About "E-mail topic - should it be focused on at the beginning of trying to implement GTD or not

[TimBourne]

Thanks for checking out that teeny tiny course. I agree that your own inner knowing will guide you best to what is right for you. For instance, you mention trying to increase your comprehesion. Let's converse here about how things in our lives are related to GTD. Is there anything you are reading about in David Allen's books that you would like to discuss here?

ITM

Yeah I am not sure that "tiny" course you shared has negative effects? It is something which is at my skill level
Smaller PDFs are easier to comprehend.
I actually tried to post an attached "file" pdf - of the PDF I used making highlights/notes- but for some reason it didn't or couldn't upload with post like I previously have uploaded a PDF file in this forum

I am right now not actually reading the one "GTD revised edition paper back" I have - after I made a forum post about documenting myself reading it

What else?

I wonder why Polifax didn't answer the questions in my previous post here?

"ST

 

[TimBourne]

Yes, sometimes it's not clear what is the right thing to do in this moment. I've read here in the GTD Forum that as we get our "stuff" off our minds and into a trusted system, we begin to become more intuitive about what is the right thing for us to do in this moment. It appears to take practice.

I hope I will not be intruding by mentioning this: I believe I read above that you developed a physical illness and/or mental disability due to receiving mercury in a medication. I'm not sure I have that right, and I apologize if I'm mixed up about this. I'm very sorry to hear about these challenges. It must have been a shock to suddenly have this happen to you. This certainly could make things difficult. I have heard of chelation in regard to removing toxic heavy metals. I hope you are receiving the treatment and help you need.

Acceptance of your feelings about this, whatever they are, may give you the strength and resiliance to weather this difficulty better as you are recovering. Here's a link to a teeny tiny email course I recommend called "Get Bigger than What's Bugging You." If you want to give it a try, click the link and follow the directions: https://focusingresources.com/gbe-signup-page/

Also, taking action, even the smallest step, can help you generate the energy to move forward. I hear that you're reading one of David Allen's books. Me, too. I'm reading his revised GTD book.

Best wishes!

Quote

“

20 02

About stress, reacting to stress, more peace inside (karma) 44

Example Emma and son loose patience, loose temper 141

Been here where lost temper type comment



Pause connect body, says hello to what’s in you

Shows that its not all you

Profound shift



Then she breathed and said something in me wanting to explode



452 can feel like don’t have control over emotional states

Three steps, pause, connect with body, three say hello something in your body
[

]

 

[TimBourne]

words for user polifax @Mrs-Polifax on GTDfourm
When I first - looked at the course you recommended by susan no Anne cornell @annewisercor ... - I first tried to make edits to it in the PDF document and then wrote down notes on paper sheet
this is linked to multiple things
STN

 

[TimBourne]

ITM @Mrs-Polifax I am not sure why haven't been able to respond to myself tagging you in this thread- maybe it is because don't have notifications turned on for this specific one? Right? STN

 

[TimBourne]

ITM worth test @Mrs-Polifax again?" STN

 

[TimBourne]

TimBourne,

Sorry for your challenges . . . remember we all have challenges to some degree or another -- the Emotions and the Imagination has its way of unravelling even the 'best of the best' in this Vale of Tears . . . life can be quite perplexing . . . all we can do is our best and usually the slower the better so each step comes with it a reasonable degree of certainty

When I am 'feeling unhinged' I go slower and seek more and more counsel from more and more people before doing things that can have out of control consequences

To avoid becoming confused from different sources of counsel, I tend to try and keep the concerning questions very narrow and think about how the reply would actually fit in my life because I will have to be maturely responsible for using or not using any feedback

I remain open to those who have my best interest at heart: Good Family, Good Friends, Good Healthcare Professionals, Good Support Groups, etc.

If you have a good current healthcare counselor or seeking a good healthcare counselor you are encouraged to share this reply with and see what your healthcare professional has to say about writing things out in a journal . . . I would be patient with myself and others by reminding myself that others and myself can only do so much and remind myself that the divine Physician, Christ Jesus, is the Way, the Truth, and the Light and truly the only one who knows me better than even I know me

Meanwhile, please continue being patient with yourself, avoid isolation, lots of walking, healthy eating, early to bed, good people, journal writing, ect. all as you see fit?

Avoid any discouragement to the best of your ability . . . your doing a good job

All of the above is what I freely do and you are encouraged to freely do as you see fit without ever harming yourself or others because God said we have to love others as we love ourselves for the love of God especially on All Saints Day !

@Mrs-Polifax and @Livtally and @John Forrister
I see as of now this thread here is the one which has 2K views, most any other than I made, which thought to myself is surprising seemingly as the actual thread went off topic - as I went started writing about a course reccommended by polifax for self development

One of my tasks is going other this thread for the purpose of E-mail and 1properly trying implement the ideas shown on E-mail PDF, 2 I should go over implement ideas by user livtally in her reply above "STN H

also @gtdstudente

 

[Mrs-Polifax]

@TimBourne
I'm glad you posted that video on When You Want to Explode by Ann Weiser Cornell of Focusing Resources. I find her work inspiring. This is just the tip of the iceberg - the basics. This process she teaches is called Focusing. She has so much to offer.

 

[TimBourne]

@TimBourne
I'm glad you posted that video on When You Want to Explode by Ann Weiser Cornell of Focusing Resources. I find her work inspiring. This is just the tip of the iceberg - the basics. This process she teaches is called Focusing. She has so much to offer.

"ITM yeah you didn't respond to the other previous tags here.

I was saying I feel like I need to go over the course/information you shared because of my mental disorder.

But right now I should first go over what user recommended here to help organize my E-mails.

 

[TimBourne]

@TimBourne
I'm glad you posted that video on When You Want to Explode by Ann Weiser Cornell of Focusing Resources. I find her work inspiring. This is just the tip of the iceberg - the basics. This process she teaches is called Focusing. She has so much to offer.

"ITM yeah you didn't respond to the other previous tags here.

I was saying I feel like I need to go over the course/information you shared because of my mental disorder.

But right now I should first go over what user recommended here to help organize my E-mails.

 

[TimBourne]

@Livtally

"
ITM couldn’t hurt tim because his not completely sure this moment in tim
So should update tag post user and just check with him what he found out with print screen image - could help visualise

First thing - is that in G-mail it seems that “labels” are used to categorise e-mail (not folders)
You wrote above put “backlog emails into a separate folder or label” - it seems above in Gmail Labels ARE folders

2) - that when you do move mass amounts of mail with type “checklist highlight all button” in Gmail to another label (show image) what happens - is that the mails all get copied and pasted (and not cut/deleted immediately) which I thought was surprised about



Here with this first image I show, I show that I followed the instruction to create a label in G-mail called "backlog test" where now says I have 150items (which were selected in maximum capacity in one page - you understand?
I did this ,change my inbox to 100 mail per page after I first tried copying 50 items to back log test (and I thought to myself - is there an easier way to allow do this in settings - is there for example an limit to amount of total mail that one can have at anyone time on a page? And I found maximum in settings is 100 which was disappointed - because then thought I'm not going be able transfer or my mail to one label in one go, but have to do it in 100 message chunks? is that correct?



This next image shows exactly what I mean , when tried to follow user L. first instruction on using backlog E-mail function on main search "bar" top of gmail.

I should tag users again @Livtally and quote his first orignal post? which I copied an pasted in text editor and highlighted/underlined points while reading # while writing above - then realised if you press "quote while have draft already written - the quote gets put buttom of page

wrote notes underneath:

"
Don't understand back log. #that didn't originally understand what meant by the term when reading his first paragraph/first sentences

How clarify my e-mail 1-2 days. #Now L. user is saying best way keep on top of e-mail is actually to go through it every 1-2days (after first done a long categorization/sorting of entire e-mail_

*nutshell here basically saying should be able find settings to categorise emails on G-mail according to date. #I was able to find label setting on G-mail and use function he shared “before:YYYY/MM/DD" - I ended up doing exactly from 30 days 1 month in the present moment (from when originally put it tried it 2 months (the last month before 2023) ?*2


+++ some e-mails I rarely open in inbox right now are lebra mobile, 12 blessings, bulk supplements

Thought to post this and tag persons - for vote decide what best to action categorise them with - well I did that (but then first feel like I need to clear up prior instructions follow up with user L first)

“ *2 I was writing in text editor -while was hesitant if this function would work first time
before:2023/12/29 action

As example right now Tim can try backg logging e-mail for last 30 days on G-mail

before:2024/01/02 done


and crew tag worth check @Mrs-Polifax @gtdstudente

Since your e-mail has your attention but you are wondering whether completely processing your inbox to zero would be a good use of your current time and energy, perhaps “Process e-mail backlog” would be an excellent candidate for a Someday/Maybe project. As you are learning to implement GTD, you could focus instead on developing an effective system for processing new incoming inputs that arrive via e-mail and which are found in your most recent e-mail messages; these messages likely represent the majority of commitments still most relevant to your current life. When the habit of clarifying your e-mail to zero every 24-48 hours is established, then you can decide whether it is worthwhile to apply your new system to those older messages, breaking the project of processing many old e-mails into a series of manageable next actions (e.g., process 25 old e-mails OR process old e-mails for 15 minutes OR process e-mails from August 2023).

Meanwhile, you might move your older e-mails into a separate folder or label so they are not in your inbox anymore consuming everyday mental bandwidth. Most e-mail programs allow you to search for e-mails older than a specific date. (For example, in Gmail, you can enter “before:YYYY/MM/DD” into the search bar; search the Internet for directions specific to your e-mail service.) Give these older messages a meaningful label like “Backlog” or “Before DATE” or “Old E-mails” and archive them. Then make clearing your inbox of the more recent inputs that remain (within the last 30 or 60 or 90 days or whatever interval feels comfortable for you) one of your current projects.

For subscriptions you find you rarely open (newsletters, promotional materials, etc.), your options include:

1. Unsubscribe.

2. Commit to clarifying those messages alongside other new incoming e-mails in your inbox going forward (identify any next actions, then archive the message as reference or project support material or delete).

3. Filter those messages into a dedicated channel such that they bypass your main inbox. This is a form of “planned ignoring” for messages that often give you the option of taking an action but rarely truly require any action from you. You could make one folder or label that collects all such “Subscriptions/Newsletters” or route messages into separate folders/labels for smaller categories (Hobbies, Tech Tips, Personal Finance, Community Events, etc.) or even create dedicated labels/folders for “Newsletter A,” “Store B,” and “Organization C.” Then you can review the messages these filters collect more occasionally than the messages in your primary inbox without them clogging up your system. You may miss a chance to save 30% on something during a limited-time sale, but you will gain overall peace of mind! (Alternatively, if never missing a sale at Store X is important to you, don’t filter Store X’s messages out of your primary inbox.)

My other words were stuff like:

Well seeing X users reply here is a cue Q for myself yeah delete the copied e-mail from my main inbox.
into my named label "backlog" because its best thing to do.

-I'm not sure, need to check if the 150 messages I moved are all induvial different or 50 copied x2 times (and now I have duplicates?"'

 

[TimBourne]

ITM

a Q was maybe @René Lie could also help here?

seeing no one responded to previous post here

And I think e-mail is one of the most important things - right?

So could try to finish properly setting up proper e-mail system before doing anything else? " STN?

 

[René Lie]

ITM

a Q was maybe @René Lie could also help here?

seeing no one responded to previous post here

And I think e-mail is one of the most important things - right?

So could try to finish properly setting up proper e-mail system before doing anything else? " STN?

As David Allen says, most email is best handled within the email system.

I have set up my Gmail with the same context labels as my list manager (action support, waiting for, Someday/Maybe, Read&Review, Reference, etc), and I find thst working well.

However, notice that I use "action SUPPORT". The actual action that needs to be taken, is written in my list manager together with all my other action, and the action support folder/label contains email thst I either need to refer to when executing the action, or reply to when I'm done.

Your mileage may wary, but I want to look only one place (list manager) when reflecting on what action to take in the moment...

Hope this helps!

 

[TimBourne]

As David Allen says, most email is best handled within the email system.

I have set up my Gmail with the same context labels as my list manager (action support, waiting for, Someday/Maybe, Read&Review, Reference, etc), and I find thst working well.

However, notice thst I use "action SUPPORT". The actual action that needs to be taken, is written in my list manager together with all my other action, and the action support folder/label contains email thst I either need to refer to when executing the action, or reply to when I'm done.

Your mileage may wary, but I want to look only one place (list manager) when reflecting on what action to take in the moment...

Hope this helps!

ITM
thanks

I was writing above - based on instructions help set up e-mail system on Gmail one user gave me - felt like wasn't able properly do it on the I A Gmail screen layout, couldn't figure do what he was writing to me basically - and was scared that maybe would accidentally delete all my e-mails?

I don't know what you mean by active support

Yeah I need a list manager you are saying - what specific one think is best?

STN

will need to go over this"

Do you think I am correct in having audacity to tag and share posts to you like this ? "STN

 

[René Lie]

No problem that you're tagging me, but I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep up with your pace!

First, I said "action support" (not active support), meaning that the emails in this folder (or tag, really) takes the role as support material and not a reminder of the task to be done. For the latter, I write an entry in my list manager.

I haven't thoroughly read all the posts, but my guess is that you should configure all the proper labels in Gmail, and assign to the messages accordingly - using a "backlog" tag for messages older than a date of your choice.

Regarding list managers, that's a highly personal matter. My advice is to check out the GTD connect library of setup guides (assuming you're a paying member - otherwise, the shop at gettingthingsdone.com). These amazing guides will take you step by step through the process of setting up a list manager. I did that myself with Asana, and that was a great (small) investment for me! What I mean is that it could be a good idea to choose a list manager for which it exists a setup guide.

(Disclaimer: I have no financial interests in recommending this...)

 

[Mrs-Polifax]

@René Lie

Hello! I hope you won't mind if I try to clarify one of your points, so you can correct me, if I'm not following you. One piece of advice you have is how to set up the folders in an email program. I use yahoo for email. In Yahoo, there is a left sidebar where I can create and access email folders.

Below are the folders or the sections of a notebook that I came up with to tentatively create a GTD system. I'm wondering whether some of these categories that may be needed to contain a paper-based or digital GTD system are not necessarily needed for email folders. Could you elaborate on how this would work?

@ GTD Inbox
@ Calendar
@ Next Actions List(s)
@ Agendas
@ Read & Review
@ Action Support
@ Projects List
@ Projects Files & Support
@ Waiting For
@ Someday-Maybe
@ Reference (Routines, SOPs, Lists, Data Files)
@ Archive

 

[René Lie]

Hi, @Mrs-Polifax !
If I were to "convert" your lists into my email setup, I would do as follows:

@ GTD Inbox - not needed as a folder, the email inbox itself serves this purpose

@ Calendar - not needed in email, I use Google calendar for this

@ Next Actions List(s) - Create a folder called "Action" or "Action support", depending on whether you regard the email as an action reminder ("Action") or support material for an entry in your list manager ("Action support"). I use the latter approach

@ Agendas - Not needed for email - assuming you have an Agendas list in your list manager

@ Read & Review - Used for email I want to read whenever I have the time and energy (not used for things I HAVE TO read in order to fulfill a task or project)

@ Action Support - See my remark regarding Next Actions List(s)

@ Projects List - Lives in the list manager, not in email

@ Projects Files & Support - I have an email folder (or label) called "Project support" with appropriate sub-folders. Email related to projects go into the corresponding folder. I also use Google Drive for project support material - especially for files that did not come from email

@ Waiting For - I use this both in my list manager and email, but do not double enter - this may be because I don't have too many waiting for's on email, and I need to follow up on them in my email system anyway...

@ Someday-Maybe - Yep, have this both in the email system and list manager

@ Reference (Routines, SOPs, Lists, Data Files) - I have this in my email system. However, some reference items are moved to Google Drive as it's the attachment and not the email itself that's worth keeping

@ Archive - I don't use this - Reference takes care of that, otherwise it's trash...

Hope this helps!

René

 

[TimBourne]

No problem that you're tagging me, but I'm not sure that I'll be able to keep up with your pace!

First, I said "action support" (not active support), meaning that the emails in this folder (or tag, really) takes the role as support material and not a reminder of the task to be done. For the latter, I write an entry in my list manager.

I haven't thoroughly read all the posts, but my guess is that you should configure all the proper labels in Gmail, and assign to the messages accordingly - using a "backlog" tag for messages older than a date of your choice.

Regarding list managers, that's a highly personal matter. My advice is to check out the GTD connect library of setup guides (assuming you're a paying member - otherwise, the shop at gettingthingsdone.com). These amazing guides will take you step by step through the process of setting up a list manager. I did that myself with Asana, and that was a great (small) investment for me! What I mean is that it could be a good idea to choose a list manager for which it exists a setup guide.

(Disclaimer: I have no financial interests in recommending this...)

ITM

I wrote that - about audacity partially using those words because these replies sent - are sometimes literally, while I feel like I am physically not in optimal circadian response with my body

"keep up with your pace!" what is your pace? I looked at your latest activity, you are active here with other members

Oh right I should use digital list manager

Yes I should set up , try set e-mail up properly ASAP 1

"GTD connect library of setup guides (assuming you're a paying member - otherwise, the shop at gettingthingsdone.com)" the other persons John F gave me access to these I believe

id that myself with Asana, and that was a great (small) investment for me!" - are you referring to same guides user @Mrs-Polifax also shared with me before?" STN

I can't see which thread this was now?

 

[TimBourne]

@René Lie

Hello! I hope you won't mind if I try to clarify one of your points, so you can correct me, if I'm not following you. One piece of advice you have is how to set up the folders in an email program. I use yahoo for email. In Yahoo, there is a left sidebar where I can create and access email folders.

Below are the folders or the sections of a notebook that I came up with to tentatively create a GTD system. I'm wondering whether some of these categories that may be needed to contain a paper-based or digital GTD system are not necessarily needed for email folders. Could you elaborate on how this would work?

@ GTD Inbox
@ Calendar
@ Next Actions List(s)
@ Agendas
@ Read & Review
@ Action Support
@ Projects List
@ Projects Files & Support
@ Waiting For
@ Someday-Maybe
@ Reference (Routines, SOPs, Lists, Data Files)
@ Archive

ITM

you have a paper based or digital GTD system with all these categories set up already? "s

 

[René Lie]

ITM

I wrote that - about audacity partially using those words because these replies sent - are sometimes literally, while I feel like I am physically not in optimal circadian response with my body

"keep up with your pace!" what is your pace? I looked at your latest activity, you are active here with other members

Oh right I should use digital list manager

Yes I should set up , try set e-mail up properly ASAP 1

"GTD connect library of setup guides (assuming you're a paying member - otherwise, the shop at gettingthingsdone.com)" the other persons John F gave me access to these I believe

id that myself with Asana, and that was a great (small) investment for me!" - are you referring to same guides user @Mrs-Polifax also shared with me before?" STN

I can't see which thread this was now?

Not sure which guides Mrs Polifax shared, but I am referring to the GTD Setup Guides from The David Allen Company:

GTD Setup Guides

If you don't have access, they can be bought here:

GTD Store

My pace... Well, I do engage in some quick conversations, but I don't always have time for the more time consuming - and some people are more impatient than others...

 

[René Lie]

ITM

you have a paper based or digital GTD system with all these categories set up already? "s

I have a digital system consisting of:

* Asana as my list manager
* Digital calendar
* Email
* Notion for reference material, notes and project support

The categories are set up in Asana (using the setup guides - and some personal tweaks along the way) and Gmail

And I also keep a small paper notepad close by for quick capturing - and sometimes also the app Braintoss that is set up with my Gmail, which in turn is set up with some automation to forward the item to my Asana Mind Sweep list.