Just “Getting Things Done”
I have been reading the book “Getting Things Done” by David Allen off and on and really need to start implementing its advice. The book transcends all technology to get down to the barebones of how to get things accomplished. However, some prefer to use this book as a means of proclaiming their religious fervor for one operating system over another.
Until today, I had enjoyed reading from a blog at 43folders.com that provided many means of finding the right methods and tools to follow the GTD methodology. This included the “hipster PDA” which is nothing but a stack of index cards with a binder clip, the various uses of Moleskine journals and also utilities and applications for your computer.
It was only made abundantly clear today that the editor of the website was extremely anti-non-Mac. This being brazenly stated in today’s post when the phrase “As with the mothership, though, I do ask everyone’s help in respecting the Mac-centric focus of the site (that means no drive-by Windows spam, please)” was included. I then turned to the About page for the site and found that this was pretty much the case although in a few posts, some other users do mention PC applications that are useful for implementing the GTD methods.
The author’s thinking is that there are already plenty of PC oriented GTD sites that his is going to be exclusively Mac oriented, PC users be damned. Since when did GTD have anything to do with which operating you choose? I would have thought at the very least that this website would have the perfect opportunity to cross that barrier and discuss all means of GETTING THINGS DONE without throwing in childish discrimination.
My only question was how this website affects Mac users who are PC users at work due to their work environment’s limitations (i.e., using internally written applications that are only Windows based). After all, the website pretty much snubs anyone who mentions PC applications, but not all Mac users are Mac-ONLY users and to just throw them out with the bath water is hardly the intended purpose of the website’s author.
Nevertheless, it has been my goal to eventually own a Mac so I CAN learn another OS and enjoy some of the nice applications that are created for it, but, if this author is representative of the standard Mac-worshipper, I hardly want to throw myself in the middle of the crossfire where zealots on both sides of the fence leave the ones who are stuck in the void between out to dry (or make them a target of their general hatred).
I, for one, would enjoy reading a GTD website that is not stuck on any operating system out there, but just delves into the real meat of what it means to get things done. Guess I’ll keep looking as the author of the website has no intention of waffling on his stance.
Update
Based on an email discussion held with said author (Merlin Mann), my last statement remains accurate as well as my desire to search for less discriminatory, more open-minded websites that present facts instead of biased opinion.
