How to Make a GTD System for Around £10

GTD for a tennerAfter reading the great blog entry titled “How to Make a GTD System for Around $20” over at Cranking Widgets, I decided to add a UK spin to this theme as I am based in the UK and I have quite a few UK based readers.

The Cranking Widgets blog entry takes you through building a complete GTD system for a super cheap $20. The core component is obviously the GTD Book from David Allen but after that they take you through other essential items and provide online links of where to get them.

This is great if you are in the US, but how about our UK readers? Well, with the conversion rate between the UKP and USD so strong, in the UKP favor, I am trying to do the same as Cranking Widgets, but for a measly £10. This works out at around $19 for a GTD system.


So, to start, please go to the Cranking Widgets blog and read their post about building a $20 GTD system. There is no point in me repeating what they have already done on their blog so please read it and then let’s pick up on the differences.

As stated at Cranking Widgets, we assume you have the following items:

  • Writing Utensils
  • Paper
  • Desk an/or Workplace
  • A copy of the Getting Things Done Book from David Allen

So, this just leaves us requiring the following items:

  • Two Boxes of Manila Folders – Total 200 Folders
  • Calendar

For the Manila folders, as I bought mine from Staples in the UK I thought that I would also recommend the same ones. These are the Avery Budget Square Cut Folders and they come in packs of 100 and are £4.79 per pack. Now, postage is extra on these, with next day delivery being £2.90 alternatively, go and pick these up from Staples at your nearest branch.

For the Calendar, you have the choice of using one on your computer or an online calendar. If you have a Mac you get the use of iCal and on Windows, if you have Outlook you can use the Outlook calendar. For online calendars, I also recommend using either 30 Boxes or Google Calendar. Let’s just stick with online calendars as I would not imagine if you are reading this that you are trying to implement a GTD system using just a total paper based system.

So, to summarize, we can get this down to £9.58 if you are willing to collect from your local staples or a meagre £12.48 if you have to have them shipped.

I know this is doing it on the cheap, but I only spent around £30 on stationary in order to get started, but that was until I discovered the Moleskine!

Have fun!

One thought on “How to Make a GTD System for Around £10

  1. Kate Davis

    Interesting to read this from a UK perspective.

    I was looking for inspiration to how I could work out if I would use a filofax without actually buying one. I went to WHSmith for inspiration and ended up buying an A5 ring binder, plain paper, lined paper and dividers for around £5. I then either printed out templates from diyplanner or made my own.

    This was only meant to be a trial system, but it is working so well I am not going to bother ‘upgrading’ to a filofax. I am definitely now a believer that it is the system that makes an organiser work and not the money spent on it.

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