@Home and @Work

[dbobfish]

Currently I am just getting to grips with GTD as a relative newbie.

I have been using the GTD system at work and at home and it is working superb - really has started to make a huge difference - I now work more effectively with - it seems - less effort than I used to. Great.

However, I am listing all of my NA's for work under @work and all of my personal NA's within the regular Action Lists @Calls @Erands etc.

I'm thinking that maybe others of you perhaps have a different set up and list all calls - whether work or personal - under the @calls category and similar for @Erands and the other categories, and maybe have no @work category.

Just want to get a feel for how others deal with the work and personal divide.

 

[hth]

I have some contexts at work (@office, @call, agendas, waiting for) as well as @errands, @home, @call@home.
Normally I have no errands for my office, so the main divided context ist @call. The difference between the two @call lists is primary the time when I can call the person. Office calls are normally on working days between 8-17. Private calls else, only private calls to companies or government agencies mix in the @call list.

Yours
Alexander

 

[CosmoGTD]

I use
@CALLS-PERSONAL
@CALLS-PROFESSIONAL

Keep experimenting.
@WORK is probably too general. Perhaps you mean @OFFICE-DESK?
Think about the different CONTEXTS you use at your workplace.

 

[dbobfish]

Yeah - yeah - that's the problem!

@work is too vague. Everything I had regarding work, be it calls or whatever context, would just go into the @work category.

So yeah I can see how something like

@Calls - Personal
@Calls - Professional

Would be really useful - and similar with the other categories.

Previously I was looking into my @work at a long list of NA's and sifting through them to decide what I could do next, 'No - that's a call, I'll do that later when I'm by the phone...'

Personal organisation has really improved, now I want to make the same progress with the GTD system at work. So thank you for your feedback.

 

[dbobfish]

Having taken all of this in and thought about it some more, I have changed my categories around into a way I think will better work for me.

@Personal - Agenda
@Personal - Calls
@Personal - Computer
@Personal - Erands
@Personal - Home
@Personal - Read/Review

@Work - Agenda
@Work - Calls
@Work - Computer
@Work - Read/Review

When I'm at home I just check the personal stuff - forget work pretty much, and visa versa. Plus all of the categories remain in a clear order on my pda (Pocket Informant) and on the Desktop PC (Microsoft Outlook)

Going to try this for a while and see if it helps.

Regards
Dbobfish

 

[kewms]

Previously I was looking into my @work at a long list of NA's and sifting through them to decide what I could do next, 'No - that's a call, I'll do that later when I'm by the phone...'

The whole point of contexts is to avoid having to do that.

I work out of a home office, so I mix work and personal items together. Probably not much help, huh?

Katherine

 

[CosmoGTD]

Also, try rereading several times the DA chapters from the GTD book on Contexts, and pro-personal. It can take a few careful readings to see what he is saying.
That being said, I think its good to try different things, and see how they work.

But also, I would also suggest careful review of what DA has said about the context lists. He was pretty clear in not separating pro-personal, and gives his reasons for this.
On the other hand, I THINK he gave the pro-personal separation in the @CALLS list, but not in the book. (can't recall)

PS: what I am really saying is that, like in music, its best to carefully master the "rules", before we break them.

 

[jkgrossi]

Currently I am just getting to grips with GTD as a relative newbie.

I have been using the GTD system at work and at home and it is working superb - really has started to make a huge difference - I now work more effectively with - it seems - less effort than I used to. Great.

However, I am listing all of my NA's for work under @work and all of my personal NA's within the regular Action Lists @Calls @Erands etc.

I'm thinking that maybe others of you perhaps have a different set up and list all calls - whether work or personal - under the @calls category and similar for @Erands and the other categories, and maybe have no @work category.

Just want to get a feel for how others deal with the work and personal divide.

What I do is lump telephone calls that I need to make at work under @Work, becuase they can't be done anywhere else.

For example, when I'm at home and scan my calls list, I won't be able to do any of my work related calls because all of the information I need is at work.

The only calls that go on my @Calls list are the calls that I can make from anywhere.

All of the stuff in my @Work category is items that can only be done at work. All of the stuff that can only be done at home are in my @Home category, etc.

Hope this helps,

Jim

 

[dbobfish]

try rereading several times the DA chapters from the GTD book on Contexts, and pro-personal. It can take a few careful readings to see what he is saying.

what I am really saying is that, like in music, its best to carefully master the "rules", before we break them.

Yeah - I'll take another good look at that tonight

And Katherine -
"Probably not much help, huh?"

Well, you know I've read a lot of your posts on this site and really appreciate some of the neat suggestions you come up with. So it feels kind of cool when I got a response from you. Probably a good chance to say 'Hey - good going Katherine!'

Anyway - back to what we were talking about - yeah, you work from home, ok makes it easier....? Well no, I guess I have the advantage of 'leaving' work physically - whereas for you you, work and home are mixed physically. I can imagine GTD's been real godsend in this sense.

(I must stop making such long posts!)

 

[Brent]

Personally, I keep two separate GTD systems, one at work and one at home. I initially had them mixed, but that just didn't work for me. My work and home lives are pretty distinct, so that helps.

 

[genagtd]

Having taken all of this in and thought about it some more, I have changed my categories around into a way I think will better work for me.

@Personal - Agenda
@Personal - Calls
@Personal - Computer
@Personal - Erands
@Personal - Home
@Personal - Read/Review

@Work - Agenda
@Work - Calls
@Work - Computer
@Work - Read/Review

Another thought, if the above idea doesn't work or turns out to be too many contexts: you could split between @Calls_Day and @Calls_Night or something along those lines. As others have mentioned, it really depends on how split you are between the two.

An example would be making a doctor's appointment. Can't really do that at night if they are closed, plus since the visit would most likely occur during the day, you'd need your calendar available. Another example would be calling a friend to chat -- during working hours (day for me), they are also working. So, even if I have a free few minutes, odds are they won't.

Gena