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?

(Jennifer on Apr 29, 2008 1:20 PM) I find it very difficult to switch between these three. Whichever one I start doing, I spend way too much time on it before switching. So yes, I pretty much always feel out of balance. I should probably limit the amount of time I spend on any one before taking a break, but this requires...discipline.

(tom on Apr 29, 2008 1:47 PM) I find that it is extremely helpful if I apply in-basket rules to "Doing Work As It Appears". This allows me to triage and understand what is crisis and what is just an urgent request. In turn, I can stack the planes a little and bring them all in for a safe landing.

(Simon Webb on May 8, 2008 5:43 AM) I have been working on my GTD methodology for probably 12 months now. I still find that I have a long tail of unfinished tasks, one of which always seems to pop to the surface just when I start making progress with Defining Work. However I am seeing progress by returning to the basic GTD principles and using...discipline (to quote Jennifer above). I still have "personal agreements" coming out of my head that I didn't realise I was carrying around.

(Terry on May 15, 2008 1:02 PM) I have been implementing GTD for several months, and it is changing my life! But I feel like I am spending too much time in the "defining" stage. I initially captured EVERYTHING, lol. And I have a clean hard list of next actions, but feel compelled to review my current projects list ( @40 to 50 items ) way too often. For Example, as soon as a "budget" next action is finished, it tugs at the corners of my mind that my working To-Do lists are now incomplete. As I scan down my lists, it nags me that the next budget To-Do ( as yet undefined ) might be a more appropriate way to fill my time than picking a next action from the "fix garage door project " that has been on the list for several days As "budget" is a major project, there are a ton of independent next actions that I could put on my list at one time, but too long of a next action list seems to muddy things up as well. I feel like I have missed a concept here .... or do I just need to reign myself in from over-defining and force myself to have faith in the system and wait for the weekly review???? PS (I am confident about not missing "must do's" because of my tickler folder and calendar set-ups ... it is the massive amount of minutiae I am referring to here) Thanks for any suggestions Terry

(Eric Mack on Apr 23, 2008 7:39 PM) I'll be there, live blogging the event in summary for GTD Times. See you there!

(Kelly on Apr 24, 2008 2:19 PM) Great Eric! Looking forward to having you there. I'll be happy to have you around for the Lotus Notes questions. For those of you who don't know Eric Mack, he's the best of the best when it comes to Lotus Notes. As well as being an all-around tech whiz and nice guy! We did a podcast one time on the Tablet PC: http://www.ericmackonline.com/ICA/blogs/emonline.nsf/dx/you-had-me-at-the-pen-the-x61-tablet-pc

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

(Andrew Oliner on Apr 15, 2008 1:45 PM) My Life Organized is very flexible, and available for both PC and Pocket PC (Windows Mobile)

(Christopher Palmer on Apr 15, 2008 2:04 PM) Probably because it was what the original GTD list concepts was developed on, but Palm's ToDo list manager is the best that I've used. However, I got tired of carrying around a Palm handheld, a cell phone, and an iPod, so I just got an iPhone. I hate double entry and I wish every application could talk to each other seamlessly, but we aren't quite there yet. Remember the Milk and Google Calendar are the best "glue" applications that I've found so far. RTM has a premium iPhone version that works well and since it's web-based, I can get to it at home, at work, and anywhere else I might be. RTM doesn't exactly conform to GTD without customization and everyone has different ideas of how to do GTD with RTM. Personally, I have trouble separating projects from next actions on it, no matter how I set up tags and smart lists. Also, RTM works best at prioritizing when you give due dates for tasks, but that kinda violates the GTD philosophy that if it has a date and/or time, it goes in the calendar, not the lists. I have to use Outlook at work, but I don't like it much. To tie my calendars together, I use Google Calendar which syncs to Outlook now for free. Unfortunately, it doesn't sync to the iPhone calendar application and I don't use Outlook on the machine that I sync my iPhone to, so I pretty much don't use the iPhone calendar app unless I just want to look up a date. I may set up Outlook at home just as a dummy calendar/contact sync point with Google so I can sync my iPhone to it. I have no desire to actually use it for e-mail - I prefer Gmail for many different reasons. LIkewise, Google docs and Google notebook fit a pretty good niche for always having information at my fingertips. For that matter, I've also e-mailed documents and notes to myself since they're easy to tag, archive, and search for in Gmail. Both RTM and Google Calendar can send summaries and reminders via SMS, which has become quite helpful once I got an unlimited text message plan. Finally, I try not go anywhere without my paper notebook and a good pen. For taking notes, brainstorming, and "prototyping" lists and projects, nothing beats paper and pen. I usually annotate items in the notebook with little icons to remind me to add them to my calendar and GTD lists. I'm thinking about writing an iPhone friendly list manager that is a functional clone of the Palm software one (but I'd be happy if someone beats me to it) - that's the one big thing I miss about my Palm.

(David S on Apr 15, 2008 10:24 PM) Another webtool I find very useful is Vitalist: www.vitalist.com.

(ZZamboni on Apr 16, 2008 2:15 PM) For Mac, I highly recommend Things (http://culturedcode.com/things/). It's still in beta, so a few features are still missing (most notably sync capabilities, but that's coming soon), but it is very nice and simple, and it passes almost every point (except for the synchronization) of your "What makes a good GTD manager" list.

(Barrett on Apr 22, 2008 8:21 PM) I've tried GTDagenda (mentioned above), and I think that would be the one I would go with if I were looking for a web-based tool. I also recently came across Tudumo (PC only), which is really easy to use and has some great filtering options built in. http://www.tudumo.com

(Dorie on Apr 24, 2008 7:12 PM) We use Famundo. Its a web-based, family-oriented calendar and organizational app. By now, this family can't live without it! http://www.famundo.com Dorie

(Kona's Dad on Apr 24, 2008 10:34 PM) Hi, For Blackberry users, Next Action! is really quite a good program. Can be found at: http://www.s4bb.com/software/nextaction/ Not connected with them, I just think it's good software.

(Jordan Sherer on May 6, 2008 9:57 AM) I would like to suggest a Mac and Windows compatible duo: TodoPaper for Windows http://widefido.com/products/todopaper/ and TaskPaper for Mac http://hogbaysoftware.com/products/taskpaper/ Both of these apps are extremely lightweight, removing the tedious busy work that comes with managing your to-dos with other applications. (Disclaimer: I am the developer of TodoPaper)

(Paul Reinerfelt on May 12, 2008 1:46 PM) I, personally, am hooked on Thinking Rock http://www.thinkingrock.com.au/). It is designed to easily capture all of GTD, can export an .ical-file to sync your calendar from and, best of all, the PocketMod-report gives you a folded up slip of paper in your pocket with all your next actions as well as space to capture new thoughts. Just toss yesterdays' in the Inbox in the morning, process the captured thought (as well as anything else in the Inbox) and print a new for today. Best combination I've ever used.

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.

(K on Apr 14, 2008 3:52 PM) Alas, my boss fully expects that I see all email popups and be aware of them immediately. I am forced to use Outlook (and Windows) because of this. Avoiding interruptions, no such luck...

(Kelly on Apr 14, 2008 4:04 PM) K-- Sorry to hear that, especially if it zaps your focus and productivity. Kelly

(RedMolly on Apr 14, 2008 4:12 PM) I turned off my Gmail notifier two weeks ago so that I would no longer get beeped at when new messages arrived. Best productivity boost ever. Now I check email when I'm ready to and when I can set aside the time to deal with it--no more "emergencies" that are really just distractions better handled en masse when I have the opportunity. Now if I could just get my phone to ring only when I'm ready and willing to answer it...

(Barry on Apr 15, 2008 3:15 AM) I only receive between 10-15 emails at work per day. My problem is the cellphone. I would like to turn it off and only answer questions a couple of times per day but I feel guilty about missing the calls.

(Kelly on Apr 15, 2008 8:13 AM) Hi Barry Would it help at all to have your voice mail message tell people when they can expect a call back from you? (within 30 min? 1 hour? 24 hours?) That might buy you some time and relieve some of the guilt of thinking you need to be always on and handling things as they show up. Kelly

(Francis Wade on Apr 18, 2008 5:56 AM) I go another step and only download email upon the click of a button. In other words, I am unwilling to be distracted -- and manage that by only reading email when I actually have the time, attention and energy to respond. Of course, there are those days when I am looking to get a response and check over and over again! I know a company that has a similar policy of always answering the phone, and not having voice-mail. It ensures that no activity can safely be continued through completion without interruption. Make any sense to you?

(Kelly on Apr 23, 2008 8:23 AM) Yes Francis. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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

(Rolf F. Katzenberger on Apr 11, 2008 12:45 AM) Kelly, I agree with everything except for: "60 seconds to get something in/out. That's a *whole minute*. Are you sure you meant that? I mean I could even finish half of one 2-Minutes "do it immediately" task in that time... ;-)

(Adam Golomb on Apr 11, 2008 3:55 AM) Do you have any recommendations of paper and software list managers?

(Kelly on Apr 11, 2008 10:51 AM) Hi Rolf, Another way for me to say that could be "less than 60 seconds to GET to your lists." Of course the ones that would take you less than two minutes to complete wouldn't even make it onto a list at all--you'd just be doing them as they showed up. I mean adding and scanning to choose actions off your lists should be a quick thing. Some people seem to be choosing programs that are not easily accessible, which will eventually break down the ease of the system and your attraction to using it. -Kelly

(Kelly on Apr 11, 2008 11:04 AM) Hi Adam, I was afraid someone might ask that! This could/should be a whole topic in itself and there are literally hundreds of options (from a legal pad to server-based corporate tool.) I'm hesitant to put brand names out there for fear people will then take that as the only tools to use or endorsement from David Allen Company. But I'll see if I can put some options together and post something for you all as a starting point to explore what would work best for you. Kelly

(MacLemon on Apr 11, 2008 4:25 PM) I was also thinking about "takes no more than _a few_ seconds to get something in (or out)". I'm talking 5 or 10 seconds to enter a few words, when lightning strikes my mind. An app that takes me a whole minute, or even half a minute to _enter_ my thoughts is totally useless for me. GTD apps like, iGTD, Things or OMNIFocus all have a so called quick-input-panel which can be activated through a keystroke and is ready to service within a fracture of a second. (Provided the associated app is running in the background which it usually will do all day long.) With QuickSilver or LaunchBar integrations you can even enter stuff before the actual app is running. MacLemon

(Richard on Apr 11, 2008 6:52 PM) Just a quick comment - for me, there IS a perfect GTD list manager, called InfoSelect. I have used it since 1994 and as my GTD trusted system for about 5 years. Its perfectly flexible, fast and reliable.

(Joe Ely on Apr 12, 2008 12:30 PM) Great post, Kelly. I ran my small stack of colored 3x5 index cards through your list and it passed!!! If you'd like some pix or description, email me and you're free to use it.

(Kelly on Apr 12, 2008 5:21 PM) Thanks Joe. Looking forward to more info on your index card system. You can have a GREAT paper-based GTD system, in fact for many people (even techies!), that will work better for a variety of reasons. For all those people out there who think GTD lists have to be electronic, they don't! My roots with this (and David Allen's) are working this entirely using a paper-based planner.

(Kelly on Apr 12, 2008 5:24 PM) Thanks Richard. Are you referring to the Palm application here described here? http://www.miclog.com/ Kelly

(Richard on Apr 13, 2008 6:50 AM) Kelly, there are both palm and desktop versions. I have tried the palm version but did not find it useful. I use the desktop version, I "live" in it, i.e. I leave it open all day at work. Its installed on a thumb drive so end of day I bring thumb drive home and copy infoselect data files, approx 5-10 mb, to my personal laptop as backup. Once a month or so I'll email the data files to gmail as disaster backup. Product is very stable though, I have never actually lost data. My trusted system is very trusted :-)

(Dave on Apr 14, 2008 6:27 AM) I would add a "technical" requirement that is simple with paper planners but can be onerous with software: Ability to move items among lists. For example make an email a Next Action, make a Next Action a calendar entry. Or, my favorite, move a Someday Project item to a Next Action or Active Project. Sounds simple, but some systems will not allow the transfer without an identical data model.

(Grahame on Apr 15, 2008 12:17 AM) Hi Kelly, Its taken me several dollars - well pounds actually - and many false starts along the way but I've arrived at a GTD system that suits me. I use software on my Blackberry from www.wirexwireless.com as my main system. The portability of the Blackberry combined with an additional Rex browser interface means that my chosen method is aways to hand. ToDo lists are a breeze! I perform a daily review during the 45-minute commute and arrive at work with objectives in mind. If I'm not brain-dead on the return home in the evening I may do a mini review. (Funny, I always have the energy for a review on Friday evenings.) The ease of use of the Rex software helps me to stay on top of things throughout the working week and the Blackberry or my Moleskin notebook (or both) are always at my elbow. I've managed to 'tame' my Mac using Ready-Set-Do by Todd Vasquez (http://homepage.mac.com/toddvasquez/apps/Menu105.html) Tod's software was the missing link for me and it has helped me get my computer better organised which in turn has helped me to get better organised as well. With both of these programmes, plus my trusty Moleskin notebook, I find it pretty easy to stay with David's GTD programme most of the time. Hope this helps someone, Regards, Grahame

(John on Apr 15, 2008 8:57 AM) On my Palm and Windows desktop, I use a combination of Life Balance and DayNotez. Life Balance is used to hold the list. DayNotez is used to hold completed items from the list. The completed items are time / date stamped when they are checked off. Life Balance also has a Mac version (http://www.llamagraphics.com). Hope this helps.

(Silvia on Apr 21, 2008 9:27 PM) What works for me is Thinking Rock (http://www.thinkingrock.com.au) and Todoist (http://todoist.com/) and a piece of paper.

(Rondo on Apr 22, 2008 7:45 AM) I've just discovered GTD, and am slowly coming to grips with the concepts. I have just started to use a piece of software called ThinkingRock (www.thinkingrock.com.au). There are 2 great things about this software. Firstly, from the Overview screen, you actually learn about GTD whilst you're using the software. Secondly, you can move the underlying the database from a MAC to a Windows laptop/desktop. For me, who has a MAC at home and a laptop running Windows XP, I am never without the most up to date list. Please check out ThinkingRock.

(Eric Mack on Apr 28, 2008 5:41 PM) Great timing, Kelly. (I actually happened on this post a few weeks ago.) You've provided a good framework for all of us to consider when selecting a GTD implementation tool or evaluating the effectiveness of our current tool. Your excellent post has inspired me to sift my favorite GTD tool for Lotus Notes through it to see how it fares against your criteria. I'll post the results over on NotesOnProductivity. Thanks, Eric

(Michale Chen on Apr 28, 2008 10:59 PM) Hi, I highly recommend Pocket Informant (http://www.pocketinformant.com) if you are using Windows Mobile. Actually, the original task (todo) list provides most requirements. However, PI provides several self-saved preference for sorting and filtering which is useful for personal usage. Besides, it also provides grouping and I think it would help to categorized each NA under projects. Regards, Chun-Hung

(Steve Holden on May 1, 2008 6:28 AM) Kelly ... this list is great. I like how you included the intangibles like "attractive vs. repelling". I used your list/blog post yesterday in an at work coaching session with a co-worker on how I've implemented GTD. I outlined my analysis of what I use (Outlook on Tablet PC and Pocket Informant on Windows Mobile) on my blog at: http://sholden.typepad.com/weblog/2008/04/my-gtd-list-man.html Thanks! - Steve

My day generally consists of interruptions, and interruptions to the interruptions... I get critical items referred to me in the hallway on the way to handling another interruption... How do I keep track of all this and avoid the mental "stack overflow" involved?

- Walk around with a small pad and paper in your pocket at all times to collect this stuff in a place other than you head. Seriously, go low tech with this. Pad and pen. If you want David Allen's version of this, it's in our online store.

- Don't be shy in telling people, "Hey, can you send me an email or leave me a voice mail about that?" If it's really important to them, they will. That way, you can process it on your own time.

- Treat yourself to what David Allen calls the Mindsweep as often as you can, and at least once a week in a Weekly Review process. Sit down and just clear your head. Your head is an Inbox, just like your email, paper and voice inboxes, so you've got to empty it on a regular basis along with the others to avoid that "stack overflow"
and get to stress-free productivity.

- Make sure you've got a physical Inbox (tray or folder works great) to capture your incoming stuff at your desk, especially when you need to reroute your brain quickly onto something else. For example, if someone interrupts you and it's something you've got to take, "bookmark your brain" about where you just were on a piece of paper and drop that into your inbox. You'll not only be more present with the person in front of you, since your brain won't trying to hold on to that place you just were, but you will also have a trusted place to go back to (your Inbox) to pick up where you left off.

- Take yourself offline sometimes when you really need to get stuff done. It will be easier for some of you than saying "No" to the interruption. Turn off email notifications. Go offline on IM programs. Even close your email Inbox if you keep getting distracted by new mail pouring in. Close your door, if you've got one.

Consider this: every interruption you take trains other people about how to work with you. If they know they can drop something on you at the last minute, they'll have no reason to think that's not the way to work with you next time as well. Are there any interruptions you are getting that in retrospect, could have been handled a different way? Good opportunity to do some retraining with those around you.

(Ben on Apr 7, 2008 4:00 AM) Hi there Kelly, Wow and I thought it was just me. I work in a company where interruptions are part of every day, from both managers, colleagues and staff. You have some valid points, I feel that the most important is the ability to take yourself off line. We can turn mail off when we leave, so we should be able to for an hour or two each day.

(Marc Rohde on Apr 13, 2008 8:28 PM) Kelly, I think this is one of the biggest issues with productivity. Disruptions eat way at your time and ability to execute on your plan. These are great suggestions to regain control of your time and productivity. I think it's important to train requesters how they can help you become more effective. http://marc.rohde-net.us/2008/04/interruptions-cause-lost-productivity.html

(Laddie Blaskowski on Apr 15, 2008 4:13 PM) So true. Even with great management software, it's still easy to become overloaded with the "stuff" that interruptions bring. Thanks for the great ideas (Go offline? Oh, my gosh!)

1. Choose a list manager to track your projects and actions
2. Get a good reference filing system built for your non-actionable stuff
3. Get In/Pending/Out buckets/folders/trays to be able to move things through the system.

Once the constructing is done (your house is built), then you're in populating mode (move your stuff in.) Get everything from all of your collection buckets, processed and organized into your new system. Look for the major places you have stuff coming in. Likely the big "stuff" piles to go after first are your head, email, paper and voicemail.

In my GTD classes, I suggest people setup a project called "GTD Up + Running." Then assess and draft a simple project plan to capture all of the potential next actions to get the system fully setup. If you think doing this in pieces is going to work best for you, pick one or two to start that will give you the biggest payoff to get under control and add that to your calendar or next actions list or just go do it. Then move your way through your project plan until the system is up and running. I bet it will take less time than you think.

One tip on choosing a list manager: Don't let the quest of finding the "perfect list manager" stop you from getting GTD off the ground. Consider that there is no one perfect system. Nearly any list manager can be adapted to work with the GTD model, from spreadsheets to paper planners to corporate programs you're already using for your calendar and email. Choose one you like and you know you'll actually be attracted to use.

(Andrew on Mar 25, 2008 8:50 AM) I know David maintains that the flexibility to choose your own list manager is a strength of GTD but I disagree, I think it's a weakness. There is no one obvious solution for a list manager and this puts up a huge psychological barrier to entry. Given that you don't know what a 'good' list manager looks like until you've tried a few you are almost guaranteed some number of false starts. Too many false starts and frustration sets in and GTD gets dismissed as a nice idea but ultimately not practical. It's probably impossible to measure but I wonder out of all the people that are exposed to GTD how many keep a successful, trusted, system running for a year or more? The list manager should be transparent to your daily operation in the way that the browser is transparent to surfing the web (you really don't notice that you are interacting with it most of the time). Commonly available business tools like the MS Office suite are not well suited to GTD. They can be coerced into maintaining GTD lists but they never achieve the transparency required to make it easier to use the list manager rather than your memory. I know that no single list manager will likely work for every type of person but I think Davidco could take GTD to the next level if you come up with some set of affordable products ($90 for a leather notepad, really??) that will address GTD list management for 80% of the world. If nothing else I would have thought it would just make plain business sense. Right now it would seem like the business can only scale either by selling more books or by adding more coaches. If you were to produce a set of products, especially software products, the business can scale infinitely. If I had to architect a solution that would work for me I'd implement an server based list manager that would sit on servers owned by Davidco and accessed over the internet through either a web browser or standalone software client. Standalone software allows for a richer user interface experience and offline access to data while the web browser would provide baseline access anywhere a web browser is available. The clients would be free but users would be charged for access to the servers. The key is to invest in making the system "just work" in the way that TiVo just works (people pay real money every month to get the TiVo service when Microsoft offers a completely free alternative in it's Windows OS).

(Tim on Mar 25, 2008 9:47 AM) Great post. Thanks Kelly. What are some list managers you'd recommend for someone using a Mac. It seems there are a lot of list managers for the PC world.

(Kelly on Mar 25, 2008 11:36 AM) Hi Tim, I'm not on a Mac, but Omnifocus seems to be a popular one for implementing GTD (but I can't say I've used it to know how well it does with the methodology.) Entourage is another one Mac users seem to like. Kelly

(Joe Ely on Mar 25, 2008 2:11 PM) Kelly, nice post. And the list manager is central. Over about 3 years, I've evolved a complete list manager on a small stack of index cards with a single bulldog clip. Seriously. If you are interested in a description and some photos, let me know. It might be helpful for some folks.

(Francis Smith on Mar 25, 2008 2:58 PM) I've only "discovered" the world of GTD and your blog twelve days ago after visiting the Omnigroup website; just finished today listening to David's audiobook "Getting Things Done (Unabridged)". I'm now learning to use OmniFocus on my mac at home and Excel at work (Windows only environment). At work, I'm currently using a combination of your two Excel templates (18 January 08) and that of Joe Rodgers, but its still early days. My in-trays now consists of a stack (four trays) In-tray/Actions/Projects/WaitingFor (to my left) and a separate Out-tray (on my right). Is that excessive, would a simple In-tray/Pending/Out-tray combination be better/easier?

(Karl on Mar 27, 2008 3:03 AM) Hi, the best list manager I found is a Project called ThinkingRock. The software is free, runs on all platforms, you may also run it from a portable device (USB-Stick or SD-Card...), and is specially designed to grab all the advantages of GTD. Get it here: http://www.thinkingrock.com.au Get more done Karl

(Kelly on Mar 31, 2008 4:10 PM) Andrew, Thanks for posting about what seems like a passionate topic for you. I will say, there's quite a bit more to the company business plan than "selling books and adding more coaches." But I don't think that's really the core of what you wanted me to respond about. In terms of selling a standard online list manager that would address 80% of the GTD users, believe it or not, many people are just as passionate on the other side of the fence, relishing in the creative choice and freedom to use (and even build) whatever tool they want to implement GTD--whether that's a simple notebook, online tool or corporate supplied program (which is a requirement for many for some of the core workflow pieces like a Calendar.) But we certainly are looking at all of this, to see how we can help people get GTD off the ground in a variety of ways and cost considerations. I will pass your feedback along to our technical team about what you'd like to see in an online program. Thanks, Kelly

(Kelly on Mar 31, 2008 4:14 PM) Hi Francis, You've got the core components. It doesn't seem excessive to me. Within my pending tray are my two pending folders, Actions and Waiting For, that I grab when I travel. I could just as easily see doing it the way you are doing it as well. So from my perspective, you're right on track! Kelly

(Eric on Apr 1, 2008 8:21 PM) I've tried a fancy notebook, Merlin Mann's "Hipster PDA", Outlook, special paper, calendars, and online managers. I've recently resigned myself to the fact that not one of them is sufficient, but they are all a part of the same system. For me, this was the revolution that has kept me on top of things and my inbox clean for the past several weeks. I use one of the above systems in different situations, the key is that I process them all down to one (voo2do.com) when I do my processing. Hipster PDA captures random thoughts and commitments in strange places. Fancy notebooks are for fancy meetings. Email is email. Calendars are calendars. Special stationary cut up into squares under my monitor capture things when I'm sitting at my desk. I don't count voice mail, because it just goes onto special paper... Once my inbox is clean of notecards, paper, notes, etc. and my email is to zero - I jump into voo2do and start working. I'm probably spending about 30-45 minutes total per day working things into the system, freeing up a lot of time to get the stuff done. That's what worked for me. Too much investment into one system only created barriers. Resignation to multiple systems focused me in on the process vs. the tools...

(Tim on Apr 2, 2008 1:29 PM) Kelly, Are there any online list management tools to fit GTD and you recommend?

(Kelly on Apr 2, 2008 8:23 PM) Hi Tim, There is a great article on GTDTimes (www.gtdtimes.com) about list manager options: http://www.gtdtimes.com/2008/03/21/92-vetted-gtd-applications-courtesy-of-priacta/ A few web-based tools that I've personally had experience with, and thought did well with GTD, are: Remember the Milk (http://www.rememberthemilk.com/) Google Documents (http://docs.google.com/) Google Spreadsheet (http://docs.google.com/) When I get a chance one of these days, I'll write up my experience with Google Docs. I did post a few spreadsheet templates that you could upload into Google Spreadsheet to work with them online. http://www.davidco.com/blogs/kelly/archives/2008/01/gtd_lists_on_ex.html#more Hope this helps! Kelly

Here are a few tips around processing email:

1. Only check email when you think you can process whatever you open to completion. Remember, deciding is not doing. Processing it to completion can mean you've decided your next action and parked that in a place you trust. It doesn't mean DO every email in your Inbox.

2. Give yourself offline time. For many of us these days, there's a constant stream of input. Even getting your Inbox to the holy grail of zero will only last until the next time you Send/Receive. Be willing to close your Inbox, go offline, turn off your Internet connection--whatever. I do this sometimes when I know the temptation of new stuff coming in will be too great and I'm trying to get some big project done, like writing or reviewing something that's outside of email. In Lotus Notes, you can change your location to "Island" mode to go offline. In Outlook, try File>Work Offline.

3. Get a general agreement going with your team about email response times. Is it within 15 minutes? 1 day? 1 month? I bet there are huge differences among your co-workers about the standard for replying to mail. Within our company, it's 24 hours on normal business days. Now, replying within 24 hours could just mean letting the sender know you got and you're on it--it doesn't always mean you've completed the action or whatever they're asking for.

There's also a new article I wrote for Coach's Corner about processing + organizing email.

Hope this helps.

(Alan Au on Mar 17, 2008 8:17 AM) Checking e-mail - is staying informed - that's it. I completely agree, that if you read your email, it does not mean you've completed the task. However, if the task emailed to you is a two minute action - than it's absolutely necessary to check your inbox all the time. The good thing about my company is that they've adopted Wrike (http://www.wrike.com)- a project management system, that never lets us forget about the important stuff. All the important emailed tasks are forwarded to Wrike and the system reminds us about due dates.

Since this is a common question we tend to get, I thought I would share David's reply:

"I process most meeting notes into our custom contact manager database. That's where I track most everything that's worth tracking. Sometimes I just put a small note in the notes field of my tel/add for the person, if it's just like on this day we did this and that...

The real question to ask yourself is: What's the purpose of the notes? Only with a clear answer to that do you know how much detail you need to keep, and where and how you should keep it.

Many times I just keep my handwritten notes in their file, in my general reference files.

There's no clear black and white delineation about information, if it's just information that "might be useful" at some later time. Always a judgment call, weighing the payoffs and the prices."

(Brian J. Elizardi on Feb 26, 2008 10:43 AM) Thanks Kelly. This is an interesting topic to me as it's something that I struggle with. After the meeting, I place my meetings notes into my in-basket for processing later, but I find that when it comes time to process them I resist it because of all of the data that's on there. To help out with this, I have created a custom sheet where I have a column on the right hand side for next actions and potential projects. This way, I don't mix up reference and support materials with actionable items. Now when I process the notes, I collect the NAs and Projects I captured in my notes into my system (Hipster PDA for NAs and Mindjet Mind Manager for 10k Master Projects List). I still find myself resisting it, but separating these two items has made the process a little easier. I welcome any other ideas you and others have on how to improve this and thank you for your post.

(Rolf F. Katzenberger on Feb 26, 2008 11:22 AM) Kelly, does David advocate the use of a formal note-taking template, e.g. Cornell-style? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Notes). I found it helpful to write down some global hints, keywords or the like on the margins of the paper, so that I don't need to read the whole page again to find out what was discussed.

(Dave Robinson on Feb 26, 2008 12:07 PM) Kelly, just curious whether you, David or any other GTD leaders use Jott or something similar for processing notes?

(Kelly on Feb 26, 2008 2:35 PM) Hi Dave, I only use Jott for quick mindsweep items: http://www.davidco.com/blogs/kelly/archives/2007/07/jott_as_a_captu_1.html One service that I know some people have tried for processing notes is SpeakWrite: http://www.speak-write.com/web/ Kelly

(Bennie on Feb 27, 2008 11:47 AM) When it comes to Outlook integration I am a new user and big fan of MS Office OneNote. You can take any appointment and turn it into a notebook file you can then organize in an assortment of exciting ways--especially for the visually minded, such as myself.

(12hourhalfday on Feb 27, 2008 12:44 PM) Thanks for the refresher Kelly. I take my notes in a minutes format with next actions in the margin. After the meeting, I put the notes in my in basket, then on processing put all the next actions (and sometimes projects into my system (if it is a project I immediately create a next action even if that next action is "Draft Ideas for Project")). If their are any reference notes I file them in existing appropriate electronic documentation or in my reference file drawer with an appropriate label. I usually don't label based on the meeting but label based on the context of the note. I have been playing around with meeting outline templates for setting up the meetings before hand and creating the notes during the meeting so I have all the information I need before the meeting in one place rather then on various reports. I will post a thread on the forum when I have come up with some universal template ideas.

(Kelly on Feb 27, 2008 7:35 PM) Rolf: I asked David about your question, "Does David advocate the use of a formal note-taking template, e.g. Cornell-style?" David said, "Can't fault the logic of his system. Problem is, the vast majority of notes taken by the vast majority of people don't need or fit that model. I found if the paper and formats are too formal or structured, there's a resistance to taking informal and ad hoc notes. You sort of feel like you need to have thoughts that are worthy of the form!"

(Kelly on Feb 27, 2008 7:37 PM) Hi Bennie, Thanks for your comments about OneNote. I've played with it a bit and have heard good things from others about it as well. Thanks, Kelly

(cynicalgeek on Feb 27, 2008 11:20 PM) I live out of my Outlook Inbox and I love Adobe Acrobat. I immediately scan the notes to a PDF and Email it to myself. I then File it to a folder using the GTD plugin and associate Projects and Subprojects if needed. I will also create a reminder to "export" any information that I feel needs to go into my contacts, notes, etc. I try to handle any exporting by the end of the next business day.

(Jim Martin on Mar 7, 2008 6:27 AM) Kelly, Been reading your blog for several months and wanted you to know how much I enjoy it. Great tips.

(Anthony Nicoli on Mar 15, 2008 2:11 PM) I have found MindManager to be effective for note taking and transcribing. What I like best is: 1- Being able to take notes free form, then organize them and publish them as a Word document for those who do not use MM. 2-Being able to link Outlook Tasks directly into the mind maps. This lets me add actions to my projects automatically via the Netcentrics GTD Outlook Add-in. Works pretty well, but I would appreciate any tips on refining the system.

(Anthony on Mar 21, 2008 12:24 PM) Hi Anthony, Sounds to me like you are using MindManager really effectively. How do you publish them as a Word doc? I don't see that "save as" option. Kelly

(Robert on Mar 25, 2008 7:04 PM) Thanks Kelly for this topic because is something I am interested in. Here's how I solved it - I applied GTD to it: After each meeting that I schedule or I am scheduled by others, I add an adjacent time slot in my Calendar called "To process action from --meeting name here--". Advantages: 1. my notes get processed 2. ideas are still fresh in my mind 3. for unclear ideas, I can phone participants while still fresh in their minds 4. I can delegate in a timely fashion actions to be done By others, as a result of the meeting, avoiding to out them on the critical path for delivery 5. and Bonus: I avoid being booked in meetings back-to-back, once I processed these notes,I find the calm to focus on the next meeting, if case. The time slot allocated after, to process notes is usually between a quarter and half of the meeting time. I.e. 1 hour meeting, 15-30 min to process notes after, depending on complexity. If I am already booked after the meeting, it goes in my Inbox.

NPR explored this topic yesterday in a feature about GTD and it's appeal to the technology world. Running time 4 minutes.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19105832

(cynicalgeek on Feb 21, 2008 12:59 PM) I'm guilty! I can't decide what I'm more addicted to, the NetCentrics GTD plugin for Microsoft Outlook, or Adobe Acrobat Pro 8! Ok, I'm kidding, I couldn't LIVE without the GTD plugin. cynicalgeek

I was coaching someone recently who had tons of emails that fell into this gray zone and her reaction was to simply file them into a Reference folder. My role, when I'm a GTD coach, is to be vigilant with (and for) people when they are processing their stuff. I noticed that when she moved something into the Reference folder, she said "I'll get back to that someday," but she didn't track that action anywhere. So did she really let it go? Of course not. She still has an implicit agreement to do something about that email, so filing it away just moved it to a less obvious place.

I received an email recently that could have easily fallen into that gray zone if I let it. My first reaction was to delete the email but I knew the person would be expecting my reply. And they would have every reason to expect my reply because I've handled this kind of thing in the past, even though I don't consider it core to my job. So I can't blame them for sending it, I've trained them that it's OK to send that kind of input to me until I tell them otherwise.

One of the most powerful aspects of GTD, in my experience, is the part about agreements. What am I doing to create, promote or allow the input I am receiving? What's the agreement I am making with everything that I collect? Is there anything I can do to better communicate when my priorities and interests shift so I stay clean, even when things land in my world that I don't want or think I should do? Am I clear about my Horizons of Focus (runway-50k perspective) to know if this is my job to handle? There lies the simplicity and freedom in working GTD. Pay attention to what has your attention and agreement.

This all may generate more questions than answers, but I thought it was worthy of a blog post. I'd love to hear your input on this (no implied agreement! just for those of you who want to...)

(Rolf F. Katzenberger on Feb 12, 2008 11:10 AM) "I was coaching someone recently who had tons of emails that fell into this gray zone and her reaction was to simply file them into a Reference folder." Actually, this is an excellent default strategy - as soon as one commits to *not* doing anything about it anymore. Did you encourage her to simply forget about that "I'll get back..." and let go?

(Kelly on Feb 12, 2008 12:24 PM) Hi Rolf, Sure, if the decision has been made that there's no action, but you want to keep it, a Reference folder is a great place for it. But what many people do is move it to a folder but they still have their attention on doing something about it like make a decision or complete an action. I see this all the time when people setup mail rules. I'm not opposed to mail rules for smart sorting of true junk/spam or filing of nice to reads that you can treat like a newsstand, but not when there is a chance a decision still needs to be made about any of those emails. That then puts people into an even harder position of tracking down a scattered inbox. When I was coaching this person, I kept asking her, "What's your next action?" For most of them, she decided she really had no action and let it go, others she tracked on a Someday list and a final set was really current actions. -Kelly

(Frank on Feb 12, 2008 10:46 PM) Journals are slow. Excel is slow. Outlook is slow. Even notepad is slow. For a todo list to work (for me), it must be able to pop it up in a snap. So, what do I use? StickyNotes, by Tom Revell. It's free. Like PostIt(R), you stick a note on your screen. It's FAST and SIMPLE. And it has several handy features like sleep (hide for some time), recurring notes, font and color settings and even network/email transfers. You can even take it with you on a USB stick.

(Bertrand on Feb 13, 2008 12:54 AM) Interesting remark about the email rules. I erased all mines a few weeks ago (at last!). I guess I had set them up not because I needed them, but just because my email client was offering me this functionality. And they were bugging me since... Red button syndrome? My main gray-ish zone was of another kind: emails asking for a reply about something I have not done yet ("what's the status/results of this and that?"). Two actions implied by such a mail: do the thing, and reply the mail. Should I reply "not done!", or should I rush during two days to do it and then reply "done!"? Usually, I answer "not done" and I keep on doing what I had planed. But there is some people who really don't like receiving a "not done". My ability to answer "not done" greatly increased with my confidence about what I was not doing. And this confidence greatly increased when I started using a GTD complient software keeping track of everything I had checked as done. I can now answer "not done, because I was busy doing ".

(Mike on Feb 13, 2008 3:42 AM) Kelly, Great post. I fall into the gray zone trap every now and then - usually when I am tired. You wrote: "I received an email recently that could have easily fallen into that gray zone if I let it. My first reaction was to delete the email but I knew the person would be expecting my reply. And they would have every reason to expect my reply because I've handled this kind of thing in the past, even though I don't consider it core to my job. So I can't blame them for sending it, I've trained them that it's OK to send that kind of input to me until I tell them otherwise." I receive many emails that fall into the same category. Just curious, what did you specifically do with this email?

(Kelly on Feb 14, 2008 7:51 AM) Hi Mike, I sent a quick reply. My "chewing" over this one took longer than the actual reply! Kelly

(Schultzter on Feb 26, 2008 8:35 AM) I think this is great advice. But I can't agree with your suggestion to modify the Subject of an e-mail. This screws up the threading systems on some e-mail clients (ex: Google's GMail). I rely on the threading systems to keep all the information together, so I don't have to search for it or try to remember it.

(Kelly on Feb 26, 2008 9:42 AM) You're right--changing the subject line in Gmail won't work since threading relies on that subject line staying the same. Even if you tried to change it in Gmail, you'd have to forward it to yourself to even edit it, as I recall.

(Barak on Mar 3, 2008 11:55 AM) I have this cable that I mistakenly ordered. It would cost more to return in shipping than it is worth. I need to get rid of it, but I cannot decide how. Now I don't even know where to put "decide what to do with cable" in my system. Any advice?

(Kelly on Mar 3, 2008 4:40 PM) Hi Barak, In my experience, "to decide" usually means you need more information to make the decision, not that you're waiting for time to pass to decide. I'm guessing you don't want to throw it away, so what other information would be helpful for you to know? For example, who else might need it that you could give it to? Where you could donate it? Could you just hang on to it as a supply in case you have a need in the future for it? That's how I'd approach it. Kelly

(Neil on Apr 18, 2008 12:04 PM) Before I found the GTD download for Outlook, I had created my own folders (i.e. @Action, @Snooze, etc.) To the downloaded structure I added a "Not Ready" folder. I suppose these are the "I know that I need to do something, but I just can't get there right now" messages. I check it at the end of every day and DO something with each - - delete, file or create an action. I have had a empty Inbox for 2 weeks because I can account for the 15 "Not Ready" messages I get every day and not disrupt the actions I need to take.

Here are 10 simple things you can do to breathe new life into your workflow systems:

1. If you've got a desk that can move to a new position, move it.

2. Rename your lists. I change the names of my GTD action lists all the time. It's a simple thing, but it works. @Computer becomes @Offline and @Online. @Calls becomes @Phone. @Agendas becomes @Talk to. Same purpose, just fresh new lists.

3. Clean something. Anything.

4. Get a labeler. It's a mystical thing. Ask someone who has one.

5. Get new gear like In, Pending and Out trays that you really like. Don't settle for the company issued ones if you don't like them.

6. Make sure your workspace ergonomics really work. I coached a guy one time who was right-handed, but actually endured his mouse being on the left side. He literally reached his arm across his body to use the mouse.

7. Update your framed pictures of your kids, friends, families or favorite vacation photos.

8. Get your reference filing system (hard or soft copy) to a place where you are actually more attracted than repelled by it. Review, purge, reorganize. Whatever it takes.

9. Get the best lighting you can for your eyes. If the fluorescent lights bother you, get a lamp for your desk that is closer to natural sunlight.

10. Do a GTD Weekly Review. Honestly, if it didn't work, we wouldn't suggest it.

(12hourhalfday on Feb 2, 2008 5:30 AM) I love advice like this! I just recently got dual monitors at work and the change definitely is inspiring.

(VJK on Feb 3, 2008 1:17 AM) Thank you for validating what I already do! My husband thinks I'm crazy spending time re-arranging - but it does really refresh my headspace & my view of things.

(Maura on Feb 8, 2008 9:21 AM) So, wait a minute - all those times when I was little and my mom said "I know what will be fun, let's rearrange your room", she was tricking me?!? Into cleaning and staying organized?!?! Wow, she was good. ;-)

(Joe Rodgers on Feb 12, 2008 3:07 AM) All of these are great tips. Definitely #4. 7 (do this often) and 9 are also refreshing.

(apinaud on Feb 14, 2008 10:37 AM) Love my new Office, thanks!!!! It looks bigger and bighter, honestly I am impress... My room as a kid was small so there was only one way, to arrange things, but this was really nice. Thanks for the Tips Kelly... It is a pleasure to read your blog.

(Navillus99 on Feb 16, 2008 2:00 AM) I Find myself cleaning as the best source of distraction...I am going to try some of you other suggestions too.

I created two simple templates for managing GTD lists in Excel for one of our clients. The nice thing about Excel is that most people are already familiar with it. You could even upload it to Google Spreadsheet and have it shared online. Check it out:

A simple version with all Actions on one sheet, with a sortable context column:
Download file

A more expanded version with Actions separated by context on different worksheets:
Download file

By no means are these the only ways you could use spreadsheets as a list manager. Lots of ways to get creative with this. Once you really get the core understanding of GTD lists, you'll see that there are so many ways and so many places to manage lists.

(updates made to this post 2/22)

(Dean on Jan 18, 2008 8:46 PM) Hi, Kelly: I was a bit surprised to see "Due Date" on the spreadsheets. Do you use DD's with your GTD implementation?

(Kelly on Jan 19, 2008 8:34 AM) Hi Dean-- Yes, absolutely I use due dates. Some things have a day they need to be completed by, so I need to have that tracked in my system. However, my advice to people is always USE DUE DATES SPARINGLY. So many people create false due dates for things on their lists, miss those dates, and then feel bad that they are breaking agreements. It also creates this weird mix of what's real and not real. I try to only use them when there's an actual "expiration" of that thing and I need to get it done by a date, or as a gentle nudge to get me to work on it. Thanks for asking. Kelly

(Dean on Jan 20, 2008 7:35 PM) Kelly: I have always avoided using due dates in Outlook Tasks as I thought it was contrary to pure GTD. But if it works for me, great. I may give it a try, keeping in mind the cautions you mention. Also, how do I get in touch with someone at GTD Connect to schedule a telephone coaching session? I searched the site tonight on the different telecoaching links but couldn't find a specific email address to make the contact.

(P.K. on Jan 21, 2008 4:53 AM) I've had my trusted system in a an Excel sheet for the last 2 years. I don't split lists out into separate tabs but I use the filter feature to print out lists for specific contexts. I like it because it is simple and fairly portable.

(Scott on Jan 21, 2008 5:06 AM) Nice spreadsheet! Definitely a simple, but powerful way to manage and organize lists.

(Kelly on Jan 21, 2008 8:18 AM) Hi Dean Sorry that's not clearer. I've sent that along to our web team as a suggestion. You can contact us about telecoaching at info @ davidco.com or 805-646-8432. Thanks...Kelly

(Oscar on Jan 25, 2008 4:03 AM) Hi Kelly, I use in the past when I began to use GTD, I hardly recommend this method for people who are not use to "computers". This might sound incredible, but it is real life. It is easy for people to use Excel, it looks like a folder with list which is similar to a normal page Congratulations for the blog. Sorry for my English, I am Spanish.

(Tarun on Feb 11, 2008 3:41 PM) Hi Kelly- I have been 'dabbling' with GTD for a while trying to settle down into a system that i like best as also trying to get into the discipline. I looked at the Excel - and am a bit confused . Is the Projects page meant to be the mother load of all items ? And then from there it flows to all the other tabs which therefore are the Next Actions ? Whats the difference then between Projects & Agenda ? And finally - I see no links or formulae so I suppose the sheet is in its simplest form and one must cut n paste across tabs ?

(Joe Rodgers on Feb 12, 2008 3:03 AM) Here is how I implement GTD with Excel For your convenience I have posted an example file on MediaFire http://www.mediafire.com/?3rxidvn1x2z (gtd.xls) I only setup 3 tabs: Projects, Next Actions, and Waiting For. I will start with the Project worksheet: Each project gets a unique number (Column A). The number doesn't reflect the importance of the project at all. As projects are finished, their row is deleted. As more rows are needed, I simply start adding some more sequential project numbers. The date is when the project was added to the list (Column B). I prefer ISO dating, but you should know that this column's format is set as Text, b/c most spreadsheet software still has a hard time with ISO dating. The project due date (Column D) is used sparingly and may have tasks laid out on the hard landscape of my calendar as necessary. Column E and F are used to query the Next Actions and Waiting For worksheets to see if this project has a NA or WF item on either of those lists. For instance, in my example file, project #2 is a red flag b/c it doesn't have a step in NA or WF worksheets. This means that a next action or waiting for item must be defined for that project. Long term, I plan to have those columns just say Y for yes and N for no, but I am OK with this layout for now. Now, the Next Actions worksheet: There is a project reference column (Column A), if applicable, but a next action needn't have project. The reason the project reference is important to me is that when I print these lists, I like to have a reference to what project this action may be for. The Date is when the next action was established. Not only is ISO dating an international standard, it makes for easy sorting. Action is the very next physical action. If digital files need to be referenced for Desktop searching then I include a FileRef for the filename. If it is regarding an email I will include the email subject and date. If there is a phone call, I try to include the phone number. Time is a time estimate, in minutes, of how long the action will take (Hat tip: Julie M.); only the action, no "travel time" is included. Priority is used sparingly and is almost exclusively used for "A" items (Hat tip: Stephen C.). The Associated Project column is used to reference the project. I don't print this column by setting up the print area to avoid it. It is nice, however, to see when reviewing actions while editing the spreadsheet. Now, I use the spreadsheets Sort tool in this worksheet quite a bit. Whenever I am about to print, I sort by Context (to group things together), then by Priority (to put the most important things on top), then by Date (to look at the oldest items first). The Waiting For worksheet is setup very similar to the Next Actions worksheet. I hope this helps. Please share your thoughts.

(Kelly on Feb 12, 2008 10:41 AM) Joe--thanks for writing up your Excel solution. I bet others will find that useful. Kelly

(Kelly on Feb 12, 2008 12:13 PM) Tarun, Q:Is the Projects page meant to be the mother load of all items? A: The Projects list serves as an inventory of your current projects. Next actions are your actions to take, project-related or not. Q: Whats the difference then between Projects & Agenda? A: Projects is a master list of your multi-step outcomes. @Agendas is a possible next action list for people you talk to or meet with on a regular basis. Q: the sheet is in its simplest form and one must cut n paste across tabs? A: If you are using Excel for all this, yes, there will be some cutting and pasting. For example, you might have a phone call, you left a message, now it's a waiting for. Other list managers, like Outlook or Lotus Notes, handle this with more finesse since they allow resorting rather easily. Another option for Excel is to have all actions in one worksheet and delineate the context in one column. Changing the context in that case would just be a simple change of list with no cutting and pasting. Just to be clear too--I am not suggesting Excel as the best way to implement GTD. It's just a way, among thousands of options out there. Experiment to find what will work best for you. Have you read David Allen's book Getting Things Done? It's a great resource for the background and purpose of the lists, especially projects versus actions. I also have a blog post that describes this called "You don't Do Projects." Kelly

Here was my response:
There's always a blend of proactive versus reactive in everyone's day. The best mix of those will be different for everyone, based on what your job and personal life require. In the GTD book, this is described as the 3-Fold Nature of Work (p.50). For me, I build in plenty of my own proactive time so that when I do get pulled in new directions, I'll be ready for that and my own work won't suffer. I give myself my own defining work time in the morning and evening just to collect, process & organize. Many days I'm reacting to things I had no idea would show up--which is not always a bad thing. It's a balance and an intuitive judgment call that only you know works or not.

I'm guessing interruptions are a big part of you not staying focused as much as you'd like. Get rid of the easy ones like turning off the email notifiers for every new email. If you're working with people who are pulling on your time more than you like, then set boundaries. People are likely interrupting you because you've trained them it's OK to do that. If you work in a culture of interruptions, you've got a bigger challenge to deflect the interruptions without offending and alienating. Give people options. For example, if someone comes to your door and says, "Got a minute," and you really don't, give them a time you can chat. If you get a project delegated to you that will blow your other priorities out of the water, it's up to you to decide whether that's a good thing for you or not. Communication is key. There's a good chance that when someone delegates something to me, they don't have a clue what else that affects. It's up to me to know what will not get done, if I say yes to this new thing coming in. Having my project and action lists current definitely makes it easier to change directions and shift priorities more easily. Then it's just a balancing game.

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(Uncle Joe on Jan 15, 2008 8:36 PM) Excellent topic and great response. I think a key point is the need to know what your priorities and updated task lists look like so you can communicate effectively with both your supervisor and direct reports. I have found that people are fine when I tell them that I am busy preparing for a meeting, but will gladly discuss it at __ time. Thanks for blogging. I have found it very helpful and already linked to your site a few times.

(Dean on Jan 16, 2008 4:19 PM) Hi, Kelly. Great post! One of the challenges I face is that I am a firefighter and I never know when the emergency pager is going to sound and call me to go to the fire house to answer the emergency. I have had to learn to snatch time to review my lists and calendar in the early morning hours and the late evening so that when the calls come in, I'll know that all is well with my work until I return.

Working for David Allen, our team is vigilant about who gets copied on emails. I wouldn't think of copying David on a 'thanks', 'got it' or any other email that I know isn't worth his attention. I value his time too much and I know he processes everything he gets. It helps that he lets us know the kind of things he wants to get and not get so we're not trying to guess or hold back on something that actually could be valuable to him. He does the same in return for us. About twice a year he'll send an email out to all staff giving us the choice to opt in or out of particular kinds of emails that he sends.

Consider that every piece of input you allow in will require your time and attention. Every email. Every phone call. Every conversation. Every piece of mail. Input in = time and attention out. Take some time to assess what's coming in for you. Can you let go anything? Any updating that needs to be done letting others know what not to send you? Anyone to ask about what you send them?

Here's an easy place to start--email newsletters. Opt out of every email newsletter you don't read. Even the nice to read and might get to's. Even the ones you just have filtered to a folder. If you're not reading them, why have them even tug on your attention?

(Joe S on Jan 15, 2008 7:16 AM) Great advice Kelly. I work at a large Fortune 50 company where I'm very thankful that most people follow these rules. It helps us stay efficient. I never realized how few people implicitly follow those rules until I joined a non-profit board and received loads of emails that don't matter to me at all.