Getting to grips with a real system... GTD!

[SpirosGyrosAU]

I have some good news and bad news....

The good news is that my filing has improved to a more centralised manner. Folders named A-Z and then I place a sub folder relating to the subject/topic.

The bad new is that Im having a difficult time implementing my initial system.
I've gathered all my notes which contain all my TODO items but I'm having a hard time seperating them into the various categories.

I work for a software company and administer all their IT systems and provide IT support. I work on many facets of the organisation (all relating to IT).

Is there anyone from Australia who can help me in defining/building my system so I have the courage to move on?

Yours in union,

Ross

[Brent]

Categories? I'm surprised by that term. GTD doesn't use categories per se.

Can you give us specific examples? That is, can you literally post what's written on one of these TODOs that you can't categorize?

[Mark Jantzen]

One thing I would suggest is keeping this stuff REALLY clear and simple. I don't work in IT but I should be able to read your Projects list and Next Actions lists and be able to understand what you're trying to accomplish.

For example, "User needs account details changed in the system"

I don't know how long this will take so I'll call it a project:"Change User Account Details"

Next I would take out a sheet of paper and write down as much as I know:
- Who is the user?
- What account details do they need changed?
- How long would this take?
- Do I need permissions or help from any other source?

If this whole process takes two minutes or less then just change the details (two minute rule). Otherwise, don't start working on it because we are processing not doing.

Here's the tricky next action part. When you decide to sit down and start working toward completion what's the VERY first thing to do? That might take a moment to figure out. Is it a call or an e-mail or log-in to a system?

Write it down as a next action. Let's say you need some information from the user. The next action might be, "E-mail user re: account details"

Organizing these next actions by context sounds more complicated than it is. If the computers are down and electricity's out then you can't send e-mail or do things on the web. But, I can start a mind map. There are things I can only do at home so there's no point of having reminders when I'm at work.

Sounds obvious and simple but there's actually a little bit of work involved. The good news is the habits will come quickly.

Good luck!

Mark

[unstuffed]

The good news is that my filing has improved to a more centralised manner. Folders named A-Z and then I place a sub folder relating to the subject/topic.

That's good, although don't go deeper than folders and sub-folders. Given the sophistication of searching these days, you could even just shove everything into one huge folder and search (although I generally don't recommend that for most people).

The bad new is that Im having a difficult time implementing my initial system.
I've gathered all my notes which contain all my TODO items but I'm having a hard time seperating them into the various categories.

I'm with the others on this: not sure what you mean. Can you give a couple of examples?

I work for a software company and administer all their IT systems and provide IT support. I work on many facets of the organisation (all relating to IT).

I suspect (and correct me if I'm wrong) that you're asking how to categorise your tasks as part of some larger, over-arching framework. In that case, in GTD terms, you're looking at 20-30,000 foot level, I think.

If that's the case, you don't really need to assign your tasks to a category, unless you want to analyse your workload in terms of how much time you spend on each area of work. If you want to do that, the easiest thing might be to make up a spreadsheet template, with columns for various attributes, and carry-over totals, and just enter the stuff as you do it.

By the way, you said that you sometimes forget to email clients when you've done the work. Do you use email templates? Because that would make it super-fast and almost unforgettable: you just bang their name into the appropriate template ("I fixed your login details, X, so you're good to go") and it's done.

Is there anyone from Australia who can help me in defining/building my system so I have the courage to move on?

I'm an Aussie, Ross. And just from the information you've given, I suspect there are a couple of aspects of your system that aren't getting enough of a workout. Let me know if I'm wrong.

It sounds like you're working reactively rather than proactively: is that correct? That is, do you start the day with a plan, which you vary according to what comes in? Or do you simply front up to work and start working on something, then get distracted by the next shiny (or shouty) thing, and the next, and the next, and never get back to the original thing?

If so, then you need to do some (a) planning and (b) reviewing. They'll give you some idea of what you'd like to get done each day, and how much of it you actually completed. And they're extremely helpful in dealing with the feeling of overwhelm, and in stopping things falling through the cracks.

I think that's enough for one post: let me know whether I'm on the right track or not!

Cheers,
Alison