implement GTD

I’ve settled into a relatively productive rut that’s not truly GTD compliant but generally works for me.

- a pack of 3×5 cards and a pen go with me constantly for immediate capture;

- I’m using the application “Things” (beta, for Mac) to track projects and such. This app will require purchase in October and I’m still deciding whether it’s the best tool. They keep fixing things and adding features so it might be. The only thing that would make it better is if I could enter from multiple workstations… I think that’s at least a potential of their app due to it’s file structure but I don’t think it’s implemented yet.

- I have absolutely no mechanism for weekly review though. I just am doing all the immediate tasks with no larger picture – or actually, the larger picture remains only implicit;

- The work table I have at home is a shameful mess. There are “in” boxes there somewhere!

- the worst confession is that currently, I store my “work” lists on my work computer and my “home” lists on my home computer. For the most part, this works because both contexts are physically and functionally separate but when I’m entering info for “home” sometimes I remember items for work and vice versa.

I have ubiquitous capture down (pack of 3×5 cards monster clipped together in my pocket,) an organizing tool (iGTD, a free Mac-based project manager… I don’t totally love it yet but we’re working it out,) daily entry into the organizing tool and some parts of the getting the IN box empty (my personal e-mail In box has over 700 unsorted messages and my work e-mail has over 2,000!)

I don’t yet have a consistent plan for weekly reviews. Nor do I have I become “squeaky clean” as far as tracking all the projects and tasks.

Next action: empty my head into the organizing tool (by Sept 28th) and perform a weekly review next weekend.

Since I’ve challenged myself to implement GTD this month or shave off my beard-and let’s just say me without a beard is a scary thought- I should note again that I’m afraid. I heard David Allen himself say that it takes up to two years to fully implement GTD… so what exactly do I want to have functioning at this stage of the game?

1) A functioning Inbox (done)

2) a tool to capture notes whenever they arise (a wad of 3×5 cards I carry around with me)

3) a list of ongoing projects chopped down to the next action (roughly done in LifeBalance)

4) Weekly review (NOT DONE)

5) Getting inbox to empty daily (NOT DONE)

Oh and 6) Find my copy of the darned book! It’s around here SOMEWHERE!!!

I’m a cheap bastard. There, I said it. I didn’t want to spend any money to implement GTD. So I tried using various software products I already owned (Inspiration, for instance) or that were free (Cmap, etc.) Then I remembered that before I gave up on my old Palm V, I had been quite enjoying LifeBalance which was relatively simple but darned effective. I blew off the dust and found it quite GTD-worthy. I’m using it on the desktop now to get some of my projects into manageable shape. I don’t know if I’d buy it ONLY for this use, especially if I wasn’t going to use it with a Palm but it’s much more than adequate for my purposes.

I was able to coax enough bucks out of my wallet to get a Brother labeler which is, frankly, more fun than a barrel of monkeys. My tawdry file folders are transformed into something nearly respectable when I slap a real label on them. I am shocked at how geeky that sounds. If I could have heard myself say that a year ago, I would have thought my mind had been eaten by ear-wigs or something.

I’ve been carrying a clipped stack of 3×5 cards with me for, heck, for months now and I’m getting the hang of lists and list-management. I’ll feel more confident though once I’m REALLY sure that when items get out of my head onto a card, they then get off the card and into LifeBalance. I need to enter all my cards every night for, let’s say, a week. That’s the “next action.”

I’ve read the book, more or less thoroughly, some parts more thoroughly than others. I’ve got a labeler now which is a blast just on it’s own! I have a whole stack of baskets I could use for processing, cool old-fashioned wire ones. I’ve even (nearly) cleaned a nice desk space next to the computer. I’ve been starting to make some of the lists, like the “Someday/Maybe” list I’ve realized that several of the goals on my 43things list are actually in the someday/maybe category and this irritates me now because there are other projects that are actually current that I’d like to be acting on that aren’t represented on 43things at all.

I haven’t had the time yet to put “everything into the in box” let alone to start “getting the inbox to empty” but I’m hoping to clear the time for that soon.

I harbor a grudging affection for productivity / life management techniques. They come and go like the careers of pop stars and are usually just about as deep. I confess that I’m still rather fond of the Franklin/Covey style of life management (based on mission statements and big picture thinking and “begin with the end in mind” yada-yada) probably because I’m pretty comfortable with abstract thought.

HOWEVER, though I feel relatively good about my ultimate purposes, I do have an awful lot of daily cr@p to do that I just don’‘t feel is getting accomplished effectively. So I’m willing to look beyond the cult-like qualities of GTD and give it a shot.

Preliminaries: I bought the book. I’ve also poked around on David Allen’s website and on the 43folders.com site. (Honestly, I ditched my Palm months ago for the deliciously retro “Hipster PDA” and I think that’s what first pulled me into the GTD orbit.) I downloaded the cute podcasts on 43folders.

“Next Action:” Read the book, which means underline the useful parts so that the next time through it will be faster.

“Someday/Maybe:” I could imagine organizing my WHOLE 43 Things list along GTD principles, including ending each post with a “next action.”