Recurring actions

[North]

They don't seem to fit neatly into the GTD system. Here's an example: each month I try out some changes in health, and one thing I'm doing this month is taking Omega 3 every day.

Okay, so if I'm strictly doing GTD it would seem that's a project: take O3 every day during April, and then each pill I take would be a calender item. However, that's horribly inefficient, especially if there are many daily things like that.

It's easy enough to do a workaround, like having a "do every day at home" list or some such, or even having an item in the action list in the right context that stays until the period is over (that's how I sometimes do with reading books, no point in having a book to read as a project and then fiddle with adding a next action after each reading session, that'd be pointless).

However, those solutions are not really GTD as far as I can tell. Is there a strict GTD way to deal with recurring actions that's not too inefficient? If not, it's that a gap in the GTD system? It looks to me that recurring actions like the above are a class of items or actions that aren't accounted for very well in GTD, but I'm not sure. If so, maybe that should be added -- an RA-list of some sort.

[hcparker]

This seems like a good situation to be using checklists. When you have something that needs doing every day or every week or every month or whatever, you can create a checklist and do those items each day or whatever and then check them off. I have about 10 items that I need to do each day at work, and they appear on a checklist. It's not so much that I'd forget to do them but without the checklist it's easy to overlook things when it gets busy. If you're doing something routinely, like taking vitamins, I don't think I'd worry about monitoring it through GTD. It's not necessary to get every action you do in a day on a list.

[artsinaction]

They don't seem to fit neatly into the GTD system.

The recurring things that used to throw me off were the ones whose frequency I couldn't predict. Case and point: pet food. My daughter feeds the two cats and the dog and I never really know when I should buy more until she says something like, "I just gave the boys the last of the dry food." i.e. too late to be really useful. So now I have a note in my tickler file to ask her two weeks after the last purchase. And the note just keeps moving through the system as the weeks progress.

Bottom line: it's in the system but not on a list.

Dena

[TesTeq]

This seems like a good situation to be using checklists.

I agree. Checklists are a very important element of the GTD methodology. You can read about them in Chapter 7 "Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets" of the "Getting Things Done" book (paperback pages 176-180).

[Cpu_Modern]

Is there a strict GTD way to deal with recurring actions that's not too inefficient?
Tickler file. You put a note into the Tickler for tomorrow. Tomorrow you open you Tickler and deal with it. Then you put the note back into the Tickler bag for the next day. Rinse, repeat, be happy :-)

[egallagher2k]

I don't understand the problem. I have dozens of recurring (and regenetive) tasks. Almost any task manager can handle this. I have daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly recurring items. I simply schedule them that way and when I check them off they show up on the next scheduled day, Maybe I'm missing something here. What kind of list/task manager are you using? These kinds of NAs are perfect for GTD.

[North]

I don't understand the problem. I have dozens of recurring (and regenetive) tasks. Almost any task manager can handle this. I have daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly recurring items. I simply schedule them that way and when I check them off they show up on the next scheduled day, Maybe I'm missing something here. What kind of list/task manager are you using? These kinds of NAs are perfect for GTD.

Yes you misunderstand the problem somewhat. I already use task managers with recurrent reminders, as well as other things. I'm just not entirely happy with this, and I'm not sure GTD addresses the issue enough. Maybe it'll get clearer in my next post in this thread (probably not today).

Thanks everyone for the replies. Stay tuned.

[TesTeq]

It's easy enough to do a workaround, like having a "do every day at home" list (...)

However, those solutions are not really GTD as far as I can tell. Is there a strict GTD way to deal with recurring actions that's not too inefficient? If not, it's that a gap in the GTD system?

"Do every day at home" list is a checklist.

Checklists are a very important element of the GTD methodology. There's no gap here.

If in doubt read Chapter 7 "Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets" of the "Getting Things Done" book (paperback pages 176-180).

Done.

[HappyDude]

I've done this for a while now. My action was called, "Take Vitamins"

This included, multi, calcium, Vit C, Fish oil pills and some knee soreness pill. After a while I dropped the project because it became a habit. You just want it to be a habit. I'm trying to just do things now and after doing gtd for almost 5 years now, I'm realizing the system is meant for me to not need it. The system is Here for it to take care of itself...?this includes more than just vitamins, but everything frm Exercising to say Doing the laundry.

Whatdoes remain in My system are essays and actual due date stuff.

[North]

"Do every day at home" list is a checklist.

Sure, no disagreement on that.



Checklists are a very important element of the GTD methodology. There's no gap here.

If in doubt read Chapter 7 "Organizing: Setting Up the Right Buckets" of the "Getting Things Done" book (paperback pages 176-180).

Done.

He writes about checklists but not about recurrent actions (as such) as a class of items to apply them to.

Looking at the workflow diagram I'm not sure where recurrent actions are supposed to go. In a way some of them are calender items (time specific), except they don't neatly go into a calender. They're also (in a way) projects and next actions, but they don't go into those lists neatly either (except sometimes in the modified way I describe in my first post, but that's not official GTD).

It's not a black hole sized gap that wrecks productivity as it's fairly easy to deal with RAs using non-dedicated generic tools such as checklists, but I'm leaning toward thinking they deserve some more dedicated space (an official term, a section in the book, etc).

Look at it this way: if somehow he had come up with GTD but without space directly dedicated to "waiting for" items except a short comment here and there, people could still deal with "waiting for" items using checklists. But some people might want more, perhaps they'd come here and say "hey, wouldn't it be great to have some space dedicated to items dealing with stuff one is waiting for?", and then someone might answer "I don't see the problem, just use checklists. Read pages 176-180". And sure, an ordinary checklist would work, but this type of item just happens to be important enough to warrant some more direct attention the way GTD is in fact giving it now. And that's kind of how I feel about recurrent actions right now, but I'm still open to change. Just trying to explore the issue a little.

For the record I love GTD and I'm not your enemy. :grin:

[North]

I've done this for a while now. My action was called, "Take Vitamins"

This included, multi, calcium, Vit C, Fish oil pills and some knee soreness pill. After a while I dropped the project because it became a habit. You just want it to be a habit.

True enough, some actions eventually become so automatic you don't need them in your system (I don't have shopping groceries in my GTD all the time even though it's a permanent recurrent action). But you need to deal with them until that happens, plus some recurrent actions only last a while anyway (like trying a vitamin for a month or reading a book). And I'm exploring ways to handle that.

[Oogiem]

Most of my recurring actions are contained within projects.

Some are set to reoccur automatically some certain time after completion, some have start and deadline dates and some are more free form being activated to do during weekly review when I think they need to be done not on any specific time.

I also have some recurring projects that are checklists. Basic household management (cleaning, trash, laundry) are checklists as is my list of groceries to buy.

But for example I add a next action of go to store X in the context of which of 2 major towns I need to do it to my GTD list whenever we have items on the shopping list to buy there.

One reason is we go shopping so rarely, major shopping is a once a month item. And right now we're stocking up because at the end of this month we will be lambing for the next two months and I may not be able to get away to go shopping at all during that time. So I have to predict ahead what we need and have plenty on hand to make it through lambing.

Recurring actions fit very well into either the project/NA model or the checklist model depending on how you think of them. That's part of why I have both types and probably why GTD doesn't put them in a separate class. What will work for you regarding recurring actions will vary with your temperament and your style and the jobs themselves.

[cwoodgold]

The recurring things that used to throw me off were the ones whose frequency I couldn't predict. Case and point: pet food. My daughter feeds the two cats and the dog and I never really know when I should buy more until she says something like, "I just gave the boys the last of the dry food." i.e. too late to be really useful.

Dena

Try this: Hide away a certain amount of pet food where your daughter can't find it
or knows she's not supposed to take it. When she tells you she's run out,
write yourself a note to buy more and (when she's not looking?) replenish the
regular supply from your emergency stores. If the emergency store is a whole
package she may just assume you've bought more. When you buy more you need to
remember to replenish the emergency supply too. The emergency supply can be
right next to the regular supply, sealed with a big note taped firmly covering
the top of it saying "don't open without telling Mummy". Either method is likely to
be circumvented by ingenious children. You can check regularly whether there's
still an emergency supply.

Or, tell her "tell me whenever there's only about one or two weeks' supply left;
if you wait too late you'll have to be the one to rush out and buy more yourself."
But only if you intend to follow through with that plan, of course.

[cwoodgold]

I use my tickle file for a lot of recurring actions. After I do the action, I move the sheet of paper to the next date that's appropriate for doing it again, which might be in a day, a week, a month, a year, or after some other period of time. The sheet of paper might say at the bottom "(Reminder, weekly)" or "(Mondays)" or "(February)" to give me a hint as to where to put
it back into the tickle file, saving a second or so of thinking. If it says "Reminder" it means
I can move it to the next appropriate date without having done anything at that time
except read it.

In my tickle file, I have five pieces of cardboard sticking up with the days of the week
marked on them (M T W R F; I don't mark the weekend days.) For example, on Monday
I pull everything out of today's folder and move the "M" tab to one week later.
This helps me quickly
put things in for "next Wednesday" etc. It only marks one week. Hey, it just occurred
to me I might as well have another set in a different colour for the week after.
Maybe I'll try that. I have day-of-the-month folders for 2 months in my tickle file
(as opposed to the standard 1 month) and don't see any downside to that.

I also have a calendar of the year taped to the tickle-file box (on the inside of the
flap, so it's displayed when the box is open), which also helps in choosing what date
to move something to.

[artsinaction]

If the emergency store is a whole package she may just assume you've bought more. When you buy more you need to remember to replenish the emergency supply too.

Of course that's brilliant! I love the idea of having an emergency stash. Now I'll have to have emergency supplies of cat food, too, since that's so brilliant. Now, where to stash the stash...?

Thanks cwoodgold!

Dena

[Myriam]

getting a little off topic, I know :-)

But why not simply teach your daughter to tell you whenever she starts the last package of dry food, and not when she finishes it...

Myriam

[ero213]

I use my tickle file for a lot of recurring actions. After I do the action, I move the sheet of paper to the next date that's appropriate for doing it again, which might be in a day, a week, a month, a year, or after some other period of time. The sheet of paper might say at the bottom "(Reminder, weekly)" or "(Mondays)" or "(February)" to give me a hint as to where to put
it back into the tickle file, saving a second or so of thinking. If it says "Reminder" it means
I can move it to the next appropriate date without having done anything at that time
except read it.

In my tickle file, I have five pieces of cardboard sticking up with the days of the week
marked on them (M T W R F; I don't mark the weekend days.) For example, on Monday
I pull everything out of today's folder and move the "M" tab to one week later.
This helps me quickly
put things in for "next Wednesday" etc. It only marks one week. Hey, it just occurred
to me I might as well have another set in a different colour for the week after.
Maybe I'll try that. I have day-of-the-month folders for 2 months in my tickle file
(as opposed to the standard 1 month) and don't see any downside to that.

I also have a calendar of the year taped to the tickle-file box (on the inside of the
flap, so it's displayed when the box is open), which also helps in choosing what date
to move something to.

But tickler is for info you don't want to see until the future. If I have a recurring task that needs to be done on Tuesday's I need to.be aware of it before Tuesday.

[Cpu_Modern]

But tickler is for info you don't want to see until the future. If I have a recurring task that needs to be done on Tuesday's I need to.be aware of it before Tuesday.

Then put this task before Tuesday into the Tickler and on that day when you need to be aware of it you re-tickle it for Tuesday.

[artsinaction]

But why not simply teach your daughter to tell you whenever she starts the last package of dry food, and not when she finishes it.

Myriam! Thanks for that great question! I buy one big bag at a time... like 40 pounds of big bag... so it's a little hard to gauge when she starts the bag. :D

My ever-so-helpful-in-obscure-ways husband suggests I "bury a note towards the bottom of the container so that when she gets to it, she just pulls it out and puts it in your inbox... or no! wait! no! put a button somewhere towards the bottom that she pushes and it sends you a text message telling you to buy more dog food!" (he's been doing a lot of Arduino tinkering recently and thinks capacitors and LEDs are the secret to world peace.)

Thanks, everybody, for helping us make sure our pets are happy and well-fed!

Dena

[cwoodgold]

getting a little off topic, I know :-)

But why not simply teach your daughter to tell you whenever she starts the last package of dry food, and not when she finishes it...

Myriam

Right. Now if you can suggest a method of teaching her that ...

[cwoodgold]

Then put this task before Tuesday into the Tickler and on that day when you need to be aware of it you re-tickle it for Tuesday.

Right, or you might like to have some things on your calendar instead. The principle is: arrange that you'll see it when you want or need to see it, and you don't see it at other times.

[cfoley]

There are two sides to this problem. One is getting your daughter to tell you in time. The other is being organised enough to get enough cat food in.

It sounds like you are spending a lot of time and effort tackling the first problem. It might even be worth it from a parenting point of view. But until you and your daughter manage to sort it, there will always be this small thing that you are ultimately responsible for that you don't have a proper handle on.

May I suggest that in addition to encouraging your daughter to tell you in advance, you also check yourself before you go for your weekly shop. That might mean asking your daughter if there is enough cat food for the coming week or it might be seeing how full the box is yourself.

Maybe you shouldn't have to do it yourself, but you might find it less hassle to just check quickly.

[mcogilvie]

Just trying to explore the issue a little.


I think the responses you have had reflect how implementation-dependent recurring actions are, and the neutrality of gtd to implementation. You can put daily recurring next actions on your calendar, on a next action list, or on a checklist. Whatever works so that you see it when you need to. If taking pills is part of a project or an area of focus for you, then that's what it is, but how that is reflected in your system depends on your system. You could have a system where all next actions are entered on 3x5 cards, which I would find unworkable. Checklists are good for medium-size lists of repetitive actions, particularly for not overwhelming next action lists or calendar. If I had ONE recurring item like 'take pills', I could put it on a list or on a calendar; either would work.

[North]

Good to see the thread live like this. I'll return when I've taken care of some more list items.

[cwoodgold]

Re cat food: You can hide away an emergency stash and hope you never use it while
you also teach your daughter to be reliable somehow. ("Thank you for telling me:
you showed reliability.")

You can take some from the big bag, seal it into a smaller bag, put it back
either inside or near the big bag, and tell your daughter to tell you whenever
she's using from the small bag.

Better wording than I suggested earlier: for the note: "Buy cat food. (Put
this note on the kitchen counter when you open this.)" (Or in Mummy's inbox.)
For what to say to your daughter: "You have a choice: you can show
responsibility by telling me when there are enough
days of cat food left to last until the next time I go to the store, which might be
a week or less, or you can show responsibility by going to the store
yourself to get more." Said calmly and matter-of-factly.

Similar methods can also apply when you're the only one using a supply of something.
For some things, I have some set aside in a different location, or which are of a different
or even purposely an inferior quality, so that when I'm using them I'm painfully aware
of the need to replenish.

[cwoodgold]

Good to see the thread live like this. I'll return when I've taken care of some more list items.

Oh, no! You mean while we're gabbing on the forum you're out there Getting Things Done (TM)?

[artsinaction]

I really have to jump back in here. I am tickled... totally tickled at the interest and fabulous suggestions my dog food situation has elicited.

I will definitely add the emergency stash suggestion to my arsenal!

But I have to clarify that my daughter (she's my step-daughter, so I take no credit for how rockin' incredible she is) is extremely responsible. When I was a kid and my dad would say, "Dena, can you empty the trash?" it would not have occurred to me to just, you know, do it. Right then. Not later that same day. But she does it. Right then. I think she does it simply because one of us asked, not out of fear of repercussions. And she does it with a smile, and an "OK, love you!" So we tend to deal with things like running out of stuff with a laugh and a nudge.

So the tickler has solved our replenishment issues - love that tickler - and we haven't had to rush to the store for several months now!

And I think I still owe my dad quite a few apologies for lax habits and delayed chores. Picking up the phone now...

Dena

[TesTeq]

Right. Now if you can suggest a method of teaching her that ...

Suggesting an effective method of teaching such things would bring me Nobel Prize in Management!

[Suelin23]

If a checklist does not hold recurring actions, then what would it have?

I have a morning checklist, evening checklist, weekend checklist and shopping checklist (dog food is on this list).
These checklists are full of recurring actions, and I decide if I'm doing them or not each time I review the checklist. They include things like exercise, brush teeth, update budget spreadsheet, cleaning tasks etc.
I don't have to remember anything except to check my checklists, and that puts my mind at ease.

[cwoodgold]

If a checklist does not hold recurring actions, then what would it have?

The only other reasonable possibility I can think of is things that only occur once.

Example: Things to buy at the grocery store today.

Example: Things to bring on this particular trip when travelling (if the
trip is sufficiently unique that it's not worthwhile to save the checklist
for future trips).

Example: Things to mention to a particular person in a particular conversation.

[North]

Oh, no! You mean while we're gabbing on the forum you're out there Getting Things Done (TM)?

I wish. :) There are more ways to not get things done than forum-dwelling, and I'm a grandmaster in a couple of them.

[Oogiem]

The only other reasonable possibility I can think of is things that only occur once.

Example: Things to buy at the grocery store today.

Example: Things to bring on this particular trip when travelling (if the
trip is sufficiently unique that it's not worthwhile to save the checklist
for future trips).

Example: Things to mention to a particular person in a particular conversation.
Of your examples my experience is that only number 3 is one I use regularly. Something I buy at the grocery store today I will inevitably need to buy again some day so it's better to save it on a list somewhere and then just mark that I need it again. (one reason I use a shopping app for my shopping lists). I don't travel much anymore so number 2 while possible was not my experience when I was traveling but I can see how it might be possible. Number 3 is the only one I ever really have and I just add those things to a waiting for/agenda list for the person.

[Defibaugh]

I think it depends on how in your face you want your checklists to be. I use checklists in my tickler file for when I get to work and for when I get home (even have one for leaving for work in the morning, so I don't forget my wallet, or heaven forbid, coffee). When I get to work I pop out my "things to do when you get to work" checklist, do them, then pop it into the next day's folder. These checklists I generally don't care about until I walk into the office.

For something that I don't want to know about until that day but that I want emphasized (such as submitting a status report) I will attach a sticky note to the checklist in my tickler file. When this comes out of the tickler file and into the inbox the next action lists get updated and the sticky goes on my monitor to annoy me and guilt trip me until I get the thing done. Sometimes things in my tickler will go into my inbox and then onto my action list but not get done that day because of other priorities. The sticky prevents this by distracting me until I get it resolved.

If I really really want to not forget something that I know I need to do but can't do right now I'll put a reminder on the calendar, the actual checklist / item in the tickler file, and a pre-event tickler as well (as was mentioned). This is really in my face and hard to forget. I only do this for things that I absolutely must not forget, like wife's birthday or big presentations to the customer.

For the vitamin thing, I would put a mini-tickler file next to the coffee maker. This may be different for you but for me that’s the first thing I'm going to grab in the morning and I'll do my little morning checklist without even thinking about it (mostly because I can't, I'm not caffeinated yet). I would then modify the reoccurring checklist as you changed your health plan. I have a tickler file at work and at home (but one list of action items) because the types of things that go in both of those are really disjoint. My @home activities really start in the evening and I empty my home tickler file and start processing. My daily chores list and movie ideas lists are in there so if I were taking daily vitamins I would put a reminder there.

For reoccurring projects what it seems like you need (and I would be very happy with as well) is a template that would auto-generate some NAs on some day. Every day / week / month the project would be added to your project list and the default NAs populated to their corresponding contexts. Probably even an email reminder so that you could get a heads up that a new project has already been started and you have default accepted it into your workload. I don't know of any digital tool that does this. Best I could come up with is a paper list of the project NAs and you place this in your tickler to be re-entered every time the project occurs.

Remember that an item on your action list can be done immediately if you are in the right context. Things on your calendar or in your tickler have no immediate actions. The calendar just gives you a bigger view of your work and allows you to stress more. If vitamins are important enough to worry about them before you can do anything about them then you start using your calendar. If not, throw them in a tickler file.

FYI, I have been searching for a digital version of a tickler file that will email me something on a particular date. Haven't found anything yet, or at least not something I would trust with work material.

[cwoodgold]

Then put this task before Tuesday into the Tickler and on that day when you need to be aware of it you re-tickle it for Tuesday.

"re-tickle": great verb! I love it!

[cwoodgold]

I really have to jump back in here. I am tickled... totally tickled at the interest and fabulous suggestions my dog food situation has elicited. ...

But I have to clarify that my daughter (she's my step-daughter, so I take no credit for how rockin' incredible she is) is extremely responsible.

You're quite right. Some of the things I suggested were too harsh.
I'm thinking about this more as a an interesting example that
I and others may learn something from, than to find
any more suggestions for you, so I hope you don't mind if I continue
the discussion.

I was wondering: how to give the child opportunities to learn responsibility
smoothly and pleasantly, i.e. while the parent models civility and cooperation
rather than harshness and punishment?

I thought, how about when the child says "I've just used up the dog food,"
you could say "Thanks, you showed responsibility by telling me that.
... and, next time you can show even more responsibility by telling me when
there are only about 5 or 10 days of dog food left!"
But that sounds like a criticism and deflates the compliment.

So then I thought: you can just say "Thanks, you showed responsibility by telling me that!" And then, when there are about 3 weeks of dog food left, you can
tell the child, "If you ever notice there are only a couple of weeks or less
of dog food left, you can show responsibility by telling me." The idea here is
that the child can relatively easily remember to tell you a few days later.
If however the child immediately replies, "Actually, there are only a couple
of weeks of dog food left right now," you can give a positive reply like
"Oh, thanks for telling me! OK, I'll make a note to buy more."
(Not "oops, this isn't working, I was supposed to warn you a week earlier"
or something.)

This way, the child is learning a skill which will be of long-term use to the
child throughout the child's adult life: noticing when a supply of something is getting low
and doing something about it. And then if for some reason your tickle
file doesn't work and you don't buy the dog food, the child may usefully
remind you.

Maybe an easier way to start: when you want to check how much
dog food is left, instead of looking yourself, ask the child: "About how much
dog food is left right now?" The child may not be good at estimating
the number of days of food left; just accept that it's going to be very
approximate and don't criticize; the child may naturally get better at
that with time. If the child just says "Oh, lots!" then you can say
"Thanks. And let me know if you ever happen to notice it's less than about
half a bag." And still ask again every couple of weeks.

Generally, a positive response "Thanks for telling me!", (not "Why didn't
you tell me earlier?" or "Oh, no! I'll have to change my plans for the day!")
will encourage the child to approach you with that sort of information.

Cathy

[cwoodgold]

You can put daily recurring next actions on your calendar, on a next action list, or on a checklist.

You can also literally "put it in front of the door": I do that with things I'm planning
to bring with me.

Not everything has to be written down. Some things, like "eat lunch", we may just
remember on our own without a reminder. Other things can be in a physical
location: If I already have a habit of using breakfast cereal every morning, I
can put a vitamin bottle beside (or in front of, or taped onto) the breakfast cereal
so I'll notice them. For some things, I find it's more pleasant, and a few seconds
less time-consuming, to work with
physical things rather than having to read a checklist. I think that's quite within
the spirit of GTD: as long as you put it in a trusted system, it doesn't necessarily
have to be a written system.

[cwoodgold]

FYI, I have been searching for a digital version of a tickler file that will email me something on a particular date. Haven't found anything yet, or at least not something I would trust with work material.

I'm on a UNIX system at work and I put "mailx" commands in my crontab to send myself
an email on a particular day of the year or recurring emails on particular days of the week or month etc.

If you don't trust systems "out there" on the Internet that send you emails like that,
perhaps you could sign up for more than one different system (if you can find them) and arrange for them
each to send you an email. Then if one of them fails you'd still get at least one reminder.

If you're not on a UNIX system but you're able to write programs, perhaps you could
write one that runs all the time (with a keepalive script to re-start it if it stops for
any reason) and/or that starts every time you turn on your computer, that checks the
current date-time and its own records of whether it's already sent emails, and sends you
emails on or after dates and times you list. I could write a program like that fairly easily, but
perhaps ironically only on a UNIX (or Linux) system!

... maybe this should be on the other forum about gear and software. You might want to try asking there.

[cwoodgold]

I wish. :) There are more ways to not get things done than forum-dwelling, and I'm a grandmaster in a couple of them.

LOL!

Sometimes I take advantage of procrastination: if I procrastinate really hard
on doing one thing, I'll just naturally find myself filling in the time by
doing a bunch of other useful things I'd been putting off.

[TesTeq]

I'm on a UNIX system at work and I put "mailx" commands in my crontab to send myself
an email on a particular day of the year or recurring emails on particular days of the week or month etc.

It can be dangerous to use work system for your personal reminders. Tomorrow never knows...

[North]

FYI, I have been searching for a digital version of a tickler file that will email me something on a particular date. Haven't found anything yet, or at least not something I would trust with work material.

I use Things for that, which can be set up to put an item in the today list at any date, or even recurrently (any interval). There's where I have many of my recurrent actions. (But it can't send any material, only whatever text you type in.)

[North]

So there have been a number of suggestions here, as I suspected it's a big topic and a very common type of action item. Like I said I do have some solutions for recurrent actions (but I'm always open for improvement), so it was more of question of whether GTD really addresses the question adequately.

While there are plenty of solutions that integrate reasonably with GTD I have not been convinced that GTD deals with recurrent actions in a direct way.

Not even sure if DA mentions recurrent actions directly in Getting Things Done. He does have a section called "The Next-Action Categories" which would be the natural place to write about RAs, but what he writes is:


What does need to be tracked is every action that has to happen at a specific time or on a specific day (enter these in your calendar); those that need to be done as soon as they can (add these to your "Next Actions" lists); and all those that you are waiting for others to do (put these on a "Waiting For" list).

Nothing on recurrent actions. They are a type of next actions in my view, but they don't always go into the next action lists or the calendar (read this thread for a number of creative solutions to RAs).

I'll return with at least one more post, on how I deal with RAs myself.

[CJSullivan]

The more I exmaine it, I think there are "checklists" (David Allen describes them in Getting Things Done as "recipes of potential ingredients for projects, events, and areas of value, interest, and responsibility") and then there are, for lack of a better term, "procedures" (I need to remind myself to do XYZ every morning and in that order)...

Checklists could be things you want to be reminded of on a regular basis, at which time you can decide whether or not you're actually going to follow through on them. When you review that kind of checklist, and say to yourself "Yes, I would like to do that" but you're not doing it RIGHT NOW (for instance: I have a bi-weekly checklist for my cat, and one of the items is "cut claws"). Well, I'm not necessarily going to read that item, put down the sheet of paper, then go find the cat and cut his claws... Do you then add the item to your @Home next action list? And if so, do you ever find that it's still on your next action list the next time you review your checklist?!!! ;)

[ctklai]

According to David, day specific actions belong on the calendar. In the case of recurring actions, it would be correct to have them on your calendar - they are technically day specific actions. However, I agree with you when you feel there should be another way of dealing with them. Do you really want your calendar filled with 'take 2 omega-3 pills', 'take 3 vitamin D pills', 'take 3 vitamin B12 complex'? Neither do I.

I suggest an alternative method that still stays true to GTD principles.

TL,DR-

Master projects list - consume set amounts of healthy body supplements
Next actions list - take reminder list from project materials folder and swallow supplements
Next actions list - go to store and purchase more pills
Project materials folder - reminder list (all the pills you want to take)


(I chose to use the term 'reminder list' in your project materials folder, instead of 'checklist' to avoid confusion)

Is it actionable? Yes

What is the desired outcome?
Consume set amounts of healthy body supplements

(This outcome can go on your master projects list as a placeholder.)

What is the next action?
Take the reminder list from my projects materials folder and swallow pills on the list.

(write out the pills you have to take on a reminder list and insert it in your Projects materials folder)

Let's say you take your next actions list out and see this task. You've pull the list from your projects material folder, and finish working the list off by taking all the pills you set out to take that day.

Now, once you've completed the task, you'll have to decide the next action, with the project the the master projects list acting as a placeholder to draw more action steps.

For instance, you decide you still want to do this tomorrow. You'll just add the same next action to your NA list (just date it in case it's a busy day and you forget if you already took the pills earlier that day).

OR

you decide you need to go get new ones from the store, because you have the placeholder in your master projects list, you can have "buy x,y,z pills at Xx store" as a next action to put on the NA list.

OR

You only had access to pill A but not pill X,Y,Z. The next action step would still be 'take reminder list out of project folder and swallow pills' but put a date on the ones you took already.

Im not sure I would use checklists for this particular scenario. David recommends it only as an inactionable bucket for you to draw inherent projects and actions from.


Let me know what you think.

[ctklai]

FYI, I have been searching for a digital version of a tickler file that will email me something on a particular date. Haven't found anything yet, or at least not something I would trust with work material.

Candid suggested 'http://www.followupthen.com' here: http://www.davidco.com/forum/showthread.php?13899-Is-a-tickler-file-really-needed-Do-you-use-one&p=102029#post102029

[goncalomata]

Not everything has to be written down.

I would definitely agree! Keeping the system clean is only possible if you don't crowd it. I would say reminders are best placed outside the GTD system, in an app/tool of its own.

Goncalo Mata
www.WhatsTheTrick.com (http://www.whatsthetrick.com)