@actions(context) - can I make these anything?!

[egg]

Hi,

my job involves only the computer/email/phone etc. Using just
@calls
@computer
@email would be a nightmare, as that is FAR to high a level for me I think. (if I am using this in the write way).

Could I do something like this:
@BrowseInternet
@CreateReport
@FollowupPhoneCall
@FollowupEmail
@DatabaseSearch
@PostMail
@ReadReport
@UpdateGraphs
@Fill-inOnlineTaxForm

etc. So the action/context, would itself, become an indicator as to what the next action will be... I get an email from the boss, asking for a new report or something. Great, so I add it to a process "I make reports process" and then put the context/action as @CreateReport?? Seems better than labelling it @computer.

This way, I can then do a task by actions, and see all the tasks related to creating a report.

Does that make sense? Does it fit with the GTD system?

thanks for your feedback.

 

[kewms]

Yes, you can use whatever contexts make sense to you. Personally, I like to group similar tasks together. For example, I would put all different kinds of phone calls together, so that I can blow through them all at once. But it's really up to you.

The more serious problem I see is that your example, creating a report, is probably a project, not an action. So the thing that should go on your NA list is not "create report," but "collect last year's expense data," or "call IT for database access," or whatever the next report-creating action happens to be. It may or may not make sense to use a @CreateReport context for this action.

Katherine

 

[egg]

thanks for the feedback. The idea of "creating a report" being a project item is scary - I'd have loads and loads

My initial though is, a report is an action in a larger project... but I'll have a think about it..

 

[kewms]

thanks for the feedback. The idea of "creating a report" being a project item is scary - I'd have loads and loads

People often have this reaction.

But you'll have to do the work whether you create a project for it or not, right? So why not put it where your system can keep track of the details instead of you?

Katherine

 

[egg]

ok, so all of a sudden, i might have 50 projects. Each project with many actions attached. How can I group the projects into the same big project?

 

[kewms]

ok, so all of a sudden, i might have 50 projects. Each project with many actions attached. How can I group the projects into the same big project?

That depends on which tool you are using. In Outlook, I use categories for this. Some people include the master project name in the subproject name. Whatever works for you.

Katherine

 

[andersons]

My initial though is, a report is an action in a larger project... but I'll have a think about it..

It can be both -- a project in itself and a subproject of a larger project.

It's a project if you still need to decide exactly what to do next, or if you need reminders about each of the steps needed to do it.

If you know exactly how to write that report right now without further decision or breakdown, it's a Next Action for you. But if you need to do multiple steps and/or aren't sure exactly how to write the report, it's a multi-step project that needs further breakdown.

For example, if you sit down to work on the report and then find "Oh, first I need to get the data from Jim," then you have a project.

 

[egg]

thanks folks, that's helped clarify the issue ;-)

 

[tuqqer]

"Context" really tripped me up as well in the beginning. I finally got that, for me, I have one context. I don't separate Home from Office from Marriage or anything else. The only slight sub-context is "stuff to get downtown" which includes everything from apples at the grocery store, gas at the gas station, and bolts at the hardware store. Other than that, It's all simply Life.

The key with GTD is to mold the ideas to your life. Start with the templates given, but feel free to rip it up and design your own.