Getting from "Organized" to "Do".

[Anonymous]

I'm stealing andmor's idea of asking how other get from organized to "doing". Have you noticed its alot more fun to get organized than it is to actually do the work?
I've always said that when everything is a priority nothing is a priority. And, when nothing is a priority nothing gets done. I've had a very hard time prioritizing with GTD.
To me, one must make a distinction between the global and the local in assessing ones workload. Andmor said something that struck me about using paper *and* palm (digital). I think he's onto something.
How do you do it?

[tallmarvin]

Getting organized allows the fantasy of getting things done to run wild in the *mind*. Actually *doing* the actions will get you the real high of the accomplishment...but since it's easier to fantasize about 'organizing' being the 'doing' rather than what it really is...just 'organizing'...people choose to just perpetually 'organize' (I was a poster child for that, still struggle sometimes with the 'Ready...Aim....Aim...Aim...Aim' mentality).

At the end of the day, it's what you did that counted. Planning is necessary, but only as much as needed to get the ball rolling.

[andmor]

I suspect that Doing is easier when Organization is relevant, where there is a Commitment to every item that is Organized. I don't think that real commitment can be instilled from an external source, e.g., a letter arriving in the mail, but is an internally/emotionally-generated thing.

On the face of it, the Workflow Diagram is a logical "how to" methodology, supporting an internally-generated personal framework. "Logical" encourages left-brain activity. (I have a system!) But I can "accomplish" much and remain unsatisfied; I can have "Mind Like Water" while Doing, but have it abandon me as soon as I stop Doing that particular task. Processing and Review can't be only mechanical exercises if they are to be effective - there needs to be emotional input.

A parallel to this is that I can write a letter in MSWord, but only when I print it and sign it with my own hand and mail it will it become significant to me and to the recipient. On the other hand, the nature of email is instant and informal, formatting is not important and "Send", while it should require the same level of commitment, makes it easier and tempting to bypass the act of sober second thought. I use this parallel to highlight how I think that trying to use PIM software for everything has reduced my emotional input and thus my commitment to action. Making the lists, satisfying the requirements of the system, has been the logical objective, but that is not enough in the quest for effectiveness.

I emote, therefore I paper.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Forgive me - I'm sure its mostly a function of my pea-brain capacity than it is your ability to explain your point. I didnt understand your post.

Lets bring it down a notch or two:

What do you put on paper? (i.e. next actions projects, this weeks stuff, whatever..)

What do you put in the palm? (as I recall you as a palm user)

Thanks for your response.

[andmor]

My original point was that I found it easy to make lists but difficult to commit to action. I find it easier to think and commit using Paper, using my own handwriting and my own formatting, than through ttrying to interact with impersonal handheld box that is the Palm. I find that Paper is more conducive to right-brain thinking, such as what precedes and follows the mechanical writing and filing of the Action Lists.

To answer your question directly:

Inbox/Scrap Pad/Journal - Paper
Project List - Palm
Project Planning - Paper
Action Lists - Palm
Calendar - Palm
Agenda - ("what am I going to do", what I actually work from) - Paper

Agenda flows to Inbox, etc., by virtue of event notes, follow-up items, etc.

Of course, I still use the Palm for Address Book, eBooks and web-clippings - it's remarkable how much volume you can carry around in the Palm.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

I get it now. Good point.

So, I'm interested in that Agenda part - what time frame does that encompass?

[andmor]

Dave:

After trying every imaginable piece of software, I am now actually "working" from a Mead/Five Star wire-bound, perforated/detachable sheets, lined, 7x5 notepad ($2.29). I transfer all my day's appointments and chosen Priority Tasks onto the left hand page, and make notes on the right hand page. I keep my Palm with me only for reference, history, forward calendar and inventory of Next Actions, but I avoid my PC and its distractions. I enjoy the freedom and personal nature of writing. I can set a tentative agenda with times, and change it easily without fuss or guilt. I am not bound by the structures and strictures of database software when I am working. I update the software for History and new items at the end of the day.

I feel as if my relationship priorities and value system are more in play this way. I feel greater ownership of my work.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Andrew, very interesting system --how do you deal with input from email --just make notes in the book ? is your organization on outlook ?

do you always carry the notebook with you (everywhere?) or are you using a voice recorder or jotter type wallet also.

I have the same notebook --I use it for meeting notes --your system sound a lot quicker than trying to input on the palm all the time.

thanks

Paul

[andmor]

Andrew, very interesting system --how do you deal with input from email --just make notes in the book ? is your organization on outlook ?

do you always carry the notebook with you (everywhere?) or are you using a voice recorder or jotter type wallet also.

I have the same notebook --I use it for meeting notes --your system sound a lot quicker than trying to input on the palm all the time.

thanks

Paul

I carry the notebook everywhere - I no longer need the Palm in my pocket all the time. I just need to know where it is. The notebook is my single Inbox (apart from regular paper mail). At the end of each day, I input to Palm the notebook information I need and throw away the pages. If I were to lose my notebook, I have only lost today's notes - and $2.29. I use Palm Desktop for back-up and printing my Datebook each week. Outlook would be ok too.

I really like that little notebook. It has a 2-sided insert with slots - I use one side for receipts and the other side for Index Cards. I plan Projects and Lists on index cards and slot into the notebook the ones I need for the day. If I go to the grocery store, I have an index card for my shopping list. I used to carry the Palm around the store and would have to fuss with the stylus and it made me feel silly.

Re email, I have Action and Read folders, and I note in the notebook any thoughts about them or the fact that there are emails waiting for attention or a particular one that I need to prioritize a response to. Meeting notes get started on a new right hand page in case I want to keep the notes after extracting the action or reference data.

In the car, I carry small post-it notes in my notebook and prefer to scribble on them than to mess with my voice recorder. Later, if the post-it notes are legible, I'll just stick them in the notebook, if not, I'll rewrite them.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Andrew, thanks for the response , good ideas about the index cards too!

One inbox for capture on paper, Personally I'd probably keep the notebook pages for a hard copy reference --but since you mentioned you're printing out palm dtop once a week --I guess you've got that covered.

thanx again!

Paul

[Anonymous]

Andrew,

Thanks for posting about your use of palm and paper, especially as a way to motivate yourself to action. I, too, have struggled with the palm and a bunch of software, and have always returned to writing out an agenda for the day by hand. Recently I've been doing this on a steno-pad. (But I've been bad about updating my actions etc on the palm, and I can see how that is key after reading your post.)

You mentioned using notecards for projects... do you simply jot down ideas and next actions on the cards? Just curious how you use them.

Julie

[pd_workman]

It seems like a lot of entry and re-entry to juggle your system this way. But sometimes that the only means of properly processing and scheduling items that works for you.

I also use a Palm+PC, but my system is not entirely paperless either. If you are using the Palm Desktop or Outlook, remember that you can print out rather than re-writing on paper. You can even export items to Excel and merge them onto computer-printed index cards.

For some of the things that I do, I need a physical paper in my system to ensure that it gets done. I may print a checklist of what needs to be done that day, I may print out tasks on individual sheets of paper, my file recalls are printed and attached to the front of the file that is being recalled that day, etc.

Pam

[andmor]

At one time, I printed my Palm Datebook and then used the right half of the page for notes. But I still needed something separate for Meeting Notes that I wanted to keep. This particular notepad seems to be useful for all types of notes.

The main problem I had was Processing. I don't find the Palm a friendly medium for quick notes to be processed later, nor for Processing itself. It's too tempting to try to Organize on the first input. I have now separated Inbox, Processing and Organizing and what I have in my Palm is more sensible. I also find paper more forgiving when creating a list of things that I am actually going to Do - it's easier to change a tentative schedule and move things about. It frees me from thinking about many of the features of Palm agenda applications that consumed a lot of my time before.

I don't use Index Cards liberally. I use them most for checklists and grocery lists. For Projects that follow a common pattern, e.g client work, I use them for checklists. For unique Projects, I keep a Project list on my Palm and Next Actions in Palm ToDo.

Andrew

[andmor]

Today, I attended meetings carrying just my little notepad. I forgot to bring my Palm. The notepad has very little history in it - I throw out Processed pages each day - there's no thumbing back to see what I wrote on a previous day. I got compliments that I was so well organized and that I was efficient. I never heard that when I used only the Palm. It may not be me at all - I suspect that other people feel that you are listening better and giving them more attention when you use paper.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

I'm sold on the notepad. I do keep history in it though. I just date a new page and start writing. It can be incredibly handy to look back a few days when talking to someone and say, "here's the tracking number..." or whatever.

Still a little stymied about what to do next in the heat of the action from day to day.

[Esquire]

On the CD of the seminar, DA advocates staying "low-tech" for collection. In fact, although it's unclear in an audio-only format, I think he says that he does not use his Palm for collection, because he doesn't want to "inbed" or "digitalize" "raw data".

Looking back, in the past when I've input directly into Palm, it wasn't a discrete "collection", but rather an attempt to "organize" still-unprocessed stuff.

Since purchasing a Clie with an on-board voice-recorder, I use that application as a collection bucket in the car. But I make sure to dump those entries out onto sheets of paper and throw them into in when I get to the office in the a.m. and home in the p.m.

Don't sweat trying to use a PDA for everything. As DA says, sometimes low-tech is even more elegant than high-tech.

[Anonymous]

At one time, I printed my Palm Datebook and then used the right half of the page for notes. But I still needed something separate for Meeting Notes that I wanted to keep. This particular notepad seems to be useful for all types of notes.

The main problem I had was Processing. I don't find the Palm a friendly medium for quick notes to be processed later, nor for Processing itself. It's too tempting to try to Organize on the first input.

Andrew

Have you ever tried Slap as a Palm Inbox?

http://www.handshigh.com/html/slap.html

You can assign the memopad hard button to it, just jot in little notes as they come, and later select portions of the text and move them to other Palm applications.

It's a neat application (however, I must add that I, too, use a small wallet/notebook for input most of the time).

Max

[Anonymous]

I know this doesn't work for everyone, but for me, Slap is one of my primary inbox/collection tools. The other is my GoldMine Email. The desktop/paper inbox just isn't as important as these two are. I do most of my work electronically though, which is probably why.

In any case, I use Slap like a notepad. I simply jot down notes, ideas, reminders, memory joggers, etc. as they occur to me. As with a paper notepad, I don't process, edit, make sense of, or anything else -- I simply write it down and leave it there till time to process. Slap allows you to enter up to 10,000 characters (If I remember right), so there's plenty of room for meeting notes, or several days worth of doodles and misc.

My kids even know that jotting something down in Slap is a much better way to get it in front of my eyes than leaving a sticky note or some such on the desk. Slap gets processed almost daily, whereas paper gets put into the desk inbox and is processed once every week or two.

Kathy
--
http://www.ElectronicPerceptions.com

[andmor]

Have you ever tried Slap as a Palm Inbox?

Max: I have tried Slap! and, as usual I am impressed with its capability, but like LifeBalance, Shadow, Datebk5 and many other apps. it is negative to my productivity. With Slap!, here's why:

If I want to make a quick note, then the likelihood of it being exactly what I eventually Process and then transfer into my Palm app. is practically zero. I will need to edit it, so what time am I saving (over paper) by using Slap!? On the other hand, if I could write it perfectly first time, I wouldn't need Slap! - I would just write it straight into the Palm app. where it will belong.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Andrew,

Thanks for your ideas on using paper & palm.

I to use a spiral bound notebook.

Could you explain a bit more how you create your "agenda"

-Do you read thru all of your NA's & then choose (how many)
to add to your agenda?

Thanks for your help
TM

[andmor]

I make a distinction between Calendar and Diary/Agenda. The GtD and Time Design format suggests that the Calendar and ToDo List are what you look at when you decide what to do. But I find that the day/week needs to have some shape, otherwise I become the biggest interrupting culprit because I have to keep going back to my lists whenever I finish something. So when, as most days, I have few meetings and lots of unscheduled time, I draw up a rough plan of my day - I write the 2/3 most important things to do plus a few other items (I try to consolidate based on my Context Lists), assign generous duration estimates and create a tentative daily plan using start/end times. I know that everything is negotiable and the plan can be changed easily. I try to avoid going back into my lists except to extract detail of the daily plan items.

I also journal when I work - see current thread on this and Scott Lewis's excellent posting. I write notes opposite the items in the notepad. I find that it helps me to focus on the task at hand and it creates some structure to my incorrigible doodling. It's much better than using scrap paper and not being disciplined about what I write because I know I will throw the scrap paper away.

I avoid updating my lists as I go along - I save my notepad notes till the end of the day (occasionally, 2x a day). In my case, this is "know thy enemy" - I am not good at tidying up; I immediately jump into the next thing - so I set aside a one-shot time to tidy up at the end of the day.

HTH

Andrew

[Kudzu2u]

This topic remains a fascinating one for me. I came across an article by Larry Becker (www.palmplanning.com) - actually chapter 3 in his book, which chapter he published on the web. In that chapter he says this:

...there is a specific place you need to write each thing so that nothing falls through the cracks. ... If there is a "right place' to write everything down... you'll... be a lot more organized. ...If you were to write everything on a yellow legal pad (ie. meeting notes, phone messages, tasks, etc.) you would never have to think too hard about where to write these things. They all go in the same place, on the yellow legal pad." He then goes on to talk about how you take separate time after collecting (no later than the end of the day) to go through all your notes and pull out the required tasks, diary items etc.

Familiar principles, don't you think! Write everything in one place. Separate the collecting and processing phases. etc.

I think andmor has discovered this. Writing everything down in one place, all the time, greatly reduces the chances of losing it. Then, separating the collecting process from the sorting process - literally, collect now, then later pull out tasks, etc. - allows clearer thinking, and facilitates the systematic ordering of what needs to be done, putting reminders in the proper places. Simpler IS better! But I still love to play with my Palm!

Anyway, thanks Andy for the insights.

Gordon,

[Anonymous]

I forget if Andrew ever explained how he journals. I know Scotts method sounded too involved - I wouldnt be consistent enough about it for it to be useful.

But I'm wondering, Andrew, how do you make use of the journal? Specifically, if you find yourself during the day writing down an "earth-shaking revelation" (journal entry) where does that get stored?

Thanks!

[andmor]

Dave: What works for me is the fact that I have a neat little book that I always go to when I am in Doing mode. Not only does it keep me out of all my planning stuff and the temptation to mess with that when I am supposed to be Doing, but it gives me a nice feeling that everything to do with "Today" is nicely contained in one easily accessed place. What I write?- Anything. How I write?- Any way I want and quickly - arrows, doodles, score-outs - nobody else needs to be able to understand it.

Sorry, there's no magic, but there is a more focussed attitude.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew, but I'm still curious where you put your journal entries such as "today the five year old said..." I know you chunk the pages from your little book at the end of the day - a practice I now endorse whole-heartedly. I didnt agree with that approach at first, but there is something very satisfying about tossing those pages in the trash knowing you've extracted the most important remains of the day and stored them where they wont get lost.
So, what about those journal entries? Where do they get stored?

[andmor]

Dave:

I use DayNotez desktop for my journal. When things are flowing OK, I will simply lift any brief life history items from my daily pages and put them into my journal.

Whenever I get bogged down with my things to do, I use the DayNotez journal for a mind dump. I take 15-20 minutes for 2-3 successive days and just write whatever comes into my head. The major themes become apparent and they influence my selection of items (priorities). Later, I edit out (Process) the stream of consciousness and keep only the hard items that belong in history. I have to do this every 3-4 weeks. I have to be motivated by desperation to do the mind dump - I can't seem to be able to turn it on "on demand" when the time comes for Weekly Review.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew

I found a great program for this myself - Microsoft Word.

Works like a champ!

I've stumbled onto another little trick that has helped me with scheduling. Its an old Franklin Planner trick of listing items under the month that arent necessarily for a given day. I use the memo app.

Example: customer X says he will probably start shipping in September. I can put it on the "09/03 list of things to look at when I get to that month. Works well for me.

[awebber]

Andrew,

A wonderful system close to what I use. My one question to you and others who use a similar process is do you use this same notebook for both personal and professional?

Alan

[andmor]

Andrew,

A wonderful system close to what I use. My one question to you and others who use a similar process is do you use this same notebook for both personal and professional?

Alan

Thanks Alan:

As far as I am concerned, it's all time management. (Yes, I know that's non-GtD thinking.) So anything time/day related goes in the one notepad.

Andrew