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Communicatrix “Gets To Empty”

It’s the beginning of a new year and everyone is already struggling to keep up with their resolutions. But some bloggers are better prepared for the fight than others. Some bloggers actually have a SYSTEM. Yes, these are the lucky students of GTD, which is an acronym of “Getting Things Done,” an extremely popular productivity system developed by organizational guru, David Allen.

Remember when people basically used the internet to search for old boyfriends and pornography? No more. Now, the internet is a tool to help us become more productive. (By the way, shouldn’t rule #1 be to spend less time on the internet?)

Bloggers love GTD, maybe because it makes them feel less guilty about wasting so much time blogging. There are a whole spew of blogs and websites dedicated to this stuff, from Lifehacker to 43Folders.

I am a notorious procrastinator. I was actually supposed to write this post two days ago, but i got too busy watching all my Texas Hold-em Poker shows on my Tivo. Maybe I should try this GTD. I went to David Allen’s own website to learn more. Here’s what he had to say:

Sophisticated without being confining, the subtle effectiveness of GTD lies in its radically common sense notion that with a complete and current inventory of all your commitments, organized and reviewed in a systematic way, you can focus clearly, view your world from optimal angles and make trusted choices about what to do (and not do) at any moment. GTD embodies an easy, step-by-step and highly efficient method for achieving this relaxed, productive state.

As they say here in Los Angeles, “No comprendo.”

I turned to fellow Los Angeles blogger, Communicatrix, for help. She is head-over-heels in love with GTD. She has written about it on her blog:

Much has been written about the GTD—short for “Getting Things Done”—method of organization. Don’t believe me? Check Technorati*. Google that sucker. Shrines have been erected for Allen and his philosophy of stress-free management all over this geek paradise we call the interwebs. So I won’t go into too much detail here, other than to say this:

GTD is not about organization for organization’s sake, but clearing your mental (and I believe, spiritual) decks for bigger and better things than remembering whether you need to pick up socks at the grocery store, making it especially good for creative people who spin like tops most of the time.

Good? Wait—let me revise that: terrifying. The 25% implementation I did of GTD two years ago scared me so much with its potential for change and growth, I immediately abandoned it for fear of the potential (and attendant responsibility) I could suddenly see lay (lie? laid? christ!) with getting my shit together.

Scared her? Potential for change and growth? I began to worry that this was sounding a little too similar to Kabbalah and Scientology.

But no. GTD is changing Communicatrix’s life. A few days into 2006, and her New Year’s Resolutions are still on track.

In fact, this weekend, she even managed to “get to empty.”

I did, in fact, “get to empty” (vernacular for step one of David Allen’s geek-approved Getting Things Done system for organization and lifestyle management) late last night—a signal event, as it involved me plowing through a solid, vertical foot-and-a-half of pulpy dread, including TWO, count ‘em, TWO spiral notebooks filled with 80 college-ruled pages of line items. Each. I’ve been dodging those suckers for months now.

Congratulations, Communicatrix and all you other GTD-ers. I hope 2006 turns out to be a well-organized one.

As for myself, I don’t join a cult until Madonna does first.

This entry was posted by Courtney Gidts on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Google, Technorati, Underrated. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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