A List of Meta-Actions?

[Granite Golem]

Hello all!

Sorry if this question was already raised, I couldn't find it with "Search".

I mean just a list of operations with papers within GTD. They are actions too, but a "meta-actions" - those for organizing and keeping the whole system. They are elementary, but I see that they absolutely have to be written down and learned by heart. I didn't find a separate roster of them in the book, only notes on the technology of processing and organizing. But when we complete an action which took more than 2 minutes, what should we do? If it is an elementary action, we must at least delete it from "NA" list. If it is an action within some project, we must also make a note in that project. These meta-actions must serve as a set of instruments here, don't they?

So I suppose that this list must be something like:

Meta-actions on GTD:
1. To close an action within a project:
1.1. Delete it from "NA" list;
1.2. Pick a document with the corresponding project;
1.3. Mark this action as "done";
1.4. Write the next action on this project into "NA" list.
2. To close an elementary action:
2.1. Delete it from "NA" list.
3. To close a project:
3.1. Move it to "Projects - Completed" folder.

Something like these items belong also to "Waiting For".

Yes, for every man these lists will be slightly different, but basically they'll be identical. And if I want to add, say, archiving of my actions, I must simply add one more sub-item to every meta-action - let it be "2.2. Move to "Archive - Actions" list".

This list is useful when you're just beginning to implement "GTD", but after some time you can return to it and review it.

(I still suspect that there already was a discussion here about such thing - if it was, please, give me a link.)

 

[andersons]

But when we complete an action which took more than 2 minutes, what should we do? If it is an elementary action, we must at least delete it from "NA" list. If it is an action within some project, we must also make a note in that project. . .

So I suppose that this list must be something like:

Meta-actions on GTD:
1. To close an action within a project:
1.1. Delete it from "NA" list;
1.2. Pick a document with the corresponding project;
1.3. Mark this action as "done";
1.4. Write the next action on this project into "NA" list.
2. To close an elementary action:
2.1. Delete it from "NA" list.
3. To close a project:
3.1. Move it to "Projects - Completed" folder.

Yes, for every man these lists will be slightly different, but basically they'll be identical.

Actually, my procedures for this situation are not even close to these. For example, I don't need to do steps 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, or 3.1.

I think your meta-actions are implementation-specific, probably for a paper-based system (?). I believe the goal of the book GTD was to offer a general design that is as implementation-independent as possible, which explains why you didn't find procedures like this in the book.

There have been many implementation-specific discussions. Paper and Outlook implementations in particular have been discussed at length.

 

[Jeff K]

create checklists for system processes

I think you can take care of these "running the system", or meta-actions, as you call them by setting up appropriate checklists - I have a whole Palm Memo category called 'checklists' where I store any sort of regular operational activities such as you have outlined above.