« Perspective + Control | Main | It's easier than you think »
September 18, 2006
Calendar vs. Action lists
I often get asked in seminars, "What goes on your calendar versus action lists?" Here are two easy guidelines for working with these two critical pieces of your GTD system:
- If needs to be done ON a specific day or time, put it on the Calendar
- If it can by done BY a specific day or as soon as you can get to it, use Action lists (Tasks, To Do's etc.)
If you look at my calendar on any particular day, it doesn't often have a lot on it. It doesn't mean I'm not getting things done, it just means that only those things I consider expiring at the end of that day would get put on the calendar as either an untimed event (what Outlook or Notes calls an "All Day Event") or on a specific time. Anything else would be put on an Action list.
When I look at my calendar, it gives me an absolutely trusted view of what HAS to happen today, as best I know. So when fantastic new opportunities (or problems) show up, my calendar is where I'll look first to see what that's going to affect and may need to get renegotiated. A huge benefit of using the calendar this way is that I don't have to carry over a daily to do list from day to day. Tasks is my ongoing list of actions, not the calendar.
Posted by Kelly at September 18, 2006 05:39 PM
Comments
So what about those "DUE BY a certain date" tasks that go on your task list. How do you manage the DUE BY date: a task reminder or a calendar event reminding you to complete the action by that date?
Posted by: Brian at September 19, 2006 09:19 AM
I still remember the day I read David's book for the first time and discovered this GTD principle. It changed the way I "do" calendaring. No more tasks on my calendar. Yes!
Posted by: Dean at September 19, 2006 10:25 AM
Hi Brian,
If something has a due date, and can be done any day up to that due date, I would put it on Tasks. I consider Tasks just as trustworthy of a place as the calendar for timely things. It's just a matter of whether it needs to be done on a date vs. by a date.
Kelly
Posted by: Kelly at September 20, 2006 07:18 AM
Since I discovered this GTD principle, I do not use action lists. I just write a reminder at my calendar and use Tasks at Microsoft Outlook, so it is easier to work every day: when I arrive to office, just take a look to the new e-mails (less than 2 minutes), take a look to the calendar and my tasks and to the actions that awaits for something/someone...
Posted by: Maria at September 20, 2006 09:16 AM
Hi Brian,
Task reminders can work, if used sparingly. I find many people over use them and then just end up dismissing or snoozing them all, deflating the purpose of any critical reminders. I will sometimes use calendar reminders too. Most days and always in my weekly review, I'm doing a scan of my lists to see what's coming that's due. Daily that's a pretty quick scan. Weekly I'll give it more time to see if I need to shift things around and make sure every project has a next action.
Kelly
Posted by: Kelly at September 22, 2006 10:14 AM
I love GTD but I am stuck at the starting point.MS Entourage is confusing me..
What is the difference between a "Task" and a "To-do" ?
TIA
Pankaj
Posted by: Pankaj at June 21, 2008 08:39 PM
Hi Pankaj,
In many programs these words mean the same thing (Task and To-Do.) It's a semantics thing and in GTD terms, it's where your "next actions" would get organized.
However--are you on Entourage 2007? If so, Microsoft added another level of complexity to these definitions. If it's like Outlook 2007, a Task is something you enter onto a Task list. A To-Do includes all tasks automatically, PLUS any email, calendar or contact you flag for follow-up.
In 2007 products, all Tasks are To-Do's, but not all To-Do's are tasks.
Hope that helped!
Kelly
Posted by: Kelly at June 23, 2008 11:23 AM
Thanks Kelly,
Yes, it was indeed very helpful.
I have David Allen's MS Entourage pdf file- it details a Calendar+Task view which is very helpful.
There is no seperate Task and To-do list in Entourage 2004.
MS Entourage 2008 does not have that combined tasks+Calendar view and there are Tasks as well as To-do mentioned that got me thinking.There is "My Day" which lists Calendar and To-Dos for that day but certain tasks don't show up in this view.This change tends to make that very helpful idea of having one window in which Calendar items for that day as well as outstanding tasks can be quickly viewed.
This was too much for me:) and I went back to Entourage 2004.
many thanks
Pankaj
Posted by: Pankaj at June 24, 2008 02:04 AM
