Getting Things Done is a productivity methodology developed by David Allen of the David Allen company, and explained in a book from 2002 with the same title. Since that year, the GTD method has enjoyed an explosive growth. There are now thousands of weblogs dedicated to GTD, hundreds of books and articles and several spin-offs.

The subtitle of the book is The Art Stress-free Productivity and that subtly hides the three essential elements of GTD: Productivity, Stress-free and Art. It's this combination of ingredients that makes the GTD method so powerful.

Productivity

The word ‘Productivity’ means: getting done what you want to get done. Doing what you want to do. Finishing what you want to get finished. If you succeed in that, you're productive.

That sounds very simple, and very simple it is. But there are a few associated issues that are somewhat less straightforward. First, it's not just about your job. If GTD is to fulfill the promise of stress-free productivity you'll need to employ it both at work and in your private life. The fact of the matter is that there is no real difference between you wanting to finish that sales project, and you wanting to repaint your front door. Or between you wanting to fire a dysfunctional staff member or you wanting to get rid of the president of the alumni association. These are changes to wish to see happen in the world; things you want to get done, and whether that's between nine am and five pm, or five pm and nine am is immaterial. Productivitywise, the whole concept of a work/life balance is a farce. If you think you're spending too much time working and not enough time having a life, there is a desire — possibly tacit — to change that. Using GTD only in your professional environment would be like a carpenter using his quality hammer only at work and mess about with a shoddy tool at home. It's possible, but it is not smart.

Second, GTD is not just for the things you want to get done today, this week or even this month. The initial focus is indeed on handling the day-to-day time-wasters: how do I get rid of my e-mails? How do I handle those stacks of paper? What's the best way to work my organizer or calendar? That will certainly improve your productivity, but an improvement is not an optimization. Fully implementing the GTD methodology means that you also use it for things you want to get done in the longer run. Another position, another job, another career. Run the 5K, run a marathon, adopt a healthier life style. Go on a trip with your better half, improve your relationship, find another partner. What do you want to get done?

And third, being productive doesn't necessarily mean that you're always chasing about doing things. Doing what you want to do might very well include a relaxing evening at home reading a good book or watching a dumb movie.

Stress-free

The phrase ‘stress-free’ has undoubtedly boosted the popularity of the GTD method. Who doesn't want to live a stress-less life?

But living a stress-less life means you're always in your comfort zone: you're never challenged, and you'll never grow from those challenges. A stress-less life, most of all, is a boring life. Read, for instance, Steve Pavlina's article The Courage To Live Consciously.

The problem isn't stress as such. The problem is that this stress is often keeping you from doing what you want to get done. Stress, in David Allen's view, is caused by unresolved conflict. And unresolved conflict often goes with the verb ‘should’. I'm answering e-mails, but I should be preparing this morning's meeting. I'm chatting with my collegues, but I should be finishing that report. I'm yes-manning this customer, but I should just dump him. I'm watching TV but I should be at the health club. I'm out shopping, but I should be building snowmen with the kids. I should be telling my colleague to use deodorant, but I don't really know how to do it. I'm lying awake worrying about that performance review, but I should just ask about the criteria used.

While doing the one thing, you're thinking of another. You're writing an e-mail, but you're thinking about the phone call you have to make before noon. And as a result, everyone loses out: the recipient of the mail, because you're not paying full attention to writing the mail; the person you still need to call because you haven't properly prepared the call; and you, because (a) it takes much longer to write that e-mail, (b) you haven't sufficiently prepared that call, and (c) you very well know this and should be concentrating on one or the other. Stress. Maybe just a little, but all these little moments of stress build and build until a friend's innocent remark causes an explosion.

GTD asserts that the main reason for the stress is that we're trying to herd all these things in our brain. You try to remember what you want that e-mail to achieve, but you're also trying to hold on to the message you want to convey in that phone call. And you need to pick up some groceries on the way home. And you need to get some new tires on your car. And you need to talk to your brother and sister about mom's deteriorating health. But although your brain can hold on to tremendous amounts of information (just ask your mom about your first day at school!) it isn't particularly well organized. It reminds you of the groceries when you look at the fridge, rather than in the car on your way home. It reminds you of the new tires when you've run flat. It comes up with the perfect e-mail when you're having lunch, and with great ideas for that product innovation when you're off on holiday.

GTD has a suspiciously simple solution for this problem: List your work. Then work your list. Write down what you want to get done. Then do what you've written down.

Most people already do this, to some extent. That's the reason behind the “Doh! That's it? That's all??” reaction GTD enthusiasts tend to get when they're explaining the system. Anyone who's under pressure to get something done that's bigger, more complex or has more impact than they're comfortable with — a migration, an IT project, a new car, another school for the kids — automatically tends to create lists of things to think of. The GTD method has a couple of subtleties on how you create, process, maintain and execute these kinds of lists, but the mechanics are, yes, very simple. Where GTD defeats common sense list making is in its extremely thorough and consistent application. Anything you want to get done goes onto a list, and you organize and use those lists in such a way that you never, ever need to have a thought twice. That gives you the space and peace of mind you need to fully focus on what you want to get done.

Art

But it doesn't come free. It's not something we're born with. Biologically speaking, we tend to go after instant gratification: the latest, greatest, most exciting thing we notice, without thinking of the consequences. That's why we pick up the phone when it rings, even though we were busy talking to a colleague. That's why you stop reading this article when you hear the ding-dong of a new mail arriving. That's why you keep looking at the TV screen rather than take out your bike.

If you want GTD to fulfill its promise of stress-free productivity, you'll have to make its techniques into a part of your life. Reading and processing mail then becomes a choice, rather than a way to start the day. If you think of something, you don't just scribble it down on a post-it note and stick it onto your monitor, there to stay until eventually the glue gives way and your brilliant idea drops behind your desk; no, whenever you think of something you record it on some trustworthy medium, process it rigorously and systematically, and then act upon it at the right time. And you don't wait until your mid-life crisis to work on your dreams: write them down now, regularly glance over them, and when the time is ripe, you take the steps necessary to learn how to fly / travel the world / meet the Dalai Lama / learn to play the piano / whatever.

That's when GTD changes from yet another time management methodology into the art of stress-free productivity. You don't have to think about it anymore; it has become a way of life. Whatever you're doing, you're fully focused. You have peace of mind, and traction in life.

It's not easy to get there: internalizing GTD takes time, attention and effort. But it's well worth it.