Erika,

I agree with your general comment about systems, but the great thing about GTD is it is, for lack of a better term, a post-modern organization system. David expects that you will fall off-the-wagon with the process and shows you how to recover.

In contrast, my experience with the Franklin Planner approach was just what you brought up. In order to “catch up” you have to basically go back and do all the parts of the process you missed, even if that was three months ago.

What GTD gives you is a methodolgy that David Allen has debugged with many, many busy people. I think it’s a great system, but there are people who don’t need it, just like there are people who can stay thin without dieting. What yanks my crank is when someone who can stay thin without dieting tells someone who can’t that “you don’t need to diet, you just need to eat less and exercise more.” Different methodologies work for different people.