GTD at home

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progress

Registered
Hi all,

GTD is working well at work (even though it is still a work in progress) but I don't seem to be able to get it off the ground at home. Latest and loudest (usually my youngest!) seems to rule and by the end of the day there is nothing left for GTD.

Would you have any tips and ideas on how to get GTD implemented at home and as a family to get things moving forward with less stress and less fire fighting?

Any advice welcome!

Thanks
 
mganzel

mganzel

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How are you implementing at work? ie: paper, digital, etc.

Do you feel like you are "stuck" in how to get it started or you have a plan and just don't have time to implement?
 
Cpu_Modern

Cpu_Modern

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In my humbling experience it is very important to talk to everyone about everything. Scratch that. You have to listen to everyone about every thing. Every thing you want to get done, ask everbody what they think of the thing in question and what they want. You will be amazed how different people in the sam freaking family see the same things!

Then you need buy-in for whatever it is they want the solution to be. At this point it is important for you to clarify with yourself what you want. Resolve conflicts.

I cannot tell you, nor does GTD, how to live your life, but I observe a lot of things that are clearly without good purpose or good intentions. For example honey-doo lists just to spoil the week-end for the SO and other such nonsense.

What kind of school do your kids go to? Because that culture, what they encounter there, will be brought into your home. Do you want that?

A lot of parents want their kids to fulfill the dreams they once had. Please?

So, again, you live your life on your terms, but as far as I can see, everybody needs to be on the same page AND on the same side. Then and only then can you formalize a PURPOSE STATEMENT, GUIDING PRINCIPLES and a SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME VISION for your GTD-PROJECTS.

Children will act out the way they see theire parents act. They are like a mirror. If they see you having an attitude, chances are they will produce that type of behaviour too. If you break your commitments, they will loose trust in you.

I would start with so-called quality time. What are you doing together as a bonding experience? Get this up and running first.
 
T

treelike

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progress said:
Hi all,

GTD is working well at work (even though it is still a work in progress) but I don't seem to be able to get it off the ground at home. Latest and loudest (usually my youngest!) seems to rule and by the end of the day there is nothing left for GTD.

Would you have any tips and ideas on how to get GTD implemented at home and as a family to get things moving forward with less stress and less fire fighting?

Any advice welcome!

Thanks
Click to expand...
Is the main problem that your youngest child is taking almost all of your attention and therefore you have no actual time to focus on even minimal GTD processing?
 
P

progress

Registered
Hi there,
thank you for your replies. They are very much appreciated

mganzel,
My system at work is in Outlook and as I work on the computer all the time everything is in there with the exception of a few paper reference materials. However as others have access to my inbox, calendar etc I keep my work and home systems completely separate.
For my system at home I use paper and my Microsoft phone. I used to be 100% paper but found that carrying paper next actions lists was not handy and didn't work so I transferred them to one note on my phone as I have it on me most of the time. I currently don't have a home computer (that's one of my project that's been stuck for months now). I capture fairly well but then things go downhill and one note just on the phone doesn't give me the possibility to move things from one list to another easily as a project progresses or to add deadlines or dates entered in the system (unless I haven't managed to work that one out which is quite possible as I am not overly tech savvy).

Cpu_Modern,
Getting the buy-in of my kids (even though they are only 7 and 10) is not something I had thought about but it makes sense as well as carving more bonding time on top of every day dinner time. Do you have any tip on getting kids buy in? and adapting my system to work with them?

treelike,
You've hit the nail on the head! Capturing is fine and after that it goes downhill. It might be because my system is not nimble enough as I find processing quite cumbersome and time consuming.

it looks like I have a project to adapt GTD to family life and improve/change my system to get through to processing more easily. This feels rather daunting I have to say! Is thinking about it allowed as a next action?!!
 
T

treelike

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progress said:
You've hit the nail on the head! Capturing is fine and after that it goes downhill. It might be because my system is not nimble enough as I find processing quite cumbersome and time consuming.
Click to expand...
I think I benefit in this regard from having a very simple setup, although it did take a long time to evolve. All you really need for the core everyday part of the GTD system is Projects, Next Actions and Contexts (and of course calendar). Start dates and deadlines can be left out. If something really is time sensitive then the date can be added to the title of the Project or Next Action, or a reminder can be put in your calendar.

it looks like I have a project to adapt GTD to family life and improve/change my system to get through to processing more easily. This feels rather daunting I have to say! Is thinking about it allowed as a next action?!!
Click to expand...
Of course, but when are you going to get time to think? I'd say it's more of an Area of Focus than a Project. I think GTD is something you can get better and better at, it never really ends.
 
mganzel

mganzel

Registered
progress said:
I currently don't have a home computer (that's one of my project that's been stuck for months now). I capture fairly well but then things go downhill and one note just on the phone doesn't give me the possibility to move things from one list to another easily as a project progresses or to add deadlines or dates entered in the system (unless I haven't managed to work that one out which is quite possible as I am not overly tech savvy).
Click to expand...

Only being able to work on my phone in the home setting would be a deal breaker in my world. I can not STAND to work from such a small screen. Do you have a tablet? That would be better than a phone. Maybe set it up in the hub of your work area (kitchen?) and use it from there? Otherwise just muddle through the constraints of the phone and don't sweat it until you can get your ideal system up and running with a desktop/laptop.
 
TesTeq

TesTeq

Registered
mganzel said:
Otherwise just muddle through the constraints of the phone and don't sweat it until you can get your ideal system up and running with a desktop/laptop.
Click to expand...
What constraints are there? Leading applications (Omnifocus, Nozbe, Wunderlist etc.) have beautiful and carefully designed small screen implementations.
 
bcmyers2112

bcmyers2112

Registered
mganzel said:
Only being able to work on my phone in the home setting would be a deal breaker in my world. I can not STAND to work from such a small screen. Do you have a tablet? That would be better than a phone. Maybe set it up in the hub of your work area (kitchen?) and use it from there? Otherwise just muddle through the constraints of the phone and don't sweat it until you can get your ideal system up and running with a desktop/laptop.
Click to expand...

One of the things DA recommends is making your system portable, which makes sense. You're not going to be motivated to keep a system of reminders about everything you have that's potentially actionable if you can't update it when you're away from a workstation. I would suggest that if someone has a portable system one "can not STAND" it would be worth finding a different tool. As @TesTeq says, there are plenty of applications that have smartphone versions that are very functional and easy to use.
 
S

Stew

Registered
I'll echo what others have said, that your system must be simple and accessible to be effective. I'm still using a paper notebook for this reason, and my computer is not in a central place in the house. Others have recommended app solutions such as Nozbe and Wunderlist - both are great.

I too am GTDing with a child at home - and it's tough! I've resigned myself to accept that sometimes it's best to have my attention on the latest and loudest. I need to remind myself that the higher goal is keeping appropriate focus on what matters most.

One of the GTD podcasts talked about introducing GTD to kids and teens. It's well worth listening:

http://gettingthingsdone.com/2016/06/episode-18-sharing-gtd-with-kids-teens/
 
mganzel

mganzel

Registered
bcmyers2112 said:
One of the things DA recommends is making your system portable, which makes sense. You're not going to be motivated to keep a system of reminders about everything you have that's potentially actionable if you can't update it when you're away from a workstation. I would suggest that if someone has a portable system one "can not STAND" it would be worth finding a different tool. As @TesTeq says, there are plenty of applications that have smartphone versions that are very functional and easy to use.
Click to expand...

I am very blessed and fortunate that I get to work 95% from home. I do not need to use my mobile device very often at all. I do have my Outlook (One Note) on my phone so I can access my system if needed but that would only be in an emergency situation. The bulk of my work is done on my laptop. If my life were more mobile then I'd be using a paper based planner for my system.
 
Oogiem

Oogiem

Registered
progress said:
Capturing is fine and after that it goes downhill. It might be because my system is not nimble enough as I find processing quite cumbersome and time consuming.

it looks like I have a project to adapt GTD to family life and improve/change my system to get through to processing more easily. This feels rather daunting I have to say! Is thinking about it allowed as a next action?!!
Click to expand...
For me the project would be Processing my inputs is easy and effortless and fun to do. Much simpler than trying to change family life. :) And Yes, thinking about it and brainstorming new ides is most definitely an acceptable next action. Given the importance of capture plus processing you might even consider running the entire natural planning model against the problem of processing what you capture and see if that helps.
 
Jodie E. Francis

Jodie E. Francis

GTD Novice
Jodie E. Francis

Jodie E. Francis

GTD Novice
I do use Siri, but only for quick capture of reminders. It is particularly useful when driving.
The accuracy isn't great, so I usually have to clean up the entry later, during processing.
And of course she can't organize my lists for me... :)
 
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