A Community Contribution from Pam, who wrote to David with her story
Since the moment that I graduated from college about a year ago, I have been dealing with a copious amount of change, some good, some bad but mostly I was dealing with a deep lack of direction. I finally determined that a lot of it had to do with my inability to get a grip of my ‘To-Dos’ and a lack of planning and organizing in nearly everything about my life. I can say that I am now more organized whereas my past self would stubbornly deny that I was ever any other way. You see, I would organize in parts so everything was sorted in its “designated” area (or anything that looked like it could be together) and resolved the part done. But none of these parts worked together and there’s a long list of unfinished projects to prove it. Most of my time was spent finding parts and ideas that were stuffed into random, sorted parts and by the end of it, I would just give up.
So then I stumbled across some articles claiming to be a simplified version of your methodology. The soundness of the advice was so refreshing that even with these simple changes in my life, I saw vast improvement. My anxiety, which has been a major problem since freshman year of college, finally seemed manageable. These changes prompted me to find your book and I read it in less than a week, while implementing as much of your techniques as my lifestyle required. I can proudly say that I am in control of almost every aspect of my life, experiencing significantly reduced levels of anxiety and I can actually enjoy the company of others when I’m not “working.”
It couldn’t have come at a better time. I just started going back to school, am working a full time job and living on my own. I am even compiling material for a design portfolio that I have always been intending to do but never done by following your methods. Even though so many things are happening in my life right now, I feel great!! Thank you so much David!!!
“Thank you so much David!!!”
I can’t express how similarly I feel.
I only wish I had started GTD before college, and not after. I would have actually done homework instead of getting overwhelmed by all the commitments. I would get so anxious and put so much off till the last minute that my quality would drop off at the end of the semester. It would have been a difference between a solid B and a straight A’s.
The anxiety of my life disappears whenever I use the GTD system. Keeping track of my commitments and allowing myself to forget about them (since they are in my trusted system) means I am no longer an anxious wreak. I finally feel like I can actually unwind!
I can’t wait to use it in my future job. The whole thing gives me such confidence in my life, I feel like I can take on the world, one project at a time.
Word to the wise: if you are using a digital GTD setup, make sure that “Setup Backup System” is a vital project. Also, don’t forget to add “test backup system” to your tickler file… You won’t regret it.
…likewise: