I would be interested in how you do it in Things as I do have a mac, ipad, and iphone. So if on the rare time I am on a PC I needed to use my phone to see next actions that would be doable.
I completely understand what you are saying about really spending too much time on the system, I am guilty of that. However, I am an owner of a company with 40 people and I got a TON of requests. My biggest struggle in GTD is I am a yes person as I want to deliver for everyone. And periodically if I sit down with myself and try to evaluate what links back to my plans for the year I will see that there is drift. I actually try to do it quarterly and reshuffle the deck based on my priorities.
But, if something connected the two and gave me real visibility into that it would be wonderful.
I have an extensive mind map for all of my areas of focus. I have a list, not yet mindmap but I think I do want to convert it to that format, for my higher horizons. But those lists do not speak directly to my next actions. So I have to in my mind map them together ot ensure there is alignment.
It simple. In things you create a tag about an area ie Business and then you add the tag to the project. Be carefull each project task wont get the business tag. Things can then select project ou task grouped by projects.
On OF if you put a tag on a project task gets the tag. Then with Omnifocus only you build a perspective. Eg create a perspective call business, tag it with business then select by project (if you want to see your H1) or sort by tasks (if you want to see yours relative contexts). Then group by project. Simple no ?
But on my opinion forget all this. The basic idea of area is to take altitude. It will take a lot of time to link task>project>area, then to update, Then to review and it will overload the tags system. This can gets complicated if you have many areas involved.
So everything, tasks projects etc... can soon become a burden !
Then you wont see the bigs rocks and it will make your decisions overcomplicated and you may loose your bird eyes.
So on H2-H3-H4 mindmap is better with only but big strategies and big rocks. Projects and tasks will follow the system. Let your brain then associate stuff and make others linking mind maps
In the past I over complicated my system. The core principle of GTD is to separate stuff. Context flow, project focus, reference focus. If you over complicate your system you it will lead you to errors and mistake. then it will take too much time to maintain that you will be unable to take altitude what is core when you are a CEO
I understood years ago that GTD is not complicated. People very often over complicate it, as I did, and I confess it finished by disaster... until I re made my system taking and applyed GTD principle one by one with a simple system
People often focus about software. The software is un important. what is important is GTD. What is important is what do you attend from your system ? What H5, What H4; How you will make it H3 who will be involved (H2) what are your projects (H1) then what is you next action H0
You can take the problem from every side control and perspective are always core involved.
NB My opinion :
- OF is better when you are focus on task and project's tasks and need something very powerfull and great when you have tons of stuff and request.
- Things is much better when you need to organize projects and plan stuff (not very GTD but my way of making thing based on today's closed lists).
- Nirvana is better if you follow 100% GTD and begin GTD.
