What is a GTD app?

As I read more people giving good input on what features they like, don’t like, would like to tweak, etc. It caused me to start thinking which is usually a dangerous activity for me.

For many years I wanted to create a GTD app that I have in my mind and believe many would also appreciate.

The GTD methodology is used by thousands of people and if we got them all in one room, we will soon find out that many have interpreted the system differently, while many have adopted only the parts that work for them. With this said, it’s clear that no one GTD app could ever satisfy or work for all the GTD users in the world.

Great apps like Wunderlist have shown that if you build something you like, you can always find others who like it just as much. This does not mean you can’t improve on it, but some of the most successful apps have not strayed away from their original vision and continue to have success.

This is true for many apps in the market. If you build it, they will come. Not everyone will come, but “They” as in the people who also like the vision you have for your app.

So to @James and the team at GTDNext. Build the vision you have, but don’t get so hung up on making the app that everyone else is telling you it should be. Chances are that thousands of people will like what you created and thousands of people will not.

Create what you believe is a good app, with the concepts and ideas closes to your heart and you can always find users that agree with your vision.

If I ventured of to create the GTD app that I have had in my mind for years, I would do just that. I would create what I though was a good app that followed the GTD methodology while understanding that my interpretation of GTD will be different than others. Some people require more complexity for their work style, while others prefer simplicity at it’s core.

I would listen to feedback and add features that aligned with my original vision and goals, but I would not try to create an app that makes everyone happy. For every person you make happy, you are making another unhappy. I would create my vision of a GTD app and let those who like it join me and those who do not, can find some other app that fits more their style.

I honestly get discouraged to attempt my own GTD app because I have followed and helped so many great developers with launching their own, I don’t think I would want the headache that comes from so many different view points.

But, the more I think about it, the more I convince myself that if you build something you believe in, others will find value in it. Listen and learn from your users, but always keep your vision alive and don’t stray too far from it.

Keep up the good work @James

I can only imagine how difficult this venture is for you, but you are following your desire to create something YOU believe in and that is what matters most.

Proximo

P.S. Don’t read into this and think that I am building my own GTD app now. It’s just an idea in my head for years but not something I am willing to try at the moment. lol

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I agree totally with this, as probably the team already knows from the questionnaire they sent out maybe a month or two ago.

There is an even more “brutal” reason for this: You really cannot expect to succeed in any other way than you feel intuitively comfortable with. There is no guarantee that you will succeed even if you follow your gut, but you can be almost sure to fail if you try to implement things you do not understand or agree with.

Concrete advice: Stop the voting nonsense on uservoice :slight_smile:

And: Ask yourselves honestly and regularly if you are truly satisfied with what you have created so far. Don’t be afraid to plan to phase out whatever has resulted from past mistakes. Happily embrace chances to throw out old junk and replace it with something more solid, simple and consistent. Let your gut grow stronger.

It would be very interesting to know what your “dream” is, though. In what areas will your app help people markedly better than existing apps?

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Piling on the encouragement here:
Don’t be afraid to say no when someone suggests a feature you rather would not like to implement.
Probably you are right anyway, as you are investing a lot more time, thought, passion and work into the app than any of us users.
One caveat: Suggestions from this user with the funny Cthulhu avatar should be implemented promptly… just kidding :wink:

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I jump into GTDNext from time to time and see how things are going with the app.

I must say that it has improved in a big way from what I remember last time. I think the tweaking being done is making the app far more easier to understand which is a huge bonus.

Keep up the great work @James and you may convince me to start using it on a daily basis to see if it will become my official GTD app.

Seriously. The app is looking better than ever.