The Best of GTD and DIT

Whakate.com have now published their comparison of David Allen’s Getting Things Done and my Do It Tomorrow.

Comments

[jim]

Seemed like a fair overview, but I must admit I have not yet read DIT. Just ordered it from Amazon last night and will try to have it done before the new year! Can't wait, thanks.

[David Drake]

Hi Mark,

I would be very interested in seeing comments from you on this article. What is your feeling about the statement that GTD would be better for very busy people. As you know from my many posts here, I am an exceedingly busy person. But I like DIT!

Comments, Mark?

-David

[Mark Forster]

David:

I'm in the middle of writing an article for Whakate saying why I think DIT is better than GTD even in the places they give it a lead.

[David Drake]

Hi Mark,

Bravo!! I can't wait to see your comments!

-David

[David Drake]

Hi Mark,

Are you close to submitting your article? Would you be willing to share it with us here first? I really do want to hear your response. The comments that were made about really busy people being better off -- maybe -- with GTD are somewhat troubling and perplexing. Please address this soon!

Thanks,
-David

[Ben H]

My own view on this is that it depends what kind of person you are - if you tend towards being a procastinator (as I would hold my hands up to) then Mark's methods work really well, as they address the core issue. If your issue is planning and executing then GTD is good. The one thing I would say (having worked in some pretty high pressure situations) is that my own experience of GTD is that it takes too much time and mental focus to run the system - when you are under pressure you need a few straightforward tips and ideas to get you into action and allow you to get going. For me Mark's ideas do that and GTD doesn't. But as I said I think it is down to what kind of person you are and what issues you need to address.

[Lena Rotenberg]

I used pure GTD between 2001 and 2006, when I started to incorporate DIT into my system. My thanks go to both Mark Forster and David Allen for providing me with the elements I needed to create a hybrid system that has worked beautifully for a year and a half -- so beautifully that I don't even read "time management" blogs, discussion boards and books anymore. (Today I came here because I'm cleaning out my bookmarks!) In my hybrid system I've kept some elements of GTD (especially the waiting for list, the concept of next action, the weekly review, and the 2-minute rule) but the majority of my system is DIT. The will do list and the concept of "backlog" were what finally clinched everything for me. The number of projects one has is irrelevant. The key for me was being able to get a grip on how much I can fit into 168 hours per week, which DIT enabled me to do while GTD did not. I now have a hybrid system I can maintain very easily and joyfully. Bottom line recommendation: study both and take what works from each.
Warmest regards, Mark, and au revoir,
Lena in Maryland, USA

[Mark Forster]

David:

I've decided not to write the article at all because the new system I am working on makes the whole question obsolete anyway!

[Fintan]

The link to the original Whakate.com page is broken, but here it is from the Wayback Machine archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090121104816/http://www.whakate.com/lead-articles/the-best-of-gtd-and-dit/

[Michael B.]

Fintan:

A second article on Do It Tomorrow:

http://web.archive.org/web/20090204130721/http://www.whakate.com/lead-articles/the-closed-list-regaining-control-over-your-day/

[Jupiter]

@Mark "I've decided not to write the article at all because the new system I am working on makes the whole question obsolete anyway! "

Just to know does the new system is near FV or is it compleatly different ?

[Mark Forster]

Jupiter:

<< Just to know does the new system is near FV or is it compleatly different ? >>

My comment goes back to 2008. I can't even remember what new system I was referring to - probably the original Autofocus.

[Diana]

I have struggled with GTD for 5+ years. I stumbled across AF and loved the simplicity of it. I also tried FV and FVP and enjoyed those as well. Then I finally obtained and read DIT and let me tell you I love it!!! Closed lists have positively changed my life!
I am procrastinator with workaholic tendencies - a terrible combo. As a result I get things done, but waste so much time doing busy work in the process. I procrastinate because I feel like my work is never finished and that is my mini way of rebelling while still technically working. With DIT I have limits and I can actually finish my work for the day. It's uplifting after so many years of stuggling with a never ending to do list.

Thank you so much Mark!