Context [Daily "Do"s] and Calendar

[gtdstudente]

Dear fellow GTDers, Does anyone use their highly valuable Calendar "real estate" for Daily-Do [Maintenance/Routine] list. WHAT . . . what are you thinking . . . clutter Calendar with Daily-Do? Clown . . . don't you know. . . ? OK, OK, OK . . . well here's the thinking that I would appreciate being ripped to shreds: 1. A Daily-Do list has me distracting/looking/seeing items that have already been done---how is that good? 2. Paper: Post-Its using a sturdy stock with one side Even-Numbered Days, and the Other Odd-Numbered Days, and just move from one day to the following. Thinking good, however, did not work on this end---Calendar and Contexts is a digital medium. Further thinking . . . why it did not work? The Calendar, Contexts, Projects, Maybe/Someday, Waiting For, etc. Lists has to have one chosen medium? In other words, one can uses Paper or Digital medium among the different Lists, however, thinking futile to use digital/paper admixture on any one particular List. Make senses? Agree/Disagree? 3. When the Daily-Do item is done it it moved to the following day and Calendar clears out with only that which has to be done that day, Maintenance/Routine and otherwise. Thank you. As always, fellow GTDer feedback always appreciated and hoping your GTD perspective(s) is also being expanded. Thank you

 

[mcogilvie]

I have a vast amount of experience here, meaning I‘ve tried lots of approaches and failed to find an approach that works reliably for everything. You have choices:

• Calendar
• gtd-style lists
• a habit-tracking app
• paper
• acquire the habit and keep it, without particular support

Calendar and paper are not good choices for me, as I am forgetful about calendar and lose paper. I am much better with my gtd lists, and that’s where reminders to process email and similar gtd actions go. Habit tracking apps have not been successful for me. It turns out “breaking the chain” is perfectly ok with me. Thanks mostly to my wonderful wife, we walk everyday we can and work out with a trainer twice a week. Lately, following her inspiration, I’ve been doing yoga before bed every night, which has helped with flexibility a lot, so I am motivated by the intrinsic reward there. Apple does a good job with health and exercise recording with minimal effort. I have not found any particular app that I would recommend for motivating and tracking reading or similar activities.

 

[TamaraM]

I have been experimenting with an iOS app called Done, which just gives you a list of habits you're trying to form and you check them off each day. But the reason I'm trying it isn't to remind me each day. It's so that I'll have an easily viewable record of how frequently I've done it. It has weekly, monthly, and yearly graphs. I don't particularly care if I do these things every single day, but I do want to do them most days, and the graphs help me see if I'm succeeding.

Otherwise, I keep a daybook, which is a record of my daily work, in a paper planner. The only connection with my GTD system is that I use GTD to feed the content of the daybook. It's a one-way transfer of info. Each morning, I transcribe my Calendar appointments into its calendar section and, throughout the day, make note of how I actually ended up using my time.

In its two to-do sections, I write the following:

1. In To Empty
2. Scheduled Actions
3. [Highest priority/most active Action or Project I can make progress on today, selected after reviewing my Context and Project lists]

• Walk after Dinner
• Lake (to encourage me to get in it or on it)
• Dinner: [Name of person cooking tonight]
• Clean-up: [Name of person cleaning up after dinner tonight]

I have a couple of recurring tasks that pop up on weekly, to remind me to put additional (less-frequent) items on that 2nd list. I have a tendency to get very heads-down in my work and will work straight until bedtime if I don't have an all-day reminder that I do, in fact, want to have more of a life than just that.

 

[gtdstudente]

I have a vast amount of experience here, meaning I‘ve tried lots of approaches and failed to find an approach that works reliably for everything. You have choices:

• Calendar
• gtd-style lists
• a habit-tracking app
• paper
• acquire the habit and keep it, without particular support

Calendar and paper are not good choices for me, as I am forgetful about calendar and lose paper. I am much better with my gtd lists, and that’s where reminders to process email and similar gtd actions go. Habit tracking apps have not been successful for me. It turns out “breaking the chain” is perfectly ok with me. Thanks mostly to my wonderful wife, we walk everyday we can and work out with a trainer twice a week. Lately, following her inspiration, I’ve been doing yoga before bed every night, which has helped with flexibility a lot, so I am motivated by the intrinsic reward there. Apple does a good job with health and exercise recording with minimal effort. I have not found any particular app that I would recommend for motivating and tracking reading or similar activities.

mcglove, Great suggestion . . . can also use for habits . . . thank you!

 

[gtdstudente]

I have been experimenting with an iOS app called Done, which just gives you a list of habits you're trying to form and you check them off each day. But the reason I'm trying it isn't to remind me each day. It's so that I'll have an easily viewable record of how frequently I've done it. It has weekly, monthly, and yearly graphs. I don't particularly care if I do these things every single day, but I do want to do them most days, and the graphs help me see if I'm succeeding.

Otherwise, I keep a daybook, which is a record of my daily work, in a paper planner. The only connection with my GTD system is that I use GTD to feed the content of the daybook. It's a one-way transfer of info. Each morning, I transcribe my Calendar appointments into its calendar section and, throughout the day, make note of how I actually ended up using my time.

In its two to-do sections, I write the following:

1. In To Empty
2. Scheduled Actions
3. [Highest priority/most active Action or Project I can make progress on today, selected after reviewing my Context and Project lists]

• Walk after Dinner
• Lake (to encourage me to get in it or on it)
• Dinner: [Name of person cooking tonight]
• Clean-up: [Name of person cleaning up after dinner tonight]

I have a couple of recurring tasks that pop up on weekly, to remind me to put additional (less-frequent) items on that 2nd list. I have a tendency to get very heads-down in my work and will work straight until bedtime if I don't have an all-day reminder that I do, in fact, want to have more of a life than just that.

TamaraM, Yes, thank you . . . can also use for habits along with Daily-Maintenance-Routine . . . thank you! Like, mcogilvie, your GTD perspectives have me thinking . . . might actually retry, "Paper: Post-Its using a sturdy stock with one side Even-Numbered Days, and the Other Odd-Numbered Days, and just move Daily-Routine-Maintenance items from one day to the following" . . . yikes . . . if it sputters again that will be good to know.