Is it necessary to eliminate procrastination to be effective in your personal and professional life? Not necessarily. Sometimes a little breathing room on something is exactly what I needed to get more clarity that I didn't know I needed on it. But it is helpful to know some strategies for unsticking your stuff, especially if it's something you really need or want to do now. There are two primary reasons why we tend to procrastinate:

1. The outcome is not meaningful enough to you
2. You don't have a clear next action

Now, think of one thing you are procrastinating on. If you had to go take action on that right now, do you have all of the information you need to take that action? If not, you haven't nailed the next action. Back yourself up to a clear next action. Go more microscopic in your next action if it feels too big or complex. Now, the outcome. What images do you hold when you picture yourself finishing that thing? Failure? Boredom? Jail? Out of control? Painful? Good chance that outcome is not only not meaningful enough to you, you're not picturing a successful outcome. Procrastination will pounce on that like weak prey. Reshift your outcome to a finish line you see yourself winning. Yes, it's that easy.

My response:
Yes, I do sometimes capture actions directly on my handheld if I know exactly where I want to put it--meaning I'm collecting/processing/organizing directly into my lists if all the thinking required is done and it's easy enough to put it directly on the list. If it's just simply collecting something that I still need to process & organize, I usually capturing/collecting on paper first. I almost always have a notepad with me as well as my handheld.

Here's the bottom line here folks: Decide before you organize. If you are putting things on lists that still need thinking than you're no further along in having your attention be freed up from it. If you haven't figured out what your next action is, it doesn't belong on a next actions list yet. If you really want to capture directly on a handheld, just create a category called "mind sweep" or leave it uncategorized in Tasks until you process it. Here's an easy way to think of the flow of your work:

Collect = the first entry point where stuff comes in for you
Process = the step where you are deciding your outcome and next action with what you've collected
Organize = you're putting what you've made decisions about in a place you trust

Note: If you have the GTD Outlook Add-in for 2007, the Tasks setup is done automatically when you install the software, so you don't need to buy the whitepaper for that purpose.

For those of you who are fans of Google spreadsheet as a GTD list manager, a quick way to get actions on to your lists is to create a "form" for new entries. What a form will do is give you a few simple fields to capture next actions. What you enter will automatically get filed onto your spreadsheet (setup as GTD lists) in the proper format. No need to even navigate to your spreadsheet.

Here's how to set that up:
1. Once you've created a Google spreadsheet, open up your spreadsheet on your desktop
2. Go to the sheet you are using for next actions (will be easier if all next actions are in one sheet)
3. Click on the Form tab
4. Click on Create a form
5. All of the columns in your current worksheet are captured as a form and will open in a new window
6. Once in your new form, hover over the Categories question, select Edit, and create it as a drop-down list instead creating options for each of your contexts (quick fill on the first letter of the list name will work if you don't use the @ at the beginning.)
7. Change the Next Actions question to the format of Paragraph text for more space to type
8. When you are done making changes, click Save, then Next, choose recipients. You don't actually have to send it to anyone. Just create a bookmark for the unique URL you see there. I added it as a button on my Firefox toolbar called "Add Actions."

What this gives you is a simple web page that includes all of the fields you need for capturing a next action on the fly:

For those of you with web access on your phones, this could make getting things onto your lists much faster and easier. If you primarily work from your desktop, keep an open window for this form when you start your day so that you can easily toggle over to it.

Feel like you've gone numb to the Reminder windows that pop up on your Calendar? (Hint: answer yes if you find yourself clicking snooze or dismiss most of the time when you see that window.) Don't feel bad. Most programs are built to help you to go numb to those Reminder because they set them on everything that is timed.

I'm not saying don't use reminders--just use them sparingly so that when they go off, they actually mean something.

Outlook is famous for putting reminders on everything by default. To turn them off by default go to Tools>Options>Calendar options and uncheck the reminders box:

When you really do want to be reminded of something timely, just manually check off the Reminders box within the entry:

In Lotus Notes, the same setting is under Tools>Preferences>Calendar & To Do>Alarms:

And the place to manually set the ones you do want in Notes is in the top right-hand corner of any entry:

In Google Calendar, check under Settings>Notifications.

I've never found I've needed reminders all that much, as long as I scan my Calendar often enough throughout the day. When I start my day, I typically open--and keep open--3 things:

My Calendar
My Inbox
My Action lists

Hope this helps!

Someone recently wrote to me and asked:
David has occasionally made reference to Myers Briggs personality types and I wondered if anyone has worked out whether some of the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicators) fit better with GTD than others.

But I wondered if, in your coaching experiences, you'd ever used MBTI and whether you've seen any tie-up with willingness or aptitude to GTD?

My response:
Good question. I have not seen any formal review of GTD and types, although we've all encountered the differences in coaching and seminars. Our staff has gone through many assessment tests so we are both familiar with them and know how to work well with each other and our clients.

Some types will be more attracted to tracking than others. Even within tracking, some will want a less linear system than others. Some will want to do more planning versus just diving in and doing. Specific to Myers-Briggs, here are a few resources I have found interesting:

Out of Time: How the 16 types manage their time and work
Type Talk at Work

By the way, according to Myers-Briggs, I'm an ENFJ and my husband is an INTP. We couldn't be more opposite in that respect and we work fantastically together!

I think personality type tests are interesting, if they are used in the spirit of learning who we are and how to leverage our strengths. I've also seen them help people relax and accept some part of themselves that they previously had been pressuring themselves to change. If you tend to be a crazy maker, then enjoy being a crazy maker!

Anything not quite making sense for you?
Wondering where something gets organized?
Have anything you're just not sure how to process?

This window won't be open for long so fire away while you can!

Update on 5/31: Thanks for the tremendous response. The lines are now closed :) I'll be posting some of my answers (in generic form/no names mentioned) on my blog in the coming weeks. Thanks!

* My lists all sync to a handheld. I never need to boot up my laptop to see my project or action lists. If you don't have a handheld, print your lists--works just as well. Don't make it hard to access to your stuff.

* I have a broadband wireless card for my laptop to process email anywhere I can find a signal. A fact probably surprising to some of you--I do NOT do email on my handheld. I wait until I can get to it on my laptop. So much easier for me to properly process and it means I'm not always ON, since email doesn't stop coming in.

* I generally don't book meetings the first morning I'm back from a trip, knowing I'll have my hard copy Inbox to process, expense report to do, unpacking to get to, etc.

* For any hard copy stuff I might need, I use plastic folders to transport that. My traveling folders include:

In (collects receipts and anything an Inbox would)
Actions (pending actions)
Waiting For (support for items I'm waiting on)
To Office (things to get filed or handled back at my office or anything an Outbox would)
Nice to Read (just that--no love lost if I don't read it)
Travel Support (a collection of things handy for travel: maps, airline employee recognition cards, envelopes etc.)

These take up about an inch in my briefcase and always have anything I'll need on my trip.

And perhaps the most important key for me:
Just like when working from my home office, I guard my time to allow at least an hour a day to process email. This is key. Backlog is no fun.

Doing Pre-defined Work (choosing from what's already processed and organized on your lists and calendar)
Doing Work as it Appears (responding to latest, loudest and new opportunities)
Defining Work (your own processing and reviewing time)

Everyone has a mix of all three of these choices. It won't necessarily be an even split of your time and attention. Depends on your job, and frankly your personality. I often like to do bite size chunks of doing work as it appears to stay interested and engaged in something that's taking more mental effort. It's a balance though and only you will know if you are in/out of balance with any of these choices.

If you think about it, even someone whose job is about doing work as it appears, like a fireman, is still working on being ready for the fire while they are not IN the fire. In fact, their ability to deal with that fire effectively requires them to have spent time getting their gear ready so that they can move quickly.

It's no surprise, whenever I cover this module in a GTD class, the majority of the participants find themselves spending more than than they think they should in Doing Work as it Appears and not nearly enough time in Defining Work. The tricky part about it is that each of these phases can really affect one another as well. The less time you give yourself to define your work, the less defined work you have to choose from and the greater the tendency to do work as it appears.

Do any areas of 3-Fold nature seem out of balance to you? Anything you can you do to shift that?

Good news is that, like a car, if the one you choose has the core components we recommend, it'll get you where you need to go.

A good GTD list manager should give you a bullet-proof, rock solid, trusted place to track your projects and actions. A starter set of lists David Allen recommends to store in that system would include:

Projects
Someday/Maybe
@Agendas
@Anywhere
@Calls
@Computer
@Errands
@Home
@Office
@Waiting For

A few questions to get started:

1. Are you a paper or electronic list person? There is a big difference and it's not only based on how technical you are. Some people prefer the touch and feel of paper. Some prefer electronic. It's usually personal preference and both work well with GTD. If you went to jot down a quick reminder to yourself right now, what would you reach for, your computer or pad of paper on your desk? That might give you a clue.

2. Do you want your lists to sync to a handheld (Palm, BlackBerry or Windows Mobile?) If so, you'll need an electronic list manager to make that happen.

3. Will other people need to see your data? Such as an admin or family member? Electronic may be easier for that than paper.

4. Are you away from your computer most of the time and don't have a handheld? If so, then you'll want to be able to print your electronic lists to work with them when you're on the go or use a paper planner.

5. Any security issues to consider? Some companies, for good reasons, don't want their employees putting company data, like the kind of stuff that would go on lists, on a web-based tool outside of the secure network.

6. Where is your calendar now? Many people will put their lists in the same program as their calendar, to have a central dashboard.

PAPER PLANNERS--->
Nearly any paper planner, including a 3-ring binder you can go grab from your supply closet, can work if you like the ring style, paper size etc. My first few years doing GTD were entirely on a paper planner. Just don't hold yourself to the rigid forms they'll include with the planner. Choose the binder style and tabs you like, then use simple lined paper for your lists.

DESKTOP-BASED LIST MANAGERS--->
Palm Desktop (PC or Mac)
Outlook Tasks (PC only)
Outlook Tasks with GTD Add-In (PC only)
Lotus Notes To Do (PC or Mac)
Excel Spreadsheet or Word Document (PC or Mac)
MindManager (PC or Mac)
Entourage (Mac only)
OmniFocus (Mac only)
OmniOutliner (Mac only)
Kinkless (Mac only)

WEB-BASED LIST MANAGERS--->
Google Spreadsheets or Documents
Google Notebook
Remember the Milk
Toodledo

No endorsement implied here from me or David Allen Company, just some direction for you all on your list manager quest. Good luck!

[KF 4/27: You'll will find comments below from people who are suggesting and promoting other products than what I've listed in my post. Please know, since it may not be obvious in their post, some of these comments are posted by the seller of that software with the direct intention of getting you to buy that product. Since I don't have the time or inclination to test everything people are suggesting, nor do I want to block comments on my blog, please just use your common sense when checking out software people are recommending through my blog. Thanks! Kelly

Watch Outlook Demo

Nearly every email program has some kind of notify feature you can turn off. In Lotus Notes, it's under Tools>Preferences>User Preferences>Mail. Look for the When New Mail Arrives area to uncheck all of the ways it wants to notify you.

Unfortunately, some of the programs out there that are trying to be "GTD list managers" miss the mark not by what they didn't include, but by what they did include. Some of them build in too many convoluted features, that in GTD terms make the whole thing more complex than it needs to be. Not saying you can't get value from some of those programs, but you'll be watering down the simplicity and elegance of GTD if you force yourself into using every feature that some of them include. If you get what the core components should be, you can usually get creative at customizing or ignoring what will end up being a drag for you down the road. So what makes a good GTD list manager?

Key features to look for:
* Sorting lists by context - many programs have a "category" feature that will easily support this.
* Ability to assign a due date - not forcing it on all of them, but allowing it for those that need it.
* Portable for on the go access - can be synched to a handheld or printed.
* Easily accessible - less than 60 seconds to get something in/out.
* More attractive to you than repelling - you've got to like the system you're entrusting your brain to.
* Doesn't force priority codes - if you know GTD, you know that forcing priority codes is old news and rarely accurate anyway.
* Place to capture additional notes - attached to an item to capture relevant info related to the item.
* Ability to search and sort in various ways.
* Robust enough to handle all of your stuff.

Is there a perfect GTD list manager out there? Probably not. But lots of them will work just great if you keep it simple and stick to the core features that work, without you thinking about how to make it work. It becomes seamless and like second nature to you.

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.
- Charles Mingus