A
Anonymous
Guest
Hello All,
After a recent sports injury (basketball – ruptured Achilles tendon) I am to be on crutches for six weeks.
Before the injury I was becoming more and more convinced that GTD essentially needs to be anchored in the physical world. My context lists need to be an integral part of the reality of me being in those contexts, e.g. @computer list needs to be open beside me when I am at a computer.
Of course, the key to success is to accurately anticipate my contexts and make sure that all relevant next actions are listed in their contexts.
Well, I have had to learn how to anticipate a whole new range of next actions that are associated with the difficulties of getting around. For example, at home, I don’t want to make my way upstairs any more times than is absolutely necessary, so with the help of an empty computer bag with shoulder-strap, I can carry most of the things I need in the least number of trips. So,”@climbing the stairs” has become a very important context in which I can execute all relevant next actions in one go.
At the office, on the other hand, I really can’t have that context – I am six flights up … and there is no elevator. (I expect to have arms like Arnie by the time I get this cast off.) So I have to make sure I have everything I need in a back-pack when I come up in the morning, and also have delegated any un-doable lunchtime tasks, so “@ask wife to:” and “@ask father to:” have become very real contexts for me.
I have had to focus as clearly and comprehensively as possible on each of the contexts generated by the reality of my predicament. I feel this has deepened my appreciation of the importance of the context concept in GTD. I also feel that contexts are basically locations: when I need to fetch some information from the Internet, it doesn’t matter whether I need it as a father/accountant/wannabe novelist/recuperating basketball player – I must be located at a computer to execute the action.
Busydave
P.S. I have logged on several times over the last few days and posted a few items, but I keep appearing as a “Guest” – hope it works today.
After a recent sports injury (basketball – ruptured Achilles tendon) I am to be on crutches for six weeks.
Before the injury I was becoming more and more convinced that GTD essentially needs to be anchored in the physical world. My context lists need to be an integral part of the reality of me being in those contexts, e.g. @computer list needs to be open beside me when I am at a computer.
Of course, the key to success is to accurately anticipate my contexts and make sure that all relevant next actions are listed in their contexts.
Well, I have had to learn how to anticipate a whole new range of next actions that are associated with the difficulties of getting around. For example, at home, I don’t want to make my way upstairs any more times than is absolutely necessary, so with the help of an empty computer bag with shoulder-strap, I can carry most of the things I need in the least number of trips. So,”@climbing the stairs” has become a very important context in which I can execute all relevant next actions in one go.
At the office, on the other hand, I really can’t have that context – I am six flights up … and there is no elevator. (I expect to have arms like Arnie by the time I get this cast off.) So I have to make sure I have everything I need in a back-pack when I come up in the morning, and also have delegated any un-doable lunchtime tasks, so “@ask wife to:” and “@ask father to:” have become very real contexts for me.
I have had to focus as clearly and comprehensively as possible on each of the contexts generated by the reality of my predicament. I feel this has deepened my appreciation of the importance of the context concept in GTD. I also feel that contexts are basically locations: when I need to fetch some information from the Internet, it doesn’t matter whether I need it as a father/accountant/wannabe novelist/recuperating basketball player – I must be located at a computer to execute the action.
Busydave
P.S. I have logged on several times over the last few days and posted a few items, but I keep appearing as a “Guest” – hope it works today.