Can it be done?
GTD is a task-management framework that lets you handle everything at once — not just the work you grind away at for a living, but the small stuff of everyday life too.
Most task-management systems ask you to plan top-down. Set a grand vision, then work out the goals and detailed plans that will get you there, and generate your tasks from those. But a lot of what we actually do doesn't arrive top-down; it comes up suddenly, bottom-up. Something unexpected lands on you at work, or an urgent chore appears at home.
GTD is the best-known task-management framework for handling even that kind of unforeseen, bottom-up work. It's also been around a long time — which is another way of saying it's been proven. And there really aren't many other frameworks that let you manage your work as a whole like this.
GTD isn't something you get good at overnight; like driving, it takes steady practice. Still, a few of its philosophies and skills are easy to adopt, and there's plenty you can gain from them right away. GTD helps you do the same work with less stress, which will make a big difference across the many things you have to get done.
If you want to go deep on GTD, you can read the GTD book. That said, the book isn't the friendliest read, so you may find yourself lost. I think it helps to get the overall shape of the thing from the video below before you start reading.
Is GTD really that good?
It only looks complicated at first — it really is good.
I use GTD well for everything from daily life to work.
If it feels hard or like a hassle, just take the parts you like.
For more on the payoff, see The Effects of GTD.