I admit it; I’m an addict. An addict that is wildly hooked on the process of Getting Things Done (GTD), even though it is wrecking my life and my relationships with others. I even went to mecca (San Francisco) and saw the man - David Allen - in person. It was so religious.
GTD rests on the principle that a person needs to move tasks out of the mind by recording them externally. That way, the mind is freed from the job of remembering everything that needs to be done, and can concentrate on actually performing those tasks. [wikipedia]
The nature of addiction, however, is to compulsively attend to the process of getting high at the cost of other obligations. Enter the GTD addict. I can’t even have a conversation at work without mumbling, “oh, gotta do that” to myself and whipping out my notebook or hot-keying may way to success with my Omnifocus tool. The process of freeing my mind feels incredibly important to me; I’m a believer!
The term addiction is … applied to compulsions that are not substance-related, such as problem gambling and computer addiction. In these kinds of common usages, the term addiction is used to describe a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity, despite harmful consequences to the individual’s health, mental state or social life. [wikipedia]
My filtrbox alerts are filled with GTD tricks and tools. I haunt 43folders and troll every new online or computer-based system that emerges with fresh promise of saving me from myself. I have guilt and anxiety over my mailbox which I can seem to get below 50 and then when I do get everything in its proper place, I admit that I struggle to find just the right “next thing.” I dream of mailbox-zero. I have to do it. I need that sticky note there. I need to check off that box. And if you aren’t on my list, you don’t exist to me.
my brain on GTD
But, for all the promise of psychic freedom, I think I love the ritual more than its benefits. I can process with the best of them, but then I fall off the curve and plan for just that moment to climb back on. I’m just another addict with a habit. Albeit, a very busy one who gets $h*t done.
If you need me, I’ll be walking the dog. It’s my “next action.”
October 5th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I’d been wondering about you w/ all your GTD tweets. sounds like things have indeed crossed over into addiction.
breath - check
move - check
eat - check
October 6th, 2008 at 6:24 am
I think the trouble that most of us have, is always thinking the next system is better than the one we’re currently using. That may be the source of the addiction for many.
I found a trusted system early on and have just stuck with it, though I do occasionally look at others to see what’s out there, and I definitely “troll the GTD blogs” as you have making sure I don’t miss that tidbit that will take me to the next level.
I’ve written several posts about my experiences with GTD on my blog at http://johnkendrick.wordpress.com/how-to-gtd/ John
October 7th, 2008 at 12:22 am
For implementing GTD you can use this web-based application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
A mobile version and iCal are available too.
October 11th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I would differentiate between addiction and obsession. It sounds like you’re the latter.
> harmful consequences … wrecking my life and my relationships with others
If this is truly the case, you’d better attend to it. Or were you exaggerating to make a point?
P.S. You might enjoy Getting Things Done Stages - Saints, Prophets, And Evangelists?