About to move back to GTD on paper - What lists should I have?

Ship69

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Hello

WHAT LISTS SHOULD I HAVE?

I am planning to move my GTD onto paper for a while. Please may I check what lists I am going to need.

A) A list of major projects (say up to c10) that are live.

B) A separate list of minor projects live (small stuff but which can't be completed in one go)???

C) Contexts lists: A separate list of live standalone tasks + Next Actions for each project for each Context (I will have about 4 or 5)

D) Waiting-For:
- Should I have a separate list for each person I'm waiting for??
OR Should I just put each item into a special calendar for Start Dates (rather than hard due dates?)

E) Someday-Maybe list of standalone tasks + projects of all sizes

F) I am tempted to have a Soon list for stuff that I dont want to lose in all the Someday-Maybe stuff. I might put paused stuff here too...

G) Ad hoc/special purpose lists (e.g. a travelling list)

Thanks

J
 

Molly

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I have the same question. I have a paper system (xls printed out) but my project lists are very long (12 pages). Obviously I cannot be working on all of them at once, but they are not Someday Maybe. I am thinking about adding a 'Next Projects' list behind the Projects list so I have next projects to pull from without losing prioritization.
 

Ship69

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Yess, The GTD "Paper Organisers Setup Guide" looks very promising and I have bought it.

But I don't understand what the "GTD 2017 Organiser" actually is.
Is it designed to
A) be printed and then written on ?
OR
B) be edited digitally and never printed ?

From watching the video about it for the 2014 version (
) it appears that the idea is "B)" - that it is designed to only ever be edited digitally and never actually printed. If true, that strikes me as absolutely bonkers.

i.e. It seems like it is almost a tacit admission that ALL the task management software applications out there are rubbish.

There are lots of subtle advantages to using pen + paper that do not apply to anything digital, but if you don't even print the thing, SURELY a task manager application can be designed to do a better job than a rigid-feeling virtual piece of paper?!

Obviously there are many pros & cons of paper vs. digital, but by failing to print it you would miss out on all the advantages of paper:
e.g.
a. You can pick it up and move it, "instant on" there is no bootup time, no clunky menu of options to go through, no bulky keyboard, no inaccurate/slow voice recognition, no need for web access, super-high resolution...
b. You can use it in a dusty environment (e.g. building site)
c. You don't need electricity nor overnight charging
d. No messing about installing software versions
e. It doesn't waste your screen space, and yet you have a new bit of reading area (on your desk!) that you always know where it is and can open it fast.
f. You can do straight to where you want to go instantly via tabs
g. You can mark it up more easily with coloured inks. (e.g. use highligher pens)
h. You can go freeform and draw arrows and markup conventions.
i. Writing on paper is a form of commitment - i.e. the fact that things can't just be deleted (without typex) is a form of pre-commitment to yourself.
... And probably many others too.

What am I missing?

J
 

TesTeq

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But I don't understand what the "GTD 2017 Organiser" actually is.
Is it designed to
A) be printed and then written on ?
OR
B) be edited digitally and never printed ?
I think that the 2017 GTD® ORGANIZER product page is pretty clear:
The GTD Organizer comes as an editable PDF that can be used in several effective ways:
1. As a PDF file that you type into and store electronically
2. As a PDF file that you type into and print for your paper organizer
3. As paper forms that you print and write on in your paper organizer
 

Ship69

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Sorry too much haste... Yes, fair enough. To be fair I got distracted by the use that is going on in the video which seem to be primarily doing "1." Nonetheless, I do stick to my point regarding "1.", which given the other tools available broadly strikes me as madness!

On reflection I am moderately tempted to buy the "2017 GTD® ORGANIZER - LETTER SIZE"

Unfortunately they only do a Letter size - I just checked. And I'm not sure how well that will print on A4.
Hmm...
 

Gardener

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Sorry too much haste... Yes, fair enough. To be fair I got distracted by the use that is going on in the video which seem to be primarily doing "1."

Well, "1" can be depicted in a video without requiring a camera to show human hands shuffling through paper and writing things, so even if it's the least common use, it seems like the logical one to create the video for, as long as the video is applicable to paper use.

And some people don't deal at all well with database-like applications. Heck, my mother couldn't deal with the database-like elements of email. (Elements like, say, searching and sorting in a list of messages, and folders were totally beyond her.) If a person's mental model works best with paper, than "paper like", even electronically, may work best for them.
 

Ship69

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Irrespective of reasons deriving from easy of production technology, I still say it's still pretty daft and misleading to the FIRST use they cite as what is the least common use, but I guess that's their problem...
 
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Brungilda

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Is design of SM page in GTD official organizer+calendar the same as Projects, just lines for list and due dates? And was paper GTD coordinator the same as digital version available now?
 
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