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November 02, 2006
Tracking the when....then items
One of the primary action lists we suggest is a Waiting For list. This list tracks anything I'm waiting on from someone or something else. Obvious uses would be orders placed, voice mails I've left, emails I've sent or verbal conversations I've had where I'm tracking that someone owes me something. I typically track waiting for items by listing the person I'm waiting on, what I'm waiting on, the date I started waiting and any applicable due date. Such as:
Wayne - get back to me about suggestion for Atlanta hotel - 10/31
Another way I often use my Waiting For list is to track the "When I do this...then I can do this" type items as well, so nothing falls through the cracks. For example, I just had someone (I'll call Joe) email me asking me to call them about an upcoming meeting. I'm waiting for one of my colleagues to handle another thing, related to this upcoming meeting, before I want to make this phone call back to Joe. This call to Joe doesn't belong on my Calls list yet because I can't take the action. So my waiting for list is tracking that I need to call Joe back after the other thing that is dependent on my colleague happens first. Such as:
Anne - talk to Fred about the budget so I can call Joe back about the meeting - 11/1 - due 11/9
My Weekly Review is a great way to loop back on the Waiting For list, if it doesn't happen sooner than that. With so many moving parts in my life, the Waiting For list is extraordinary helpful to track this kind of weird thing that is still a critical item, but not something I can do now.
Posted by Kelly at November 2, 2006 03:21 PM
Comments
A waiting-for list is one GTD element that I never found particularly useful, mainly because the items on it would have widely differing due dates. Why bother reviewing something every week if I'm not expecting it for another two months? Instead, I decide how long I can let an item go before I have to follow up on it if I don't receive it when expected, then drop a reminder at the appropriate date in my tickler file. If the item arrives before then, I can just treat it like any other inbox item and toss the reminder when it comes up in the tickler. Otherwise, at least it's off my mind until the time I've decided I have to deal with it.
Posted by: MiGrant at November 2, 2006 07:43 PM
Hi MiGrant,
Thanks for your comments. Fun to hear what works for other people. So much of this comes down to personal preference and what works as a trusted system for you.
I also use my calendar as a tickler. There are things I don't want to be forced to see before I'm ready even consider them. One that comes to mind is signing up for LA Marathon bike race. I put it as a tickler on Jan 1 to revisit. I don't want to have to see that on my waiting for every week for the next two months, even though it technically fits under my description as something I'm waiting on.
Cheers,
Kelly
Posted by: Kelly at November 2, 2006 08:08 PM
MiGrant's comment made me take a quick sweep through the stuff that's on my @Waiting list, and it seems to me there are three kinds of "stuff I'm not dealing with now" that filter into my system:
1. Stuff that I'm expecting someone else to do, and that I need to make sure not to lose track of. Typically, this is stuff that needs to get done soonish, so I want to see it at least once a week. These items go on my @Waiting list.
2. Stuff that I'm going to do, but that I'm not going to do now, and that I don't need to do on/by a specific date. These go on my Someday/Maybe list.
3. Stuff that I'm going to do on a specific date in the future. These go on my calendar or in my paper tickler, as appropriate.
-- Tammy
Posted by: Tammy Cravit at November 3, 2006 02:53 PM
