I’m looking for the Grand Unified Theory of Personal Organization (GUTOPO). I’ve been experimenting (hasn’t everyone) with Getting Things Done by David Allen. It’s a great framework for controlling “stuff” as Dave puts it. I’m coming up short with his system though, and have been pondering a convergence of GTD with the Seven Habits book by Steven Covey. I’ll explore the benefits of each approach, the shortcomings of GTD, and how to combine them to achieve “GUTOPO-ia.”
We all have too much “stuff” in our minds, and the focus of GTD is to get all that “stuff” out of our heads, and into a Trusted System to get it done as efficiently as possible. Dave focuses on not losing track of “stuff” so that our brains relax and begin the natural creative processes they do so well. He calls this clear headedness having a “mind like water.” GTD offers a comprehensive system for getting the stuff out of our heads and into our system. It’s realistic, achievable, imminently practical, and applicable to many forms of organizational technologies, since at it’s heart it’s about keeping lists.
The problem with GTD is there’s not enough discussion on how to insert your own “stuff” into your life. It seems like a reactionary system to me. It’s all about processing those inboxes of our lives. My issue is, that’s not how I want to live my life! Sure, I have inboxes into which other people are constantly putting things, but when do I get to insert my own next actions!? How do I think about what I want and prioritize my own goals!? It’s not fulfilling to keep processing my inbox over and over and over. I might have a day job, but I AM NOT MY DAY JOB. I have inboxes that need processing, sure, but I’m more than a processor of inboxes, and I need help knowing what to do with a clear head and new and creative thinking.
There’s nothing within the GTD model that teaches how to dream, and make those dreams materialize into reality. To be fair to Dave though, he tells us as much in his book. He’s not here to teach us how to do that, he’s here to bring us to the threshold of being able to do that. He’s going to enable us to have a “mind like water” that flows and is creative and is unstoppable, but he’s not here telling us what happens next.
Steven Covey tells us how to bring our own vision into focus, achieve balance in the activities of our lives, behave attempting to find synergies with those around us, and distance ourselves from the busywork so that we can focus on the “Important but not Urgent” aspects of our lives.