Completely stuck on visualizing the GTD Next Actions

[gandalfrat]

Hi,

GTD Newb here.

I'm totally stuck on how to keep the Next Actions list coordinated with the projects. 95% of what I'm doing is project-related. Do I have a next Actions list in each project folder which I then process alongside a general "next actions" list (or are there multiple lists)? I read the book over and over again, I think I have it and then I cannot get concrete with my actual workflow. It's driving me mad.

I travel a lot too and I cannot figure out how everyone drags around all their project folders. It also really puts a pinch on the next actions "media" I can use. I find it totally clumsy to try and be on the computer all the time to put in my next actions (in the GTD Outlook Add-in from NetCentrics for example)-- it's really clunky to try and add a next action which is not an email via that add-in. Am I missing something stupid simple there?

Back to the Next Actions list... I see all the debates over moleskin vs. ring binder vs. clipboard. I really like the moleskin approach only because of its portability (I'm using cheaper Composition notebooks until I can things down) but I have a hell of a time keeping all the lists straight due to the pages filling up and then needing to add pages in places were I cannot add pages (Comp notebooks are the small bound). I'm also going a little bit crazy trying to get it straight on where to record next actions (see my first paragraph).

I think I'm overthinking all this but I just need to get jump started somehow *how* to get the system rolling.

Thanks for suggestions.

[Dan Owen]

A few questions about your situation:

(1) What is your travel schedule? Is it predictable? How long are you away from your desk, or your home, or your office?
(2) At work, are there many interruptions, or are you able to work for long lengths of time on your projects?
(3) How do you get your work done? Can you focus for long lengths of time, or short? Do your projects involve one context or many?
(4) What are your capture and processing tools? How is your system set up?
(5) How big are your project files? What's typically in them?

Thanks,
Dan

[gandalfrat]

A few questions about your situation:

1) What is your travel schedule? Is it predictable? How long are you away from your desk, or your home, or your office?

In the last few weeks, very little but when it happens, usually 4 or 5 days then back for weekend, then out 4 or 5 days for 3 to 4 weeks and then there is a rest period. Economy has made it sporadic.

(2) At work, are there many interruptions, or are you able to work for long lengths of time on your projects?

Lots of interruptions. Emergency calls from customers and stakeholders usually.

(3) How do you get your work done? Can you focus for long lengths of time, or short? Do your projects involve one context or many?

Generally short bursts of 20 to 30 minutes when a scheduled call has cancelled or ended early.
Context: This is where I'm having trouble. I really have two contexts: @computer and @notes. I take copious notes by hand because I tend to draw diagrams and relate words together graphically... tried mindmapping but it's just too slow when you're having a conversation with a customer.

(4) What are your capture and processing tools? How is your system set up?

Capture is either word on computer or notepad (the Composition book I mentioned but I think I need to separate notes from the Comp book because I can fill the comp book in about 4 weeks and then my context lists are screwed up because I have to xfer (haven't gotten that far, just anticipating)

(5) How big are your project files? What's typically in them?

Project files span four locations: 20% - paper notes, 10% hard drive files (attachements from emails, documents from network file servers which I've saved), ~70% emails and <1% links to Portal document shares where some of the project documents may be shared with other project stakeholders. I have tried filing all the stuff via the Outlook add-in for the last two categories and I was anticipating scanning everything from notes but I find that I simply don't have the time to do all the processing that way. I have to save what i can in the format I can.

I have 30 - 50 projects (customers, internal projects and personal projects going at any one time). Just 10 of the folders would be too much to carry for the projects. How do mobile people handle that?


Thanks very much

[Dan Owen]

I'd like to know a little bit more about what you're capturing and how you're processing it.

Presumably, the notes you're taking in meetings and phone calls and so forth contain two different kinds of information: specific next tasks on the one hand, and information pertaining to projects on the other. I'm guessing you use the information to create and perform tasks to move the projects toward completion. Are these assumptions correct?

How are your composition books organized? By project? By context? Random lists of everything that you then process into lists that live elsewhere in the composition books? Are these bound composition books, or looseleaf binders? What is the relationship between the Word capture documents you create and the notes you take in the composition books? Do they contain the same kind of information, but simply suit different kinds of interactions with clients -- comp book when you meet in person, Word docs when you're on the phone? How do you decide which capture method to use?

Do you have a system for processing these notes? A schedule for extracting tasks and putting them on task lists, or a procedure for gathering "support material" for projects and putting them somewhere? How and when do the contents of these comp books and Word documents get processed?

In the 30 minute blocks of time that you have free, how do you decide what to do? How does your decision-making process integrate with your system for capturing and processing?

* * *

A few things leap out at me in your answers so far:

"4 to 5 days [of travel away from home] for 3 to 4 weeks then back for the weekend."

"Lots of interruptions. Emergency calls from customers"

"Generally short bursts of 20 to 30 minutes when a scheduled call has cancelled or ended early."

"tried mindmapping but it's just too slow "

"I find that I simply don't have the time to do all the processing that way. I have to save what i can in the format I can. "

"I have 30 - 50 projects (customers, internal projects and personal projects going at any one time). "

This sounds like a very, very challenging work environment, so your system, above all, can't get in the way. It has to facilitate your working very efficiently while handling frequent interruptions, dealing with emergencies, and moving forward on 30-50 projects simultaneously. (Tell me something I don't know, right?)

[gandalfrat]

I'd like to know a little bit more about what you're capturing and how you're processing it.

Presumably, the notes you're taking in meetings and phone calls and so forth contain two different kinds of information: specific next tasks on the one hand, and information pertaining to projects on the other. I'm guessing you use the information to create and perform tasks to move the projects toward completion. Are these assumptions correct?

Yes. most of these have been added to a straight, long list of todos. Other times, I get so behind processing the notes, that things simply remain undone or fall of the list due to time expiration. Not many but enought to indicate, "I've got a (growing) problem here".

How are your composition books organized? By project? By context? Random lists of everything that you then process into lists that live elsewhere in the composition books? Are these bound composition books, or looseleaf binders?

bound composition books-- the $1.99 Wally World kind-- 9.75" x 7.5in wide ruled, 100 sheet black tape bound books. Not the most professional looking (and thus my interest in the moleskin books).

>>by project? by context?<<

This is exactly the struggle I'm having. What are my "contexts"?

Unless I'm in a meeting, I'm generally at a computer (my boss has a strict "lids down" policy during meetings and I try to encourage that in the group I manage too... it's just too tempting for people to jump on email and space off.. even directly in front of customers)-- so that means I'm on paper in about 50% of meetings; the rest (phone/web conferecne) meetings in Word (or OneNote-- that's another nut I'm trying to crack here-- is how OneNote could potentially help and not just be another toy). I'm really still trying to figure out "what's best". Sometimes I get so frustrated in the middle of a Word or OneNote document (customer is describing their computer system architecture or I need to draw arrows and lines between words to help relate stuff) that I just go back to paper in the middle of a note-taking session. It's not a training thing... I think I must just be a paper person due to speed, lack of patience (or lack of ability to keep train of thought in a meeting and scribe things on computer).

Then, on top of that, you may get a steady stream of emails with random bits of information-- other people following up; other people adding action items; other questions over the days following-- how do you merge that all together into a comprehensible action item list which orders, sequences and captures *everything*?

What is the relationship between the Word capture documents you create and the notes you take in the composition books? Do they contain the same kind of information, but simply suit different kinds of interactions with clients -- comp book when you meet in person, Word docs when you're on the phone? How do you decide which capture method to use?

** same kind of information, but simply suit different kinds of interactions with clients **

you got it. Decision is often times simply the convenience factor. It takes 2 seconds to "boot up" the note pad when you sit down for a conversation with someone, 2 minutes (if you're lucky) to get all set with a computer-- exaggerating but invariably something happens if you're really pressed to put something down electronically; paper seems to never fail.

Do you have a system for processing these notes? A schedule for extracting tasks and putting them on task lists, or a procedure for gathering "support material" for projects and putting them somewhere? How and when do the contents of these comp books and Word documents get processed?

No. this is what I meant by trying to crack the code on the "Next Steps" comments throughout the GTD book-- I just wish I could see some pictures of what the book is describing and in one end to end setting-- the book tries to peel back the layers of the onion and I'm just like, "give the process, the whole process and nothing but the process in one straight shot so I can jump start this thing". My issue is that I write all kinds of stuff down, tons of it, then I sift through for action items and sometimes, in order to maintain enough informatoin on the action item to not forget it, I end up copying large sections of the notes into the action item itself so I have context when I review later. I have great short term memory but my long term memory of conversations last week or last month with customers is horrible. That's what caught my eye about GTD is that the whole promise is to get things off your mind and keep you on top of stuff by capturing and then organizing. On top of that, I'm drowning in email (upwards of 200 relevant emails per day (volume is more like 300 but only 2/3ds of those are to "me" directly-- the rest are internal corporate spam or informational only from other people).

In the 30 minute blocks of time that you have free, how do you decide what to do? How does your decision-making process integrate with your system for capturing and processing?

Urgency. to use the Covey terminology I'm constantly fighting the "Important but not Urgent" and the "Urgent but not Important". they're heavily pitted against the Urgent and Important buckets. In my world, everybody else's emergency is my emergency.

* * *

A few things leap out at me in your answers so far:

"4 to 5 days [of travel away from home] for 3 to 4 weeks then back for the weekend."

"Lots of interruptions. Emergency calls from customers"

"Generally short bursts of 20 to 30 minutes when a scheduled call has cancelled or ended early."

"tried mindmapping but it's just too slow "

"I find that I simply don't have the time to do all the processing that way. I have to save what i can in the format I can. "

"I have 30 - 50 projects (customers, internal projects and personal projects going at any one time). "

This sounds like a very, very challenging work environment, so your system, above all, can't get in the way. It has to facilitate your working very efficiently while handling frequent interruptions, dealing with emergencies, and moving forward on 30-50 projects simultaneously. (Tell me something I don't know, right?)

Everyone's got their cross to bear. I manage a team of 7 consultants spread across the country with several additional dotted line (project resources) reporting in internationally. I guess I don't think it's too out of control when I know that there are people who have much larger teams than mine. Really need to crack into the management of next steps across these projects and then general nexts steps (meeting agendas, personal todos, special assignments from manager etc).

[Linada]

If you are really a paper person, i wouldn't try and force a computer system. That might sound a bit mad considering you have a lot in emails, but you can always reference them on paper(date, from whom, etc)

There are a lot of people who use a moleskine for the system, but the problem as you said is the inflexibility in the pages. You said you fill them up very quickly anyway. You could use one as capture tool and have a paper planner for your lists etc. There is a free article about how one would look in the shop. free articles

Maybe the workflow diagrams would also be useful for you. I personally like the advanced diagram, as that shows some basic principles as well as the basic workflow. All the articles are worth reading really, if just for rekindling motivation.

[Pav]

When I set up my system or want to upgrade it I ask myself a question from the David's book: "What I want to be reminded of and when?". Only you can decide what to do and when, nobody else can do (except your boss though). So ask yourself that question and then put the reminder into that particular place or place in time where you want to be reminded about it. When see it, do it.

[Dan Owen]

The system is very simple: capture, process, organize, review, and do. Implementation in the environment you're working in, and under the constraints you're working under, is going to be very challenging, but that's going to be true of any system you try to implement.

I have one more question for you: is there another outcome that you're responsible for creating besides dealing with the emergency calls of clients and the phone/e-mail traffic with consultants? Is that the Project work that you do, or is there another outcome? I guess I'm asking what deliverables you're responsible for.

Hang in there. GTD can work for you. Thanks for patiently answering my questions in such detail. In the next post I promise I'll give specific ideas for solving the problems you're dealing with.

[gandalfrat]

I have one more question for you: is there another outcome that you're responsible for creating besides dealing with the emergency calls of clients and the phone/e-mail traffic with consultants? Is that the Project work that you do, or is there another outcome? I guess I'm asking what deliverables you're responsible for.

Hang in there. GTD can work for you. Thanks for patiently answering my questions in such detail. In the next post I promise I'll give specific ideas for solving the problems you're dealing with.

Hi Dan,

thanks for the deep dive here.

Responsibilities are two-fold:

1. Deal with the emergencies as that is sort of my team's "Priority 1" activity. We can pass those off in short order but, as manager, a lot of my job is heading off or redirecting emergencies to appropriate resources in the organization and our group is sort of last resort, "smoke jumpers" who are sent in if there is an emergency or need of someone to head off an emergency.

2. Formal projects are run based on field experience (from emergencies and other less urgent work). Typical Proj. Mgmt stuff applied here. Just that I must keep track of all these projects. As I indicated at the beginning of my post, it's this area that I'm most interested in getting a handle on first (95% of my challenge as I see it). i can deal with the emergency calls etc. I don't say that thinking I can get by with applying GTD to one part and not the other-- just that I have to address the project-related stuff ASAP.

I guess I'm surprised that you continue to mention that my situation seems "very challenging"-- seems like more and more of us are wearing multiple hats in our daily work these days.

Thanks again for your assistance.

[gandalfrat]

Maybe the workflow diagrams would also be useful for you. I personally like the advanced diagram, as that shows some basic principles as well as the basic workflow. All the articles are worth reading really, if just for rekindling motivation.

Hi Linada,

Several sessions of "staring at" the advanced diagram were what prompted the question.

I'm trying to visualize how I'll setup my system to collect next actions from all activities (work projects (majority) and otherwise without duplicating a lot of effort-- having project next steps handy "by project" while at the same time having those next steps in context of the overall "next steps" list). The Outlook add-in (the NetCentric one) does this when you look at Tasks but then is very klutzy (IMHO) when it comes to adding tasks (next actions) which are not based on an email but based on notes.

One thing yours and Pav's comments helped me think about his that every meeting with all my project managers and customers needs to have a summary "Next Steps" at the top of the notes so I can quickly get those transferred to the computer and thus into a consolidated Next Actions list. I've been leaving those buried in the body of the notes with an NA flag in the left column but after 6 or 7 pages of notes, it's easy to get lost in all of those... they have to be summarized in one location -- I may try going directly to a list but I want my project leads and even customers to provide some of this effort (also priority is an issue too).

BTW-- when I said "picture" I meant actual pictures of how people manage their "stuff" -- what folders do they use, what do their notebooks look like. A little bit of this has scrolled across the GTD email list but most of the time people are showing pix of their shiny, empty desks and not "how they got there".