@anywhere.... /DA Australian visit

[helenjc]

Does anyone use @anywhere? I'm confused about how I should or if I should use it. I"m sure there are things that could be done outside the house/office but I"m not sure which....so would appreciate some enlightenment.

Secondly if I have a flyer about a movie that I pick up from the cinema that I would like to see - and all I know is that I want to see that movie before it goes -- could someone tell me.... is this support material for the project 'see frida' or is it just a kind of prompt to put me into action to 'decide' about seeing it, when/where/who etc.... Do people have a sort of 'personal' action folder for this kind of thing perhaps???
I used to be a business analyst and obviously can't stop analysing every action/thought now in terms of the gtd philosophy...... it's one of my worst traits and wastes a lot of time.... I've spent too many days already worrying about which folders to put my next actions into rather than doing the dashed things.....

Oh well.....wonder if DA has any plans for coming to Australia soon to help me out!

regards Helen

 

[Bryan]

Re: @anywhere.... /DA Australian visit

Does anyone use @anywhere? I'm confused about how I should or if I should use it.

Yes, I use @anywhere. Things I put here are things I could do anywhere that I have my Palm (which I use as my portable system). Brainstorming ideas and planning projects are two natural types of activities for this list (for me). I don't put errands and such; they go on another list (@errands). For me, "anywhere" must be pretty much "anywhere" (again, so long as I have my Palm to remind me of the activity in the first place!).

Secondly if I have a flyer about a movie that I pick up from the cinema that I would like to see - and all I know is that I want to see that movie before it goes -- could someone tell me.... is this support material for the project 'see frida' or is it just a kind of prompt to put me into action to 'decide' about seeing it, when/where/who etc....

Depends on the action. If it's a movie that'll be out for a few weeks, you could always put it on the someday/maybe list, and trust that you'll be reminded each week. Another option is to keep a separate someday/maybe list just for movie ideas, and when you're in the mood for a movie, voila, you check the list. You mention the paper flyer itself. If you want to use that as your reminder (instead of putting the show times in a note attached to an item in a list somewhere), you could probably put it in a tickler for a week away, to remind yourself to consider it again in a week. If the opportunity goes away in less than a week (i.e., before the next weekly review), then you need to put the item either on the calendar for a day before the opportunity is gone (not as a hard landscape item, but as a tickler item to be reconsidered for action), or on an action list that you'll see pretty much each day.

HTH!

PS: I tend to analyze a bit too much, too. Hang in there!

 

[Elizabeth W]

Re: @anywhere.... /DA Australian visit

Secondly if I have a flyer about a movie that I pick up from the cinema that I would like to see - and all I know is that I want to see that movie before it goes --

You are not alone. I am a GTD user is Sydney. Are you using Outlook to implement GTD? If so, you could make an Outlook note under the category of 'leisure' that you want to see the movie and note its ending date. Then, each week in your review, you review your notes and see if you can slot in the movie.
I personally have moved to TreNotes rather than Outlook notes using DAs trigger list as headings. I empty my head and note things I want to remember and set appropriate tasks at the weekly review. I am no corporate heavy, just a single mother running a household with 3 grown (at home) children & working part time. I feel so much clearer since adopting GTD.

 

[pd_workman]

I used to have @Anywhere, but I found out that it became sort of a "@nowhere" instead. I knew I could do them anywhere, so I just put them off indefinitely. I also had an @Palm, which I eventually merged with @Anywhere (since I always had my Palm with me), but again, I rarely got these items done.

Since realizing that the things on my @Anywhere just stagnated and never got done, I have forced myself to define where I will be most likely to get the action done. "write new poem" and "study RS lesson" may be able to be done anywhere, but I am not going to do them at work, I am not going to do them while I am on the computer, and I am not going to do them while running errands. More than likely I will do them at home, so that's where they go. I might sometimes do them while on the train commuting home, but it is easy to scan my lists on the train to see what I can knock off while in transit.

The thing is, I want to be reminded when I am at a specific place to do these things. I am never "anywhere" I am always "somewhere". So only somewheres go on my list. :?

Pam

 

[Esquire]

pdworkman:

I totally agree with you about the utility of @anywhere. Frankly, alot of times I would forget to check that list! I think you articulated why perfectly in saying that "I'm never anywhere, I always somewhere"
I also found that I used that as a dumping ground for things that required more processing and perhaps more structure (i.e. "think about . . . ", etc.).

Helen, your question about the movie flyer raises a great issue about processing that I constantly have to remind myself about. Assuming the flyer has no intrinsic value to you (i.e. cool graphics, designed by a friend, etc.), it simply represents information (a movie you might want to see). At that point you simply need a reminder about that fact stored someplace you know that you'll see when you need to. The prior suggestions about a list named @leisure are good. If you generally see movies on the weekend, you might make a note on your calendar for the next weekend "think about seeing movie XYZ". Or as suggested, if you find it easier and trust your tickler system, drop into the tickler for the next Friday.

Boy, once I got to the point of realizing that many of the objects around me simply represented information and decisions I needed to make, and extracted the information from the object, I found that I really cut down on the clutter around the home and office.

DA says on the CD of the seminar "don't use piles and files as reminders of things you need to do".

 

[helenjc]

thanks for your thoughts on this 'anywhere' business - it was my suspicion as well that it could end up a dumping bucket!!

I"ll avoid it I think....

Elizabeth - nice to meet you! - I"m new to gtd but like you have found a significant reduction in stress due to the fact that my desk is always if not completely in order, can be made so in a few minutes because everything is so 'sorted'..... !

Esquire - thanks you reminded me about my philosophy regarding paper - because i like the look for the movie flyer i have put it on my notice board as an added reminder to get there - as soon as i've gone i will bin it... if it was just an 'ordinary' flyer - i'd now put the reminder in my palm and get rid of it.... i've trained myself to live with less paper since the palm - i think i'm winning as long as i dont get too sentimentally attached to the nice graphical pieces!

regards Helen