And what I find fascinating about GTD is David Allen’s observation that traditionally “coaching”, or “self-improvement” practises start from the “top-down” whereas he is suggesting there is power in working from the “bottom-up”.

That is, instead of starting with considerations of our purpose & grand visions and working down to our goals and next-actions, GTD suggests that starting from the bottom-up can have dramatic results in one’s life.

If we get really clear and precise and systematic about all those next-actions that have been cluttering up our mind, then it sort of frees our mental energy to gravitate to those higher levels: the 20,000 to 50,000 feet levels as David calls them. It’s hard to start with the big picture when your psychic RAM is full.

bongoman