Some restructuring needed

Travello

Registered
Hi friends

I recently got into GTD and I need some help. I don't even know if the following entries should all be on the project list. But where else should I put them? I feel very stressed and overwhelmed when I look at it.

Project list:
Work
Take three different medications
Shop groceries
Autoimmuntherapy (go once per week to the hospital for injections)
Choose outfit every morning
Loose weight, meet kg goal
Build muscles: go tot he gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Meditate 10 min every day
Fix haircut every morning in a satisfactory way
Use shampoo and conditioner every Monday and Friday
Schamponera och balsamera M-F ca 29/3
Sing in the shower
Listen to audibook every time I drive
Smile to everybody
Plan social activities
Wear sleep mask when sleeping
Walk with bigger steps
Rent out apartment
Sublet apartment (different apartment from above)
Speak from the stomach
Use the scale every morning
Go on a 100 dates
Do therapy
Update Line and Facebook
Eat healthy

I also have a saving for list where I put some stuff I need to save money for. Should I have that or how should I handle the fact that I'm saving for some items?

Thanks
 

Cpu_Modern

Registered
It doesn't surprise me that you are feeling overwhelmed. What you are presenting to us is an insurmountable load of work and I guess it is just a part of it. However, you seem to be willing to improve your life and that is good!

A lot of these are about changing your day-to-day habits. I would say start with one and put the others on someday / maybe lists.

Others seem to be pointers to big overwhelming things and not well thought out. Some make no sense at all, they just seem to be randomly barking commands from yourself to yourself.

Let's see…

Go on a 100 dates - If you manage to go on one date per week, this still would be a ~2 years worth of work, since a year has around 50 weekends. So this would be better dealt with as a Level 2 Area of Focus. To count to your goal maybe you could make a foto during each date and when you have a stash of 100 such dating fotos you've reached your goal…

Smile to everybody - You could have a note (or several) in your Tickler and re-tickle it to random intervals, to surprise yourself with such reminders of your new (?) practice.

Wear sleep mask when sleeping - Put your sleep mask on your cushion when you make your bed. This will remind you at the right place and time to put on that mask. After a while your gut will get it and you just wouldn't do without it. Maybe have a monthly Tickler note to make sure you stayed on top here.

Use shampoo and conditioner every Monday and Friday -
Sing in the shower -
Use the scale every morning -
You could use a bathroom checklist for all of these. I did this once with affirmations. I had them printed out, hung them at the bathroom wall in a plastic thingy and so I could sing out loud my affirmations every morning when taking a shower.

Hope this helps somewhat.

But you probably need more clarification about these things, what you really want to get out of all these activities.

It is probably helpful if you clear up your Higher Levels 2-5 at least tentatively.

Be honest to yourself and others. For example you have a better chance at dating, if you are honest to yourself what you are actually searching for. Then of course you have to be honest to your prospects about it.
 

Gardener

Registered
I'd say that "restructure my GTD projects" could be a project. There are countless ways to handle this; the below is one scenario.

Several of these could be broken out into checklists that you post around the house such as:

Morning checklist:
Medication
Meditate
Hair
IF Monday or Friday, shampoo and conditioner
Use the scale
Go to work

After work checklist:
IF Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, go to gym.

Evening checklist:
Medication
Choose outfit for tomorrow
IF Thursday, Update Line and Facebook

Bedtime checklist:
Wear sleep mask

You could just scan the checklist, or you could actually use paper ones and throw them away every day, or you could plasticize them and use a wipeable marker.

Others could be handled with reminders posted in specific places:
In the shower, a reminder to sing
On your car dash, a reminder to turn on the audiobook. You may also create a project to supply yourself with audiobooks.
On your phone, random reminders to "Smile!" or "Walk with bigger steps!" or "Speak from the stomach!" If you find that these are not producing the habit then create a project: "Establish a habit of smiling" and

You could create a project "Make sure I do my injections" and it could pop up every ten weeks to remind you to make the next ten week's appointments and put them in your calendar. If you already have a therapist, that would be similar. If you don't, then this is an actual project, say, "Get into therapy".

Groceries could also be treated as an appontment. I don't know what Schamponera och balsamera is, but if it's a Monday-Friday thing I suspect it would fit into the checklist format.

That would leave you with a small number of actual multi-step projects. I've combined some of them; you might disagree.

Loose weight, meet kg goal/Eat healthy
Plan social activities/Go on a 100 dates
Rent out apartment
Sublet apartment (different apartment from above)

Edited to add: This is not to say that you need to have reminders for things that you'll do anyway, like getting dressed. But I'm tentatively assuming that the "pick outfit" doesn't just mean "get dressed" but is in some way connected to dressing in a better and more planned way. I'm assuming that there's some similar reason for all of the items that would otherwise be just unthinking habits.
 

Travello

Registered
It doesn't surprise me that you are feeling overwhelmed. What you are presenting to us is an insurmountable load of work and I guess it is just a part of it. However, you seem to be willing to improve your life and that is good!

A lot of these are about changing your day-to-day habits. I would say start with one and put the others on someday / maybe lists.

Others seem to be pointers to big overwhelming things and not well thought out. Some make no sense at all, they just seem to be randomly barking commands from yourself to yourself.

Let's see…

Go on a 100 dates - If you manage to go on one date per week, this still would be a ~2 years worth of work, since a year has around 50 weekends. So this would be better dealt with as a Level 2 Area of Focus. To count to your goal maybe you could make a foto during each date and when you have a stash of 100 such dating fotos you've reached your goal…

Smile to everybody - You could have a note (or several) in your Tickler and re-tickle it to random intervals, to surprise yourself with such reminders of your new (?) practice.

Wear sleep mask when sleeping - Put your sleep mask on your cushion when you make your bed. This will remind you at the right place and time to put on that mask. After a while your gut will get it and you just wouldn't do without it. Maybe have a monthly Tickler note to make sure you stayed on top here.

Use shampoo and conditioner every Monday and Friday -
Sing in the shower -
Use the scale every morning -
You could use a bathroom checklist for all of these. I did this once with affirmations. I had them printed out, hung them at the bathroom wall in a plastic thingy and so I could sing out loud my affirmations every morning when taking a shower.

Hope this helps somewhat.

But you probably need more clarification about these things, what you really want to get out of all these activities.

It is probably helpful if you clear up your Higher Levels 2-5 at least tentatively.

Be honest to yourself and others. For example you have a better chance at dating, if you are honest to yourself what you are actually searching for. Then of course you have to be honest to your prospects about it.

I can line up 7 dates a week if I want to but that would be overwhelming so 3-4 is reasonable and will take 8 months if 3 per week. I already have about 30 of them done.

Smile to everyone to tickler file is good, I did that.

The problem with the sleep mask which is actually a black t-hirt is that I am sometimes too tired to put it on.

Yes the bathroom checklist is genious and obvious, thanks!
 

Travello

Registered
I'd say that "restructure my GTD projects" could be a project. There are countless ways to handle this; the below is one scenario.

Several of these could be broken out into checklists that you post around the house such as:

Morning checklist:
Medication
Meditate
Hair
IF Monday or Friday, shampoo and conditioner
Use the scale
Go to work

After work checklist:
IF Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, go to gym.

Evening checklist:
Medication
Choose outfit for tomorrow
IF Thursday, Update Line and Facebook

Bedtime checklist:
Wear sleep mask

You could just scan the checklist, or you could actually use paper ones and throw them away every day, or you could plasticize them and use a wipeable marker.

Others could be handled with reminders posted in specific places:
In the shower, a reminder to sing
On your car dash, a reminder to turn on the audiobook. You may also create a project to supply yourself with audiobooks.
On your phone, random reminders to "Smile!" or "Walk with bigger steps!" or "Speak from the stomach!" If you find that these are not producing the habit then create a project: "Establish a habit of smiling" and

You could create a project "Make sure I do my injections" and it could pop up every ten weeks to remind you to make the next ten week's appointments and put them in your calendar. If you already have a therapist, that would be similar. If you don't, then this is an actual project, say, "Get into therapy".

Groceries could also be treated as an appontment. I don't know what Schamponera och balsamera is, but if it's a Monday-Friday thing I suspect it would fit into the checklist format.

That would leave you with a small number of actual multi-step projects. I've combined some of them; you might disagree.

Loose weight, meet kg goal/Eat healthy
Plan social activities/Go on a 100 dates
Rent out apartment
Sublet apartment (different apartment from above)

Edited to add: This is not to say that you need to have reminders for things that you'll do anyway, like getting dressed. But I'm tentatively assuming that the "pick outfit" doesn't just mean "get dressed" but is in some way connected to dressing in a better and more planned way. I'm assuming that there's some similar reason for all of the items that would otherwise be just unthinking habits.

Thanks.

I don't even know what multi level is, I never understood those chapters.
 

Sarahsuccess

Registered
I recently got into GTD and I need some help. I don't even know if the following entries should all be on the project list. But where else should I put them? I feel very stressed and overwhelmed when I look at it.


That would leave you with a small number of actual multi-step projects. I've combined some of them; you might disagree.

Loose weight, meet kg goal/Eat healthy
Plan social activities/Go on a 100 dates
Rent out apartment
Sublet apartment (different apartment from above)

I don't even know what multi level is, I never understood those chapters.

I like Gardener's reply and I want to explain what "multi-step projects" are.

A project is anything that will take two or more actions/steps to complete. Going to the mechanic could be a project 1. call to make an appointment 2. go to the mechanic.

"Rent out apartment" is a project because it will take several steps to complete. For example:

1. write text for ad
2. post ad online or in newspaper
3. wait for replies
4. show the apartment
5. have tenant sign lease
6. collect rent

Lose weight/meet kg goal is also a project because it will take several steps to complete, for example

1. make food plan
2. go food shopping
3. prepare meals etc.

According to the examples above , you need a project list containing:

- rent out apartment
- lose weight

You also need a next action list containing:
1. write text for apartment ad
2. make food plan.

...or whatever your real next actions are. You should not have other next actions of post ad, or go grocery shopping because they are not next actions, you cannot do those until the first actions are done. Those are project PLANS. (You don't have to write out project plans. Only if you want to. Often the next action is obvious.)

It is recommended to keep the project list separate from the next actions lists and separate from project plans. As the lists get longer, they are easier to use this way.

Several items on your list are "next actions", but are not "projects" because they do not have two or more steps to complete. They can be completed with one action, but you want them to repeat. Perhaps putting them on a checklist would be a good idea. For example:

Take three different medications
Choose outfit every morning
Meditate 10 min every day
Fix haircut every morning in a satisfactory way
Use shampoo and conditioner every Monday and Friday
Wear sleep mask when sleeping
Use the scale every morning

The following should probably go on your calendar because it is (probably) scheduled:

Autoimmuntherapy (go once per week to the hospital for injections)

Hope this helps.

I'd appreciate feedback on my reply.

Sarah
 

ellobogrande

Registered
There's already been lots of great advice given here, but I'd like to offer this word of caution. If you make your system too complicated and try to manage everyday, common sense habits within the system you'll bloat it, complicate it and make it dysfunctional. It can be tempting to manage things within a GTD system or a fancy new app that good old fashioned common sense and good habits will handle. Don't fall into that trap. Keep it simple.

For example, I made an *extensive* checklist for keeping my house clean in an app called Chore Checklist. I defined over 100 specific "job jar" chores and organized them into time-boxed routines (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.). I really thought that it would help me to direct my energies when cleaning the house. Little did I realize that it would bring nothing but stress and I would stop using it.

First, it was so granular that I often forgot to check things off the list. If I went on a cleaning spree and did all of the cleaning I would usually do on the first floor of my home, I had to locate and check off over a dozen boxes. Second, if I didn't check off items right away, the next due date (based on completion date) would be miscalculated, making the reminders of when I needed to do a task unreliable. Third, because of the first two issues, my checklist looked like a sea of red overdue tasks. Finally, because I lost trust in that system, I started using my calendar to track the things I really didn't want to miss like changing filters or cleaning my dryer vent pipe. Now I have housekeeping reminders in multiple places and I'm not sure I'm looking at everything. It wasn't too long before I started feeling like crap every time I looked at the list so I stopped using the system and now my house is full of voices screaming at me to be cleaned. My brain has numbed them out and along with it the source of inspiration and enthusiasm. No wonder I've not felt mind like water in some time.

I recently read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo and learned that cleaning is easy and almost automatic once you've tidied your home and learned how to keep it that way. It reminded me of something David Allen once said in a course I watched. He likes to set things up so that things automatically happen without having to work at it because he's so lazy (in a positive way). That's what I want to do - get housekeeping on automatic pilot so I don't have to work too hard to maintain a system around it.

It's tempting to try out these tantalizing apps like Chore Checklist to manage something that may need not be managed in that level of detail. I'm not saying Chore Checklist is bad - I love the idea of it - but it's working against me, not for me. As you try out new tools and apps keep a pulse on whether or not they are making it easier or harder to maintain your system. If they aren't helping, get rid of them.
 

Travello

Registered
I like Gardener's reply and I want to explain what "multi-step projects" are.

A project is anything that will take two or more actions/steps to complete. Going to the mechanic could be a project 1. call to make an appointment 2. go to the mechanic.

"Rent out apartment" is a project because it will take several steps to complete. For example:

1. write text for ad
2. post ad online or in newspaper
3. wait for replies
4. show the apartment
5. have tenant sign lease
6. collect rent

Lose weight/meet kg goal is also a project because it will take several steps to complete, for example

1. make food plan
2. go food shopping
3. prepare meals etc.

According to the examples above , you need a project list containing:

- rent out apartment
- lose weight

You also need a next action list containing:
1. write text for apartment ad
2. make food plan.

...or whatever your real next actions are. You should not have other next actions of post ad, or go grocery shopping because they are not next actions, you cannot do those until the first actions are done. Those are project PLANS. (You don't have to write out project plans. Only if you want to. Often the next action is obvious.)

It is recommended to keep the project list separate from the next actions lists and separate from project plans. As the lists get longer, they are easier to use this way.

Several items on your list are "next actions", but are not "projects" because they do not have two or more steps to complete. They can be completed with one action, but you want them to repeat. Perhaps putting them on a checklist would be a good idea. For example:

Take three different medications
Choose outfit every morning
Meditate 10 min every day
Fix haircut every morning in a satisfactory way
Use shampoo and conditioner every Monday and Friday
Wear sleep mask when sleeping
Use the scale every morning

The following should probably go on your calendar because it is (probably) scheduled:

Autoimmuntherapy (go once per week to the hospital for injections)

Hope this helps.

I'd appreciate feedback on my reply.

Sarah

Thank you, that helped alot.
 

Travello

Registered
There's already been lots of great advice given here, but I'd like to offer this word of caution. If you make your system too complicated and try to manage everyday, common sense habits within the system you'll bloat it, complicate it and make it dysfunctional. It can be tempting to manage things within a GTD system or a fancy new app that good old fashioned common sense and good habits will handle. Don't fall into that trap. Keep it simple.

For example, I made an *extensive* checklist for keeping my house clean in an app called Chore Checklist. I defined over 100 specific "job jar" chores and organized them into time-boxed routines (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.). I really thought that it would help me to direct my energies when cleaning the house. Little did I realize that it would bring nothing but stress and I would stop using it.

First, it was so granular that I often forgot to check things off the list. If I went on a cleaning spree and did all of the cleaning I would usually do on the first floor of my home, I had to locate and check off over a dozen boxes. Second, if I didn't check off items right away, the next due date (based on completion date) would be miscalculated, making the reminders of when I needed to do a task unreliable. Third, because of the first two issues, my checklist looked like a sea of red overdue tasks. Finally, because I lost trust in that system, I started using my calendar to track the things I really didn't want to miss like changing filters or cleaning my dryer vent pipe. Now I have housekeeping reminders in multiple places and I'm not sure I'm looking at everything. It wasn't too long before I started feeling like crap every time I looked at the list so I stopped using the system and now my house is full of voices screaming at me to be cleaned. My brain has numbed them out and along with it the source of inspiration and enthusiasm. No wonder I've not felt mind like water in some time.

I recently read "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo and learned that cleaning is easy and almost automatic once you've tidied your home and learned how to keep it that way. It reminded me of something David Allen once said in a course I watched. He likes to set things up so that things automatically happen without having to work at it because he's so lazy (in a positive way). That's what I want to do - get housekeeping on automatic pilot so I don't have to work too hard to maintain a system around it.

It's tempting to try out these tantalizing apps like Chore Checklist to manage something that may need not be managed in that level of detail. I'm not saying Chore Checklist is bad - I love the idea of it - but it's working against me, not for me. As you try out new tools and apps keep a pulse on whether or not they are making it easier or harder to maintain your system. If they aren't helping, get rid of them.

Thank you, you have a great point.
 

Gardener

Registered
There's already been lots of great advice given here, but I'd like to offer this word of caution. If you make your system too complicated and try to manage everyday, common sense habits within the system you'll bloat it, complicate it and make it dysfunctional. It can be tempting to manage things within a GTD system or a fancy new app that good old fashioned common sense and good habits will handle. Don't fall into that trap. Keep it simple.

Yep, I was wondering about that, but I'm assuming that if a "habit" item is on the list, it's because for some reason that area is not working in a satisfactory way.

That does suggest that perhaps some items need to be rephrased or restructured.

Is "choose outfit" about dressing better? If so, then it may make sense to try to form a habit of laying out an outfit at night. If that isn't working, maybe a project about dressing better would be useful, including analyzing one's wardrobe, figuring out what pieces would make it easier to assemble work outfits, etc.

Is "shop groceries" there because frequently the cabinets and fridge have nothing for dinner and that results in a call for pizza? That might call for a project about meal planning.

And so on.
 

bcmyers2112

Registered
While I agree with the others that your "projects" list demonstrates a misunderstanding of the nature of GTD projects (and their advice for how you might handle these items instead is sound, so I won't belabor the point) I believe the more important issue is that your list reflects unhealthy levels of self-criticism and anxiety that will set you up for personal failure. I'm speaking from experience. At one point in my life I used to maintain lists like yours. I could never measure up to them, so they obliterated my confidence not only in my system but in myself as well.

One of the things I learned by undergoing therapy is that anxious people will try to change too much about themselves. The mind resists change, which is why it's best to focus on one change at a time. When you try to change everything, your results will fall short of your grand designs. This undermines self-confidence which in anxious people is usually low to begin with.

I don't think you need to structure your life as much as you believe. For example, I would bet you walk and talk just fine, and your hairstyle is pleasing enough as it is. I'm also guessing you can trust yourself to habitually shower properly without external prompts. I could go on about most of the items in that list but I think you get the point.

Unless there is some underlying cognitive issue I'm unaware of that would require you to use external prompts to help you remember to do such basic things as style your hair (and there's no shame in that -- our disabilities and conditions don't define us), my suggestion is to address the underlying anxiety and self-confidence issues that are leading you to feel you need such rigid structures in your life. I did so by undergoing something called Cognitive Processing Therapy which has a high rate of success. I'm not guaranteeing it will work for you -- I'm not a trained psychologist -- but the success rate is high enough that I'd at least recommend looking into it. It basically involves recognizing distorted, unhealthy thought patterns and replacing them with more reasonable thoughts. It isn't easy but is well worth the effort.

On the advice of my therapist, I gave up GTD for a bit while I worked my way through these issues. He advised this because anxious people tend to be so perfectionist about anything they try that self-help programs become obstacles to success rather than enablers. His advice was on the money. I turned my attention to focusing on one change at a time, the first one being mastering CPT. Eventually I returned to GTD and was able to utilize it successfully, but first I had to get a handle on my thinking.

I would bet even if I'm right about your situation (and I have a strong feeling that I am), you might find yourself recoiling from this advice. I say that because I received the same advice multiple times throughout my life and resisted it until just a few years ago. That's OK. If what I say doesn't resonate today, perhaps it will someday.
 
Last edited:

bcmyers2112

Registered
Hi, @Travello. I've been thinking a lot about my response and I'm afraid it was presumptuous. It was filled with a lot of assumptions about you based on my own experiences. I apologize for that. I hope you can believe me that it really was intended to be helpful. And I'm hoping you can look past my presumption because I'd like to reframe my advice in a way that I hope will be actually useful.

Based on the list you shared with us, I see three issues. The first one is that some of your "projects" aren't really projects at all. Other posters above have done a great job addressing that, so much so that I don't I think I can add anything.

Second, as another poster has already pointed out your list is bogged down in things that you don't really need to track in any system. His advice was spot on, so again I have nothing worth adding to that.

Third -- and this is where I think I have something to add -- your list reflects a desire to change many, many things about yourself. As I mentioned, I once kept lists like this. I had goals to improve all aspects of my life. They were too far-reaching, and I always fell short. This undermined my confidence and caused me to give up on everything.

I found it useful to focus on changing just one thing about myself at a time. It was hard, because there was so much I wanted to change! But I found myself becoming a lot more successful when I limited my focus.

The nice thing about GTD is that you can always keep your back-burner items in a someday/maybe list. That way you'll know they're in a place where you can review them at will and make any one of them an active project when you're ready.

Again, I'm sorry for my earlier presumption. I hope this post was more helpful. Good luck on your GTD journey.
 

treelike

Registered
Hi, @Travello. I've been thinking a lot about my response and I'm afraid it was presumptuous. It was filled with a lot of assumptions about you based on my own experiences. I apologize for that. I hope you can believe me that it really was intended to be helpful. And I'm hoping you can look past my presumption because I'd like to reframe my advice in a way that I hope will be actually useful.
For what it's worth, I thought your initial analysis was spot on- the list suggests too much self-criticism. Criticism (I would add) that has probably been adopted from criticism and advice from other sources in the past i.e. parents, teachers, peers, society, etc.

The problem is that some of this advice is actually relevant and some is not. The only way to tell which is which is to try them out. The goal is to be in a position where you yourself are able to predict what is important to you and what isn't, rather than just listen to others' advice. (I am aware of the irony that this could be construed as me giving advice!)

Therefore I also agree with your follow up post that the original poster is trying to take on too much and might be better focusing on one change at a time. Not only to ensure each change is successfully implemented but so the results of the change, in all other areas of life, can be fully appreciated.
 
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