I keep fighting the urge to “improve” the system. I recently blogged about this at http://desparoz.typepad.com/onthego/2005/05/methodology_tec.html

Its a funny thing, but I think that there is a mindset that its easier to play with a system than to just do the stuff the system is prescribing.

Playing and experimentation is in itself a good thing - a very good thing. But it needs a time and place, and that time and place is when you’ve really bedded down the methodology, and are using it well.

Next Actions, Weekly Reviews, Waiting Fors and leakless collection habits are all things that need to be second nature before you’ve earned the right to tweak.

At the risk of using another martial arts metaphor, in the karate there is a concept of learning called Shu-Ha-Ri. The first stage, Shu, basically entails rote learning, without asking questions. Just do it the way that has been shown.

The second stage, Ha, entails personalising the system. Modifying it without changing the core principles to suit your individual strengths and weaknesses.

The third stage, Ri, is a natural progression where one develops their own “style within a style”, deeply studying the core principles and modifying them where appropriate to suit your own process.

Shu-Ha-Ri is something that has no set timetable. It is observed, not driven. It happens naturally - when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. But in essence, it generally takes 5 years to move through the Shu stage into Ha, and then another 5 years or more to move through the Ha stage. Incidentally, this means that someone of early black belt level is generaly still in the Shu stage.

I wonder if David Allen’s metaphor of black belt in GTD is coincidental - maybe his message is that people should learn and internalise the basics before getting too experimental. Thats a good thing, IMHO.