Feeling Dense and Not Getting It.

[Erin]

I have another post outlining my floundering around with processing. I'm going to go curl up with a cup of coffee and try to beat my inbox into into some sense of order But I wanted to post some questions so hopefully I could get some responses and feedback before I desperately need it instead of Staring wide eyed and confused when I get to that part.

If you need the reference and project support material to do work on the project can that become the project folder or at least part of it until the project is completed or are you expected to keep these things seperate?

Next action list- with starting a business there are many projects and many next actions for each project. The NA list though is suppose to contain only the NA not the next 30 actions for a project. This doesn't make sense to me to be bouncing from project to project knocking off only the NA for each one.
Is it antithetical to GTD to visibly link projects to actions, I really feel like I need that focus. Would it make me a pariah to write an action list with the next 5-15 actions and stick it in the physical folder for that project? So that when I wanted to sit down and work on one project I could open it up, and work through the list?

My whole mind rebels at not having my action linked to an outcome, what the reward or result long term for doing it is, and I'm flat out confused at only having one NA for each project, finishing it and not having another NA til I update my NA list and having to hop from project to project as I complete NAs.

If only deadlined actions are suppose to go on your calender what do you do with things that will happen on a date but that you don't need to do anything about? someone's visitting in town, it's good to know when they arrive and leave, and I have things planned with them while they're here but the arrival and departure don't require an action on my part but I'd like to see them on my calender, is it anti GTD to pencil it in so I can see it at a glance? or am I trying to shirk doing daily and weekly reviews? if I have to go over the lists so meticulously daily I'm afraid it's just going to become another nagging worry in my head "do I need to go through the list again?" "what did I miss reading on my lists?" "did I review thoroughly?!?!"

Also, in an ongoing schedule with very few if any hard deadlines is it antiGTD to schedule in blocks of time to work on specific projects or groups of NAs to give structure to the day? I'm floundering through borderless unlandmarked days. My entire life feels like highway hypnosis anymore.

I thank anyone who has the patience to walk me through these basic questions and appreciate any responses.

[TesTeq]

Next action list- with starting a business there are many projects and many next actions for each project. The NA list though is suppose to contain only the NA not the next 30 actions for a project. This doesn't make sense to me to be bouncing from project to project knocking off only the NA for each one.

I do not think that GTD requires turning off thinking and switching to "dumb execution of @context list" mode. David stresses that you should use your mind and intuition to choose what to do next. Often switching from project to project in a given context is most productive. But sometimes projects do require focus and switching from context to context. So there is nothing wrong with that. GTD is not meant to force you to do things in an unreasonable way.

Is it antithetical to GTD to visibly link projects to actions, I really feel like I need that focus. Would it make me a pariah to write an action list with the next 5-15 actions and stick it in the physical folder for that project? So that when I wanted to sit down and work on one project I could open it up, and work through the list?

Nothing unethical. I think many people do it this way.

Also, in an ongoing schedule with very few if any hard deadlines is it antiGTD to schedule in blocks of time to work on specific projects or groups of NAs to give structure to the day? I'm floundering through borderless unlandmarked days. My entire life feels like highway hypnosis anymore.

I like to assign dates to EVERYTHING. I do not think it is antiGTD but results in cluttered calendar and your hard landscape is hardly visible. Besides you have to move undone items from day to day. It can stress you but I am motivated to do such action as soon as possible and not to have to move it again.

TesTeq

[beyerst]

Hi Erin,

If you need the reference and project support material to do work on the project can that become the project folder or at least part of it until the project is completed or are you expected to keep these things seperate?

If it is project related material, it should be part of the project folder. When the project is finished, you decide what to with the contents of the folder: what you want to keep for future reference becomes reference material, the rest you toss out.

Next action list- with starting a business there are many projects and many next actions for each project. The NA list though is suppose to contain only the NA not the next 30 actions for a project. This doesn't make sense to me to be bouncing from project to project knocking off only the NA for each one.

A next action is a reminder of where you left off with a certain project. For me, they have a double purpose. (1) When I want to work on a project, I know immediately where to start. I do not have to look up mails, browse through my notes, ... . After this action, it is usually pretty clear what needs to be done next so I can continue working on the project; (2) During the day, you can have 'lost' time: you are 10 minutes early for a meeting, a meeting ended early, waiting for an airplane, ... . Those 10-15 minute windows that pop up during the day. It is not sufficient time to focus on a project and to make good progress. But it is sufficient to call the garage to schedule maintenance, review a the draft of a 2 page document, ... .
For most of my projects, I have a page with notes/brainstorming results/next actions, ... when i want to work on a project, I refer to this page. When I only have time for 1 phone call, I look at my @phone list.

If only deadlined actions are suppose to go on your calender what do you do with things that will happen on a date but that you don't need to do anything about?

How I understand this concept is that it does not make sense to put all your next actions on a to do list for the day. You only enter in your calendar what is relevant for that day. The arrival time of your friend is relevant for that day, so you can put it on your calendar.
By having only date-specific things on your calendar, you can easily see hwo much time you have that you decide on.
(You don't have to be afraid: there is no GTD-police. GTD is a concept and it is allowed -eve necessary- to tweak it it your situation, preferences, ...)

Also, in an ongoing schedule with very few if any hard deadlines is it antiGTD to schedule in blocks of time to work on specific projects or groups of NAs to give structure to the day? I'm floundering through borderless unlandmarked days. My entire life feels like highway hypnosis anymore.

If you have no hard deadlines on a given day, there is nothing wrong with blocking 2 hours to work on project X and 3 hours for project Y. (I do this to keep me focussed, because otherwise I keep hopping from one project to another). If you have only date specific items on your calendar, at least you will be able to tell how much time you have left to structure. On Monday for example, I will be in Germany. I will arrive in the office there around 09:00 - 09:30; I have a meeting from 10:00 till 12:00, a lunch meeting and a meeting from 14:00 till 18:30. That tells me that I will have no time to really focus on a project. processing my mails, maybe a phone call, that will be it.
On Tuesday I will be back in Brussels: no meetings, no deadlines. During my weekly review later today, I will probably pencil in that I will be working on project X on Tuesday.

Hope this helps;
br,
beyerst

[jpm]

Next action list- with starting a business there are many projects and many next actions for each project. The NA list though is suppose to contain only the NA not the next 30 actions for a project. This doesn't make sense to me to be bouncing from project to project knocking off only the NA for each one.
....

Is it antithetical to GTD to visibly link projects to actions, I really feel like I need that focus. Would it make me a pariah to write an action list with the next 5-15 actions and stick it in the physical folder for that project? So that when I wanted to sit down and work on one project I could open it up, and work through the list?

I think there are a number of people who struggle with this. It's one piece of GTD that I think misses the mark. As I understand it you should actually have a project list in your project folder (or if you use the GTD add-in for outlook in your "Master Project Task" item.) That list could be the next 10-15 Next Actions for the project. However, only the next action should go on your next action list. From a practical standpoint however, I typically like to have several next actions on my next actions list for each project. For example if I have an @call, an @palm (which I use for time with my Palm Tungsten T3), an @errand type next action for a project, I'll put all three on the next action list for that project... as long as none of the actions have pre-requisites. I never know when I might find myself waiting in line where I can make a call, or if my cell is dead or left in the car I can work on the palm...

One of David's key points for me on project management is that you can't set future next actions in stone. Projects are much too fluid. There is no sense planning to the last detail the next 150 actions on a project when you might decide to kill or severely modify the project after action #3... Best to figure out the next 3-5 actions for the project and estimate key outcomes (sub-projects) for things further in the future.

My whole mind rebels at not having my action linked to an outcome, what the reward or result long term for doing it is, and I'm flat out confused at only having one NA for each project, finishing it and not having another NA til I update my NA list and having to hop from project to project as I complete NAs.

That should go on your project plan list or in outlook GTD add-in on the Master Project Item.

Also, in an ongoing schedule with very few if any hard deadlines is it antiGTD to schedule in blocks of time to work on specific projects or groups of NAs to give structure to the day? I'm floundering through borderless unlandmarked days. My entire life feels like highway hypnosis anymore.

I schedule blocks to work on things by project and or by context. It seems to work for me...

Hope this helps...

[kewms]

As others have noted, there is no GTD Police. If something works for you, then it doesn't matter whether it would work for David Allen or not.

If you need the reference and project support material to do work on the project can that become the project folder or at least part of it until the project is completed or are you expected to keep these things seperate?

I'd keep everything with the project. Otherwise, I'd spend my life looking for things.

Next action list- with starting a business there are many projects and many next actions for each project. The NA list though is suppose to contain only the NA not the next 30 actions for a project. This doesn't make sense to me to be bouncing from project to project knocking off only the NA for each one.
Is it antithetical to GTD to visibly link projects to actions, I really feel like I need that focus. Would it make me a pariah to write an action list with the next 5-15 actions and stick it in the physical folder for that project? So that when I wanted to sit down and work on one project I could open it up, and work through the list?

David Allen recommends sorting actions by context rather than project because it's more efficient to batch things like phone calls.

But I don't think he ever says that you shouldn't keep a list of project-specific tasks. If you know what else you'll need to do, I think he would tell you to write it down instead of keeping it in your head. He would just warn you that having something on your main action list that you can't actually do yet is distracting.

In my system, I can create both context-oriented and project-oriented views of my action items, whichever is more convenient at the time.

If only deadlined actions are suppose to go on your calender what do you do with things that will happen on a date but that you don't need to do anything about? someone's visitting in town, it's good to know when they arrive and leave, and I have things planned with them while they're here but the arrival and departure don't require an action on my part but I'd like to see them on my calender, is it anti GTD to pencil it in so I can see it at a glance? or am I trying to shirk doing daily and weekly reviews? if I have to go over the lists so meticulously daily I'm afraid it's just going to become another nagging worry in my head "do I need to go through the list again?" "what did I miss reading on my lists?" "did I review thoroughly?!?!"

Again, there is no GTD police. Do what works for you.

I would definitely put my friend's visit on the calendar. It's a date specific item that matters to you. You can't arrange an impromptu brunch with them if you don't know when to have it.

The risk is in cluttering up your calendar with more tasks than you can possibly do, most of which don't have to be done on that particular day.

Also, in an ongoing schedule with very few if any hard deadlines is it antiGTD to schedule in blocks of time to work on specific projects or groups of NAs to give structure to the day? I'm floundering through borderless unlandmarked days. My entire life feels like highway hypnosis anymore.

Nope, nothing wrong with that at all. I've got plenty of deadlines, but I'm self-employed with very little day-to-day scheduling. If I didn't have that kind of structure I'd never get anything done.

Good luck!

Katherine

[ko]

You've gotten lots of great ideas already, so I'll try to add my comments without duplicating information.

Next action list- with starting a business there are many projects and many next actions for each project. The NA list though is suppose to contain only the NA not the next 30 actions for a project. This doesn't make sense to me to be bouncing from project to project knocking off only the NA for each one.

Like jpm, I have more than one NA on my list for several projects. The key is that these actions aren't dependent on any other task being completed first. Also, you might find you need to limit your NAs, so as not to be overwhelmed.

My work day, like yours, is highly unstructured, and very project oriented (much more so than my home life). I often work through NAs for a specific project. I can do this because most of my work projects consist of next actions in a single context, all of which can be accomplished at my desk. The benefit to working off my NA lists, in addition to taking advantage to unexpected blocks of time, is that when I reach a point in a project where I need to switch contexts to continue, I have lists available for things to do in my existing context.

Is it antithetical to GTD to visibly link projects to actions, I really feel like I need that focus. Would it make me a pariah to write an action list with the next 5-15 actions and stick it in the physical folder for that project? So that when I wanted to sit down and work on one project I could open it up, and work through the list?

Like I said, I do this. All of my project-based NAs start with a word that identifies the project. If you are working off a project list, though, just make sure your NA list stays properly updated. Depending on your implementation (PDA vs. paper, software used), this may or may not be difficult.

If only deadlined actions are suppose to go on your calender what do you do with things that will happen on a date but that you don't need to do anything about? someone's visitting in town, it's good to know when they arrive and leave, and I have things planned with them while they're here but the arrival and departure don't require an action on my part but I'd like to see them on my calender, is it anti GTD to pencil it in so I can see it at a glance?

I put items like this on my calendar. I think that's fine, as long as you're still able to see the things that require action on your part.

[Erin]

TesTeq- I guess part of my problem is I don’t trust my intuition at this point. I don’t think I actually have intuition about this stuff. I think intuition comes from past experience and knowledge which I don’t have a base of. Your answer was helpful as a reminder that it should be reasonable for me. Amazing that I can forget that’s important.

Beyerst- Thank you for being the first to remind me there are no GTD police. I am hesistent because what I’ve done in the past has not worked and I don’t want to lose the spirit of GTD with excessive misguided tweaking then look back two months from now, blame GTD and waddle off to another misguided system. At this point though anything would be an improvement which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, things can only get better I guess!

JPM- good point on over planning. Thank you for the reminder that stuff happens, things change and flexibility’s important. Does having the NA in two places a context based NA list and a “Major Project Task” list ever lead to confusion with having info in multiple places or does it keep straight by doing regular reviews and updating of Project and NA lists? Or am I easily muddled/overthinking this all together?

Kewms- Thanks for the perspective calendars and time blocking. I’m doing everything on paper so I think at my big desk calendar I’ll seperat each day with actions and notes and on my lil calendar I carry in my purse I’ll just put actions so I’ll know for scheduling when I’m not home. I’m starting a homebased business so personal, domestic stuff and business stuff get all intermingled and make a mess not just with physical objects but with allocating time for each and I find it’s easier to shampoo a carpet than work on a project that I’m not familiar and safe feeling with. How’s that for a reason for business failure, I was busy shampooing a carpet! Hopefully blocking time will help with this…

KO- thank you for the reminder that working off multiple NA lists, context and project based will require review and updating of both of them regularly. I’m having issues with most of what I need to do right now doesn’t involve calls, errands, agendas and so on it’s almost all at the computer so my @computer list is nearly a hundred items and my @calls list is only 1 or 2 items. I think right now separating by context for the most part just adds a level of complexity I don’t need until I get farther along. Does this make sense?

Thank you everyone for your time. I know now I need to develop more skills so that I can actually trust my intuition, that my action lists will most likely be separated rather than context at this point. My personal what’s going on calendar will have everything date specific whether it’s an action or not but my portable planner will only have actionable items so I can schedule things without getting muddled about things I don’t have to do but look like I’m suppose to be doing.

I have so many projects right now that aren’t maybe/somedays but they can’t all be worked on at once, does it seem like a bad idea to create a bin on my desk for projects that I decide I most want to work on the next week at my Friday weekly review? Or does this seem too much like using the stack of paper as a nagging reminder to do it?
Again, I don’t know how to say thank you enough to the people who have taken the time to read and respond to my questions both with their interpretations and comments on GTD and their own personal experiences.

[kewms]

Yes, it's very normal to have many more actions and projects than you can work on this week. How you handle them is up to you.

For me, a maybe/someday project is something I'd like to do but haven't committed to moving forward. These go in a (paper or electronic) tickler file at the first date when I might want to reconsider them. I don't need to plan a possible July vacation in New York until at least May, so the flier with discount hotel information goes in my May tickler file.

There are also projects that I'm committed to doing but either can't or won't move forward this week. I can't start an article that's due April 1 until I finish the one due March 1. Until then, everything related to the April 1 article gets thrown in a project support materials folder. I may glance at it during my weekly review to see if there's a simple near-term action (like a phone call or a quick email) connected to it, but mostly it gets ignored, too.

That leaves the things I do plan to move forward this week. These should have specific actions associated with them, which go on the appropriate action lists. (And if actions don't exist, then I need to put a planning session on the same list.) I'll file the relevant materials somewhere convenient, but I depend on my lists to actually remind me of what I'm doing.

So if your bin of current materials is just a convenient place to file things you'll need, that's fine. But each item in that bin should have a specific, immediately doable action associated with it and written on the appropriate action list. If not, it's "stuff," which defeats the purpose of GTD.

Katherine

[gpercy]

I've just finished reading the book, am brand new to GTD, and the one thing I've had the most difficulty wrapping my head around is how to manage the multiple actions of a project.

For example, I identify a new project and add it to my Projects List. Over time I will identify multiple actions that need to occur in order for that Project to be completed. The actions may occur to me all at once in one thinking session, or they may occur to me over the course of a few days. In order to "get it out of my head RAM", I want to immediately record them.

This is where I start to have difficulty. Only the true next action goes onto @nextactions. And so the result is that these various "other" actions are now scattered across multiple lists i.e. @phone, @computer, @errands, @office, @home, @agendas, @waiting, etc.

So when I need to determine what the true "next action" is for that project, I need to scan through each and every one of the above lists, locate the actions that apply to the project, and holding them all in my head, decide which one becomes the true next action!?

And some actions don't fit on any of my lists, and therefor I don't know where to record them. I guess an @misc? but that's probably too dangerous!

My intuition tells me that I'm just not getting this, or I've misunderstood some detail in the book, or the various web articles I've read ... and that's why I chose this topic "Feeling Dense and Not Getting It".

Gerry

[kewms]

No one ever said you can't keep a project-specific list of actions. Why not just create a system that lets you tag a task as belonging to the appropriate context and the appropriate project? If you're making phone calls, look at the @phone list, and if you're working on a project, look at the project list. Problem solved.

Since this is the third time in the last three days that someone has asked a very similar question, I'm starting to worry that maybe I'm the one who's missing something. Does the One True GTD Method really tell people not to do project planning, or what?

As for actions not fitting on your lists, that suggests that you've chosen contexts that don't actually match your working conditions. Create new contexts as needed. An @misc context strikes me as a disaster waiting to happen. For my stuff, most of the "misc" items are either errands, household projects, or stuff that I can do anywhere.

Katherine