Segregating work and personal systems

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Originally Posted by DavidH

I agree the task lists aren't as sensitive. My main concern is that I have lots of digital project reference material and email which are often linked to tasks. I use Outlook and OneNote currently which makes linking and cross-referencing fairly painless. How do you handle your reference material? Does your web-based system allow you to link next actions with supporting documents?

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I use my brain to connect the dots that my system remembers for me. In my opinion it's not necessary to take the effort to "link" actions and projects within the system. It adds overhead and isn't nearly as fast as my brain. I also find value in having my brain connect the dots during reviews because it refreshes my thinking about my commitments.

A system with the ability to link actions and projects and reference materials together is far more cool than it is useful. The best GTD system is the simplest one. If you're set on having linking ability within your system then you're stuck maintaining two systems. If you're ok with just managing reminders of your outcomes and actions then you can consolidate your reminders into one system (preferred).

I pretty much have two distinct systems, although "system" may be a strong word for my work environment. In my main personal system (Google Tasks and calendar, and Evernote), I have a single context "Work", which is almost empty. I only use it for things I need to do at work that are not part of my normal responsibilities.

For work, I'm either working, or not. As a developer, I need my desktop and network access to do anything, so I'm either at my desk, or logged in remotely via VPN. I have a list of projects with actions managed in Onenote, and Outlook\Exchange for contacts and appointments. Project documents are stored on a network drive, accessible from where ever I work. I do sync my Outlook appointments to a separate, dedicated, Google Calendar that I include in my own personal calendar, to I get a complete view of my schedule.

It is simple to separate for me, as I'm generally doing work assigned and prioritized by someone else. Anything not in my assigned pipeline is personal, and goes in my system.

I work with confidential patient data constantly in my job as a statistical analyst in healthcare research, so my work systems are very tightly controlled. I cannot synch outside devices or programs with my work Lotus Notes GTD system, nor can I keep work email, documents or data in "the cloud". Since my only access to my work system outside of the office is through a laptop VPN connection, it is not practical to have my home system and my work system together.

At home, I have my GTD system running on Lotus notes for work, and I use Toodledo+ Google calendar for my home GTD system with access from laptop, Android Phone, and Nexus 7.

If I need to get input from one system to another (reminders of a phone call I need make during business hours, for example), I just email a reminder to the other system. In addition, as part of my weekly review, I "manually synch" my Lotus Notes and Google calendars by adding work appointments to my "At Work" Google calendar. That way, I have my upcoming work calendar on my phone during meetings. It would be nicer to be able to synch the calendar automatically, but it only takes a few minutes each week.

~M

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Originally Posted by DavidH

How have you all dealt with this issue in your GTD systems?

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Let me summarize:

If you are freelancer/farmer/business owner you can easily merge personal and work related information into one GTD system because the whole infrastructure and data is yours.

If you are employee the IT infrastructure and data is your employer's property. Due to legal and security reasons (both your and your employer's security) it is better to keep separate work and personal GTD systems.

As most have commented, I also have two separate systems and it works very well for me. I will say though that having to separate my work and personal items means that the weekly review has become VERY important to me so that I don't lose sight of anything. I see my work stuff all the time since I work fulltime so it can be VERY easy for me to lose sight of the personal items if I'm not good about my weekly reviews.

Hope this helps!

Since I work online, my employer shares the work related documents in Dropbox. This will allow me to easily access the files even if I'm using another computer. Personal files are kept in our desktop.

When I was in your situation, I had my entire GTD System (Outlook + Excel lists + Digital Support Files) on a flash drive. The main part of the system (calendar, project list, NA list, etc.) was in Outlook and I had the Outlook PST file on the flash drive. I could open the PST file in Outlook on my employers computer in the morning, use and keep the system up to date for work all day, have the system available for personal things if needed (including personal email), and then take it home again on the flash drive. No copying/transferring -- the whole system was always up to date on the flash drive.

Important Note -- the flash drive was encrypted with a password
Another Important Note -- I backed up the flash drive at reasonable intervals

I did this for Outlook. I would think you could do this for whatever you are using. And of course, you can use this for support files.


Tom

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Originally Posted by TomW

When I was in your situation, I had my entire GTD System (Outlook + Excel lists + Digital Support Files) on a flash drive. The main part of the system (calendar, project list, NA list, etc.) was in Outlook and I had the Outlook PST file on the flash drive. I could open the PST file in Outlook on my employers computer in the morning, use and keep the system up to date for work all day, have the system available for personal things if needed (including personal email), and then take it home again on the flash drive. No copying/transferring -- the whole system was always up to date on the flash drive.

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1. There are work environments where you are not allowed to use your personal flash drives.
2. Processing your personal stuff on your work computer may violate your company's Security Policy.
3. Processing your personal stuff on your work computer may be treated as an additional taxable non-cash fringe benefit.
4. Processing your personal stuff on your work computer leaves traces.

[QUOTE=ellobogrande;105383] The best GTD system is the simplest one. QUOTE]

Agreed!

For a few years I used a single system on my work computer using Outlook Tasks.

Currently, I have separated my work system from my home system. Both systems use simple editors (I am using Word, but any editor will do). I really like it -- editors are easy to search, easy to cut and paste, easy to enter and edit, easy to sort and prioritize. Currently, my work system has three projects: my goals for this quarter. My non-work system has all the other stuff. At work, because there are so few projects, I have a single file with both projects and tasks. At home, I have separate files for projects, for tasks, and for completions (once it is done, I don't want it taking up space in my current files anymore -- but I don't want to just delete it eitiher)

I thoroughly agree -- simple is good!

Regards,
Rob

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Originally Posted by ellobogrande

A system with the ability to link actions and projects and reference materials together is far more cool than it is useful. The best GTD system is the simplest one. ... If you're ok with just managing reminders of your outcomes and actions then you can consolidate your reminders into one system (preferred).

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Well said, ellobogrande.

On my work system, I often have commands set up so that I can just type the name of the project (essentially), and it will take me to a file with all the main links needed for that project. Or I store these links in cross-referenced computer files and/or an easily searchable wiki, etc. So in my next actions list I usually just need to mention the project or action.

On the other hand, I often also write the directory (path) or the command
on the next action because
I feel more motivated if I actually see it rather than just being 99% sure I can
find it within a few seconds.