Digging Out From Backlog 2 Webinar now posted

[kelstarrising]

We just posted today's Webinar on Digging Out From Backlog to the GTD Connect Media Library. We covered strategies for dealing with your email (lots of time on this) and paper/hard copy backlog.

Hope you get some good tips and tricks from this one.

Kelly

 

[Barb]

Excellent!

It was excellent, as usual! I took lots of notes!

 

[BjornLjunggren]

Backlog 2 tips and basement problem/project

Really good webinar about Backlog. It was really nitty gritty and I think those usually are the best ones, but I really like the ones from a higher perspective too. So maybe they are all great?

Anyway, I placed my inbox behind my back after the webinar and it feels nice not to have it in plain sight all the time. The Backlog A and Backlog B tip was really good too, I'm going to use it the next time I get back to work after vacation. I also unsubscribed to some emails that I never read.

I have a big backlog project that is just not defined or processed in anyway, and that is my basement. I live in an apartement building and in the basement everyone has a space with their stuff in it. Ours is now filled to the brink of old children toys/furniture together with different things that we can actually need like bags, extra chairs, golf clubs, tools, winter/summer clothes and so on.

The thing is that I need to do this all at once since we live in an apartement building and I can't leave it unfinished because at the end I need to lock it again. I could leave it unfinished but it would take a lot of time every time to start up and take everything out of there and then put it back in again.

I have a project for this but my next task is "Put 8 hours in basement in calender". Since we have small children I can't just carve out 8 hours. Should I take baby steps instead and invest an hour at a time, although the project might take 12 hours in total?

 

[kelstarrising]

List of strategies presented in the Webinar

Email Strategies:

• Line in the sand—what is backlog, what is not?
• Sort by date, sender or subject line—delete, file or archive what you can
• Create a “To Process” backlog folder for what’s left to process
• Create a project, or at least a next action, for dealing with your To Process folder
• Be vigilant about what you’re allowing in

Paper/hard copy Strategies:

• Again, draw a line in the sand—what is backlog, what is not?
• Once you pick something up, don’t put it down until you decide what to do about it
• Trash, file or archive what you can
• Create triage piles or boxes—date or subject sorted
• Create a project, or at least a next action, for dealing with backlog

 

[larea]

Great webinar - Idea for DOFB 3!

Kelly, thanks for a great webinar, I listened in to most of it via phone after I had some technical difficulties (dead battery on cell phone I was using as modem ).

At some point I heard mention of a question about "project backlog."

The person who said this may not have meant what I thought when I heard it, but I think that would be a GREAT topic for either another backlog webinar or its own series.

I am thinking this would cover the topic of "what to do when I have WAY more projects than I have bandwidth" and strategies for gradually working out of "too much going on" overwhelm. This is for people who have truly more than they can do but don't feel able to eliminate those projects. It could provide more detail and nitty gritty about incubating and renegotiating timing for projects, how to keep them in the system but out of sight til there's time to do them, and how to deal with them during the weekly review.

Anyone else think this would be useful?

 

[Flyer]

First of all, thanks for a great webinar.

Yes, I would be VERY interested in lareaarnett's suggestion on "how to work your way out of overwhelm" webinar! I´m gradually improving my GTD skills and habits, but my main problme is still constant overcommitment. If I don´t learn to reduce the amount of stuff or even processed tasks and projects, backlog will just keep piling up again.

 

[kelstarrising]

Thanks! I will capture this idea on my list of future webinar topics.

I can tell you David would suggest doing a thorough Weekly Review to make sure what's on your lists should be on your lists--projects, actions or otherwise. That's the best way I know to trim the fat from my lists. Otherwise, they can easily get bloated and I can move into overwhelm. Not saying you're not doing Weekly Reviews--but that's the pretty typical culprit when we coach people when they start feeling overwhelmed.

 

[Flyer]

Kelly, you're absolutely right: my weekly reviews are few and far apart! So I guess I´ll sign up for the encouragement group while I look forward to the new webinar on digging out of overwhelm.:-D

 

[DavidRParker]

iTunes 10 not downloading webinar

Anyone else having problems getting the webinar downloaded through iTunes? I have upgraded to iTunes 10 since I last downloaded anything from GTD Connect and wonder if that's the source of the problem.

Help!

David

 

[TesTeq]

Wait for x.1 version if you can.

Anyone else having problems getting the webinar downloaded through iTunes? I have upgraded to iTunes 10 since I last downloaded anything from GTD Connect and wonder if that's the source of the problem.

Help!

David

My only comment is that I never upgrade to iTunes x.0 version. I always wait for x.1 version that fixes most annoying bugs in x.0 version.

 

[rideon]

New Checklist

Kelly - your list of the tactics is a new checklist in my system. Thanks!

 

[kelstarrising]

Anyone else having problems getting the webinar downloaded through iTunes? I have upgraded to iTunes 10 since I last downloaded anything from GTD Connect and wonder if that's the source of the problem.

Help!

David

Hi David,

They download fine for me. Can you send a support ticket to our team about this at connect@davidco.com? They would be happy to help you out.

Kelly

 

[DavidRParker]

Thanks - All working fine now!

Hi David,

They download fine for me. Can you send a support ticket to our team about this at connect@davidco.com? They would be happy to help you out.

Kelly

Kelly

My apologies for not getting back to you sooner. I deleted all my subscription and podcasts as per the instructions and then resubscribed and copied all the podcasts back as the support page recommends and all working fine now!

David