Automated To-Do List: closing open loops

[lindsaydodd]

I am looking for some advice and feedback...

One of my big problems is that I forget when I commit to doing something for someone. I forget to write it down when I make the commitment and it doesn't even make my to-do list. Until I do the dreaded head-slap and say "I forgot, but yes I will get you that report, thanks for reminding me."

So, two of us GTD disciples started a little project to create automated to-do lists from our email. It simply track the commitments we make as we send email to colleagues, customers, suppliers, etc. So far, we are training the system to pick out our commitments and attach them to our to-do list.

Is there already something out there that would do this for us? Is closing open loops a problem that needs an automated solution? We are not sure if anyone but us would find this useful.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Lindsay.

 

[Folke]

Most GTD apps let you forward emails into them. Some apps even have "gadgets" (is that the right term?) that do this from within Gmail or Outlook. But it is always a manual process as far as I know. You have to choose which emails to pass on. And then, of course, you need to process and organize them within your GTD app.

Personally I do not use these features much. I usually do not forget to make a note. It is easy enough to record a voice memo or write a note on paper.

 

[smartin]

I'm sure an automated solution would be helpful to some but could you ever trust it 100%? I think the most reliable route to full capture is to create the habit of *immediate* capture of all commitments by whatever means is most accessible at that moment. Personally, I send myself emails, cc myself on email with "commitment" in the subject line, regularly review sent emails for "to do's" I might not have captured, and carry around a notebook with a running list of captured items. As a last resort, I'll write on my hand. I usually have my phone or my paper notebook. It's really about the habit.

 

[SiobhanBR]

I process my Sent Items to zero regularly. That way, any action items or projects I've committed to (or waiting fors) get added to my system and my sent items view is always a pleasant blank white space. I also like that any reference emails I keep are all in one place in time order regardless of who sent the email.

Most importantly - always write down your commitment somewhere. Anyone who knows me knows that if it isn't written down it doesn't exist. I always have a small notepad with me and processing it is part of my weekly review (although I also grab and process it between weekly reviews as needed). In a pinch I have phoned or emailed myself. When I meet with my staff and they want me to do something I often ask them to send it to me via email so that when I process the email I have the background information along with their request. Whatever you need to do to capture that commitment.

 

[lindsaydodd]

Those are all excellent ideas. Thanks for taking the time to respond! The zero Sent Items is a new idea to me, so that would certainly have the same effect as we are trying to grab commitments from outgoing email eg: "I will send you...." or "I'll think that over and get back to you".

The key to the automation for me is to get rid of the double entry - which is what stops me from having a consistent habit of writing things down....if it can grab a commitment from my existing correspondence, then I think that I might be one step ahead of my bad habits

If you know any GTD folks who would be willing to test our little system, please let me know. They would need to be on Office365. No cost.

 

[bcmyers2112]

Automation is all well and good but one of the keys to GTD is making and capturing next action decisions. I personally wouldn't trust software to make the next action decision for me and record it in the right place. I would suggest considering why you are resistant to writing things down (or typing them into a digital list manager if you're using one) and clearing away whatever the obstacle is that's preventing you from developing the capture/processing habit.

I have found the key to capturing and processing my commitments is to make it as easy as possible. I keep a pen and pad in my pocket at all times, a notebook and pen on every work surface at home and in the office, and I use a digital list manager that makes it easy for me to input items (and have learned to use it well enough that I don't have to think about it).

When it comes to email, as soon as I identify a next action I capture it before responding so I don't forget. I've installed it as a habit so I don't have to think about it.

I am not anti-automation per se (although I am sure there are some here who think I am). I believe in using technology to automate low-level, repetitive tasks in order to free people to focus on more important, value-added things. But I don't consider the next action decision (and recording the results of that thinking) to be "low level" -- I consider it to be one of the most important things to use my mind for.

 

[lindsaydodd]

bcmyers2112 - Good question....why don't I write commitments down on the spot? Not sure I have the answer. It takes time. and organization, neither of which I have in abundance. Maybe i just consider capturing commitments to be a low-level repetitive task - especially if it is a low-level repetitive commitment (eg: "yes, I will review your time sheet tomorrow.") And I need help with those types of tasks - both capturing them and doing them. I need an angel looking over my shoulder to keep me on the GTD path - and i see the same habits in my less-organized staff.

fwade, thanks for the heads up on the google group....will check it out!

 

[Oogiem]

Automation is all well and good but one of the keys to GTD is making and capturing next action decisions. I personally wouldn't trust software to make the next action decision for me and record it in the right place. I would suggest considering why you are resistant to writing things down (or typing them into a digital list manager if you're using one) and clearing away whatever the obstacle is that's preventing you from developing the capture/processing habit.

I have found the key to capturing and processing my commitments is to make it as easy as possible. I keep a pen and pad in my pocket at all times, a notebook and pen on every work surface at home and in the office, and I use a digital list manager that makes it easy for me to input items (and have learned to use it well enough that I don't have to think about it).

Absolutely!

The key is make it simple. I also carry a notebook and pen everywhere and I also have my phone set so I can do a voice recording that ends up in my inbox of my list manager automatically. Capture any and everything right then. Until you get the habits of capture, decide and review it will be hard to progress with GTD

 

[Gardener]

When I take on a task, I try to do something to get it aimed at one of my inboxes, so that I'll find it later. I want that inbox-aiming to be as quick and easy as possible.

- If I'm in a phone meeting and take on a commitment, I send myself an email imemediately, usually just a subject line. (Using your example, it would just be an email with a Subject of "Timesheet for Joe" and no body.)

- If I send someone an email committing myself to something, I cc: myself on that email.

- If I'm not at my email when someone asks me to do something, I ask them to email me.

- I have an email folder called Tasks to Record. When I get all these task-related emails, I drag them to that folder. (Or if for some reason I want them visible in my Inbox for a few hours, I mark them as Unread after reading them so that they won't get lost in the sea of non-action email.)

This way, it's only taken a few seconds to get these items herded into a place where there's no risk of them being forgotten. Later, I process those items into my GTD lists.

- In my personal life, I talk reminders into Siri on my phone, and then move them into OmniFocus, also on my phone. (I know that I can set up my Reminders so tha the Siri reminders go straight into OmniFocus without any interim step, but for some reason that I don't understand, I don't like that.)

Re: "The key to the automation for me is to get rid of the double entry"

Is it possible that you're over-optimizing your process? I'm not saying that you want double entry, but if you're, for example, refusing to write things down because that represents double entry, you may be costing yourself more than you're gaining.