A
Anonymous
Guest
using the Mac to support both paper and digital tools
After reading "The Myth of the Paperless Office", I have gotten the confidence to go back to paper for those things where it excels. I have a paper binder that contains all my active lists, and use a Palm m105 for my portable reference (addresses, reference lists, checklists, quotes, etc.) I find the hybrid makes the best use of the functional fortes of both paper and digital. Paper isn't old-fashioned -- it just excels in different things.
I was frustrated with the constant search for new and better in the software world, then learning and upgrading, etc. led me to a simple solution. My Projects, Next Actions, and Someday/Maybe lists are simply folders on the desktop all inside one GTD lists folder. I have nine folders:
@ calls
@ office
@ computer
@ agendas
@ errands
@ home
@ waiting for...
Projects
Someday/maybe
Each individual item becomes a folder inside these folders. The folders contain nothing but folders because they are just my lists. Project support goes elsewhere. I use Print Window 2.1.1 to print out each master folder and then bind them once a week in the tabbed sections of my GTD binder. In-between Weekly Reviews, I just use the paper lists for adding and crossing off. Very fast, no tiny screen to scroll, no new software to learn and upgrade, no Grafitti to deal with. Backing up means copying one folder. Plus, I keep each Next Action (that is tied to a Project) in its Project folder, and then drag an alias to the correct Next Action folder. A quick scan through all the Projects in OS X column view shows me that I have Next Actions for all my Projects. During the Weekly Review, I delete all aliases and start over. This forces me to touch everything once which helps with the "staleness" factor.
I also keep an "on deck" subfolder in some Project folders to capture any future actions that are taking up mental space. The combination of single Next Actions and the occasional On Deck actions handles 93% of my Projects in that it gets them completely off my mind. It is interesting to me that the Project size has nothing to do with it. Our one-day trip to an amusement park required a plan to get it off my mind, and a book I'm writing has a single next action. By the way, 93% is a real number. I suggest you check your Projects list and see which ones require writing down more than a single Next Action or 3-7 On Deck actions in order to get them off your mind. I believe it will be much less than you think. I find it is about 80% Next Action only, 15% 3-7 On Deck actions, and only 5% full-blown plans (outlines, calendars, etc.)
One of my favorite principles in David's new book asks if you are organizing because you like organizing or because it is helping you get things done. Being an ex-FranklinCovey junkie, I know the feeling of focusing more on the tools than the outcome. I would suggest you find something that works well for you, and stick with it for a while. Latest and loudest can affect your choice of tools if you let it. javascript:emoticon(':wink:')
Scott Moehring
After reading "The Myth of the Paperless Office", I have gotten the confidence to go back to paper for those things where it excels. I have a paper binder that contains all my active lists, and use a Palm m105 for my portable reference (addresses, reference lists, checklists, quotes, etc.) I find the hybrid makes the best use of the functional fortes of both paper and digital. Paper isn't old-fashioned -- it just excels in different things.
I was frustrated with the constant search for new and better in the software world, then learning and upgrading, etc. led me to a simple solution. My Projects, Next Actions, and Someday/Maybe lists are simply folders on the desktop all inside one GTD lists folder. I have nine folders:
@ calls
@ office
@ computer
@ agendas
@ errands
@ home
@ waiting for...
Projects
Someday/maybe
Each individual item becomes a folder inside these folders. The folders contain nothing but folders because they are just my lists. Project support goes elsewhere. I use Print Window 2.1.1 to print out each master folder and then bind them once a week in the tabbed sections of my GTD binder. In-between Weekly Reviews, I just use the paper lists for adding and crossing off. Very fast, no tiny screen to scroll, no new software to learn and upgrade, no Grafitti to deal with. Backing up means copying one folder. Plus, I keep each Next Action (that is tied to a Project) in its Project folder, and then drag an alias to the correct Next Action folder. A quick scan through all the Projects in OS X column view shows me that I have Next Actions for all my Projects. During the Weekly Review, I delete all aliases and start over. This forces me to touch everything once which helps with the "staleness" factor.
I also keep an "on deck" subfolder in some Project folders to capture any future actions that are taking up mental space. The combination of single Next Actions and the occasional On Deck actions handles 93% of my Projects in that it gets them completely off my mind. It is interesting to me that the Project size has nothing to do with it. Our one-day trip to an amusement park required a plan to get it off my mind, and a book I'm writing has a single next action. By the way, 93% is a real number. I suggest you check your Projects list and see which ones require writing down more than a single Next Action or 3-7 On Deck actions in order to get them off your mind. I believe it will be much less than you think. I find it is about 80% Next Action only, 15% 3-7 On Deck actions, and only 5% full-blown plans (outlines, calendars, etc.)
One of my favorite principles in David's new book asks if you are organizing because you like organizing or because it is helping you get things done. Being an ex-FranklinCovey junkie, I know the feeling of focusing more on the tools than the outcome. I would suggest you find something that works well for you, and stick with it for a while. Latest and loudest can affect your choice of tools if you let it. javascript:emoticon(':wink:')
Scott Moehring
