I'd say the most important thing is getting into the system using *some* kind of tool, then tweaking tools later, once you've formed some new habits around the workflow phases - collecting all incoming in a small # of places, emptying them all every 24 hours min, etc.

Sounds like you've decided to carry paper for reading and reviewing - just label a folder Read/Review and carry that with you.

For tracking, decide digital vs. paper. If in doubt, and you're OK with paper, use it - much simpler. Remember, all you need to manage action is a calendar and three lists: projects, actions, and waiting for. Keep using iCal if it suits you. print calendars daily if you need to carry something.
For lists, use a small notebook with removable tabs (Moleskine, etc.), set up a ring binder with tabbed sections, get a paper planner (e.g., DayTimer, DayRunner, etc.) and add tabs, etc.

Again, the key point is getting *something* up and running and forming the new habits.

Hope that helps!

I agree, the trick is to do *something* to get started. Particularly over the first few months, you'll find yourself continually realizing new things about how to best be organized with GTD -- that's normal and fine. Don't overthink things and you'll soon find a way that helps you to work.

The most important thing is to have one very small set of reliable inbound filters and one single to-do list. The form of these is much less important than their reliability.

From what you say, it sounds like you could go paper to start. Paper is easy and quick and cheap and requires little set-up. As you use your paper system, you'll understand where digital could help and where it can't. Then, in 2-3 weeks, you can look back and tweak things to work best for you.

If procrastination is your main bugaboo -- it is mine, too -- then being as specific and granular as possible in your tasks is the key. Don't "E-mail student regarding paper topic" -- instead, "Review paper topic requirements for 247" and "review Joe Student's 247 paper topic submission vs. paper topic requirements and approve or not" and "e-mail student@university.edu re: paper topic approval."

I'm also an academic and have been doing a basic GTD-type system for about 8 mos. So, still pretty new. I also use a Mac laptop as my primary computer and work in several different physcial locations.

I found the whole idea of starting pretty daunting, so I started by just dumping everything on my mind into a blank Word document and then I organized it into projects of some sort and then I thought about contexts.

The second thing I did--and it has been transformative-- is to clean out my e-mail Inbox and then keep it empty--I filter into separate folders messages I need to answer; those that have something I need to read or do something with; reference and related to specific projects I'm working on. It is so nice to seen an empty Inbox.

Third, I set ICal up so that anything date or time-sensitive can go directly there and I divided into different calendars (e.g. "Home"; "Personal reminder"; "Dogs"; "Research"; "Courses"; "Graduate Students""; "Undergraduates"; "Committees", etc.).

Dividing tasks like "Read this book" into smaller chunks was also very useful at first (I try to make every "action" be something that takes less than an hour so I don't see it as taking up half an afternoon and thus decide to procrastinate doing it. So "Read this book" becomes "Read the Introduction and take notes")

I think you'll find that you keep tweaking things as you gain trust in whatever system you set up and find out more possibilities for how you can keep getting things done while feeling in control.

Once I had a basic system set up and working--so maybe a month of so after I got started, I read a lot of the advice here and tested out various pieces of software. The ones I've found working best for the kind of work I do are (listed in the order I started to use them)

MailTags and Mail ActOn (make it very easy to manage your e-mail if you use .Mail)
Quicksilver (automates many aspects of navigating inside your mac)
MindManager (a mindmapping application that helps at the very beginning stages of planning. I also use it to manage tasks that have to get done "today")
Devonthink (an excellent way to keep up with electronic articles, notes, etc--I use it All.The.Time)
Scrivener (a drafting application--great for early writing)
OmniFocus (beta software that is more or less GTD-ready--I don't know if you can still beta-test it; however, I will definitely buy it once it is available for sale)

I really just put these here as a reference, though--you probably will find it easier to just take a few steps using what you have already. Pick some aspect from the book that you think looks interesting and just do something with it.

Keeping in mind that the whole point is to 1) get stuff done and 2) use your mind to be creative, not to hold and manage the things you need to get done was also very helpful for me as I got started because it kept me from getting too engrossed in the system itself.

I've "rebooted" my own personal way of GTD a few times since I first read the book. In the end I looked at the devices I had with me all the time and settled on something for my PocketPC.

The point is, whatever you do decide to try first of all you will likely want to tweak some aspect of it as you realise that personal flaws (kept losing paper in my case!) cause you to have to rethink things.

Do not mistake these mental nudges as indications that GTD isn't working for you the first time they happen. If you are still getting them after years then maybe, yes, GTD isn't for you, but the most likely issue is that something doesn't quite feel right about how you've implemented it, so do some research and try something else.

Once it clicks, it's great.

Hi,
It was also hard for me to get used to the method at first. I reread the book a couple of times, till I realized that the most important thing is to find the right system to keep all my stuff in one place. A figured it should involve technology somehow, so I looked up for a tool that will help me organize my life. I’ve found Wrike - www.wrike.com. It works perfectly for GTD and even more, helps my team to work together on our projects. Now the guys even wrote some sort of guide for newbies on GTD with wrike. You'll find it at their blog. Could be helpful. :)