“Collect” to “Do” in Real Time?

[Anonymous]

I just wanted to throw this one out to see if anyone has developed an effective means for dealing with similar situations.

This morning (and it’s now mid-afternoon in Ireland) I received two messages regarding different clients. One message requested that I make a phone call by early afternoon, and the other requested that I send a message by e-mail by mid afternoon.

Obviously I needed to get from “Collect” to “Do” in a matter of hours – no point in waiting for the weekly review!

I did carry out both of these tasks on time, but only through the “traditional” method of positioning two post-its beside my computer keyboard where I couldn’t miss them.

Apart from some form of alarm signal or other electronic reminder, has anyone a method for guaranteeing that such short-term tasks are not over-looked?

Maybe it was just a case of writing them in my diary for the afternoon, so that I will be reminded to them if I consult it around lunchtime?

I know this example sounds quite simple, but if the tasks had to be carried out tomorrow afternoon, or if I had several such tasks scattered throughout the week (i.e. before the weekend weekly review) the same question would arise.

Thanks

Busydave

[Anonymous]

Those are both actions that had to be done today without exception --so they go on your calendar as un-timed appts if your calendar of choice can accomodate those.

and you might even add a little prompt to the description like "by Noon! " or by 4pm etc. --to give you a reference to when they need completed by

Hope that helps

Paul

[Ambar]

I've been musing recently on the separation between Collect and Process -- in my case, I think I may be able to stand a little more separation. It would never occur to me to *insist* that everything I Collect go into the inbox and wait until Friday morning for processing!

I habitually go from Collect to process immediately (and am wondering if a little separation might make things more efficient). Sometimes I just throw things into the inbox "for later", but I try to clean out my inbox daily, not weekly (otherwise my weekly review drags on forever).

In your case, since it sounds like you'd already identified the next actions and that they were time-sensitive, I would have put them on my calendar for today, as the previous poster suggested.

Cheers,

Ambar

[andmor]

The only time I go straight to Process is when I leave off an active project and note the next action (bookmark). Otherwise, I don't want to play with my lists all day long, so I keep a Day Journal. All incoming goes in the notebook, even if I know I will be putting it into my Calendar almost immediately. I do this because my notebook is free-form and I know that what goes in the Calendar or Lists will have to be be more focussed and structured than the initial (Journal) notes. That's why I don't bother with stuff like Slap! or Actioneer.

I will process my Journal whenever it starts to nag at me (distracts me from what I am doing) - this could be several times a day, if I know that there are time-sensitive items in it (such as you have described - the 2 incoming items that are due by mid-afternoon), or only at the end of the day, if nothing nags at me for processing during the day.

Jason Womack has written about his personal rule about clearing his Inbox by the end of each day. I don't think that GtD envisions that you wait for your Weekly Review to process your Inbox. However, one detailed item for Weekly Review is to make sure the lists are updated for Done items that have not yet been recorded - but that is keeping the existing inventory up-to-date, not part of processing new items. I wouldn't want to spend most of my Weekly Review time-block on processing the week's new incoming and then run out of time or energy and not get around to doing the actual Weekly Review.

Andrew

[Anonymous]

I guess I'm a little confused by your statement:


Apart from some form of alarm signal or other electronic reminder, has anyone a method for guaranteeing that such short-term tasks are not over-looked?

I can only think of 2 ways of guaranteeing that something gets done (assuming that you can't dump the "reminder responsibility" on someone else): set an (electronic or mechanical) alarm or write a reminder on a quite inaudible paper-reminder system.

I use a PalmPilot (almost 6 years old) as my electronic brain. I make use of DiddleBug, which is *freeware* available at www.palmgear.com. Here's a quote from the developer:

"DiddleBug is an electronic PostIt note that you can set with an alarm that will remind you of appointments or other things. It is much quicker and easier to schedule an alarm in DiddleBug than in the built-in DateBook applicaton. Just scribble something on the screen and select the alarm time from a pop-up list. You can even assign a hardware button to automatically jump to a new, blank reminder for those hurried notes. Other features include snoozing and locking of reminders."

If I need to make a quick (non-project-related) phone call at the next available free moment, I set a DiddleBug alarm for 10 minutes. If the alarm goes off and I'm still busy, I set it for, say, another 20 minutes. I eventually make the call, either because I'm suddenly free or I just want the alarm to quit bugging me!

You can also set the alarm to go off at a particular time of day; you can even set a recurring alarm. My one recurring reminder tells me every afternoon at 3:35 PM to load a backup tape. DiddleBug is extremely useful, easy to use, and effective. (And I do NOT have any connection to the developer.)

The only downside that I can think of is that you will now have a third place (after your calendar and your Next Action list) to look for the universe of things that you have to address.

I hope this helps.

Joe

[Busydave]

Thanks Paul, Ambar, Andrew and Joe;

Sometimes I feel I am trying to make too many things mesh in with GTD: after all, the post-it method I actually used worked for me long before I heard of GTD.

But on the other hand, I have a deep down feeling that GTD really will work in all conceivable action-management situations. Your solutions to the two items I described show that this is so. The solution was to get the tasks ensconced in the hard landscape of the day by diarying them. This is a perfectly valid course of action within the GTD system: the key was to shorten the time lapse between “Collect” and “Do”. :idea:

I now see the importance of expediency in clearing my in-box. Up to now, I would completely by-pass GTD with short term tasks like these, on the basis that their due date would have passed before I got to another “process” session.

As I use a paper-based system (customised filofax) I will have to cheat a little to get a reminder system in place. So today I have brought in an old digital watch with alarm, and also I will try the Outlook reminder function on my PC. It would defeat the purpose of GTD if I had to keep an imminent task in my “psychic RAM” while working on something else beforehand.

Also, the hourly beep from the watch will remind me to carry out a quick scan of the in-box for any time critical items.

Dave

[cweible]

...It would never occur to me to *insist* that everything I Collect go into the inbox and wait until Friday morning for processing!...

I wouldn't wait for Friday morning to process items. That's asking for trouble. :)

I personally take notes all day long, on paper, in my Palm, in my voice recorder. I don't consider this collecting though. Twice a day, first thing in the morning, and again right after lunch, I collect all these notes and anything else I can think of into my physical inbox. There are then sometime other, routine items that I can take care of because I do them every day. (Such as checking up on various system process to make sure everything is still running properly.)

Then I start processing my inbox. Sometimes this is immediately after collection, sometimes it's as much as an hour later, but I process twice a day. I go through the items, decide what they are and what I need to do with them. (I'm not a manager so rarely do I delegate.)

The weekly review is not the time to be processing, but rather the time to be reviewing your lists. I use it as a time to go through my lists and see if I need to re-process anything I'm forgetting about.

Christopher in Des Moines, IA

[Busydave]

Thanks Christopher;

I read GTD about two years ago. I was sure that I had retained most of the key issues, but this string has convinced me that this is not the case! :(

I have just picked it up to read it again.

Yikes!

Dave

[terceiro]

Let me chime in with thanks to Joe, Andrew, Ambar, and Dave. I've got a few things that I can immediately implement, and solve some immediate problems.

Inbox processing: as Ambar and Dave mentioned, inbox processing isn't something that needs to wait until a weekly review. Only it hadn't occurred to me, and I was feeling a little nervous about it. Daily processing seems so simple and obvious. Thanks.

DiddleBug: I was "filing things in psychic RAM" when they were short-term items. Sometimes I'd put them on my contextual lists on my palm, but only because I wanted the pleasure of crossing them off -- not because I'd actually have the list as a reminder. My Palm m500 includes "NotePad" which performs the same function (AFAIK is the same application as DiddleBug). For those "call me when you get back to you desk with the results of XYZ" todos, this is perfect.

Using a notebook: I currently have a series of board-bound, lined notebooks I used for all my notes. It is one of those "I love the way this feels, but it doesn't work in my system" experiences. I have volumes of notes, none of which are ever looked at again. I *need* my Palm with lists and dates, but can't stand to take notes on it. Andrew, you've inspired me to mesh together using tools I love with a system I know works. Again, probably obvious stuff, but your description clicked for me.

This board rocks. I feel more productive already!

[jkgrossi]

Using a notebook: I currently have a series of board-bound, lined notebooks I used for all my notes. It is one of those "I love the way this feels, but it doesn't work in my system" experiences. I have volumes of notes, none of which are ever looked at again. I *need* my Palm with lists and dates, but can't stand to take notes on it. Andrew, you've inspired me to mesh together using tools I love with a system I know works. Again, probably obvious stuff, but your description clicked for me.

It's funny, but I've experienced the same thing as of late. I've used a Palm exclusively for the last three years or so, only to switch back to paper completely in the last month! Why? For the exact same reason - I just like the "feel" of writing on paper! It's not nearly as convenient or efficient, but for some reason I just like it. I also think that the fact that I could never get used to the "monthly view" on the palm... Paper is much better for that!

I process my inbox right after lunch and right before I leave the office for the day. If something is really urgent and needs to be done that day, I'll write it directly on the calendar. For example, If I get a message at 1:00pm to make a call before 4:00pm, I'll either do it right then (2 second rule) or block out a time for it right then and there. I'll actually create an appointment to make the call. Something like this can't wait to get processed with the rest of the inbox, and it would never go on my context list.

The inbox is just a place to "collect" all of your open loops, so that they are out of your head and in one convenient place, ready to be processed. The inbox basically saves you from having to process "on the fly". IMHO, things that can wait should wait in the inbox - things that can't should either be done immediately or at leased processed immediately...

The bottom-line is this: You need to get it out of your head, and you must be able to trust whatever system you get it into (post-it notes next to your keyboard included). I think that's the spirit of GTD...

Jim

[cris]

The question here is, are the post-its an alternative way of remembering what to do that could potentially undermine the GTD system, or are they a tool you can use effectively?

I have a list of errands which are next actions. Two mornings a week I am free to do errands and otherwise manage the household responsibilities (which is much more complex than my job as a software engineer). Before I leave the house, I look through the list and decide which errands I will be able to do. Then I write them on a short list which I keep in the car with me as I drive around. My moment of intuitive decision occurs at home and encompasses a relatively long time span (usually about two hours), and I need a little road map to get me through that time, otherwise I get home and realize I didn't pick up hubby's shirts from the dry cleaner's.

The counterpart to this little list in the old days was an ineffective "to-do" list, so I have to be very careful that this little list of errands doesn't undermine the system I've set up according to the GTD book. I make sure I throw it away at the end of the day. I don't use it to capture ideas and I don't copy the unfinished things back on to any other list, because I already have tools in place for these things.

If the post-its represent an old but unreliable way of doing things, then you might want to avoid them because they will undermine the better system.

Cris

[jkgrossi]

The question here is, are the post-its an alternative way of remembering what to do that could potentially undermine the GTD system, or are they a tool you can use effectively?

If the post-its represent an old but unreliable way of doing things, then you might want to avoid them because they will undermine the better system.

That's a really good question! I think that you really hit on something when you mentioned "reliability". Like David says, you really need to be able to trust your system. If you can't trust it, what good is it?

From what I've gathered, Next Actions are just reminders of commitments that you've made. In this case, the post-it is also a reminder. If the post-it was effective in:
1). Getting the NA out of psychic RAM, and
2). Reminding the poster that he needed to make a call at a certain time, and he performed,

than I would say that it did it's job and didn't undermine the system.

If, OTOH, post-its are in deed unreliable, then by all means they should be avoided.

Personally, I think that the items from the original post should go on a calendar - but that's just me.

That's my take (for what it's worth)...

Jim

[terceiro]

I have a list of errands which are next actions. Two mornings a week I am free to do errands and otherwise manage the household responsibilities (which is much more complex than my job as a software engineer). Before I leave the house, I look through the list and decide which errands I will be able to do. Then I write them on a short list which I keep in the car with me as I drive around. My moment of intuitive decision occurs at home and encompasses a relatively long time span (usually about two hours), and I need a little road map to get me through that time, otherwise I get home and realize I didn't pick up hubby's shirts from the dry cleaner's.So, I gather that you have a full, standard GTD system in place that you're using for your work (software engineering) and at home. When you run errands, you make a mental plan based on your @errands list, and then write down that plan. Then you execute the plan (most especially not forgetting your husband's shirts).

That sounds about perfect to me. My personal @errands list isn't long enough to justify copying down in a new location for a specific errand-session: I just take the whole list with me. But if yours is long enough to justify that, I think your execution is admirable.

Post-Its in general are, I think, more important than computers in the actual work of getting things done. I arrived at my desk today to discover a massive pile of papers and manilla folders had taken over the whole surface. They had bred like bunnies over the weekend or something...

I tossed them all into 'IN' and then worked thru them, putting a sticky note on each one "Call back" or "Bid" or "Ask Dan what the heck this is doing on my desk". Then I went back and added each to the appropriate list (@Calls, @work, or attached to the 'Dan' note in @agendas).

A few of the things in the pile were urgent-critical-must-be-done-today-or-die. Those things also got put on the list (because I like to cross things off), but also on a red Post-It note on my monitor.

Because everything was on the appropriate context list, nothing can fall through the cracks. Because I had my sticky on my monitor, I knew that, when it was time to go home, I had completed everything that was time-sensitive for that day. Was it kosher, by-the-book GTD? Who cares?! But did I drop the ball on any critical tasks today? No ma'am. And that feels good.

In short: Post-Its == good.

[Busydave]

“Trust” really is a central word to the GTD system, isn’t it?

For example, to use David’s scenario of the briefcase left in front of the door so it will not be forgotten, (on the basis, as he says, that we know we will be barely conscious first thing in the morning), could we imagine getting to a stage where we would rely on a paper or Palm based system to remind us to bring the briefcase, and therefore be confident that we could leave it in the living room over night?

I’m not sure if I would yet, but it’s purely a case of habit formation. I would never forget to shave in the morning, and that’s purely because the habit is 100% embedded. There is a range of things like the briefcase that might need to be done in the morning which are non-routine – school trip: pack larger lunch for junior; gym time switched for this week only: make sure junior goes to school in track suit, etc. These are day specific and therefore diary items. Could we make it a habit to consult our diaries at 5-30 in the morning?

On the other hand, I think the diary plus time signal solution to my original problem is foolproof, and I think I would now try to do it without post-its.

Habit and Trust, the “soft stuff” which is so critical to GTD – fortunately the end result (total GTD implementation) is so attractive that positive reinforcement is in plentiful supply.

Dave

[Electronic Perceptions]

FWIW, I like to use Slap as my post-it notes system. I take notes on it, but sometimes I'll also use it to write down something that has to be done the same day it came in. Sort of like a little reminder to myself.

I try to write these on the calendar because I do feel they should go there, but in the midst of a busy day it's easier to simply jot it down in Slap. In my mind this is very similar to using post-its, diddlebug, notepad, etc. Once the item is done, I simply erase it from Slap much the same way as I'd toss the paper note into the trash. No system updates of any sort are needed usually.

I rarely use paper for notes, but it does come into play with something like @Errands. My husband usually takes care of those, so I simply keep track of all upcoming errands on my Palm. On the day he has to actually *do* the errands, I write them out on a notecard for him to take with. For awhile there, I was beaming the lists to his iPaq and that was much easier, but he stopped using that a few months ago.

The rare times that I'm running errands alone or with him, I simply consult the Palm lists.

[Busydave]

To Andrew

In a post further up this thread, you mentioned that you enter everything initially in a journal, and then review it several times a day.

I find this use of a journal to be immensely appealing. I was previously a dozens-of-scraps-of-paper man, but now I am using the first section of my Filofax for this purpose.

Any items that then turn out to be tasks get listed in the “projects” section, or get done under the two-minute rule. The problem is, many non-task items: musings, self-observations, genuine diary entries “today junior said…” and so on, appear there also, and now out-number the tasks. Section 1 of my Filofax is as big as all the other sections put together.

I would like to avoid re-writing all of the non-task items into a proper diary/journal, because that discipline would fall away after a few tired evenings. On the other hand, in the spirit of GTD, I want to avoid running a separate notebook, and instead make the most of the “in-tray” function of section 1 of my Filofax.

Essentially, I want to hang on to a lot of what I write down.

The only solution I can think of is to order a couple of those mini-binders that Filofax supply for storing older pages. I don’t mind if the entries on my stored sheets turn out to be a mish-mash of office to-do’s, scraps of ideas for stories, or light-bulb moments about life the universe and everything – after all, this would be a pretty good record of my days for future enjoyment/embarrassment.

But on the other hand, there is a greater sense of finality with your method – a journal SHOULD be an old-fashioned bound book, and if any of the items in it turn out to be projects, then they and they only should find their way into my GTD system. (I’m not sure if you use your journal in such a wide ranging, catch-all way).

I think what I am trying to do is mentally project forward to a point where I have been using first the journal method, as you do, for a few months, and then the loose-leaf Filofax method also for a few months, and then decide which one works best for me.

Although I am currently desk-bound for the whole day, I do find that I bring the Filofax everywhere with me –in the car, on the bus, around the house etc.

Any advice on the practicalities?

Thanks Andrew

Dave

[Frank Buck]

Dave,
Are you familiar with the book "To Do, Doing, Done"? It was written by a former Franklin trainer. The book is an easy read and gives good examples of handle writing journal info in one place and then put entries on future dates to refer you back to that info.
Frank

[Busydave]

Thanks Frank, I’ll check it out.

Dave

[andmor]

Dave,
Are you familiar with the book "To Do, Doing, Done"? It was written by a former Franklin trainer. The book is an easy read and gives good examples of handle writing journal info in one place and then put entries on future dates to refer you back to that info.
Frank

Frank:

I don't know if you have read Hyrum Smith, but that's exactly his method. His rationale is that once you have made a cryptic note some time in the future, you have taken the item out of your psychic RAM. It is an immensely appealing method, but seems bound in paper system thinking. Electronic systems make it so much easier to simply move a journal item intact to a current or future timeframe and then you can avoid all of the looking back to find the original journal item. That's probably why you don't see Smith's journal system as prime in FC's software offerings. It seems to me that DA advanced Smith's thinking in terms of making journal items currently reviewable in ASAP or Someday, reducing the risk that journal items with indeterminate future action will become stranded in history.

Andrew

[andmor]

Dave:

Well, we are a little different here. I use a journal more as an Inbox than as a diary. I prefer free-form writing, rather than having my thinking bound by the restricted formats of the lists. I also prefer to keep my lists for working off, rather than having to maintain them continuously. To me, it's a waste of time to make a phone call and leave a message and go into the list and create a WF, then get the callback and make notes and then go into the list to edit the WF that I just made. I prefer to use the notepad to record my day's activity and ideas and process only the still-live items when I am ready. I also find it more focussing to write down the one item I have chosen to work on and then put the lists to the side.

I feel that the written notepad is my personal expresion and it offers a chance to review my day in a meaningful way. I can see what I have accomplished and how much I have thought out the items that have arisen. I find that organized lists are impersonal, their compilation becomes an end in itself, and they mask the finite time element that gives me comfort and, sometimes, momentum - basically, everything in the list is yet to be accomplished. Lastly, throwing away the completely processed pages at the end of the day gives me a good feeling that I have GtD-ed the way I am supposed to.

In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter what you write on. but the freedom to write as (i.e., in the way and at the time) you think is what counts for me.

Lucky fella living in Dublin - I have fond memories of my Da's old home.

Andrew

[intrigueme@aol.com]

All -

To embellish on what has been mentioned earlier, here's the complete "Franklin Quest" (not Covey)/Hyrum Smith method.

(For those not familiar with it - this is based on a 2-Pg per day "Classic Franklin" format. Your Left-Hand page is your pre-made "plan" for the day, and your Right Hand Page is your record of what actually happened during the day that you wanted to capture. Both pages are already pre-dated)

1) An "Event" happens (phone call, coversation in the hall, idea, etc..). You write it on your "Daily Record of Events" page. In the margin to the left, you write a brief code, combining the date with the sequence of when it happened to you. For example, if it's the first thing that happened that day, its at the top of the blank page (right?) and in the margin you write "13-1" The fifth thing that happens to you that day is 2/3 of the way down the page, and it's code would be "13-5."

2) If you are planning a future Task, or Appointment immediately - go to your future Task List or Calendar, and write a brief description of what it is. THEN write in Parenthesis the same code that you put in that left hand margin ("13-5")

3) When that planned Task or Appointment actually shows up, the parenthesis drive you back to that original "Daily Record of Events" or "Journal" entry for your Support Information.

4) This way, you the info has a "permanent root in time" as Hyrum says, but you keep it as an easily accessible resource for the future. It can bring past & present together in a matter of seconds (literally)

5) If you write something down on that "Daily Record of Events" page, and don't know when you're going to need it - the beginning of each month had an index page. Anything that you think has value, and you want to be able to find easily, you put on the Monthly Index. You use the same "code" in the left hand margin of this page. So you may have "leaps of days" on that Index page, entries like 3-6 Order Confirmation #; then leap to 7-2 Call Tag Return Info.

NOW - this DOES have some strong parallels to David's methods; and can be used electronically.

If you find David's Article on "How to Set Up a Paper Planner" - his first section is "IN" Where you write down random notes from the days events for future processing. David also recommends that you date and time any incoming information. Same function as "Daily Record of Events."

Here is how I have my Palm set up.

In Memo Pad, I've tried to think of each category as a tabbed section in a book. I have a section called "D.R.o.E. = IN" - givng a "nod" to both systems. When I write incoming information in that section; the first thing I do is use a Graffiti Shortut for "Time & Date Stamp." Then I give it a short title. This also lets you list the entries in chronologica order when you view the entire category on your Palm. This in effect, duplicates the "Monthly Index" function of the paper based Franklin Planner.

If I'm making a new "Task" or Appointment that's connected to that entry at that moment - I copy & paste the "Time & Date Stamp" and put it parenthesis at the end of the Task or Appointment title. That draws me back to the orignal conversation, without confusting past & present. You can also use the Palm's "Find" feature to speed up this function. If anything, if the tool is used properly, the PDA may add value to this methodology by allowing you to carry years of Journal entries on your waist (if you decide to).

[Busydave]

Thanks for that Andrew.

My version of the journal is much closer to DA’s uncomfortably accurate term, “stuff”. On reflection, and based on past experience with numerous pieces of paper, I think a lot of it will turn out to be interim thinking-on-paper concerning work in progress, which will be redundant in a day or two.

Any useful ideas will become active or someday/maybe projects. Interestingly, I have realised that story ideas can easily be termed projects also, and identifying the NA can be incredibly useful in getting the thing actually written.

Anything left after that will only amount to the odd diary entry, which will entail a lot less transcription than I originally feared.

I will therefore be able to regularly dump section 1 of my Filofax after all.

(Before hearing of GTD I tried to follow the Covey model. As a result, I have four annual binders of kept daily pages – none of which I have looked at since. Looks like I will be making some room on the bookshelf this weekend!).

Have you been to Dublin recently? The last five years of the “Celtic Tiger” have seen a drastic amount of building taking place. The original suburbs have remained more or less the same, but a lot of the old spaces in the city centre have been filled with offices and apartments.

Dave

[beyerst]

Dave,

I too have a filofax, but I use a separate notebook for Journal notes. My filofax is full enough as it is; adding the journal pages might just be too much.

Or do I need to review my Journal more often? I try to review it weekly. Due to project deadlines, a lot of meetings, travelling around and a never ending flow of e-mail it is over two weeks now. yikes!

If I manage to review my Journal today (or at least part of it), I will try to switch to daily/every other day processing next week. This might keep the volume manageable.
This might also mean that I can drop the extra notebook (less paper to carry around). An additional benefit is that the paper I use in my Filofax is much better suited for fountain pens than my current notebook. (But this is taking us off topic)

I have been to Dublin recently. Unfortunately I had only limited time to visit the city the night I arrived. So I did not see a lot, but I liked what I saw and tasted (Guiness is good for you :D ). What is the spacy needle in the city centre? It looks nice, but does it have a function as well or is it just, well, what it is?

[Anonymous]

As much as I use my Clie, with an Inbox set up in Shadow Plan, there are still things that I find are easier to capture on paper. I recently designed a pad of paper I call QuickNotes. This is a pad that fits into a classic size binder (Franklin, Daytimer, whatever). Each page is broken into several boxes that have spaces for the Date and Time, and an area to write a free-form type of note (no lines). I've included things to circle to indicate where it came from (Telephone Call, Conversation, Incoming Voice Mail or Email), whether it is just for information, requires an action or a follow-up, priority (High, Normal, Low) and check boxes for Completed or Entered.

The pad is available near wherever I am. If someone comes into my office and asks me to do something (or I speak to someone on the phone and I need to take some action based on that call), I'll write it down on the pad, and fill out the info, which takes very little time, and is faster than using the Palm, much as I hate to admit it.

I process things from the pad throughout the day as needed and as time allows. I review it either at the end of the day, or at the start of the next day. Eveything gets either completed (2 minute rule) or entered into the Palm by the end of the day, and gets checked off appropriately. That way I can quickly review the "stuff" on the pad and know that I've taken care of all the items I can by the end of the day, and anything else is in my system in the Palm. This is NOT a "To-do" list. It is just an Inbox for stuff that comes up during one day, and that stuff moves within a day to either get completed or put in the Palm system.

This way I don't use stickies (which I'm always losing), I have ONE place to put all those miscellaneous notes, and I can make sure everything either gets done or gets into the system I have on the Palm. It is much harder to describe this system than it is to use.

(By the way, I simply designed the pads in Word, took a disc to my local printer, and had them print and make up the pads. It works really well for me...)

Hope this helps...

[andmor]

[quote="Busydave"]

Anything left after that will only amount to the odd diary entry, which will entail a lot less transcription than I originally feared.

I don't mind transcribing - it helps me to refine the item (a little more processing).

I haven't visited Dublin for many years. My favorite memories are of Clonskeagh, where my uncle had his Chemist Shop at the Clonskeagh bus terminus, and of a childhood visit to Hood Brothers dairy. It's probably all changed now.

Andrew