Distinguishing between goals and next actions

[cjkogan111]

Hi,

I am trying to determine whether it is worthwhile to distinguish between a goal and a next action, and if so, how to decide which one a particular thing I want to get done is. I am using evernote to implement gtd. The way I have been doing things, a goal is usually a commitment that I have to produce at some future date, but often has not yet been broken down into doable action steps (i.e., there is a major gap in knowing what exactly needs to get done to getting it finished). In a way this kind of sounds like I am mixing up goals and projects, and what I am saying is a goal should be a project, but I am using tags to denote projects, and I can't add a date / description to a project. The major issue I'm having is because I am losing the ability to distinguish between the two, I am tagging some tasks on next actions and some tasks as goals, and when I need to figure out what to do next, there is not really a master list.

Any suggestions on how other folks are distinguishing between more high level things where you don't know how to get it all done, but it needs to be done by a certain date, and the low level next actions would be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[Folke]

I have no idea how to do this in Evernote, but in general I would say it is necessary (or at least advantageous) to use two very different approaches for two very different kinds of goals, which me may perhaps call "hierarchical" goals and "pervasive" goals:

Some goals, the ones I am here referring to as "hierarchical" are simply "super-projects" - just like a big project, that can contain lots of regular GTD projects, which in turn, can contain many actions (or the hierarchy can have even more levels, if you like). What distinguishes these hierarchical goals from the other kind of goal is the fact all projects (and actions) belong to just one single goal. Their whole existence on your lists is to make you achieve that goal. Such a goal can be described as a simple hierarchy. If your app does not allow hierarchies as such you can often implement a hierarchical structure by using more basic tricks, such as prefixing project names, using tags etc.

Other goals, the ones I am referring to as "pervasive" are a different kind of animal altogether. In their most extreme form you may not even have a single project or action that exists solely or even primarily for the purpose of achieving these goals. Instead, the "pervasive" goal is a target for some kind of style or attitude or capacity that you aim to hone while doing whatever stuff you "really" need to do. For example, you may want to become more patient or more glib or more fluent in French, but want to practice and attain these skills while actually doing the normal things you need to get done anyway - you just want to stay aware of the goal and maximize the use of each good opportunity to practice it. For these goals I personally go no longer than having a checklist during reviews, but I am sure it would also be possible and viable to use tags as more visible way to mark any particular actions that you regard as particularly good "vehicles" for your practise.

 

[Gardener]

cjkogan, I started to write things, and I realized that without examples I may not be understanding your question. Could you offer some examples?

 

[mcogilvie]

I think the problem may be that you (cjkogan) have identified the tag as the project. You need a project list, just like you need next action lists. You can then tag the project and associated next actions with the same project tag, in order to view the project and next actions together. My advice is to stick with projects and next actions, defined as David Allen does. You can work into longer-term goals later.

 

[bcmyers2112]

cjkogan111: Assuming I understand your post correctly, I'd suggest a different setup in Evernote. I store all of my projects as individual notes in a dedicated notebook in Evernote. This enables me to assign them due dates using the Reminders feature, and add support material within the note. My setup in Evernote is based on a setup guide offered by the David Allen Company. They offer them for both Mac and Windows platforms. You can order them here:
https://gtdconnect.com/store/home.php?cat=263

If you are using tags to connect projects to next actions, you can still do that by applying the tags to the projects and next actions notes. The guide offers some other suggestions about linking projects to actions, although personally I don't bother. I found the linkages weren't as important as I used to think, but as with anything GTD-related how you implement it is entirely up to you.

 

[Popoye]

Other goals, the ones I am referring to as "pervasive" are a different kind of animal altogether. In their most extreme form you may not even have a single project or action that exists solely or even primarily for the purpose of achieving these goals. Instead, the "pervasive" goal is a target for some kind of style or attitude or capacity that you aim to hone while doing whatever stuff you "really" need to do. For example, you may want to become more patient or more glib or more fluent in French, but want to practice and attain these skills while actually doing the normal things you need to get done anyway - you just want to stay aware of the goal and maximize the use of each good opportunity to practice it.

Aren't these someday/maybe items rather than goals? Or eventually part of the Life Vision?
For me, what you describe (being more patient or more glib) are just a vision of an ideal state you'd like to reach in a particular area. They are not goals yet. I find that in order to reach those, I have to clearly define a specific and achievable result. And sometimes it takes creativity to find a way to measure your progression and to judge if you have achieved them or not.

 

[Folke]

Popoye, you are perfectly correct that I did not quite phrase them as goals. I was only aiming to distinguish them from the "hierarchical" goals, and did not really pay much attention to the wording or quantification of them. Yes. these types of goals, the "pervasive" ones, are typically broken-down (milestones for) life values, and should be worded more clearly as such. (Some people even break their life values down all the way to the 2nd level and make Areas of them, but I personally do not find much value in doing that.)