Search:

The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.

Most people who talk about "zen-like" states know little or nothing about Zen. The metaphor...

You might have a look at Weinberg on Writing, by Gerald Weinberg. He uses what he calls the "Fieldstone Method," comparing writing to working on a fieldstone wall. There are lots and lots of small,...

If both paper and voice notetaking are impossible, you're pretty well stuck keeping stuff in your head. Nothing to be done but accept the situation and roll with it.



Process things as often...

1. Some people use voice recorders for hands-free capture. Paper is fast, cheap, and readily available. Given that you *don't* have your phone with you at all times, I would definitely recommend...

For #2, I've been on the reporting side of the relationship, and I can tell you that the most effective PR folks I've dealt with are the ones who maintain regular contact. (However, a press release...

I think DA himself has said that some people will only pick up a few tweaks from the book, rather than embracing the whole system.

*shrug* If it works for you, who cares whether it's canonical...

Part of the point of a web-based system is that your data is on the web, accessible from any computer with an Internet connection and a browser, whether you've installed your own software on it or...

In my experience, this is a situation where nothing beats analog tools (paper, whiteboard, whatever). I draw as big a diagram as necessary to hold all the component parts. If going paperless is...

Yes, by all means draw up an action plan for each project that needs one.

(Identifying which projects those are is left as an exercise for the reader.)

Having an action plan means you only...

Having just had fresh homemade bread for breakfast, I can sympathize with the part of your unconscious that just wants a breadmaker, darn it. :-)

But also with the more rational part of your brain...

Are you doing regular Weekly Reviews?

Lots of people add daily reviews and/or keep a daily priority list. It isn't strictly GTD, but if you need something like that to stay on track, who cares? ...

What Brent said. See also Chapter 3 of the GTD book, on planning, in which DA discusses some of the limits of his back-of-the-envelope planning model.

In my experience, the first step in deciding...

Must allow you to get your data out in both electronic and paper form. If cloud-based, must allow you to keep a full copy of the data on a local system.

Electronic export is essential if you ever...

That's what I do. All financial stuff has a folder "Account Name -- Year." When I do my taxes in the spring, I move last year's file to longer term storage.

Katherine

Keep a log. Phone calls, actions taken, meeting notes, that sort of thing. Keep the record of things that you've done separate from the list of things you need to do.

Remember that you might do...

A friend of mine who takes a LOT of pills -- she's an organ transplant patient -- has a pill case with a built in clock. She can set as many alarms as necessary to make sure she takes everything at...

I don't use a Waiting For list. If I need to track it, then there's a Next Action or Tickler item for me somewhere, and I track that.

Katherine

I'd do both. Unless you've cleared the decks at the runway level, you won't get the most out of the upper level review.

Yes, it can take some time, but it's worth it.

Katherine

Yes, definitely. Peter Drucker has said (paraphrasing) that the most important lessons come from unexpected failures and unexpected successes.

Along these lines, be sure to save your annual...

I'd say start at the top and work your way down. For me, the yearly review isn't a super-weekly review, so much as a chance to look at Areas of Focus and other higher level things. At a minimum, by...