A few questions on processing inbox notes

[alvin90]

Hello fellow GTD lovers! Recently I have implemented GTD methodology into my life just a few days ago, however there are a few questions which I need help. You see I love to write notes about anything, from big stuffs to peanuts, but I am not clear how and where do I process these notes from my in-basket:

"Should I consider buying xxx brand sports car or a family car? Which one is better?"
"Life is rough, but the good thing is I have my wife with me! "
"Practice practice pratice! This is the only way to improve myself!"

Any ideas?

 

[Oogiem]

I am not clear how and where do I process these notes from my in-basket:

"Should I consider buying xxx brand sports car or a family car? Which one is better?"
"Life is rough, but the good thing is I have my wife with me! "
"Practice practice pratice! This is the only way to improve myself!"

Any ideas?

Here's how I'd handle those:

Create a project: Decision made on whether to buy a new car.
In support materials I'd have the brand of sports car and the brand of family car I am considering.
Next action: Use natural planning model to define whether I need a new car and what my real needs vs wants are for a car.

Add the second in my DEVONThink system as a note under Thoughts and Inspiration (except for me it would be I have my husband with me ) I re-read those periodically when I need to get motivated and have collected lots of snippets over the years.

The third would take a bit more time to process. If it's just an inspirational note then file as above. But if it's related to something specific then I might modify or add to the project related to it to perhaps Arrange my schedule so I can practice XX 3 times a week or whatever else makes sense for the project. I'd need to knwo how it relates to my life to decide how to process that note.

Hoep that helps

 

[bcmyers2112]

Some additional thoughts

Here's my take:

"Should I consider buying xxx brand sports car or a family car? Which one is better?"

That's a project. I'd call it "R&D new car" (DA likes to call these types of "look into" or "consider" or "research" projects "R&D" -- I like it too so I now do the same). The question is -- how do you decide? "Decide" isn't a next action, though. You might want to do some web research, talk to your spouse, or something. If you're stymied, maybe the NA is "draft thoughts about what I want from a new car." Or maybe you need to go through all five phases of the natural planning process as suggested by Oogie.

"Life is rough, but the good thing is I have my wife with me! "

I keep a list of inspirational thoughts and quotes. I think something people fail to glean from GTD is that it's not just projects and next actions that you need to get off your mind and into a reviewable format. Your favorite quotes can take up psychic RAM just as much as things you need to do. That's why DA recommends keeping lists as part of the GTD process.

"Practice practice pratice! This is the only way to improve myself!"

Practice what? To improve how? And why? This may be something you have to engage at the higher level horizons. Your life's purpose and long range goals might help you define what you need to perfect through practice.

Or if you already know what you need to practice, maybe you just need to incorporate it into your calendar.

Without really knowing you, though, I'm kinda spitballing. I'd recommend giving GTD another read and maybe take some notes on the sections about natural planning, checklists, and horizons of focus.

Keep at GTD! It's worth the effort.

 

[mcogilvie]

When processing, it's always a good idea to ask the "What is it?" question. Some possibilities are projects, next action, project support, calendar, and well, you know the GTD litany. But there are specialized collections, like motivational aphorisms. Some people put such items in a special database, others put them randomly in a tickler file; what you do is up to you. That brings me to the organizing phase, where it's always good to ask "Where and when do I want to see this again?" Maybe the answer is "When I'm working on project X," or "When I'm feeling like I need a boost." It should be your answer, though. It doesn't have to be the same answer always: projects finish, systems evolve. But it always should be your answer.

 

[bcmyers2112]

Of course

But it always should be your answer.

I don't think anyone is saying otherwise. alvin90 asked for ideas, and so I provided a few.

My GTD practice has benefited from people providing examples of how they do it. I'd say I reject 75% - 90% of what other people do but at least it sparks my thinking, and the other 10% - 25% makes it worth sifting through the stuff I won't use.

 

[TesTeq]

Processing.

"Should I consider buying xxx brand sports car or a family car? Which one is better?"

Buy both. Next Action: visit dealer and buy one sports car and one family car. @Errands

"Life is rough, but the good thing is I have my wife with me! "

Put this note in the reference file "Inspirational Quotes". (

 

[treelike]

"Should I consider buying xxx brand sports car or a family car? Which one is better?"

To me this is a project, unless I can't afford to buy a car in which case it would be a SDMB. In fact, scrub that, a purchase of that size would be a 30,000ft goal because it would take me at least 1-2 years of umming and ah-ing before I made the decision.

"Life is rough, but the good thing is I have my wife with me! "
"Practice practice pratice! This is the only way to improve myself!"

These kind of thoughts, while immensely agreeable, I have come to the conclusion are better to just drop. Sure, I could add them to some kind of list, but then I would have another list to review. It might trigger some rethink at the higher levels but otherwise I throw them away now that they are out of my immediate consciousness (although still in my subconscious where they should be )

 

[mcogilvie]

I don't think anyone is saying otherwise. alvin90 asked for ideas, and so I provided a few.

My GTD practice has benefited from people providing examples of how they do it. I'd say I reject 75% - 90% of what other people do but at least it sparks my thinking, and the other 10% - 25% makes it worth sifting through the stuff I won't use.

No criticism intended. I don't disagree with you. I was moving up from examples to the ideas behind them.

 

[TesTeq]

A threefold nature of car buying.

To me this is a project, unless I can't afford to buy a car in which case it would be a SDMB. In fact, scrub that, a purchase of that size would be a 30,000ft goal because it would take me at least 1-2 years of umming and ah-ing before I made the decision.

It's a threefold nature of car buying:

1. Can't afford to buy a car --> Someday/Maybe.
2. Can afford to buy one car --> Active Project / Next Action: Evaluate options and make a decision @brainstorming.
3. Can afford to buy more than one car --> Next Action: Visit a dealer and buy one sports car and one family car @Errands

 

[bcmyers2112]

Gotcha

No criticism intended. I don't disagree with you. I was moving up from examples to the ideas behind them.

Gotcha. Sometimes the internet is like that Three's Company episode where they had some kind of misunderstanding. Anyway, my bad. But we're on the same page now.

 

[bcmyers2112]

When it's off your mind

mcogilvie's post got me thinking. In a lot of these GTD discussions we tend to talk about the mechanics of our particular systems more than the thought process behind them. I also wonder if a lot of GTD'ers -- myself included -- tend to overthink things too.

I think mcogilvie has a good point. GTD is a thought process. Your lists, files, whatever are just a way to capture and hold the results of that thinking.

The thought process is actually relatively simple. Something is either actionable or it's not. An actionable item is something you choose to delegate or you don't. A non-actionable item is either trash or it's not.

I remember a podcast of a talk DA gave a while back -- don't remember exactly when or where -- during which he took questions from the audience. One fellow asked, "How do you know when a project is planned enough?"

DA answered, "When it's off your mind."

The audience member began to try to explain why he was asking the question. DA interrupted and repeated, "When it's off your mind."

Again the audience member tried to explain the context behind the question, and DA again cut him off and repeated even more emphatically, "When it's off your mind."

I think DA was trying to tell this guy something.

Seriously, I think the advice applies here. You'll know when you've processed and organized something properly when it's off your mind. It's that simple.

 

[treelike]

It's a threefold nature of car buying:

1. Can't afford to buy a car --> Someday/Maybe.
2. Can afford to buy one car --> Active Project / Next Action: Evaluate options and make a decision @brainstorming.
3. Can afford to buy more than one car --> Next Action: Visit a dealer and buy one sports car and one family car @Errands

4. Decide you don't actually need a car and buy a bicycle instead

 

[mcogilvie]

I remember a podcast of a talk DA gave a while back -- don't remember exactly when or where -- during which he took questions from the audience. One fellow asked, "How do you know when a project is planned enough?"

DA answered, "When it's off your mind."

The audience member began to try to explain why he was asking the question. DA interrupted and repeated, "When it's off your mind."

Again the audience member tried to explain the context behind the question, and DA again cut him off and repeated even more emphatically, "When it's off your mind."

I think DA was trying to tell this guy something.

Seriously, I think the advice applies here. You'll know when you've processed and organized something properly when it's off your mind. It's that simple.

A great story I hadn't heard before. It's a lot like the similarly repeated advice of an expert on meditation to a beginner: "Just sit." Thanks for sharing.

 

[TesTeq]

The most reasonable option?

4. Decide you don't actually need a car and buy a bicycle instead

It may be the most reasonable option.

 

[goncalomata]

When it's off your mind - and different review pace

Totally agree.
IF you have a nice thought about your life's philosophy, you probably want to review that sometime in your future. That's why something inside you is telling you not to just let it go.

I don't agree to just drop it not to overload your system.
If you keep it in the same reviewing process than all the rest, then you'll have the review issue of too many items, yes.

But imagine you put it in a #review every 6 months# list... that's my trick for these. And I really don't mind to go over 15 or 20 inspirational quotes every 6 months. I purge them a bit every now and then and that's it. (I have a specific calendar for implementing different review paces alerts)

Gonçalo Gil Mata
www.WHATsTheTRICK.com

 

[cwoodgold]

4. Decide you don't actually need a car and buy a bicycle instead

Yay, treelike! Often there's a good way of doing things that's simple and relatively natural, such as clotheslines or neighbourly chats.