Is this risky?

[ggray50]

Hi. New to GTD but hooked on it already as a means to getting control over the amount of stuff hitting my desk at work. I've taken the principles of the system and adapted them to work for me, but I am fully aware some of the design is definitely not by the book. Just wondering if anyone can see any risks to this approach or has any constructive feedback to offer.

First off, getting everything off of my mind is absolutely essential, if I'm to keep track of things without overloading. So I've created an Excel spreadsheet where I dump everything into it - projects and actions from emails, voicemail, meeting notes, random thoughts etc etc. I can access the spreadsheet using my phone at any time of the day and simply add items as and when, rather than carrying a notebook.

The spreadsheet has a number of columns - date; in-tray item description; project yes/no; item source eg. a particular meeting, person etc; next action; waiting for; finished yes/no; future yes/no. So I suppose this is creating all my lists on one spreadsheet, which can be filtered as required. I really like having an item source column: very handy for meetings, as I can pull out all my action points relevant to the specific meeting forum and print off to take with me.

I also have a second "sheet" to the Excel Workbook for project planning - ie milestones, dates, current situation etc. This should tie in with sheet 1's in-tray descriptor, related next action, and the project column tag. I review to ensure the two sheets tie up, as part of my weekly review.

I suppose the first deviation from GTD is that I filter out the 2 minute jobs at source, rather than from the next action list eg. I clear these directly from my email inbox, voicemail, discussion points etc. So these never land on my spreadsheet - they're just done at the time. I don't see the point in wasting time by adding them to my overarching GTD inbox if I can get them done and dusted quickly. My emails are then either archived when I record them on my GTD list or else they are deleted if junk. Alternatively, I will file them in a reference folder if not related to an project or action of mine, but contain info which I need to be aware of or might want to find in a hurry.

The second deviation is that I count future actions as actionable (just not actionable at the moment), so all of them appear on my spreadsheet - and I tick a column called "future", unless they are date specific in which case they go on my calendar. Very similar to sometime maybe lists.

One of the biggest deviations is I don't use context lists. At work, I always have a phone and pc at my disposal (including when I work in different locations - I have a laptop linked to both our intranet and the internet, so I don't really see the point of creating lists). Having a smart phone means I carry the intranet and phone with me all the time when I'm on the move, so while context lists would be critical to productivity a few years back, I feel they are less so now.

I have a separate GTD list for home stuff on a separate sheet of the Excel workbook, as I don't want home stuff distracting me frequently, whilst at work - I check this sheet once a day to see if there's anything I need to remember to do either while I'm at work eg. book dentist apt, pick up stuff on way home etc. This is a much shorter list than my work list.

So that's how I work it. So far so good. Interested to hear some feedback though as I can imagine some folks having a sharp intake of breath - particularly at the lack of context lists which seem to be a staple of the GTD system for most. Many thanks for your comments, in advance. Be gentle, lol.

 

[TesTeq]

0. Excel is OK. Everything is OK if it works for you! ;-)

I suppose the first deviation from GTD is that I filter out the 2 minute jobs at source, rather than from the next action list eg. I clear these directly from my email inbox, voicemail, discussion points etc. So these never land on my spreadsheet - they're just done at the time. I don't see the point in wasting time by adding them to my overarching GTD inbox if I can get them done and dusted quickly. My emails are then either archived when I record them on my GTD list or else they are deleted if junk. Alternatively, I will file them in a reference folder if not related to an project or action of mine, but contain info which I need to be aware of or might want to find in a hurry.

1. Interesting. Revisit the GTD book chapter about the 2-minute rule. Why? Because 2-minute tasks should be done immediately without being written down. So you are strictly following the GTD methodology thinking that it is some kind of deviation.

The second deviation is that I count future actions as actionable (just not actionable at the moment), so all of them appear on my spreadsheet - and I tick a column called "future", unless they are date specific in which case they go on my calendar. Very similar to sometime maybe lists.

2. So your huge list can be seen as two lists: "Active" and "Someday/Maybe". It's a basic feature of the GTD methodology - not a deviation.

One of the biggest deviations is I don't use context lists. At work, I always have a phone and pc at my disposal (including when I work in different locations - I have a laptop linked to both our intranet and the internet, so I don't really see the point of creating lists). Having a smart phone means I carry the intranet and phone with me all the time when I'm on the move, so while context lists would be critical to productivity a few years back, I feel they are less so now.

3. Contexts are personal. You can have one (aka none) or 30. But... I think you are cheating a little by having separate spreadsheet for home - it is your second Context or Area Of Focus. And what about errands? How do you manage shopping list?

 

[Gardener]

The main area of risk that I see is that you seem to be mixing project support material in with actions. I feel that the distinction between those two is important.

It also seems to me that you're going to have a growing amount of stuff that's finished but you may want for reference, and a growing amount of Someday stuff, so that the spreadsheet may get more and more unwieldy.

There's also the terrifying risk of the spreadsheet becoming subtly corrupted, but that's potentially true for any automated tool.

 

[ggray50]

0. Excel is OK. Everything is OK if it works for you! ;-)


1. Interesting. Revisit the GTD book chapter about the 2-minute rule. Why? Because 2-minute tasks should be done immediately without being written down. So you are strictly following the GTD methodology thinking that it is some kind of deviation.

I haven't read the book yet; it's on my project list (2 action steps: place order and read when delivered ;-)). For now, I've been following a flow chart which shows you apply the 2 minute rule after capturing everything on a list. My "in" list doesn't have any 2 minute tasks on it - they're already done at source. Thinking it through again, perhaps the issue lies with the flowchart rather than any difference between my approach and GTD?

2. So your huge list can be seen as two lists: "Active" and "Someday/Maybe". It's a basic feature of the GTD methodology - not a deviation.[/QUOTE]

There are 3 lists on the sheet (possibly 4 if you count the project filter), each list is just a column on the spreadsheet. In addition to the item description, I have (1) project? Y/N (2) "next action" column (3) "waiting for" column / (4) someday maybe Y/N

3. Contexts are personal. You can have one (aka none) or 30. But... I think you are cheating a little by having separate spreadsheet for home - it is your second Context or Area Of Focus. And what about errands? How do you manage shopping list?[/QUOTE]

I agree, its really just a second context or Area of Focus, but I like work and life stuff grouped separately. Looking at my spreadsheet, I'd be distracted by seeing a mix of the two. Having watched Dave Allen, I don't think he'd approve though, as he sees very little distinction between the two - just stuff to get done. As for shopping lists - my wife deals with that - and no, I don't put shopping down on my "waiting for" column, lol. I just trust her - I'm often let down, ha!

My second excel sheet isn't really project support material per se, its just a list of outcomes, milestones and a "story so far" column - many of these projects are just 2-5 step action steps - not projects in the sense that most people think of as major projects. Bigger projects have their own separate project files, as GTD advises. Completed stuff gets moved to an Archive sheet for future reference. I tried setting up macros to automatically move stuff when I put Y in the completed column, but alas, I couldn't get the code to work so gave up. Was wasting too much time with too much real work to do!

Actually, with the exception of context lists and the work/life split, perhaps I'm not so far off the mark as I thought!

 

[treelike]

There's also the terrifying risk of the spreadsheet becoming subtly corrupted, but that's potentially true for any automated tool.

A single press on a key will immediately wipe the entire contents of a cell. The system I use has similarities to ggray50's but instead of a spreadsheet I use a database table which requires at least 3 keystrokes to edit a record.

 

[TesTeq]

Thinking it through again, perhaps the issue lies with the flowchart rather than any difference between my approach and GTD?

Yes. There is no intermediate list between the email inbox or paper inbox and the decision box "Is it actionable?"

There are 3 lists on the sheet (possibly 4 if you count the project filter), each list is just a column on the spreadsheet. In addition to the item description, I have (1) project? Y/N (2) "next action" column (3) "waiting for" column / (4) someday maybe Y/N

I can see more than 3 combinations of setting these filters. But some would be irrational. ;-)

Having watched Dave Allen, I don't think he'd approve though, as he sees very little distinction between the two - just stuff to get done.

It's your life and your lists. And you will hear the same from David. Due to security reasons I was using two GTD systems and it worked for me.

 

[TesTeq]

A single press on a key will immediately wipe the entire contents of a cell. The system I use has similarities to ggray50's but instead of a spreadsheet I use a database table which requires at least 3 keystrokes to edit a record.

Isn't the system that requires less keystrokes to perform an action more efficient?

 

[Gardener]

Isn't the system that requires less keystrokes to perform an action more efficient?

In theory, but only if it also offers good "undo" capability. Losing one cell of a dozen carefully-crafted paragraphs will cancel out many months' worth of saved-two-keystrokes efficiency.

 

[@Newbie]

One of the biggest deviations is I don't use context lists. At work, I always have a phone and pc at my disposal (including when I work in different locations - I have a laptop linked to both our intranet and the internet, so I don't really see the point of creating lists). Having a smart phone means I carry the intranet and phone with me all the time when I'm on the move, so while context lists would be critical to productivity a few years back, I feel they are less so now.

I disagree. I am also in the privileged position of having the internet and a phone with me wherever i go. However there are two reasons why i am noticing that having seperate contexts really works for me. (so not just @computer, but, write, email, read etc.)
1) just because you can do something, doesn't make it a great idea. For instance, when i am on the bus for my daily commute, i can in theory place a very personal phone call because i have the means to do so, however it is not the right place for me to do so and just seeing the calls i have to make makes it a lot easier to see that at a glance.
2) switching contexts takes time and energy. I am noticing more and more that when i need to write something it makes a big difference to my mental approach if the thing i need to write is a quick email, or a larger, more creative piece. I need a different kind of focus for each and having to switch between deep thinking of creative pieces, the quick response to an email or the social context of a phone call takes effort. I can afford having to make that effort over and over again by switching contexts as little as possible. Seperating my tasks by context allows me to do just that.

 

[ggray50]

I disagree. I am also in the privileged position of having the internet and a phone with me wherever i go. However there are two reasons why i am noticing that having seperate contexts really works for me. (so not just @computer, but, write, email, read etc.)
1) just because you can do something, doesn't make it a great idea. For instance, when i am on the bus for my daily commute, i can in theory place a very personal phone call because i have the means to do so, however it is not the right place for me to do so and just seeing the calls i have to make makes it a lot easier to see that at a glance.
2) switching contexts takes time and energy. I am noticing more and more that when i need to write something it makes a big difference to my mental approach if the thing i need to write is a quick email, or a larger, more creative piece. I need a different kind of focus for each and having to switch between deep thinking of creative pieces, the quick response to an email or the social context of a phone call takes effort. I can afford having to make that effort over and over again by switching contexts as little as possible. Seperating my tasks by context allows me to do just that.

I hear what you're saying but, for me, applying those kinds of contexts takes more effort than its worth. Just because you have a list of phone calls doesn't mean it's easier to bash through them in one sweep than switch contexts. Each call will have a different context in reality and so you are hopping from one project or issue to another when you go through your calls list. Just as energy depleting as switching GTD context lists imo. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[bcmyers2112]

I don't see anything "risky" about your setup, but my opinion is of little value compared with your experience. If you find the system easy to use and maintain so you can keep things off your mind and be fully present while working, it's a perfect system. If not, you'll need to tweak it. You'll find that out through trial and (possibly) error.

@TesTeq is correct that your system is more in line with GTD than you seem to believe. There is a lot of misinformation out there about GTD, which is why it's great that you'll be reading the book for yourself.

Personally I find contexts useful even though I, like you, have access to most tools (phone, email, internet) 24 x 7. There is no value in making work calls after hours, so I keep a work calls list. The idea is that constantly looking at things you can't do where you are is draining and will cause you to not want to use your lists. I've certainly found that to be the case, which is why I found the concept of context lists liberating.

But if you feel otherwise, by all means do what you want. If it works for you, it doesn't matter what other people think. These are your lists, and it's your life.

As for the spreadsheet "safety" issue, there's a risk in inherent in using any tool. You can misplace a paper planner, cloud-based tools can become inaccessible due to connectivity problems or issues with the provider's server, and electronic tools that require a local sync can be problematic if the device you're using dies and other devices aren't available (for instance your smartphone could die while you're nowhere near your work PC). Just pick a tool that you like and you're comfortable using, and accept that a certain amount of risk is part of everyday life.

 

[severance1970]

For now, I've been following a flow chart which shows you apply the 2 minute rule after capturing everything on a list. My "in" list doesn't have any 2 minute tasks on it - they're already done at source. Thinking it through again, perhaps the issue lies with the flowchart rather than any difference between my approach and GTD?

The Two-Minute Rule is applied prior to capture, the principle being that any action that short would take longer to write down and review later than it would be to do up front. It also provides a heuristic to avoid getting lured into longer actions that can take you out of the collect-process loop. The only list of two-minute actions you should have would be those that need to be performed in a presently inaccessible context, like watering houseplants when it first occurs to you at the office.

Whether you keep separate systems for home and work doesn't violate GTD canon, though it helps to have portable placeholders to capture ideas where you can't implement them. That could be as simple as keeping a notepad at work for things to add to your home system, then taking a picture of it at the end of the work day; or it could be a cloud-based text file.

 

[bcmyers2112]

The Two-Minute Rule is applied prior to capture, the principle being that any action that short would take longer to write down and review later than it would be to do up front. It also provides a heuristic to avoid getting lured into longer actions that can take you out of the collect-process loop. The only list of two-minute actions you should have would be those that need to be performed in a presently inaccessible context, like watering houseplants when it first occurs to you at the office.

Whether you keep separate systems for home and work doesn't violate GTD canon, though it helps to have portable placeholders to capture ideas where you can't implement them. That could be as simple as keeping a notepad at work for things to add to your home system, then taking a picture of it at the end of the work day; or it could be a cloud-based text file.

The "two-minute rule" is a guideline and not an inviolable rule. Even DA himself says in the book that you may want to shrink that rule to one minute or even 30 seconds depending on circumstances.

I've also learned not to be overly concerned about what violates "GTD canon." It's not a magic formula, it's a set of guidelines that work most of the time in most circumstances. But as I've gotten more experienced with GTD I've found more and more ways to tweak it to meet my individual needs.

As long as something serves to keep things off my mind so I can work with a clear head, I think it's in line with GTD even if it doesn't line up the system exactly as presented in the book.

 

[severance1970]

The "two-minute rule" is a guideline and not an inviolable rule. Even DA himself says in the book that you may want to shrink that rule to one minute or even 30 seconds depending on circumstances.

Or expand it to 10 minutes. You'll get no argument from me on this. As I mentioned last week, this was originally called the "Short Action Rule," as conceived by Dean Acheson. Reifying it to the "Two-Minute Rule" as a point of departure just makes it easier for people to find the edge of "short".

I've also learned not to be overly concerned about what violates "GTD canon." It's not a magic formula, it's a set of guidelines that work most of the time in most circumstances. But as I've gotten more experienced with GTD I've found more and more ways to tweak it to meet my individual needs.

As long as something serves to keep things off my mind so I can work with a clear head, I think it's in line with GTD even if it doesn't line up the system exactly as presented in the book.

All true. I only think rules are relevant when onboarding, for making sure we're all speaking the same language. It takes time and experience to discern between rules and principles. I compared ggray50's described system with the canonical one to emphasize that they're not as different as he seems to think.

 

[ggray50]

Thanks to everyone for their comments. Its good to discuss these things.

One drawback to my setup is the time it takes to locate docs which I've labelled for future reading, when I'm away from my desk. Almost without exception, I receive reading material by email. Once I've processed an email, I either delete it, archive it (if its actionable) or put it in a reference folder (if no action is required but it might be useful to look back on).

I was at the Dentists the other day and while I had a spare 10 minutes waiting to be called, I thought I'd quickly catch up on reading a new procedure which was out for consultation. If I'm honest, I found it a clumsy process searching through my "archive" email folder on my phone - although I did find it eventually, after a couple of minutes. Going forward, I've decided to make this easier by creating a "to read" folder on OneDrive. All email attachments which are "to read" are now held there. The docs are easily located and opened now, rather than finding the email, then clicking the attachment, etc etc. I do wonder though if this will just make management of the system harder in the long run, with another folder in another location. That said, my main GTD spreadsheet is on OneDrive, so its not exactly hidden away.

 

[bcmyers2112]

Well, the GTD book does suggest creating an @Read/Review folder under your email inbox. I think you're intuitively picking up on GTD without yet having read the book. When you do read the book and implement the full system, I suspect you'll have a shorter-than-average learning curve. Certainly shorter than mine was!