Confusion

[chrisstribbs]

Forgive me if this is not worded well, had alot happen this week and have trapped a nerve in my lower back. I am neurodivergent with chronic health conditions.

I am confused about how to approach:

Using my Curable app for pain management, which has a range of live talks and other tools of different lengths of time.

Returning to a book I am reading for professional development.

Getting a conference agenda signed off, where there's no clarity about the compassionate leave that person is taking or anyone else that will sign it off.

Clearing out my office, clothes then our garage- garage is going to be removing stuff to keep.

Following up and implementing tech support actions - really don't want to do a clean os install again but stuff isn't opening after system files repairs etc.

Getting accreditation as a coach supervisor, which i was going to do in 2025.

 

[kellerb]

Each of those items looks like a "Project" in GTD terms. Come up with a specific Next Action for each. Keep a list of your "Projects" and a separate list of those Next Actions. Review and update both on a regular basis.

that's not ALL of GTD, but it's a way to start clarifying what you need to do and solid actions you can take

 

[morn]

Read the book. You didn't really ask a well-formed question.

GTD is pretty simple, even if people like to complicate it. Read the book. Get one of the many flowcharts circulating online. Read the book. Review the flowchart. Read the book. Review the flowchart.

Once you have a general grasp of the concepts and the flow, start implementing slowly and iteratively.

I am likely more like you than the typical person and I have had a year for the ages. Thinking about posting here to describe getting back on the GTD wagon during a time of rather incredible distress. It might be helpful for you. Not sure the forum wants to read such a thing tho lol. I would be looking for some feedback on some of my interpretations of GTD.

But read the book; look at a few of the flowcharts. Process before tools (a tenuous distinction at times to be fair).

 

[fooddude]

Add each one to your project list and add the very next action to the correct context.

 

[gtd solo-studente]

As you see GTD fit. . . .

 

[chrisstribbs]

They don't have clear next actions though, apart from read one page of the book till completed.

 

[morn]

They don't have clear next actions though, apart from read one page of the book till completed.

You've a reductive view of what a next action is. A next action is the next meaningful step to make progress on a project or task for YOU.

The next action for reading a book will rarely be read one page. Why not one letter? Or ligature?

The degree of resolution will differ from person to person and for a single person across circumstances

The example I use is of three men. A master woodworker, a journeyman woodworker, and an apprentice. The project is: turn table leg.

The master woodworker's next action is going to be different from the journeyman's and the apprentice's. This should be clear.

A next action is a bookmark or breadcrumb that leads you back to where you need to make progress on the project. For a master woodworker, that is going to look very different than the apprentice's.

Now the master woodworker's wife passed away. He is mourning and has trouble keeping his mind on his tasks. Now his sequence of next actions may resemble more that of the journeyman or even the apprentice.

So for a book like Getting Things Done, something popish that is low signal to noise, I can read that in less than 45 minutes easily. Literally my next action for such a book is literally to read it. It will be done in a single brief sitting. Someone else might need a weekend. A text like Hegel's Phenomenology, I can assure you the first next action will be going thru part of the TOC. That next action will likely will be repeated.

Now, take another example of yours, clearing out an office, for that I will be writing a rather high resolution next action, since I really am not good at such tasks. Whereas as friend of mine, would simply write clear out office and get on with it.

You have to ask yourself, what is the next step you can take that will make meaningful progress on your project that you can commit to. If you find yourself struggling to start that next action, decompose it into something smaller or simpler. And to be clear, you don't write down every next action. Next actions are not a log of what you did. So if I were to write: move box off desk, for the project: clear out office. And I then keep going. I don't stop and write anything down. Once I decide I am done enough, I then write then next action for that project down. If I am not sure what that next action would be, it would be picked up at the weekly review at the latest.

Again, as I said above. Read the book, get a summary flowchart.

 

[chrisstribbs]

You've a reductive view of what a next action is. A next action is the next meaningful step to make progress on a project or task for YOU.

The next action for reading a book will rarely be read one page. Why not one letter? Or ligature?

The degree of resolution will differ from person to person and for a single person across circumstances

The example I use is of three men. A master woodworker, a journeyman woodworker, and an apprentice. The project is: turn table leg.

The master woodworker's next action is going to be different from the journeyman's and the apprentice's. This should be clear.

A next action is a bookmark or breadcrumb that leads you back to where you need to make progress on the project. For a master woodworker, that is going to look very different than the apprentice's.

Now the master woodworker's wife passed away. He is mourning and has trouble keeping his mind on his tasks. Now his sequence of next actions may resemble more that of the journeyman or even the apprentice.

So for a book like Getting Things Done, something popish that is low signal to noise, I can read that in less than 45 minutes easily. Literally my next action for such a book is literally to read it. It will be done in a single brief sitting. Someone else might need a weekend. A text like Hegel's Phenomenology, I can assure you the first next action will be going thru part of the TOC. That next action will likely will be repeated.

Now, take another example of yours, clearing out an office, for that I will be writing a rather high resolution next action, since I really am not good at such tasks. Whereas as friend of mine, would simply write clear out office and get on with it.

You have to ask yourself, what is the next step you can take that will make meaningful progress on your project that you can commit to. If you find yourself struggling to start that next action, decompose it into something smaller or simpler. And to be clear, you don't write down every next action. Next actions are not a log of what you did. So if I were to write: move box off desk, for the project: clear out office. And I then keep going. I don't stop and write anything down. Once I decide I am done enough, I then write then next action for that project down. If I am not sure what that next action would be, it would be picked up at the weekly review at the latest.

Again, as I said above. Read the book, get a summary flowchart.

My fault for writing whilst depressed I see

 

[cfoley]

@morn, I absolutely love your master, journeyman and apprentice example.

 

[morn]

My fault for writing whilst depressed I see

A great first step when depressed is not to act like it.

If reading a book is too much now or looking at a flowchart, perhaps an easy, well-paced podcast would be better?

This is a link to the website of the podcast that is very good as far as GTD goes. The hosts are straight to the point without making GTD a serious / complicated issue. The entire podcast is great, but episodes 2-7 cover the basics of GTD. I will link to episode 2. You can use whatever podcast client you like. Their web interface isn't the greatest:

https://vitallearning.dk/2-step-1-in-gtd-capture/

They are beloved by it seems everyone, which is a hard thing to achieve.

If you are depressed, you should be mindful of your commitments and that you are not trying to do too much. GTD will help with this. But ALSO trying to get your legs under you with a full-blown GTD implementation could be contraindicated depending on the severity of your depression. Doing a complete brain dump, might be less than helpful.

But focusing on the truly necessary projects and tasks and leaning into clarifying their next actions will be helpful, as will reviewing, likely more frequently than once a week. Last year, I had a huge health issue and a natural disaster complicated by a less than helpful brain, so slowly getting back into the saddle is a legitimate strategy I am well acquainted with.

Hang in there!

 

[morn]

@morn, I absolutely love your master, journeyman and apprentice example.

Yeah, the resolution of a next action is something that people seem to struggle with for whatever reason. I think it stems from not understanding the point of a next action.

The other thing is how many next actions . . . I started working in legit waterfall. Putting up airports and skyscrapers requires a lot of planning, but GTD is literally antithetical to this way of thinking. I still want to map out a ton of steps prior to doing anything and yet GTD proves you don't need this. And this is after working the later part of my life in legit agile environments. Client side software isn't a skyscraper. But do I ever love to outline at least the main beats.

GTD is just too simple at the end of the day and effective enough for most things that aren't legitimate projects in the formal sense, which most people aren't dealing with. There is a great freedom to just list the next step (or more if in parallel) and trust your support material and experience to keep going. People seem to want complexity at the cost of efficacy. I am still learning how not to be that way.

 

[gtd solo-studente]

Yeah, the resolution of a next action is something that people seem to struggle with for whatever reason. I think it stems from not understanding the point of a next action.

The other thing is how many next actions . . . I started working in legit waterfall. Putting up airports and skyscrapers requires a lot of planning, but GTD is literally antithetical to this way of thinking. I still want to map out a ton of steps prior to doing anything and yet GTD proves you don't need this. And this is after working the later part of my life in legit agile environments. Client side software isn't a skyscraper. But do I ever love to outline at least the main beats.

GTD is just too simple at the end of the day and effective enough for most things that aren't legitimate projects in the formal sense, which most people aren't dealing with. There is a great freedom to just list the next step (or more if in parallel) and trust your support material and experience to keep going. People seem to want complexity at the cost of efficacy. I am still learning how not to be that way.

@morn

" . . . next action is something that people seem to struggle with for whatever reason. "

On this end, intuitively 'pulling-out' up to three most appropriate Next Actions per Context from the digital Next Action lists to the propped clipboard with provisional paper* to an appropriately spacious visual 'Next Actions with omni-focus areas Context layout' decreases repulsing overwhelm numbness while increasing attractiveness and appropriate "All-Options-Visually-Available-Confidence" for Mind Like Water

As one sees GTD fit. . . .

*This 'practical function' over 'elegant form' tool inherently includes plenty of capturing capacity . . . and sometimes reduced to 'Junior' clipboard or just paper are available 'no cost' options with the Pen prop easy flowing provisional ink quality being the most important tool** part

**Many tools have a Prop and Provisional component and being aware of the inherent distinction(s) seemingly facilitates tool control, longevity, mastery, etc.

As one sees GTD fit. . . .