I've been using GTD since October and its really changed my life. I'm still working through best practices but its really coming together. I keep both my work (outlook) and home (Palm) seperate since I don't need to do anything for work at home. This allows me to be able to synch my personal items so I can view them at work (2 seperate calendars).
One thing I noticed personally and professionally was that if I put something on my calendar as a reminder to think about or do something on a specific day I would not be able to go back and look over these items to see if something needed to be taken care of sooner or later than I previously anticipated. They were scattered at different times with no way of having a full listing of these items.
To take care of this problem I created an electronic TICKLER file in my To do apps in Palm. Its sort of like putting this item in my paper tickler file and I can scan this list in my weekly review to see if my priorities on any of these items have changed. Examples of things I have on this list- Make appointments like Dr, oil changes I want to make in the future (too early now), re-curring things I have to do at approx. a certain time of month - (Make and send calendar for before/after school care, buy new lottery tickets when the last one is used, etc.), Re-evaluate automatic shipments on products (how much do we have left, can we skip a month), Make reservations for upcoming travel that can only be done in the future, checking bills to make sure items removed or discounts given, things that need to be followed up on in the future, etc., checking on re-curring events that happen on a radom basis (Disney movie premiers-through Disney visa card).
I set a due date and an alarm for each one of these tickler items. Some of them are also placed on my calendar if Its important that I see them when reviewing my calendar. I don't like to clutter my calendar with too much stuff that is TO DO work. I like to look at my calendar and see the appointments I have to do instead. What I did was create a Tickler List where I keep my context to do's. Its listed at the bottom so I know I don't need to look at it except when I want a review of these items. What I like about this list is that it keeps these things in my mind when I want to see what future items will need my attention at some point.
I'd love to hear your insight to see if I'm going about listing these items wrong or if you have any other ideas or thoughts about them. Maybe I'm thinking of them in the wrong way. For the moment this list is working for me so much better than using my calendar or my paper tickler file. Before I would have to click on random days in the calendar to find a future TO-DO or have it sit in a current TO-Do list knowing I couldn't work on it now.
One thing I noticed personally and professionally was that if I put something on my calendar as a reminder to think about or do something on a specific day I would not be able to go back and look over these items to see if something needed to be taken care of sooner or later than I previously anticipated. They were scattered at different times with no way of having a full listing of these items.
To take care of this problem I created an electronic TICKLER file in my To do apps in Palm. Its sort of like putting this item in my paper tickler file and I can scan this list in my weekly review to see if my priorities on any of these items have changed. Examples of things I have on this list- Make appointments like Dr, oil changes I want to make in the future (too early now), re-curring things I have to do at approx. a certain time of month - (Make and send calendar for before/after school care, buy new lottery tickets when the last one is used, etc.), Re-evaluate automatic shipments on products (how much do we have left, can we skip a month), Make reservations for upcoming travel that can only be done in the future, checking bills to make sure items removed or discounts given, things that need to be followed up on in the future, etc., checking on re-curring events that happen on a radom basis (Disney movie premiers-through Disney visa card).
I set a due date and an alarm for each one of these tickler items. Some of them are also placed on my calendar if Its important that I see them when reviewing my calendar. I don't like to clutter my calendar with too much stuff that is TO DO work. I like to look at my calendar and see the appointments I have to do instead. What I did was create a Tickler List where I keep my context to do's. Its listed at the bottom so I know I don't need to look at it except when I want a review of these items. What I like about this list is that it keeps these things in my mind when I want to see what future items will need my attention at some point.
I'd love to hear your insight to see if I'm going about listing these items wrong or if you have any other ideas or thoughts about them. Maybe I'm thinking of them in the wrong way. For the moment this list is working for me so much better than using my calendar or my paper tickler file. Before I would have to click on random days in the calendar to find a future TO-DO or have it sit in a current TO-Do list knowing I couldn't work on it now.