I have worked hard at getting my GTD system up and running, and, while it has been marvelous at capturing everything that I need to keep track of, I am struggling a bit with engaging. I have started my daily reviews each morning, and that is helpful, but I'm wondering the best way to prioritize what to do each day without giving a deadline to things that don't have one. So, for example. I have an action that has to be done by Monday afternoon. Obviously, when I look at the Today view in Things (my chosen app for tracking,) that action is listed, but what about the 3-4 action items off my list that are of the highest priority for that day? They aren't "due" that day, but they are the most pressing. My thought is that, in Things, I can set a "do" date that is not a "due" date. That way the actions that I have prioritized are front and center on Today, but, I admit, that's kind of like setting a due date and calling it something else. How do you focus and approach your day?
Setting up your day
- Thread starter BrandiFig
- Start date
ivanjay205
Registered
It sounds counterintuitive but you really really want to minimize dates. Set up your lists so you can see what is on your plate and an appropriate amount of it. Let your mind decide what is right. What you will find is that when you end up with 50 things on the list, you cant get that many down. Whittle it down to the ones you want to see priority wise. Next week pull another 15 or so into your system.
But once you start creating dates and flags you will become numb to it all
But once you start creating dates and flags you will become numb to it all
gtdstudente
Registered
@BrandiFig,
"I'm wondering the best way to prioritize what to do each day without giving a deadline to things that don't have one."
Some thought:
1. Daily Review: Projects, Calendar, and NA list ?
2. If so, trust your intuition decide what to prioritize ?
3. Do what you feel like doing ?
4. Getting something done that needs to be done is simply a good thing to have done since it needs to be done
As you see GTD fit . . . for Forgetting Everything for Forgetting Nothing
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Lucas W.
Registered
GTD recommendation is just to regularly review your lists and select the most proper task at hand.
The idea behind is that our priorities change many times during the day. We also work with certain limitations like time or energy and usually in a dynamic environment. So whatever focus/today/priority list you make, you will quickly notice that it becomes longer and longer each day and that it is another place which you have to manage.
I was making daily to do lists as well as calendar time-blocking for many years so I know it is very difficult to switch to GTD rules cause they are not common with everyday experience.
mcogilvie
Registered
The Today view in Things is not a list of actions due today. There is a separate, hidden view that shows everything with a deadline: simply begin to search for “deadlines” and you will uncover it. Items appear on the Today view because they have a start date on or before today, a due date on or before today, or because you chose to put them on the Today list because you might want to work on them. Items in the Today view either have deadlines or they don’t. If they do, and are due or past due, the date will be in red. Things does not sort by date, but has easy manual sorting. To answer your specific question, throughout the day I look at the Today view and try to make good intuitive choices. I really recommend reading and re-reading the advice Cultured Code has on their website.
FocusGuy
Registered
I agree with what was said before. I would add some little things. If you have difficulties with engage it is sometime because you have too much on your plate or your priorities are un set. So, here are some rules I apply to myself. May be they can be some help for you. I hope so.
1) You can do anything but not everything.
2) Priorities changes. Life changes so adapt yourself to what happens
3) Things is great for choosing the core of your stuff on a weekly basis.
4) The when date in things means : I intend to do this on.
5) May be it's good to make a mind map of what is the most important of the week or the day.
6) Update your system the most you can to focus on what matters.
7) Be aware of opportunities.
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gtdstudente
Registered
I actually use a mix because I blend the Franklin Planner system with GTD. I will let context and intuition guide me on what is important, but I also plan my day and decide some tasks that I feel must be done that day. Why? Because sometimes priorities “change” but they aren’t YOUR priorities. Choosing tasks to get done that day helps me to make sure I get the most important things finished without letting other people dictate my priorities (within reason).
Taking the example above, I can’t buy my suit if I’m on the plane. However, if I’m home and look over my list and realize I need that suit, even if I’m not in the context now, I might need to put myself in the context of “out and about” because I need that suit today. I determine that by planning out the day.
I don’t always get everything done I want to but that’s okay. I don’t put that pressure. But I find that planning helps me to get things done I might not otherwise. I understand GTD’s priority system but I like ordering tasks because what I feel I want to do vs what I should do can differ. Order keeps me focused on doing what I said I’d do. I’m flexible but the overall structure helps.
Taking the example above, I can’t buy my suit if I’m on the plane. However, if I’m home and look over my list and realize I need that suit, even if I’m not in the context now, I might need to put myself in the context of “out and about” because I need that suit today. I determine that by planning out the day.
I don’t always get everything done I want to but that’s okay. I don’t put that pressure. But I find that planning helps me to get things done I might not otherwise. I understand GTD’s priority system but I like ordering tasks because what I feel I want to do vs what I should do can differ. Order keeps me focused on doing what I said I’d do. I’m flexible but the overall structure helps.
schmeggahead
Registered
I pull tasks into today's view (usually a hand written note). I am careful to distinguish them from the hard landscape of my day ...
... except when I discover that it really belongs in the hard landscape of my day. Then it gets a date put on it.
@msisto983 highlights the need for appropriate frequency of review of a system because things do change. I found it useful to continue to use my Franklin Planner after adopting GTD and boy did it look completely different. There were so few items on the daily task list it looked barren. It is usable as a construct with GTD, it just works 100 times better.
Clayton
Change your life by changing your days. - Arnold Schwartzneggar.
gtdstudente
Registered
@schmeggahead,
"I pull tasks into today's view (usually a hand written note). I am careful to distinguish them from the hard landscape of my day ..."
Spot-[GTD]-On . . . thank you very much
Using GTD for Forgetting Everything for Forgetting Nothing
Lucas W.
Registered
As I have mentioned above I was making daily to-do lists for many years. But I can say that today's when I feel that I need to make such a daily to-do list, it is a warning for me that I have too many obligations or that my system is messy.
Also comparing one week to another I have found that regular reviewing my lists (instead of making daily lists) result with more completed tasks. I just think that creating daily to-do lists made me procrastinate more cause I was trying to push too much tasks in one day and many of them were not adjusted to what I was actually able to do on a given day and at a given time.
But this is rather a suggestion, not a conclusion – I know that a lot of people prefer structured and predictable environment and daily to-do lists will be helpful for them to feel in control with their commitments. There are also some strongly disciplined individuals who are able to push themselves relentlessly to complete all of their daily tasks – so they are able to benefit from this approach – but this approach is far from GTD concept and I believe also not possible to sustain for a long time.
Also comparing one week to another I have found that regular reviewing my lists (instead of making daily lists) result with more completed tasks. I just think that creating daily to-do lists made me procrastinate more cause I was trying to push too much tasks in one day and many of them were not adjusted to what I was actually able to do on a given day and at a given time.
But this is rather a suggestion, not a conclusion – I know that a lot of people prefer structured and predictable environment and daily to-do lists will be helpful for them to feel in control with their commitments. There are also some strongly disciplined individuals who are able to push themselves relentlessly to complete all of their daily tasks – so they are able to benefit from this approach – but this approach is far from GTD concept and I believe also not possible to sustain for a long time.
Ariadne Marques
Registered
That happens a lot to me: I have tasks I need to complete soon (within the same week or a couple of weeks ahead). But I have to start working on them before the deadline to get them done.
What I do is a little bit of a planning exercise: at the start of the week (usually on Monday morning) I look at my calendar, my projects and my next action lists to identify tasks that have a due date within the week. I do it on paper, just write down the upcoming deadlines so I can prepare for them.
Then, when I do my Daily Review, I refer back to this "weekly highlights" list to decide if I need to start working on something there. If yes, I'll mark the action as my day focus (in Nirvana I put a "star" on the item). When I look at my Focus list I will see when the task is due (by its due date) but I've added it to my focus to start working on it. Another way to do this is to add an all-day entry on your Calendar with a reminder: "Start looking at this task".
GTDChemist
Registered
Like @schmeggahead, I pull in daily tasks to my today view first thing in the morning. I also do a bit of weekly planning to find the 4-6 big rocks I need to move on that week and block time on the calendar to get them done. Both tactics seem to help keep me from getting overwhelmed by my lists and getting decision paralysis.
Cheers,
Stephen
Cheers,
Stephen
Jared Caron
Nursing leader; GTD enthusiast
Sounds like you might be getting thrown off by the tool. The handy filtering and due date functionality in task apps is attractive, but I think counterproductive when learning GTD. After all, GTD is a set of mental and behavioral habits that are independent of your tool choice
For that reason, I always recommend people new to GTD start out on a paper system. This will force you to focus on learning the thought process versus some software tool, and not to get distracted by the bells and whistles in your app of choice. I also think something about the tactile experience of processing your inbasket, and manually writing and reviewing lists helps solidify the methodology and expedite learning.
Then, when you have a reasonable stable system, you can transfer it to a digital implementation, and you'll be better equipped to know which features will enhance your workflow and which might just be adding drag. Digital has some great advantages, and the features can be powerful, but you won't get as much out of them unless you really understand the method first.
Broomscot
Registered
That's very good advice, Jared. I started last autumn with a Filofax system, using the GTD guide to setting up a paper planner. I also implemented a paper tickler file. With experience, I learned what works well on paper and what works better on the computer. For example, although I write in pencil so can erase and rewrite, I find that anything I want to adjust frequently throughout the day is easier to handle electronically. So I use the Filofax for my calendar (events and day-specific tasks and notes), but I set up a daily list in Things that includes tasks I want to work on that day but that don't have to be done then, which means that I can constantly review and adjust as the day progress. I started with my project list in the Filofax, but realised I wanted to be able to sort and filter it in different ways to aid strategic thinking, so that also moved to the computer.
The nice thing about a paper system is that nothing is automated so you have to design your own work process instead of having it automated by a computer. And as you say, when the system is reasonable stable, because you have discovered what does and doesn't work for you, then you can computeris those parts of the system that benefit from computerisation.
FocusGuy
Registered
I agree. When sometime things become to complex and difficult I often come back to paper for my major list. I noticed it is faster that any software and it helps for making a fresh review of the method. However later I come back to digital essentials for searching function and easiness. I love paper but it becomes invasive. I try to avoid the most I can but as I always worked with paper since 60 years this is not easy at all to get rid of it. So I also made a version with word I test sometime to see If I could get rid of software
I notice both paper and word file works pretty well.
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