Moving from what the book describes to a real workable system is a bit of leap. I remember hambergs.no article. It helped immensely and I ended up writing up my own system with a few personal tweaks. GTD has many interpretations and many implementations and it is hard to know what to pick. It is just as easy to lose site of the goal: Make your life easier and more productive.

This was my experience. The question I had were surprisingly hard to answer.

1. What is GTD and does it work? 2. If GTD is failing for me is it because I am not doing it wrong? 3. If GTD is failing for me is it because my implementation is wrong (i.e wrong tool or badly designed app)

The problem with the GTD system, as much as I have enjoyed using it, is that there is no reference system to verify correct usage. The usual path taken, for those who are patient and motivated, is that of hacking your way through the books, tutorials and apps out there until it feels right. The 'it feels right' feeling comes if you actually feel like you are on top of your work load. The system you end up with that works for you (when you eventually get to this place), may look very different from what the book described or what you initially envisaged.

GTD is more like meditation than a system. It's hard to learn it by reading about it. You only know you are doing it right when your life feels lighter and more productive.