drawer. I know some people who are complete gadget and software freaks - constantly trying new ways to tweak their systems. It doesn’t matter which extreme you tend toward - if you review regularly the process works and if you don’t, it breaks down.
Building on that - read (or listen to) the book. Read blogs and discussion groups. Find what resonates. Go to a seminar if you can swing it (and they’re not sold out already).Visit the GTD Zone at OfficeZealot.com that I help maintain. Just dive in and start splashing around.
Hope that helps.