From GTD to GPT: Revolutionizing Time Management with AI

I've previously discussed how artificial intelligence can impact entire industries in my articles Will AI Disrupt Your Industry? (Here's How to Tell) and Charting New Waters: AI's Blue Ocean Opportunity. Today, we'll take a look at how AI can impact something much closer to home: your time.

In the digital age, time management has become more critical than ever. As life becomes increasingly complex, the allure of time-management systems is obvious. If we can be more productive, we can navigate our days more efficiently, and we can get more done.

One of the most popular systems for managing time is David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) method. GTD has gained widespread popularity for its structured approach to organizing tasks and projects. I've been a practitioner of GTD for over a decade, reading multiple books, listening to Allen's podcast, and dedicating hours each week putting GTD into practice.

?? Getting Done with GTD

While I remain a fan of many of Allen's core principles, I recently concluded that the GTD methodology no longer serves me well. I'll take a moment to explain why before discussing how AI was able to help.

When Allen's first book debuted in 2001, the world was different. Cell phones weren't smart, work was primarily done at an office desk, and paper still played a large role in business and communication. Many aspects of GTD's methodology reflect this. Its reliance on physical contexts (e.g. at work, at home, at a computer, at a phone) for task organization feels outdated in a mobile world. Its emphasis on capturing everything you need to do as a separate task results in a lot of data entry. And its instruction to make a new project for “anything we want to do that requires more than one action step” means you'll have likely have 50-100 project folders to sort through in your task management app.

GTD's lack of guidance on daily scheduling and its emphasis on using context to figure out "what should I do next" isn't compatible with shared electronic calendars in modern work settings, where blocking off time in advance is often necessary to hit deadlines. Maintaining the system requires significant time investment, leading to a focus on tasks rather than big-picture goals.

When I used GTD, I often felt that I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I suspect this is also true for many executives, entrepreneurs, creatives and leaders--in short, people focused more on goals than processes.

?? What AI Brings to Time Management

So what's to be done? I think artificial intelligence can help. At the application level, there are already AI tools like Reclaim.ai and Motion that bridge the gap between project management apps and calendar scheduling by automating the "what should I do next" question. Another powerful option is Notion (not to be confused with Motion!), which combines note taking, project management, to-do lists, and AI scheduling all in one app.

But the real game-changer is leveraging large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to optimize your time-management strategy. If its used properly, ChatGPT can provide you with personalized recommendations based on your needs and preferences. This is far more efficient than relying on Google search results, where you have to anticipate what information you need, determine the search that produces that information, scour the results, and read numerous articles in order to grasp different strategies.

Whether it's GTD, Time Blocking (and its variants), the Eisenhower Matrix, Tony Robbins' Rapid Planning Method (RPM), Eat the Frog, the Ivy Lee Method, or something else, there's no reason to use an "off the shelf" time-management system anymore. You can use AI to help you build a tailored approach optimized for your individual needs.

?? Turning GPT into "ChatGTD"

Here's how you can use ChatGPT to develop a personalized time management strategy:

1. Open a New Chat. Create a brand new chat that is dedicated to this activity. Don't reuse a tab you previously had open.
2. Role Prompting. Use a prompt to tell the GPT to act as a time-management consultant who is advising you on creating a customized system. Tell it to not generate any advice until you're done giving it background info.
3. Talk About You. Describe your profession, your current time management system, any relevant apps or tools you use, and the pain points you're experiencing. You can use speech-to-text to expedite this process.
4. Ask Questions. Ask it to generate a list of 8-10 personalized suggestions for how you can improve your system. Tell it to explain the pros and cons of popular time-management systems as they relate to your needs. Have it generate lists of tools that could work fit into your new system.
5. Ask Follow Ups. Tell it to expand on the items you like, or revise items that need changes. Drill down on any points that are unclear. Explore areas where you're encountering friction.
6. Track Good Ideas. Periodically tell it to generate a list of the changes you've said you like, and keep a running list of promising items in a document so nothing gets lost in the shuffle.
7. Save the Chat. When you're done, don't delete or archive the chat; instead, give it a name that makes sense to you. That way it's easily accessible and you can ask follow-up questions as you work out the kinks in your system.

If you're willing to put in 90-120 minutes into this activity, you can wind up with some useful customized suggestions to help you get more things done.

This process has helped me create a customized methodology that's significantly streamlined my time management process. I now spend less time tracking details than when I was following GTD and I'm more productive.

?? Customize... Up to a Point

In a world that's accelerating, people feel pressure to get more done. That's fundamentally why GTD and other time-management systems are so popular.

While these systems have their merits, AI offers an opportunity to personalize your approach to time management. You don't need to use an "off the shelf" time-management method when you can easily design a bespoke system that aligns with your unique needs.

One last piece of advice: Don't chase rainbows. Implement your new system, put it into practice, and then tweak it periodically. As Oliver Burkeman points out in Four Thousand Weeks, you'll never get everything done, so the key is to get to the things that truly matter.

Eric M. Jackson is a technology consultant who advises companies on fintech, AI, product marketing, fundraising, and strategy. As part of Peter Thiel's early-PayPal team, he oversaw the implementation of PayPal's revenue model, and in the years since has created and advised multiple technology businesses. A sought-after speaker and award-winning author of The PayPal Wars, Jackson lives in Los Angeles with his wife and two daughters.

?? Schedule a Consultation with Eric