[SpiralOcean]

Thanks for all the help getting the file up.

I don't think I ever would have arrived upon GTD without Ratz.

I had a person from work recommend GTD to me when I asked how they kept up with all the information at work. (At the time I was in a job where 50 to 150 emails a day was the norm. And all these emails I was expected to do something with.) I didn't take his advice. I would fool around with todo lists in outlook (at work) and try to manage. But never had a watertight system.

A couple months later I was looking for Task software for the Mac & Palm and ran into LB forums. I was searching through the forums and found RATZ beginners guide to GTD. Through his implementation on LB, I was introduced to GTD. Suddenly, here was a practical nutz and boltz system. I bought the GTD book, and it clicked.

Not only did I buy the book, but bought the LB software as well.

That was in the LB boom... the forums had a lot of activity and there was an incredible energy about the software. Old RATZ has posted 2,111 posts on that board. I wonder if the LB developers ever realized how much business RATZ gave them. And how much GTD people there were using their system.

Unfortunately, their attitude was always... it's fine if you use it for GTD, but we don't want to develop the software toward any system. We want people to put whatever system they want in it.

All the while, people using LB for GTD were purchasing the software and duct taping it to use it for GTD.

It's really sad... and almost a pride thing. There is a huge GTD marketing engine that is out there. Millions of people are looking for tools to implement GTD into it. All a company has to do, is built the GTD tool. But all these productivity companies say the same thing. We don't want to force anyone to use GTD. We want people to use whatever system they want with our software.

And the same thing happens. All these people out there, looking for ways to implement GTD, have to Frankenstein their own solutions into software to make GTD work. (basecamp, don't forget the milk, blah blah)

And all this time... a huge pile of money is out there, for the company that can build the definitive GTD application. (my vote is on Omni right now)

LB had their shot. At least 5 years of suggestions to nudge LB toward GTD. 5 years is more than enough time.

For me, RATZ beginners guide to GTD was the missing piece that I believe is David Allen's one flaw in the book:
No concrete examples with real world projects.

¢¢