Do it Tomorrow and GTD: Comments on the two systems?

[Longstreet]

Thanks for all of the great advice!

Hi Folks,

Thanks so much for the great advice. I think what I am going to do is embrace a lot of what people have suggested here. I am going to create a hybrid of DIT and GTD and see how it goes. I use Outlook 2007 and here is how I have set things up. The tasks list is setup per standard GTD with my next action context lists and one column with due dates. The To-Do bar on the calendar page is setup to show only those next actions that have a due date on or before today. Thus, I will create my closed list from my next actions list for the day. I will strive to complete my most important next actions -- which are on this closed list -- and once I am done with them, work from my standard context lists. Of course, if something unexpected, urgent, and important comes up during the day, I will deal with it and not fret that it is not on my closed list.

Janezo, thanks from another fellow "drowning in academia"! I actually have been blocking off time for my graduate students and other projects as you have suggested.

I think the bottom line for me -- at least right now -- is that I need a bit more structure in my approach. I guess I am one of those people that thrives more on structure -- but too much structure!

Best to all,
-Longstreet

 

[kate davis]

I have read this thread with interest because I have also been working to combine Getting things done, do it tomorrow, get everything done and other ideas I have picked up from blogs I read.

What I have learnt is that it is important to develop your own organisation system, using the ideas from other people that work for you. I started by rereading the three books and writing down what I saw as the key points and ideas, I then looked for similarities and compatibilities between the systems. I then started working out what would work for me and designing my own system. You can read more about this process on my blog http://www.darktea.co.uk/blog/series/my-organiser/collecting-ideas-for-an-organisation-system/

I currently use a paper organiser and feel that I have much more control than I did when I used digital. The sections of my organiser closely follow Getting things done, but the methodology is closer to do it tomorrow by working on todays incoming tasks tomorrow and utilising a backlog.

I am a consultant and therefore my challenge is to deal with the large number of varied tasks that I have and this means my organisation system does not stand still as I work to develop it further. The two areas I am looking to improve over the coming months are contexts and projects.

 

[aprochaska]

Interesting thread. Very broad set of responses, and a lot of sincerity there, too. Very heartening to see.

I'm a newbie to GTD, and I'm still climbing the learning curve.

However, I want to comment to the original poster about the depressing aspect of having 10+ things on the todo list, getting 10 things done on an EXTREMELY productive day, only to have 10+ more things added.... I've been there. I have and do live it. The subsequent comment about "must say 'no' more" is to the point, but I know how difficult that can be.

I came to see this situation differently several years ago. I was in a small workgroup in which we spent a lot of time with Myers-Briggs profiles and preferences. I'm NT (Intuitive Thinking) and always have huge lists, like washing dishes in a restaurant or painting a bridge. One of my colleagues was an SJ (Sensing Judging), and I was amazed to see his to do list for the week on a Wednesday: It had 10 items and 4 of them were crossed off. I was amazed and envious. "How can he do that? How can he have just 10 items and stick with them, not have them turned upside down midweek?"

I came away from the experience with two thoughts: one is a spur for more self-discipline and another for self-acceptance. There must be an opportunity for greater self-discipline....if I pick important things wisely and stick with them, I'll get them done and feel good about it and myself at the end of the week. The self-acceptance, though, was recognizing that I will always have huge lists due to huge broad interests that come from my string Intuitive function. My colleague, an excellent person and worker, didn't have as broad a view of life and work as I did, and actually had to look for things to involve himself in. I don't have that problem. I will always have lots of possibilities looming out there on the horizon. I just have to manage my own expectations, and know that I'll always have large todo lists. What's important is that I'm getting things done and making progress. I had to resist evaluating my own lists from an SJ perspective. Not me, and never will be.

Take care, and good luck.

Alan

 

[kate davis]

I'm NT (Intuitive Thinking) and always have huge lists, like washing dishes in a restaurant or painting a bridge. One of my colleagues was an SJ (Sensing Judging), and I was amazed to see his to do list for the week on a Wednesday: It had 10 items and 4 of them were crossed off.

Fascinating. I'm asking my team at the moment to complete Belbin and Myers Briggs tests so I can work out the best way we should be working, however I have not thought about how it works for a task list.

I am STJ and have a long task list. As I follow aspects of Do it tomorrow I make a mark on my task list of a days work and at the end of December 2007 I was over 90 days behind. I decided to declare a backlog, which I am working through as my current initiative and have got it down to 55 days and my current task list is 18 days behind.

I have also accepted that this is who I am.

 

[ggoldman]

I just finished reading Do It Tomorrow and think it is a fine book. I do think it will appeal more to the self employed in my opinion. Specifically those whho have sort of well known business missions or life goals and less input from a boss.

The idea of a closed list is central to the book as well as a daily task diary and not doing anything you do not write down. I tried this for a few days and it is eye opening to see what you think you can get done versus what you actually get done. The idea of a closed list for daily actions makes sense to me, but I actually like open lists of projects and someday/maybes because I like to see things I could be doing and track them. I am more concerned about forgetting a good idea or something I might want to do than having too much on a list. I personally think GTD covers the idea of a daily task list with its use of the calendar. If something has to be done by a certain date, according to GTD it is put on a calendar.

For me I like to see lists of projects and waiting fors on lists it just makes sense to me, versus having to flip through many pages. But, I can see how the daily task list can lead to more focus and productivity.

At this point after implementing GTD first, I can not see a method working for me that does not attempt to record all of my open loops and ideas on lists. The idea of viewing the landscape on a few pages just makes sense to me.

I do think there are ideas in both methods that could meld well together.

 

[bignoseduglyguy]

I just finished reading Do It Tomorrow and think it is a fine book. I do think it will appeal more to the self employed in my opinion. Specifically those whho have sort of well known business missions or life goals and less input from a boss.

As a senior manager in a corporatised utility, I'd offer that DIT can work as well as GTD (perhaps better in my case) even with considerable input from a boss. I found the key to be letting the boss know how I work. Early on, I explained why his/others emails are not responded to immediately and how he can be more assured of me completing tasks and actions than perhaps others who have overflowing inboxes and no systems to tackle the overload/their over-commitment. He has commented on this more than once, saying he knows that things will get completed when asks me to action them.

I have found that my closed lists have enabled me to crank widgets like never before. I fall off the wagon as often as I did with GTD but the recovery is so much swifter.

YMMV considerably