Does anyone know of an app that guides you through the higher Horizons of Focus?

[Bertie..]

Hi, I've been pondering the higher level Horizons lately and how I should record them. I've been doing GTD for numerous years and I've used various different ways of doing this from mind maps to word docs, to lists etc. I've also used a variety of tools over the year to capture/organize projects and NAs and am currently using Nozbe for this.

It struck me that the problem with all of these approaches is two-fold;

1- None of these approaches provide me with a structured approach to identifying what & why something should be on my various horizons and then
2 - None of these then show me the linkage from 50k to next actions.

As I'm an "app" guy, it struck me that I should ask whether anyone has come across a good app that:

1. guides you through these higher horizons, helping to identify what should be captured and why
2. allows you to link through the horizons

I guess it's the how do you link projects to next actions challenge, just elevated to the higher horizons.

 

[TesTeq]

2 - None of these then show me the linkage from 50k to next actions.

As I'm an "app" guy, it struck me that I should ask whether anyone has come across a good app that:

1. guides you through these higher horizons, helping to identify what should be captured and why
2. allows you to link through the horizons

1. Imagine the Solar System map - Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. A beautiful picture describing our place in the Universe (our highest Horizon). And now try to link the car navigation directions to the nearest Starbucks (Next Actions) to this picture. I don't think it is possible or necessary.

2. I don't think it is possible to develop the application that would ask the right questions - suitable for every user. It should be as good as a top psychoanalyst in the world.

 

[Bertie..]

Universe > SolarSystem > Earth's position within it > GPS Satelites > GPS Reciever > Need to find Starbucks.

I see your point, however the picture isn't as big as you outlined it. My 50k is my Purpose & Principles, these guide my Vision, Goals & Responsibilities, which ultimately spawn projects and/or next actions.

There are numerous guides on how to apply/identify higher horizons, and walking through these as exercises do result in increased clarity around the higher horizons, but these ultimately end up in some form of document which is detached from your typical project/action type tasklist app. Typically I end up with a Next Action such as "Online: Research better ways of staying motivated around next actions", which in the heat of the battle, I keep putting off because I've forgotten what my motivation was for this, as it came from a top-down review of my horizons.

I'd like some form of app that for any given horizon allowed me to link upwards to the next driving horizon, and down to the next lower doing action, so that when I'm deciding what next action to take, I make that decision in the full context of all my horizons.

 

[TesTeq]

I'd like some form of app that for any given horizon allowed me to link upwards to the next driving horizon, and down to the next lower doing action, so that when I'm deciding what next action to take, I make that decision in the full context of all my horizons.

As far as I know many people (including David Allen himself) use more than one application for GTD: a list management tool (for example Nozbe) and a mind mapping tool (for example Mindly).

 

[mcogilvie]

Typically I end up with a Next Action such as "Online: Research better ways of staying motivated around next actions", which in the heat of the battle, I keep putting off because I've forgotten what my motivation was for this, as it came from a top-down review of my horizons.

I'd like some form of app that for any given horizon allowed me to link upwards to the next driving horizon, and down to the next lower doing action, so that when I'm deciding what next action to take, I make that decision in the full context of all my horizons.

Many people think they want some sort of master tree that links everything together. For most people, it does not exist. I like acoustic guitar. I like to listen to it, and I like to play it. I could make up something about music bringing the world together or music refreshing my soul. The truth is that I like guitar, and I don't need to go up a ladder any further. As David Allen makes clear, the different horizons interact with each other in a variety of ways. A 3-5 year goal may directly drive a project. A group of projects may be recognized as part of a new area of focus.

Even if there were some sort of master tree that linked everything together, most people would not want to look at it. I cook dinners at our house because a) I am a good cook, b) I express love for my wife by doing so, c) I enjoy cooking and finally d) we need to eat! Most of the time it's d) and I don't think about it: I look at what we have and I make something.

Now consider this: You have a next action to "Research better ways of staying motivated around next actions." Perhaps you have trouble getting around to this next action because you aren't motivated to do it. Why? You haven't done the next action yet, so you're not motivated to do it. You are in some kind of recursive hell, so obviously you need to look all the way up the ladder to your fundamental values so you will be motivated to fix dinner, do the laundry, write the report, and especially research better ways to motivate yourself. Honestly, the best way to motivate yourself to do a next action is to write something very clearly that you want or need to do. "Make grocery list for big family dinner" might be clear enough for most people. If you hate your family, don't have them over for dinner in the first place. After you've invited them is a bit late to decide you're not motivated because you hate them.

Consider also this: most platforms have applications that do outlines. If you really wanted what you say you want, you would probably already have it. In fact, you may have such a program already. Perhaps you will say: I have such a program, but it doesn't have the features I want, and this failure of the developers is the reason I didn't cut the grass. This turns out to a very popular reason for GND (Getting Nothing Done), so you would be in good company.

Please take my words in the playful spirit in which they are written. GTD is fundamentally a way to have the most fun possible in the sandboxes of our lives.