Getting Things Done or Lifehacker?

[Vagabond]

I'm looking into both of these books... does anyone have opinions on them? one better than the other?

[Alister]

I'm looking into both of these books... does anyone have opinions on them? one better than the other?

Most, if not all of LifeHacker is on the blog. I've got the GTD book, and TBH, it's just more productivity pr0n. Half the point of 4HWW, is having less to do in the first place. Marc Andreessen, cofounder of Netscape put up his own ideas - http://blog.pmarca.com/2007/06/the_pmarca_guid.html

[ardor]

I read the whole lifehackers book,
Allot of it is hard to start using in your life.
1/3 of it, wont even apply to for you to use.

The book is well written.
I think people with better computer skills get more out of this book then those who don't. Programmers ect...

If your not going to read the lifehackers blog, because you like to read hard-copy, I would get this book. I told my friend to buy it yesterday.

After Reading it, Things I have Applied
I use more windows hotkeys
My computer files are A LOT more organized
My Inbox for my outlook is empty
I get SMS alerts from google calender
Launch programs with the windows run box, (very vista friendly)
I no younger keep icons on my desktop, instead I put the install files in the install files dir, if i want to keep them, the media files in the media, and the application launchers i put into a folder in my path, for example to run firefox. i just hit windows key, type firefox and hit enter.


Thats it really. there another 10 things I would like to start doing I'm sure, I like having the book sitting on the shelf and every 3 mths I'm going to pick out a few new things to test drive.

[jpm]

I may get flak for posting this but I believe GTD is fully compatible with 4HWW.

The problems with GTD (too complex, too long lists, too difficult to maintain, ...) are all problems only if you have weak decision making muscles. It also requires some higher altitude thinking in order to see how GTD will impact 4hww.

The problem with GTD is that if you don't implement it well, you end up with long lists. Long lists are complex, difficult to maintain, and frankly don't get done. The answer. Don't make long lists. Say no. Hit delete.

Focus on one thing at a time. Hit it hard and just do it... delegate.

GTD is pretty simple when you only have one or two primary things to do each day. If you do your weekly review once a week then you will likely have no more than 10-14 primary (personal) tasks. Plus whatever you've delegated to VA's, etc.

I've used GTD for over two years and had some decent success with it, but 4hww has really changed the way I work within the GTD methodology.

[Batman]

I may get flak for posting this but I believe GTD is fully compatible with 4HWW.

The problems with GTD (too complex, too long lists, too difficult to maintain, ...) are all problems only if you have weak decision making muscles. It also requires some higher altitude thinking in order to see how GTD will impact 4hww.

The problem with GTD is that if you don't implement it well, you end up with long lists. Long lists are complex, difficult to maintain, and frankly don't get done. The answer. Don't make long lists. Say no. Hit delete.

Focus on one thing at a time. Hit it hard and just do it... delegate.

GTD is pretty simple when you only have one or two primary things to do each day. If you do your weekly review once a week then you will likely have no more than 10-14 primary (personal) tasks. Plus whatever you've delegated to VA's, etc.

I've used GTD for over two years and had some decent success with it, but 4hww has really changed the way I work within the GTD methodology.

I agree JPM... I know a few GTD users that 'use it' as nothing more than a social rallying point or a science experiment... when used properly you really can Get Things Done

[MyOwnSuperhero]

I've got to agree - GTD and 4HWW are totally compatible, it's just that GTD has a slightly more defined methodology.

Oh, and the Lifehacker book? Totally not as cool as the blog, nor as helpful. The book contained a lot of tech heavy stuff with limited appeal. The blog includes all sorts of other stuff, including GTD and non-tech stuff.

[shortcutter]

I think GTD is a way of achieving the 4HWW much faster. I have read it and doing it everyday as I manage 10-20 projects at time and this was god sent! The book is great and I have an Outlook plugin named Jello Dashboard:

http://www.jello-dashboard.net/wordpress/

The system has been created by a Project Manager handling multiple projects and in my opinion, its the way to go. Check the way they say you should handle all prjects:

http://www.thatcanadiangirl.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/gtd_workflow1.png

I would also add The Long Tail to the list of must read... I am sure after reading it, you will have some nice ideas about what kind of muse you should be starting...

shortcutter

[Bippy]

I love GTD and when I use it, it helps a lot, especially with crazy periods like muse start up.

[OneOfEm]

I use a honed-down GTD system with a moleskine. IMO, PDA's are inefficient time-wasters. A moleskine + a basic cellphone meet all of my needs.

A while back I'd planned on writing an article about my moleskine system, but I've been outsourcing more and more, and I'd rather not spend the time on something with no return, so you'll have to do the research yourself - there are lots of different moleskine "systems" on the web. Mine is an amalgam of several.

Brief summary:

I use Moleskine's Pocket Reporter style notebook. I find it easier to write on both sides of the paper than with the standard style.

I have an "Inbox" tab at the front plus several context (@computer, @phone, etc) and project tabs at the back. When one of the back pages is full, I carry all of the incomplete items forward to the next empty page and move the tab. Sometimes priorities change, so I also have a "someday" tab where I store items that I don't really need to do anymore, but don't want to forget.

When I have a thought, it goes into the Inbox if I'm in the middle of something (playing with the kids, phone call, driving) or directly into the appropriate section if it won't interrupt what I'm doing. When I have a couple of minutes, I "process" the inbox and move all of the items to the appropriate tab or to Google Calendar the next time I'm at my computer. The only things that go on the calendar are those things that *have* to be done on a specific date. I also use the SMS reminders from Google Calendar.

When I'm in a situation where I need to know my agenda for the next few weeks, I'll print out the Google calendar, fold it, and place it into the pocket of the moleskine. I find myself doing that less and less as I outsource/offload.

The advantage of this system is that it removes the clutter from my head - I don't have a bunch of things that I have to remember. It seems to help me open up the creative part of my brain.

To train myself to use and rely on the moleskine, I stopped carrying my wallet the first several weeks I had it and placed my drivers' license, a debit card, a credit card, and a little cash into the back pocket of the moleskine. Now I can't live without it.

[gobytrain]

Well, since I can't recall where I placed my GTD book, I suppose it hasn't been a huge help...

[Mike Rhodes]

Thanks OneOfEm - some great ideas :)

[jonparker83]

I also use a simplified version of the GTD ideas with a moleskine-style notepad that I first read about on the following blog:

http://hyalineskies.com/2006/11/hacking-a-gtd-moleskine/

I found it a relief more than anything as this enabled me to dump all the ideas out of my head and structure them on paper - I'd never realised before how much having all these ideas bouncing around my brain stressed me out, but being able to manage projects and tasks more effectively this way has been brilliant.

I'm currently doing some reading from the Personal MBA reading list (http://www.personalmba.com) too, so I've also bought Ready for Anything by Dave Allen which builds upon the ideas in his GTD book while still briefly outlining the orignal concepts

I'll let you all know how it is....

Jon :)

[jjfisher]

I bought lifehacker, wouldn't reccomend it. A lot of decent info but your not going to be able to implement it.

[Ali]

I've read GTD and for me it really is overkill.

I keep a journal where I write my thoughts for the day. When I work, I write down one or two goals then finish those.

I think the difference with me (and my friends say this too) is that I'm just not worried about work in the far off future. It doesn't bother me that I have a lot of goals to work for. I know I will take action, and I know I will achieve them on time, and to a high standard.

[nofziger]

I agree with those that say that GTD and 4HWW are compatible...these two books have changed my life in the last year or so!

I've read GTD and I read the Lifehacker blog. Seems like you can get a lot from the blog, so th ebook's not all that necessary.

I'd reco that you buy GTD and read the Lifehacker blog.

Enjoy!

[Doreen]

I'm a big fan of the GTD book. I think it is very different from 4HWW, but not incompatible. 4HWW is telling you how to achieve a certain kind of life, especially if you haven't found a job that is fulfilling for you in its own right.

GTD is meant to give you the flexibility to work toward whatever kind of life you want by providing a specific framework to keep you from being stressed, forgetful, or doing work that isn't related to whatever your goals are. It has the same idea of figuring out what you want and helping you get there, but it's indifferent to what that goal is.

I don't find it to be so much about "productivity" in the sense of it makes you do more stuff faster, although that's a happy side effect. It's really about understanding what it takes, GTD or not, to do something, and providing a robust enough system to account for all of those steps in a coordinated way. As outlined in the book, GTD may seem a bit complicated, because the book tries to provide a technology-independent explanation of a set-up that could handle the most complex possible situation. How long it takes to streamline it down to something is as simple as possible without being too simple for your life seems to vary a lot.

Just understanding that looking at something and deciding what to do about don't have to mean you actually need to do it right away as long as you know what to do with your decision was a huge relief for me.

Things like Lifehacker can be useful, but to me I didn't ever get as much out of any of that type of advice before I "converted" to GTD, because any small tips to improve something didn't really address the underlying sources of my stress.

[dannielo]

GTD can be compatible with 4HWW, as long as you take from it the basics (like organizing in Contexts, setting Next actions, etc) and don't make it a religion. But also it's important (for 4HWW) to set goals and keep your eye on them, making sure you don't get cought up only in do-do-do...
You need to have the bigger picture if you want to liberate.

For managing all these needs you may give a try to my application Gtdagenda, here's some examples of how it can be used:

For GTD: http://www.gtdagenda.com/useit/1/Use-Gtdagenda-to-implement-Getting-Things-Done-GTD-by-David-Allen

For Goals: http://www.gtdagenda.com/useit/3/Make-Gtdagenda-a-part-of-your-7-Habits-for-becoming-Highly-Effective

[ekovisions]

Fully agree with GTD being valuable, but don't make it a religion. The concept--that the to-dos rattling around in your brain are stressing you out and making you ineffective--hits the nail on the head. Have I done the full system? Nope. Do I have parts of it in place and it's helping me be more effective? Absolutely.

[outofbandii]

Like ekovisions, I use GTD concepts a lot, but I'm nowhere near a full-system. It's not productivity porn, it's a brilliant system for those who have the discipline to implement it.

Concepts I use: do 5 minute jobs immediately, write everything down somewhere (I have notepads in bedroom etc) and keeping my inbox and desk as clear as possible.

[Stallion]

I don't like the GTD and lifehacker philosophy. It seems like fluff. Occasionally they'll have a good post.

Most of it is "buy this new tech product and your life will be suddenly organized, and you'll get things done".

I remember bookmarking a blog (can't remember) and it was a GTD blog, but they sort of made fun of it. They pulled the whole philosophy of the pen and paper being the easy way to GTD and I have to agree.

[AshokanKid]

GTD, Brian Tracy, John Kehoe, T. Harv Eker, & Tim., along with Robert Allen and a ton of other Mentors, concepts and ideas., ALL GOOD~! There is something to be learned from almost everyone and everything., :-)