How to create the right Contexts?

[Borisoff]

Is there any method or recommendation on how to setup the right Contexts? I used to have "standard" contexts like @Agendas, @Call, @Computer, @Errands, @Waiting, @Home, @Office. But sometimes I feel that they're not right and I think maybe I should create something different that would be connected to places I'm at like @Office, @Home, @Car, @Shop. But I could be wrong again. Is there any methods?

Regards,

Eugene.

[Brent]

There's no catch-all process for defining contexts, because each person has different contexts. This does require concentrated thought.

I would like to help, though, by approaching this from another angle: How are your current contexts not working?

[wordsofwonder]

The contexts that you create will depend on the kinds of work you do and the places you do it. For example, people who work from a home office might decide to combine the @Home and @Office contexts. Or, if you do a lot of travel, you might create an @Airplane context for things you can do while on a flight.

The trick, I think, is not to create too many contexts, so that it's easy to decide where a particular Next Action should go. But within that guideline, I think whatever makes sense for you is probably okay.

Is there something about the "default" set of contexts suggested in the GTD book that isn't working for you? Perhaps if you talked more about what you want to change, we can all make some better suggestions.

-- Tammy

[Borisoff]

I'm a sales director. I have a home office with all communications available as well as "standard" office that I use for meetings with my personnel and sometimes customers. I leave outside of the city so I have to drive there for approximatelly 1:30. Sometimes I'm doing shopping at a gas station or in some "by the way" shops.

I "connected" standard contexts to my phisical locations:

@Call to my time at the car. This works but why not doing calls from home (@Home) or office (@Office)? @Computer to my time at my home office but actually I can do it in my office as well. @Errands to my car time. But I usually forget to look in there :) @Waiting - that's has no particular time to look at some missed always till Weekly Review :)

This mesh and overlap made me think if my contexts setup in a right manner. Maybe I should simplify them and create simple phisical contexts like @Car, @Home, @Office, @Shop? At least they would be strictly divided (but stil I can put calls into a few contexts: @Car, @Home, @Office, @Shop and computer staff as well to @Home and @Office). I need some system to make my contexts work! :) Please help!

Regards,

Eugene.

[Rainer Burmeister]

The purpose of the context concept for me is to prevent me from looking at a specific action reminder while I am not in the place where I could do that specific action (or with the tool or with the right person).

When I am at home I don't want to look at actions that can only be done at work.
My contexts are simple: 'at work', 'at home and elsewhere', and 'shopping'.

Rainer

[Borisoff]

@Place context is clear and works. What about @Instrument context? In what case does @Instrument context make sence? In case someone doesn't have some insturment at a specific location, i.e. telephone at home but that's nonsence? Could someone please explain that?

Regards,

E.

[TesTeq]

@Call to my time at the car. This works but why not doing calls from home (@Home) or office (@Office)?
Why @Call means for you @Car. I think it is not a physical-location-based context. You should use it everywhere when you have some spare time and access to the telephone network. So when you are in the office do NAs from both - your @Office and @Call list.

[Borisoff]

Why @Call means for you @Car. I think it is not a physical-location-based context. You should use it everywhere when you have some spare time and access to the telephone network. So when you are in the office do NAs from both - your @Office and @Call list.

I always have access to the telephone network as I have a mobile phone :) Even in the toilet :) So:

1. Is there any sence splitting by this instrument then?

2. What is spare time? Time that is not planned in hard landscape?

Regards,

Eugene.

[TesTeq]

I always have access to the telephone network as I have a mobile phone :) Even in the toilet :)
For some calls you may want to have your reference files available so it may determine the physical context. I hope you do not keep everything in your head? Or in your toilet :-) ?

2. What is spare time? Time that is not planned in hard landscape?
Not planned in hard landscape. Apply four criteria for choosing actions outside the hard landscape:
(1) Context
(2) Time Available
(3) Energy Available
(4) Priority

[Borisoff]

For some calls you may want to have your reference files available so it may determine the physical context. I hope you do not keep everything in your head? Or in your toilet :-) ?

Some calls require me being at home with Reference files or at toilet where I can think harder :) Do you mean I need @Home and @Toilet context instead of general @Calls?

Eugene.

[Brent]

Suggestion:

Pick a set of contexts. Use them for a while. If one doesn't work, change it. Repeat until contexts work.

You may be worrying too much. If you just start, you'll be able to adjust as you go.

[Borisoff]

Suggestion:

Pick a set of contexts. Use them for a while. If one doesn't work, change it. Repeat until contexts work.

You may be worrying too much. If you just start, you'll be able to adjust as you go.

Brent, that's why I'm posting here. I used to have some context described above but they didn't work well as I thought. So I'm looking for a method or algorithm on how to pickup the right contexts if any.

Regards,

Eugene.

[kewms]

Contexts are, for me, ways of defining the resources needed to do a particular action.

@calls only require a telephone, and my address book with the number of the person. If I expect to make a lot of calls while away from my office, I'll double check to make sure that any relevant notes are with me as well.

@emails only require a computer with an Internet connection, and my address book with the person's email address. These often require notes as well, but I don't worry so much about that because I send almost all emails from my laptop.

@calls and @email help me group similar tasks together for efficiency. I find them helpful even though they overlap with @office.

@read/review only requires the physical object that I'm planning to read or review. These are the items I take with me to read at the dentist's office, on the train, whatever.

@write/edit only requires the notes for the particular project, but also a reasonably quiet place to work.

@read/review and @write/edit both require chunks of uninterrupted time. I can do them almost anywhere, but I can't easily wedge them into a few minutes of downtime, like I can with @calls.

@computer assumes all the software resources on my computer, plus an Internet connection. It does not assume the physical files in my office.

@office assumes all the resources of my office, including my computer, but also scanner, financial files, etc.

@home separates work tasks (@office) from household maintenance (@home). Since I work from a home office, this helps me keep the boundary between the two clear.

@errands, @library, @gym are self-explanatory. These are items that require a particular physical location.

Hope this helps,

Katherine

[mramm]

@calls only require a telephone, and my address book with the number of the person. If I expect to make a lot of calls while away from my office, I'll double check to make sure that any relevant notes are with me as well.


I make it so that I don't even need my address book:

@Calls
Dr. Zhivago - 555-8795

that way, I cannot use the excuse that I do not have the number.

Michael

[Brent]

I used to have some context described above but they didn't work well as I thought.

I'm afraid I have to repeat what I asked at the beginning of the thread, and my apologies in advance if I've missed your answer somewhere: How specifically are your current contexts not working for you?

[wordsofwonder]

@Call to my time at the car. This works but why not doing calls from home (@Home) or office (@Office)?

The way I look at @Call (actually, I named my list @Call_Write, which is mostly the same thing but includes e-mails) is as a place to put items that can be done when I have access to a phone or e-mail. Calls that MUST be done in my home office (because I have files there, for example) generally go on my @Office list instead.

A general rule I use for Next Actions: Put the next action in the least specific context that still enables it to be completed. If a call must be made from my office, it goes on the @Office list. If it can be made anywhere I have a phone, I put it on @Call_Write. If I have something that doesn't depend on any specific resources -- brainstorming about something, for example -- I have a @Anywhere list to contain it.

Does that help clarify this specific question?

-- Tammy

[kewms]

I make it so that I don't even need my address book:

@Calls
Dr. Zhivago - 555-8795

that way, I cannot use the excuse that I do not have the number.

I try to do that, but haven't managed to establish the habit. OTOH, the only time I don't have my PDA/address book with me is when I'm in contexts where I'm extremely unlikely to make business calls. Critical numbers are also in my cell phone.

Katherine

[slaie]

What I thought for that sort of problem is to either create more specific "contexts" like @Calls w/ Phonebook or @Calls at Home

[TesTeq]

Critical numbers are also in my cell phone.
Smartphones allow you to store thousands of contacts (your whole address book) so there is no need to use separate address book or PDA.

I use my Nokia 6670 as my main address book, calendar, watch, rarely as a web and mail browser (the screen is really small) and as a cell phone of course.

The only missing function is a good list manager for GTD lists but in notes section I have my expenses, books to read, DVDs to watch and CDs to buy (yes, I'm still buying CDs and importing them to my iPod because Apple doesn't like Poland).

[Borisoff]

I'm afraid I have to repeat what I asked at the beginning of the thread, and my apologies in advance if I've missed your answer somewhere: How specifically are your current contexts not working for you?

Brent, the biggest problem was duplication. I wasn't sure if I should put a phone call to @Call, @Home, or @Office context. Probably Tammy's advice could work here and I should put a phone call to the least specific context (in my case it's @Call) and check this category at home and at office as well.

[wordsofwonder]

Probably Tammy's advice could work here and I should put a phone call to the least specific context (in my case it's @Call) and check this category at home and at office as well.

I think this is an important point, and a good realization: for me, I found that when I recognized that contexts were not tied to specific physical locations, I was able to simplify my system and eliminate a number of redundant contexts.

In programs like Datebk6 (and others, I'm sure), you can set up saved views for different locations, that include different combinations of contexts. When I was using Datebk6 on my Palm, I had, for example, a saved view called "Office" that included items from my @Anywhere, @Computer, @Call_Write, @Office and Waiting_For lists.

Lately, I've dumped a lot of my add-on software and gone back to my Palm Z22's built-in Tasks and Calendar applications, but the principle still holds. I just have to take a look at the included contexts manually, is all.

-- Tammy

[kewms]

Smartphones allow you to store thousands of contacts (your whole address book) so there is no need to use separate address book or PDA.

My phone's memory is large, but my address book is larger. While phones that will hold my entire address book do exist, they cost more than I was willing to pay to duplicate functionality that my PDA already handles quite nicely.

My solution has been to put family, close friends, and clients in my phone, and leave everyone else in the PDA. This takes care of the vast majority of my calls, especially when away from my office. YMMV.

Katherine

[Brent]

I'm suddenly thankful for my Treo 600 (http://web.palm.com/products/communicators/treo600_specs.jhtml), which is a combined phone and PDA. I've got all my contacts on it, and I still have 9 MB of empty storage space.

(It also has all my Actions and Projects.)

http://www.buyitonline.ch/images/600palm.gif

[kewms]

I'm suddenly thankful for my Treo 600 (http://web.palm.com/products/communicators/treo600_specs.jhtml), which is a combined phone and PDA.

*shrug* To each their own. I put the $250 price difference between the Treo and my phone to good use elsewhere.

Katherine

[Brent]

Oh yeah, absolutely. I wasn't suggesting it was superior; just saying that it's a good solution for me.

[Mindi]

Is there any method or recommendation on how to setup the right Contexts? I used to have "standard" contexts like @Agendas, @Call, @Computer, @Errands, @Waiting, @Home, @Office.

I found the best way for me to evaluate whether I have the right contexts was to look at my @Anywhere list. My @Anywhere list was a catchall for things that didn't fit well into one of my other contexts, and during one weekly review I realized that the @Anywhere items weren't getting done. As I reviewed the list, I saw that the items on the list either weren't next actions (a different problem), or weren't really "@Anywhere". I found that a group of items (like writing/ brainstorming), while I could technically do them anywhere, actually required me to focus. The resulting context was @desk (different from @office, @phone) because my writing desk was where I personally needed to be in order to optimally and efficiently focus and do those tasks.
Hope this helps.
;)Mindi

[TesTeq]

*shrug* To each their own. I put the $250 price difference between the Treo and my phone to good use elsewhere.

Katherine
You've already spent these $250 on your PDA, I think :-)

And you must carry two devices with you.

[kewms]

You've already spent these $250 on your PDA, I think :-)

And you must carry two devices with you.

Actually the PDA was a gift. And it's several years old, so the money is long gone whether I buy a Treo or not.

No, I don't have to carry both devices with me. (Though, admittedly, I usually do.) As discussed above, the numbers that are in my cellphone handle the vast majority of my calls.

Katherine