Getting Things Done vs Getting Things Organized

Lifemuncher has posted part 4 of her notes on David Allen’s recent book Ready For Anything. She has summarized and commented on each section of the book.

This particular paragraph stuck out for me:

41. Too controlled is out of control.
Don’t get caught up in the minutiae your organizational system and become an “organizing groupie.” You still need to work and think. “[I]t’s really about capturing, catalyzing, and executing creative thinking, not about ‘getting organized.’”

David faces one of the most common complaints about his system of Getting Things Done head on; he doesn’t want it to be yet another form of procrastination, a way of feeling productive while getting nothing done. The system should be used to exactly the extent that it works for the individual.

In my opinion this is where the power of Getting Things Done lies. It is scalable. I can track different aspects of my life with different levels of granularity as required (eg at work I may have a list of every calculation needed for a piece of work, at home the next action “write blog post” might be enough). GTD helps you work and think. It doesn’t replace the need to work and think.

I am still getting fully set up with GTD. This idea is especially important for novices like me – the system is not the point. If you’re not getting things done you’re not Getting Things Done.