Can't figure out the organize step

[elroi]

If in the clarify step we determine what should we do with what we captured and put everything we captured in the right place (such as in the "to do list") so what should i do in the clarify step?
If i get it right, the clarify step is one time step, you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to clarify anymore.
I feel I miss something, maybe because I read the hebrew verison.
Please help me.

 

[Gardener]

You say 'clarify' throughout your post, but your title says 'organize'. Can you tell us which one you're referring to?

However, whichever one you mean, neither clarify or organize is a one-time step. Your life, work, and projects will keep changing, so you'll need to keep adjusting your lists.

 

[kelstarrising]

If in the clarify step we determine what should we do with what we captured and put everything we captured in the right place (such as in the "to do list") so what should i do in the clarify step?
If i get it right, the clarify step is one time step, you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to clarify anymore.
I feel I miss something, maybe because I read the hebrew verison.
Please help me.

Collect/Capture is where things first come into your world into trusted inboxes
Process/Clarify is where you make decisions about what it is and what you want to do about it
Organize/Park is where you sort those decisions you made in Process/Clarify into trusted places (lists, folders, etc.)
Review/Reflect is where you go back and look at your inventory of what you've organized to make sure it's clean and current
Engage/Do is where you make choices about what to do

(I've added both names, like Process and Clarify, because they often referred to as either one in the book.)

All of the steps only happen once, except for Review/Reflect. You will repeat that one at least weekly in your Weekly Reviews, reviewing that choice on your list until it's done or no longer on your lists because you let go of it. But all of the other steps happen once.

Hope this helps!

 

[Gardener]

Collect/Capture is where things first come into your world into trusted inboxes
Process/Clarify is where you make decisions about what it is and what you want to do about it
Organize/Park is where you sort those decisions you made in Process/Clarify into trusted places (lists, folders, etc.)
Review/Reflect is where you go back and look at your inventory of what you've organized to make sure it's clean and current
Engage/Do is where you make choices about what to do

(I've added both names, like Process and Clarify, because they often referred to as either one in the book.)

All of the steps only happen once, except for Review/Reflect. You will repeat that one at least weekly in your Weekly Reviews, reviewing that choice on your list until it's done or no longer on your lists because you let go of it. But all of the other steps happen once.

Hope this helps!

Hmm. Now I'm more confused about the original question. I interpreted

"you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to clarify anymore"

as meaning that the lists are created once and for all, though of course the contents change.

 

[TesTeq]

as meaning that the lists are created once and for all, though of course the contents change.

"The contents change" is a result of the new stuff clarification. Creation of lists is just an administrative task.

 

[TesTeq]

If i get it right, the clarify step is one time step, you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to clarify anymore.

1. First clarification - when you perform your initial GTD "installation" you write everything down (what's on your mind), clarify it and put on the lists you create.
2. Weekly clarification - during each Weekly Review you clarify stuff the you haven't clarified and organized on the spot.
3. Ongoing clarification - you can clarify and organize stuff as it arrives in your inboxes.

 

[TesTeq]

I think that 'processing' was a better term than "poetic" 'clarifying'. In the GTD workflow you process each item arriving in your inbox to clarify its meaning.

 

[Gardener]

"The contents change" is a result of the new stuff clarification. Creation of lists is just an administrative task.

Right. But the lists themselves change. Well...maybe the issue here is what we're defining as a list.

I think I'm getting buried in definitions of definitions here.

 

[Oogiem]

If in the clarify step we determine what should we do with what we captured and put everything we captured in the right place (such as in the "to do list") so what should i do in the clarify step?
If i get it right, the clarify step is one time step, you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to clarify anymore.
I feel I miss something, maybe because I read the hebrew verison.
Please help me.

I interpret clarify as happening once for every item. First you capture everything that is bothering you or which you are not happy with the way it is now. This is ongoing, it's not like that happens once and you are done. You do an initial big collection but then you get the habit of collecting stuff all day every day. All of that stuff goes into your inbox. You don't have to decide what to do when you capture it but just know that you will decide soon.

The next step is clarify what you are going to do about it. That should happen daily as well when you clean out and process all your inboxes. You should expect it to take about an hour to hour and a half each day to properly clarify everything that comes your way in a day. The decision can be thought of as a tree, first is yes or no. Yes I want to do something about it or no I don't. Yes may not mean you do anything about it now, it might be defer, or put in someday/maybe for a while or it might be delegate it to someone else or it might be something to actually add to your lists. No might mean trash it or save as reference.

Organize is where you actually add the things you plab to do to your action lists by context or to an agendas list for waiting for items.

Review happens at least weekly, may need to be more often in crazy times and at least some of the time will involve going to higher levels. I do higher level reviews quarterly, on the solstices and the equinoxes.

Do happens constantly as you pick action off your lists and complete them. Or as you handle work as it shows up.

 

[TesTeq]

Right. But the lists themselves change. Well...maybe the issue here is what we're defining as a list.

I think I'm getting buried in definitions of definitions here.

I have the following mental model:

GTD is a methodology that defines the architecture of the system - the data model (inboxes, lists) and procedures that process this data (5-step workflow, 2-minute rule, Weekly Review, Natural Planning Model). Contents of the lists changes constantly because new stuff appears in your inboxes and items disappear because the are done or discarded. You rarely change the number and purpose of your lists but it can happen (often you define a new convenient @context).

 

[elroi]

If in the clarify step we determine what should we do with what we captured and put everything we captured in the right place (such as in the "to do list") so what should i do in the clarify step?
If i get it right, the clarify step is one time step, you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to clarify anymore.
I feel I miss something, maybe because I read the hebrew verison.
Please help me.

My bad, sorry everyone i meant:
" so what should i do in the organize step?"
"the organize step is one time step, you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to organize anymore."

Sorry for making you waste your time in trying to help me/

 

[Oogiem]

" so what should i do in the organize step?"
"the organize step is one time step, you create all your lists and from now on you don't should to organize anymore."

Once you have defined what your lists will be, what categories or contexts, then you should only rarely need to change those categories. But for each item you get as input you will need to decide where in those lists it belongs. If you need to change by either adding to or deleting the contexts or categories then do so but it's not a really common thing.

I have 35 contexts in my system. When I process an item from one of my inboxes I will organize or clarify that into one of those lists if it is a current item that needs action now. A computer file may be added to a someday/maybe folder for future consideration, or it might go into project support. Or I might put a note into my short note electronic project support system if that seems like it will fit there.

So I add things to my lists in organize but i don't tend to crete new lists often.

A few examples:

I have a check in my inbox that is payment for meat I delivered last week. It's actionable. I can get it mostly ready in less than 2 minutes so I check my purse (where I put items to go to the bank) and discover I do not have a current deposit slip filled out. I take a blank one from my desk, add this check to it, paperclip the 2 together, put it in my compartment in my purse where I hold stuff for town and add to my Omnifocus list "Go to Bank" in the errands single action list with a context of the local town where I live. Next time I am in town I will see that and can stop by the bank and deposit it. If I get another check before I go I'll check my purse first, (I only have one place I put deposits that are waiting to go in to town) and see I have one started already. In that case I'll just add the new check to the slip, clip it behind the other and move on. I won't need to add going to the bank to my lists because if there is a partially filled out deposit slip, I know I have that action already on my lists.

Another example:
As I'm doing my weekly review I realize that the far west pasture has a bunch of items that need to be worked on, from fix fence at corner over ditch, to discuss adding a gate mid field into orchard to try new herbicide on the milkweed up at the top behind the rock wall. My "Outside with Help" context is getting too big, so I decide that for a short period of time I'm going to create a new context "West Pasture" and move all the actions for it into that context. I can then focus on doing all of them without sorting a huge long list. Once I've finished most of those actions and projects I may discover that in my weekly review I am not using that context at all. So I can delete it. It's easy to add a context back if I need to. I make, use and delete context on need but I typically keep my base 25 intact year round.

And another example of a more complex one:
I get an e-mail with a large attachment that I have to read and comment on regarding our fight with the BLM over fracking in our valley. When I process the e-mail I save the attachment into my folder "BLM RMP" where all the other documents are. I add to my project in Omnifocus that I need to read and review document X. It's got a due date when the comments have to be submitted so I look at my calendar, realize that I've got a very busy week leading up to the deadline. So I block out a couple of hours before the deadline to proof and submit my final comments on x. I also add that as an action in my Omnifocus list. But I also realize that it's going to take me about 4 hours of detailed concentrated reading to get through this document to understand and another 8-10 hours to write my response. So I also block out a couple of 4 hour chunks in my calendar to be sure I have time allocated to this. Normally at that point I'd add an action in OF to plan my response to the BLM but I'm at the end of my inbox clean out. I take a quick break to get some water and prepare to start doing. Because it's raining outside the actions I can do are ones inside. I am already at my computer and my mind is still on the whole BLM mess so I start with it and review my notes I created when I used the natural planning model on the whole project 5 years ago to flesh out my OF project list and actions more fully. Now it includes things like create a scrivener document with chapters for each section of the RMP that needs comment in a shared folder so my husband and I can both work on it. Send an e-mail to all my customers asking for their support in sending in comments or we'll be out of business and can't provide food for them. (That becomes it's own project), and so on. I spend about an hour on this and end up with a battle plan that I believe will work. I've created several new projects that I can work on simultaneously each with clear outcomes and a clear next action organized into my lists. My mind is clear and its sunny. I need a break so I look at what outside context I need to move to and go work on that knowing I've got the BLM project under control.

And here is a much simpler example:
I get a magazine in the mail. I decide I want to read it and put it in my or read folder on my desk. No action on my lists because that happens naturally when I have time to read.

So for me organize is where the item in my inbox, whether it's paper, a note I took, a voicemail or electronic gets processed and the organize is when it ends up in its final location as reference, action, someday/maybe, delegated so in waiting for or trash along with any appropriate specific items in my context lists of things to do to handle that inbox item.

 

[bcmyers2112]

elroi: There's no need to apologize. This forum exists so we can help each other.

You're thinking of "organize" as the act of setting up all of your "buckets" (like your next actions lists, paper and electronic reference systems, etc.). But "organize" in this case actually refers to the act of putting things in these lists/folders. When you input an item into one of your action lists (like "Call Joe to discuss the Q2 budget), put it in a physical or electronic reference folder, or even throw it away (or delete it if it's digital), you're organizing it.