I want to highlight a comment by Andy of Naunce Labs that just might make me re-think my opinon of contexts. (darn it!) By the way, I’m very intrigued by what they are working on there and will be watching for what they come up with. Here’s what Andy had to say about contexts:

As a GTD freak maybe I can shine some extra light.

Contexts are important because they are an axis just like your time and your energy should be axes too. You may have access to a computer and a phone 24×7, but you’re not always talking, and you’re not always typing.

When you do want to make calls, it’s good to see what’s available within that specific context of telephony. You should also pay attention to how much time and energy it will require you to do an item while at that context.

If you have a lot of time but no energy that automatically scopes you into a certain flow. You’re not going to want to make two huge client calls, you’re going to want a series of low hanging fruit / easy wins.

It’s one of the more interesting things that isn’t written as much as David says at seminars but you need to be aware of the other things that make sorting, defining, and doing, those lists easier. That’s being more aware of your own state at the time of decision making.

A lot of applications/solutions forget this part and thus fall back into the ‘each list is either attracting or repelling you’, which most of us are probably being repelled by our solutions.

The idea of paying attention to amount of available energy as well as to the amount of available time is good to be reminded about. This was in the workflow chart I recently mentioned….sometimes I need to see/hear stuff several times before I get it!

See Also at Naunce Labs: The Basics of Getting Things Done

Additional Reading: Contexts at OrganizeIt

My paper planner began gathering dust as I switched to an Android smartphone and tablet. I transformed it into a tool to use at my desk for the weekly review. This clarified the process for me and makes it more visual. I spiffed it up with custom tabs and slash pockets from Day Runner. My tabs are: Today’s Schedule, Projects, Goals, Follow-up, Ideas, and Notes.

Set Up Part One

Permanent printable information to consult on each process:

• Daily (to-dos/next actions, use the terminology you like):
  • Daily Review
  • Incoming Tasks
  • Setting Priorities
  • Time Wasters
  • Matrix Chart
  • Repeating Tasks
• Calendar
  • Weekly Review
  • Weekly Plan
  • Project Plan
• Projects/Goals
• Follow Up (Waiting for/Pending)
• Ideas(Someday/Maybe)
  • Evaluate

Set Up Part Two

Personal lists that change frequently:

• To Do List (next actions)
• Repeating tasks
• Projects
• Goals
• Follow up
• Mission statement
• Ideas

I now use Google Task Taskary is my go-to app for my to-do list. (see Android Apps for Productivity) The other lists I keep in Google Drive, but sometimes forget to look at them. I like to print the frequently changing lists during the weekly review, and put them in the slash pockets. This makes them more visually accessible than a computer list and more visually attractive than a hand-written, scribbled up paper version. There are also adhesive plastic pockets (the kind for business cards or floppy disks) applied to the index tab dividers to hold information. My to-do list I print out and keep in a leather holder with blank index cards for notes on the other side. I add tasks via Google Tasks when I’m at the computer, or via the apps on my smartphone or tablet. To print the to-do list, the Gtasks app works best for sending myself an email. I then copy the list from email, paste it into a word processor and delete the repeating tasks that I don’t need. I also print a monthly Google Calendar for my desk with events, regularly scheduled meetings, and birthdays. This seems to work best when printed from the Chrome browser.

Weekly Review

Review of Projects list on a yellow legal pad and to-do list in leather index card holder

Update: Four free printable planner inserts, and four more.

Another option is a Mead Pocket Planner with nine information cards in one pdf file, free printable set of a weekly planning form plus five daily planning forms (pdf), and folded goal info.

See also: The portable gtd mini system, Planning is Thinking, and Weekly Review

At Zen Habits Massive GTD Resource List, I stumbled upon three great workflow charts that make my attempt at understanding what GTD looks like appear quite pitiful.

Whoever is behind them has done a wonderful job of making GTD visual. See Workflow Charts saved at the GTD Pinterest board: Start with Collection, Processing & Organizing, then check out Daily Review and Actions and Weekly Review and Actions. Amazingly helpful.

Scott Moehring created another excellent GTD advanced workflow chart (initially discovered at DIYPlanner) The tips at the bottom are especially neat, don’t miss them.

The Concepts of GTD graphic (pdf) from Brevedy is another one to check out. An article at medium expands on this one.

Learn more about GTD essentials and GTD and me.

Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

Quote: “96% of organizing is decision-making” from Deborah Kawshima.

Oh, my, goodness…no wonder I have trouble with this! So much to do, so little time – how to decide whether to take on a project? How to decide where to start? Managing time is about organizing activities. Problem solving is decision making and decision making is problem solving. Problems are projects.

“Everything on your desk that’s not moving is a failure to make a decision.” -John White.

Decision Making Simplified

• Define the problem
• Expert advice: ask
• Compile information: research
• Inspire ideas for possible solutions
• Decide and plan
• Execute the plan and evaluate success

Beware:

• Overthinking
• Overconfidence
• Overload
• see the Science of Decision-making at nesslabs

Things to consider:

• Every decision involves risk. What’s the worst that could happen?
• Determine the importance of factors that will affect the decision
• Realize you may not be able to obtain all the facts
• Listen to your gut feelings
• Ask others for their opinions
• Take a break to look for fresh perspectives
• Try it out with the option of changing your mind
• Decide to postpone a decision if there’s no time pressure
• Take your time with big decisions
• Learn from mistakes

Tools

• low-tech: dartboard, coin toss
• more involved: select criteria and assign weights based on importance. How to Prioritize by Steve Pavlina, and A Self-Made Billionaire Uses This Easy Trick for Decisions at Time.com
• learn more at Goal Skills – Problem solving, and Decision making and Problem Solving (Skills Employers Want series)

Life With Confidence Quotes: “Every decision you make…is not a decision about what to do. It’s a decision about Who You Are.” -Neale Donald Walsch

Letting Go

Tonight I attended an event where mystery author Nancy Pickard spoke about writing. (If you enjoy mysteries, try one of her books for an enjoyable read.) One point that she made stuck out to me: the magic of creativity happens best when we let go…just let go of our outlines and plans and follow where our imagination leads us.

Slow Leadership has some thoughtful musings about How Useful is the Pareto Principle? Perhaps the 80/20 rule is more useful in hindsight review of what worked well (and what didn’t) than in predicting future results. Another article on “Hamburger Management” Revealed discusses how doing everything as quickly and cheaply as possible leads to less than stellar results. Focus resources on top priorities to create spectacular results.

Two powerful productivity posts from Scott Ginsburg, the Nametag Guy: What’s in Your Wallet? and Daily Appointments with Yourself.

Part of my difficulty with David Allen’s Getting Things Done system has been understanding where to place different actions within the system: on which list does this item go?

• Date sensitive – Calendar
• More than one step – Project list
• An action step for a project – Next action list
• An idea – Someday/Maybe list
• Pending – Waiting for list

This is how I imagine GTD looks:

See also GTD made visual, GTD and me, GTD mini-system, Paper Planner Tool for Weekly Review, and GTD Essentials