For day 38 of #100DaysOfDiscomfort I spent a week trying out the Getting Things Done system.
Discomforts Addressed:
- Learning something new
- Effort
- Investing time
Why Do It?
Because I’m taking on more and more projects, I feel unorganized and hectic. Hopefully, the small discomfort of learning the GTD system will clear my mind.
The idea behind GTD is if you have a system in place, you can be an extremely busy person but feel totally relaxed. Your mind is clear. You know you can manage your projects.
How did it go.
I first learned about GTD on the Tim Ferris podcast.
To understand the system more, I watched a few videos on YouTube, and a 30 minute GTD LinkedIn Learned tutorial.
GTD is complex. David Allen said it can take 2 years to feel comfortable with it. So this week I focused on the basics; the capture list, next actions, and projects.
I took 30 minutes every day to go through my capture list; writing every task, thought, and errand down. With every thing written down I cleared my mind of distracting thoughts.
After a week, I found that I need more guidance on the system. Specifically, managing and organizing the to-do lists overwhelms me. My friends told me the book will provide more clarity. So I ordered the book.
What I Learned
It’s going to take some time to get fully organized. So I’m glad I’m starting now.
The discomfort I felt from getting busy is important. Discomfort is a signal. A signal that something needs to change. In this case, it signaled that I was about to burn out. So I knew I needed to change something. Adding, GTD was a good solution.