Thread by @JessicaShieh

As the final week of @RoamBookClub approaches, I've asked the participants to summarize the learnings for their 6-wk-ago self or their 12-yr-old self.

Here is mine:
1. Updated Guiding Principles
2. Redefinition of GTD Terms
3. Open Questions
4. Special Thanks

Thread👇

1/Guiding Principles (1/4)

TL;DR
• System should be designed to shine at your worst
• Aim to build a system that iterates (instead of perfect)
• Look for signals: goals, ease, happiness

1/Guiding Principles (2/4)

• System should be designed to shine at your worst

A common pitfall for GTD beginners (myself especially) is designing a system for their perfect selves, but we are rarely perfect. (but that's totally okay!)

https://twitter.com/JessicaShieh/status/1401213279431630849

1/Guiding Principles (3/4)

• Aim to build a system that iterates (instead of perfect)

I’d rather aim to build an incomplete, flawed system that I am happy to iterate over time than to design the “perfect” system that I need to slay to maintain.

https://twitter.com/jessicashieh/status/1403807212724572161?s=12

1/Guiding Principles (4/4)

• Look for signals: goals, ease, happiness

What gets rewarded gets repeated; that's why positive feedback - be it achieving a goal or experiencing the feeling of accomplishment/progress - is so important.

https://twitter.com/jamesclear/status/1394406387803959300?lang=en

2/Redefinition of GTD Terms (1/4)

We (by "we" I really mean "I") over-index on the terms outlined in the book; here are my re-interpretations:

• Mind Sweep - get everything off your mind; my trigger to do a mind sweep: any sort of anxiety or nagging voice in my head

2/Redefinition of GTD Terms (2/4)

• Weekly Review - my system maintenance
• Project List - collection/categorization to "hang" tasks on; this decreases mental overhead

(Research shows that most adults can only store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory)

2/Redefinition of GTD Terms (3/4)

• Tickler Files - a mechanism to "park" a task and have it "hit me in the face" without me trying; this is so that I don't spend the mental energy to search or recall

2/Redefinition of GTD Terms (4/4)

• Checklists - yet another tool to lower the mental load; it's a collection that's easy to retrieve (lower retrieval cost and bring the brightest version of you forward)

https://twitter.com/JessicaShieh/status/1401213279431630849

3/Open Questions (1/2)

I would be lying if I told you I got it all figured out.

My next challenge to solve is "Task Management vs. Knowledge Management."

Love @BrianArrigo2 's quote: "tasks fall away; knowledge keeps forever (and compounds)."

3/Open Questions (2/2)

Here is a thread from @Conaw on #GTD and #Zettelkasten to contemplate on:

https://twitter.com/Conaw/status/1129788853189955584

4/Special Thanks (1/3)

This RBC wouldn't have happened w/o the generosity and support of @RaygunIcecream @Jeanvaljean689 @rjnestor.

Also <3 for @maggied @beauhaan @brandontoner @TfTHacker for being thinking partners who supported me in ways you might not even have realized.

4/Special Thanks (2/3)

Thank you, RBC GTDers, for the community.

From hosting the Reading Room (@BrianArrigo2 @brunowinck @alvaroenriquez @nettesblog) to voluntarily creating and sharing content/pages/links to enable others (@brandontoner @MarcKoenig_ @laj2100 @elaptics)...

4/Special Thanks (3/3)

..and just for being present/engaged in the Chatroom and on the calls: @JR_Hughson @NaomiPeckLing @jkleinberg @chinarut @kelifancher @tysona0 @joeyharris @surrjon

Also, shoutout to @CKLinOrg who went out of his way to give me (video) feedback.

Closing:

My journey with #GTD had a scary start.

Now ~6-8mo into this and at least 4-6 major iterations later, I am slowly getting to a place where I feel like I can trust my system.

Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

https://twitter.com/JessicaShieh/status/1403710313841664007

That's it for now!

1. If you found this valuable, follow @JessicaShieh for more.

2. If you enjoyed this, here is another similar tweet as I explore the connections between GTD, problem-solving heuristic, and life advice:

https://twitter.com/JessicaShieh/status/1450425415370088449

Also, if you know anyone who would benefit from this thread, feel free to jump back to the top and share.

https://twitter.com/JessicaShieh/status/1471504920549359622