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You make the bizarre claim that nobody successfully follows GTD because you’ve never done so, and you know many others who have also failed to do so. That’s li

You make the bizarre claim that nobody successfully follows GTD because you’ve never done so, and you know many others who have also failed to do so. That’s like a fat dude looking around at the donut shop and saying “nobody ever sticks to their diets, haha!” I’ve used GTD for years. I just shattered your claim.

ThomPete 9y ago
Did you read what i wrote? You proved my point :) you dont do it anymore.
- dogruck 9y ago
  I’m not seeing your joke. Confused. Maybe you’re like an evil hypnotist. “You will stop following your diet. You will stop following your diet. You will stop following your diet.” :-) Seriously though — I think these two claims are both frequent and harmful: 1. It’s impossible to stay disciplined in the long run. 2. Discipline sucks the joy out of life. On the contrary, I think discipline gives you freedom.
  - ThomPete 9y ago
    I misread what you wrote my apologies. Anyway, I don't see how you shattered anything. First of all, I never attempted to do GTD exactly because I never saw the value. So I didn't fail at it I simply decided not to do it once I realized what it required. Second of all that you have used GTD for years doesn't mean you are going to continue using it. Lets talk in 10 years and see.
  - jo909 9y ago
    Relying on discipline alone is whats harmful. Studies repeatedly show that most people can not reach their goals by only relying on willpower. Good systems/diets etc define strategies that _reduce_ the amount of discipline required to stick to it. Saying "be disciplined" is roughly in the same category as telling someone to "be happy". It's a great goal, but no help at all for someone who is not already there.
    - PeOe 9y ago
      Yeah! I consider discipline a conscious thing and that only works for so long. What you actually want to achieve is that tasks that require discipline eventually become a habit. Because then you´ve internalized the task and relaxation and peace of mind become part of the equation.
    - wyclif 9y ago
      If there's something missing from the discipline and willpower equation, it's habit formation. Discipline is good, but it means a constant struggle. You have to make good habits the new normal with a cue>routine>reward loop. There's a lot of good stuff about this in the book "The Power of Habit" by Duhigg
- TillE 9y ago
  I realize English is an ambiguous messy language, but "have used for x years" usually implies that you have been and still are using it.
d0mine 9y ago
As a side note: diet doesn't work long term: > After about five years, 41 percent of dieters gain back more weight than they lost. Long-term studies show dieters are more likely than non-dieters to become obese over the next one to 15 years. > ... The study found that a single diet increased the odds of becoming overweight by a factor of two in men and three in women. Women who had gone on two or more diets during the study were five times as likely to become overweight. More [earlier]: > men with severe obesity have only one chance in 1,290 of reaching the normal weight range within a year; severely obese women have one chance in 677. A vast majority of those who beat the odds are likely to end up gaining the weight back over the next five years... https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/why-you-cant-lose-weight-on-a-diet.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/why-you-ca...
- dogruck 9y ago
  You’re right — most people will fail to stick with diets, exercise, and personal organization. Frankly, it feels hilarious that researchers had to spend time proving that claim. Just look around! On the other hand, there’s a powerful minority of people who do stay disciplined. They get a lot of stuff done. Lastly, although it’s easy to fail, it is possible to join that powerful minority.
  - tudelo 9y ago
    It's not only possible, it's so much easier than most think. It's just a case of just doing it, like cleaning your room or washing your dishes.
    - PeOe 9y ago
      "Just doing it" seems to be the solution to a lot of things. Whether it´s trying new things or starting a business. I´ve learnt the hard way that overthinking and then not doing is worse than just doing and then failing. Out of failing you actually learn and get better. Out of overthinking comes .. literally ..nothing. Gary Vaynerchuk always preaches the "concept" of putting in the actual work. Also a variation of "just doing it" but with the side-note of "actually go out and do something"! Really important stuff because most of the people nowadays don´t get that and think success will somehow come around the corner one day.
coldtea 9y ago
>That’s like a fat dude looking around at the donut shop and saying “nobody ever sticks to their diets, haha!” And the fat dude would be right statistically. >I’ve used GTD for years. I just shattered your claim. Not necessarily. You could still be an outlier (generally when people say "nobody does X" in casual conversation, they allow for statistical noise level outliers). Or not have very hard workloads to begin with.

ThomPete 9y ago

Did you read what i wrote? You proved my point :) you dont do it anymore.

dogruck 9y ago
I’m not seeing your joke. Confused. Maybe you’re like an evil hypnotist. “You will stop following your diet. You will stop following your diet. You will stop following your diet.” :-) Seriously though — I think these two claims are both frequent and harmful: 1. It’s impossible to stay disciplined in the long run. 2. Discipline sucks the joy out of life. On the contrary, I think discipline gives you freedom.
- ThomPete 9y ago
  I misread what you wrote my apologies. Anyway, I don't see how you shattered anything. First of all, I never attempted to do GTD exactly because I never saw the value. So I didn't fail at it I simply decided not to do it once I realized what it required. Second of all that you have used GTD for years doesn't mean you are going to continue using it. Lets talk in 10 years and see.
- jo909 9y ago
  Relying on discipline alone is whats harmful. Studies repeatedly show that most people can not reach their goals by only relying on willpower. Good systems/diets etc define strategies that _reduce_ the amount of discipline required to stick to it. Saying "be disciplined" is roughly in the same category as telling someone to "be happy". It's a great goal, but no help at all for someone who is not already there.
  - PeOe 9y ago
    Yeah! I consider discipline a conscious thing and that only works for so long. What you actually want to achieve is that tasks that require discipline eventually become a habit. Because then you´ve internalized the task and relaxation and peace of mind become part of the equation.
  - wyclif 9y ago
    If there's something missing from the discipline and willpower equation, it's habit formation. Discipline is good, but it means a constant struggle. You have to make good habits the new normal with a cue>routine>reward loop. There's a lot of good stuff about this in the book "The Power of Habit" by Duhigg
TillE 9y ago
I realize English is an ambiguous messy language, but "have used for x years" usually implies that you have been and still are using it.

d0mine 9y ago

As a side note: diet doesn't work long term: > After about five years, 41 percent of dieters gain back more weight than they lost. Long-term studies show dieters are more likely than non-dieters to become obese over the next one to 15 years. > ... The study found that a single diet increased the odds of becoming overweight by a factor of two in men and three in women. Women who had gone on two or more diets during the study were five times as likely to become overweight. More [earlier]: > men with severe obesity have only one chance in 1,290 of reaching the normal weight range within a year; severely obese women have one chance in 677. A vast majority of those who beat the odds are likely to end up gaining the weight back over the next five years... https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/why-you-cant-lose-weight-on-a-diet.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/sunday/why-you-ca...

dogruck 9y ago
You’re right — most people will fail to stick with diets, exercise, and personal organization. Frankly, it feels hilarious that researchers had to spend time proving that claim. Just look around! On the other hand, there’s a powerful minority of people who do stay disciplined. They get a lot of stuff done. Lastly, although it’s easy to fail, it is possible to join that powerful minority.
- tudelo 9y ago
  It's not only possible, it's so much easier than most think. It's just a case of just doing it, like cleaning your room or washing your dishes.
  - PeOe 9y ago
    "Just doing it" seems to be the solution to a lot of things. Whether it´s trying new things or starting a business. I´ve learnt the hard way that overthinking and then not doing is worse than just doing and then failing. Out of failing you actually learn and get better. Out of overthinking comes .. literally ..nothing. Gary Vaynerchuk always preaches the "concept" of putting in the actual work. Also a variation of "just doing it" but with the side-note of "actually go out and do something"! Really important stuff because most of the people nowadays don´t get that and think success will somehow come around the corner one day.

coldtea 9y ago

>That’s like a fat dude looking around at the donut shop and saying “nobody ever sticks to their diets, haha!” And the fat dude would be right statistically. >I’ve used GTD for years. I just shattered your claim. Not necessarily. You could still be an outlier (generally when people say "nobody does X" in casual conversation, they allow for statistical noise level outliers). Or not have very hard workloads to begin with.