http://www.cocomment.com/comments/kewms Copyright 2007 coComment.com 2009-11-22T18:51:06.746+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/images/logo4rss.gif http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1362918&comment_id=25815707 kewms [QUOTE=WebMarketer;57525] [LIST=1] [*]Once I transfer the contents of these messages onto paper (names, contact info, details discussed, etc.), how do I go about processing and organizing them effectively? [*]Is it simply a matter of extracting the important stuff out, and then routing all this to the appropriate place in my system? [/LIST][/quote] Process voice mail messages like any other inbox item: decide whether to do it, delegate it, or defer it, then add to the appropriate list. [quote] [*]Is it redundant to mark down my day- and time-specific commitments in BOTH my paper and online calendar? [*]Do you use a "hybrid" solution (digital+paper) for your calendared items too? If so, how do you make it work effectively? [/LIST][/QUOTE] Yes, having two calendars is redundant. There's a significant risk that they'll slip out of sync with each other. The best answer is to only have one. If you need two for some reason -- say to share with others -- decide which one is definitive and make sure it has *all* items. Good luck, Katherine 2008-04-26T00:51:28.997+02:00 2008-04-26T00:51:28.997+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1359474&comment_id=25471518 kewms [QUOTE=NoobIT;57461] Perhaps you are right, my understanding of a 'project' is slightly flawed. I have 7 items on my projects list and 127 on next actions lists. I never realised that reading through large emails are actually considered projects and that the next action could be, [I]figure out what to do[/I]. I've just lumped these into @Computer and/or @Read categories. [/QUOTE] Remember, a GTD project is any outcome requiring more than one action to complete. And a next action is an immediately doable physical activity that moves the project forward. So I'd say it's highly likely that many of those 127 next actions have projects associated with them. Possibly the *same* project, in some cases. The clear definition of a next action is one of the key ideas of GTD. It's the difference between a Next Action list and a To Do list. Especially in the beginning, it's a good idea to be pretty rigorous about making sure you've broken actions down far enough. Katherine 2008-04-23T17:03:22.598+02:00 2008-04-23T17:03:22.598+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1347712&comment_id=25396906 kewms [QUOTE=madalu;57281] So what I do is schedule time to work on my next actions lists each day, so as to tackle the little tasks. The rest of the time is for bigger projects.[/QUOTE] This is an excellent suggestion. Wish I'd thought of it. :-) I'm in the same situation. I usually know what the big project is for the day, or the week, and don't have much trouble moving it forward. However, I tend to get to the end of a big project and discover that many lesser tasks have been neglected. Formally blocking out "admin time" would definitely help. Katherine 2008-04-15T08:52:33.088+02:00 2008-04-15T08:52:33.088+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1345525&comment_id=25360041 kewms [QUOTE=scott.thackaberry;57248]Thanks for your help. I appreciate your view point. I live in a community where friends and family look to me for answers, as I am willing to take the time to reach for the "gold standard" in these type of pursuits. Therefore, I will continue to pursue my impossible dream of a "gold standard" checklist or flowchart.[/QUOTE] *shrug* The description of the initial setup in the GTD book seemed pretty clear to me. Beyond that, it's largely a matter of personal taste, anyway. Sometimes the best is the enemy of the good. Katherine 2008-04-13T18:53:24.365+02:00 2008-04-13T18:53:24.365+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1344980&comment_id=25350774 kewms [QUOTE=kwes;57228] How do you deal with focus and prioritizing?[/QUOTE] What Brent said: weekly review. Daily review if necessary. That's when you prioritize, that's when you decide how much time (and which particular times) to spend on particular projects or in particular contexts. That's when you decide what's *not* going to get done and can be safely ignored (and moved off your main NA list). If you're not reviewing, you're missing one of the core components of GTD. Katherine 2008-04-13T07:53:13.213+02:00 2008-04-13T07:53:13.213+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1343804&comment_id=25324788 kewms Put the very Next Action for a project on your NA list. After you do that action, continue working on the project for as long as desired. When you stop, "bookmark" the project by, again, putting the very Next Action on your list. Repeat. Katherine 2008-04-12T02:16:29.156+02:00 2008-04-12T02:16:29.156+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1339969&comment_id=25281822 kewms I definitely agree that scheduling regular events can be helpful. The examples of a weekly soccer meeting and daily instrument practice are both right on target. I use this kind of schedule myself, and don't see a conflict with GTD at all. I just don't think scheduling is the complete solution to the problem of "what to do next?" On the one hand, it's possible to ignore a schedule just like any other tool. On the other hand, a schedule by its very nature has difficulty in coping with the flexibility needed in real life. What happens when a meeting absolutely has to be scheduled during your usual administrative tasks block? What happens when the administrative tasks take much longer (or much less time) than expected? In the end, no external tool will tell you what to do at any given moment. There's no substitute for human judgment. Katherine 2008-04-09T16:52:33.346+02:00 2008-04-09T16:52:33.346+02:00 http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=kewms&conv=1338506&comment_id=25262051 kewms Actually, chores are often a means of procrastination. People who work at home often find that their home is very clean when they aren't getting much actual work done. In any case, I don't think there's an absolute answer. Overly rigid scheduling is bad, but so is a complete lack of structure. For me, the balance between the two varies depending on my mood and the task at hand. Katherine 2008-04-08T20:33:19.654+02:00 2008-04-08T20:33:19.654+02:00