Bonsai Users -- do you have ONE outline and everything in it?

[alsa]

including your INBOX, Waiting fors, Next Actions and their respective Projects and just link to ToDo app and Datebook on your Palm? (or Datebook5 in my case). I am asking because this is what I do -- it is easy to convert an item in the INBOX to a Next Action or anything else.

Share some of your own "rules" or procedures re: using Bonsai as your main GTD tool if that's what you are doing.

I decided some time ago to do everything in ONE location -- my Palm and I don't have the Desktop component anymore for either Datebook (the Palm Desktop version) or Bonsai. Therefore, I don't sync anything to my computer anymore. It is double-work in my opinion; I just do daily backups to the memory card (well, it's auto-done by the Palm itself every morning).

The Palms have gotten so good in providing a pretty rich view of anything in one screen -- I usually have 16-18 lines of text in most programs using regular fonts (well, the Tungsten3 fonts). I do use GraffitiAnywhere, so I don't see the Graffiti area hardly anymore -- it's auto-enabled (by me) in many apps (including Bonsai and Datebk5). I work with Full screen pretty much 90% of the time.

[Steve Riker]

I used to use Bonsai as my GTD system (although I have since moved to a paper based system using www.nextactioncards.com preprinted cards - I found them much easier to quickly add tasks with and reorganize and review than pulling out the Palm and dealing with its small screen and slower input of information - while I could deal easier with the Bonsai desktop software, of course I cannot walk around with my desktop in my pocket like a can with a deck of nextactioncards).

I used two outlines - one for work/business and one for personal, and was able to use their Keywords to pretty much sort via GTD however I wanted, although its been a few months so I don't recall exactly how I did it.

Steve

[1drummergirl]

I have gradually eased back in to Bonsai after several months of non-use. I originally deleted it from my palm because I thought it was a lot of work to maintain. The truth was, I just had a LOT of stuff to track and no matter what system I used the amount of stuff was still the same. I love Bonsai because I tend to think and brainstorm in outline form and I can easily dump the contents of my brain into an outline. I find that I also tend to be more detailed with my projects and more specific with my next actions when using an outliner.

I have everything in one outline:
Level 1: Role
Level 2: Areas of Focus
Level 3: Goals
Level 4: Projects
Level 5: Next Actions

I use category color coding and also outline coloring during review time.

I use Bonsai mainly for weekly reviews, but I do check in with it every couple of days to update outlines and a few high priority projects. I setup some filters to make these mini-reviews easier to manage.

Everything from level 3 on down (since levels 1 and 2 have no time frame involved) to Datebk5 and use the datebk5 list view to manage the runway stuff and to check on due dates of projects and goals. I can also weigh the due dates against my calendar and see if I am spreading myself too thin. The two apps work seamlessly together. My categories are roles and my next actions start with a keyword to note their context. I also use the Bonsai tags in the notes of the tasks for easy jumping back and forth between the two apps.

I have dabbled with lots of 'methods' of doing GTD and I am finally nailing things down. I wish I had stayed with Bonsai when I first purchased it. It has really helped me to connect the runway with the big picture. Finding things in my outline is really simple because it flows. There are still a few rough edges, but it is getting better and better. Like I said - I eased back into it - one project at a time and built it back up slowly, weaning off my other system (pigpog). The transition over the last several weeks has gone well and I should have everything converted by this weekend. I can tell that this is the way I want to keep it because the more I work with it, the MORE I find I need to add to it. I thought my GTD system was complete, but I am discovering many cracks in the system and finding there were a lot of S/M items and other projects I hadn't even listed! Some of that stuff has been hanging around for years even. :? The more I empty my head, the more thoughts I have that need to get into the system. The flood of information I am writing down now is amazing. I think I may actually be approaching the mind like water stage - at a very rapid pace. :grin: