Getting Things Done Reflection

I chose to organize my getting things done process using an app (‘To-do – Task Manager’ by Kenny Walker) on my iPhone. I was very interested in using ‘Things’ after being introduced to the tool in the “Mind Like Water: How to Get Things Done” podcast. I followed the link to ‘Things for iPhone and iPod touch,’ (http://culturedcode.com/things/iphone/) and watched the video explaining the app and was further intrigued. However, the cost of the app was not appealing to me. I decided to search for other task manager apps in the iPhone app store instead. I explored several of the apps and ultimately chose to start with a free app, ‘To-do – Task Manager’ by Kenny Walker. I chose an app for my phone over a paper/pencil or a computer software option because I always have my phone with me, and consistently having paper/pencil or my computer on me is not realistic.

Moving through the ‘collect, process, organize, review, do’ process for the first time was very time consuming; in addition it was really quite stressful having to think about everything that I need to do. I think that moving through the GTD process was a beneficial experience to have as it provided me with a new way to think about productivity, however I did not really enjoy spending the time going through each of the steps of the process. I would rather simply collect and organize the things that I need to accomplish simultaneously.

Honestly, I don’t think that the use of David Allen’s GTD process will help me. I think that the experience was beneficial as it opened my eyes to a new system of task managing. Currently, however, I feel that I don’t have anything to fix about my productivity. I think that I have great control over knowing the things that I need to get done and during what time period. I do not struggle with remembering or accomplishing tasks by their due date, and I do not see the need to think about the tasks ahead of me in a ‘collect, process, organize, review, do’ process. I may decide to return to the GTD process in the future if I feel that I am losing control over my organization and productivity, but it is not something that I see as helpful currently.

I do not plan on continuing to use the ‘collect, process, organize, review, do’ process, because of the amount of time that the process involves and I don’t think that I am unorganized. I feel that I have a pretty good grasp on the things that I need to get done, and don’t think that I need to spend time thinking about and organizing all of the things that I need to get done. Also, I think that inputting everything that I need to accomplish into a task manager and relying on such a tool will cause my brain to work less, and I want to utilize my brain rather than depend on technology. I do plan on continuing to use the ‘To-do – Task Manager’ app I have downloaded to my iPhone for assignment due dates for CEP 810 and any other big projects in my life, but I am not going to put every single thing that I need to do into the system. My process will also be more of a simultaneous collect and organize, as I will think about what I need to do and when I need to do it.