Why GTD?

Why did I start to look at Getting Things Done? First, I had heard good things about the system from a number of sources. Second, I definitely had the need.

I was an "organic organizer"--in other words, I put things here or there and just kept track of things in my head. It worked and I was confident in my system. People would see piles of stuff on my desk, but I did know where things were. If someone mentioned such-and-such project, I would go straight to the second pile from the left, look halfway down and pull out exactly the document I wanted.

The problem was that this system didn't scale. As I was dealing with more and more projects and had an increasing workload, my system broke down. David Allen has some good descriptions of what happens when you have too many "open loops". Basically, your brain can only keep track of so many things at once. Unless you have a way to manage your workload, you will be constantly thinking about all the things you need to do and spend less time actually getting them done.

At this point, I'm only getting started with GTD. Why did I settle on this methodology?

• It is relatively simple.
• It is based on sound principles that are consistently applied.
• The description of the problem seemed to fit my situation--I could really identify with the scenarios in the book.
• The buzz.

OK, I don't like to admit the last one, but I have to admit that GTD is getting a lot of attention these days.

I should probably add one more reason: I had to pick something. Sure, maybe there is a better system out there, but eventually I have to settle on something.