Does David Allen pre-choose what to do the next day?
- Thread starter Makarin
- Start date
No.
Next Action lists should allow you to select what is important right now given context (examples include Calls or Computer), energy level, time available compared to other actions on the list.
This prioritisation is difficult to record in a structured way and relies on your intuition at the time. Regular weekly review will help remind you of areas of focus to 'tune' your intuition.
If something has to be completed on a particular day, it could be included as an 'all day event' to be completed that day.
Regards
Paul
Next Action lists should allow you to select what is important right now given context (examples include Calls or Computer), energy level, time available compared to other actions on the list.
This prioritisation is difficult to record in a structured way and relies on your intuition at the time. Regular weekly review will help remind you of areas of focus to 'tune' your intuition.
If something has to be completed on a particular day, it could be included as an 'all day event' to be completed that day.
Regards
Paul
Oogiem
Registered
debbieg;85335 said:
I don't schedule them myself but I review all my next action lists every morning so I get reminded then of the things I need to focus on. So much of my stuff is weather related that I can't often put even an all day item into the mix as I may not be able to do it on that exact day.
Consider my case. Tomorrow I have the following schedule:
09:00 - 11:00 - Meeting 1
11:00 - 12:00 - Commute to the next meeting
12:00 - 13:30 - Meeting 2
14:00 - 14:30 - Meeting 3
15:00 - 15:30 - Meeting 4
16:00 - 17:00 - Meeting 5
17:00 - 18:00 - Commute home
19:00 - 20:00 - Sports & Spanish lesson
I have no too much time in between meetings. Some of that time is commute. I have on my actions lists 13 calls, 1 office action, 10 computer actions, 16 home actions and 22 waiting fors. How should I choose which of them to do tomorrow? Should I pre-choose not to waste time tomorrow for choosing and make sure I move the most important ones? Or what?
09:00 - 11:00 - Meeting 1
11:00 - 12:00 - Commute to the next meeting
12:00 - 13:30 - Meeting 2
14:00 - 14:30 - Meeting 3
15:00 - 15:30 - Meeting 4
16:00 - 17:00 - Meeting 5
17:00 - 18:00 - Commute home
19:00 - 20:00 - Sports & Spanish lesson
I have no too much time in between meetings. Some of that time is commute. I have on my actions lists 13 calls, 1 office action, 10 computer actions, 16 home actions and 22 waiting fors. How should I choose which of them to do tomorrow? Should I pre-choose not to waste time tomorrow for choosing and make sure I move the most important ones? Or what?
Daily to do lists
I've been wondering about this, too. Before GTD, I used to make daily to-do lists, or even sometimes micro to-do lists (for example, what do I need to do at home tonight?).
That wasn't working too well, which is one reason I turned to GTD. And I know GTD isn't about making to do lists.
But as I'm implementing, I still often feel the need to pre-define some specific tasks that I've decided I really want to work on TODAY (or in whatever time frame), if possible. I use Omnifocus as my list manager, and I don't necessarily want to have to review my possible next actions after each one if I "know" I need/want to do a, b, c and d today.
I feel like I can do a review for that day and choose from my list which items I want to focus on, and writing them down helps me not have to either a) keep them in my head or b) go back to the list and either remember or re-decide what to do next. The re-deciding feels especially taxing.
So please, veteran GTDers, what pitfalls are there with this approach to a to-do list? Does this work for you? One thing I do notice is that (especially since I'm new at this) I tend to want to collect things to the daily to-do list once I make it, bypassing my list manager. Then if that item doesn't get done, I have to process it and put it on a list. That could become a slippery slope, but I think it could also fit into a GTD flow. What do you all think?
I've been wondering about this, too. Before GTD, I used to make daily to-do lists, or even sometimes micro to-do lists (for example, what do I need to do at home tonight?).
That wasn't working too well, which is one reason I turned to GTD. And I know GTD isn't about making to do lists.
But as I'm implementing, I still often feel the need to pre-define some specific tasks that I've decided I really want to work on TODAY (or in whatever time frame), if possible. I use Omnifocus as my list manager, and I don't necessarily want to have to review my possible next actions after each one if I "know" I need/want to do a, b, c and d today.
I feel like I can do a review for that day and choose from my list which items I want to focus on, and writing them down helps me not have to either a) keep them in my head or b) go back to the list and either remember or re-decide what to do next. The re-deciding feels especially taxing.
So please, veteran GTDers, what pitfalls are there with this approach to a to-do list? Does this work for you? One thing I do notice is that (especially since I'm new at this) I tend to want to collect things to the daily to-do list once I make it, bypassing my list manager. Then if that item doesn't get done, I have to process it and put it on a list. That could become a slippery slope, but I think it could also fit into a GTD flow. What do you all think?
kelstarrising
Kelly | GTD expert
I can't speak for David, but I can tell you what GTD says and my personal experience as a Coach:
You have 3 choices in the moment:
1. Pre-defined work (what's already on your lists/calendar, etc.)
2. Defining work (deciding to process/define work, like process email)
3. Do work as it appears (work on what just showed up like an interruption, something you just decide to work on, etc.)
It's a balance between those 3. So yes, there are some things decided before each day shows up (pre-defined), but there are also many, many things we all choose to do in the moment. I can't imagine ever only just working on what's on my list or calendar--that would really seem "anti-GTD" to me. In fact, there's a great video I love of David on GTD Connect where he talks about pruning his pine tree because that's what he felt like doing. Wasn't on any list, but that's what he chose to do. That video is called "You are not your work" if you search for that on Connect. I see many of you have Connect badges on your Forum profiles, so you can access it.
Does that help?
I can tell you what I do, although I can hardly say anyone else "should" do it too.
I do a couple of related things which seem to be a little unusual (but maybe they're not) when it comes to GTD:
1. I often don't review my entire NA list. Most often I'll read through the list until I see something that I feel like doing, and then I'll start doing that thing, aborting the rest of the list review.
2. I sort my NA list. A lot. If I see something I think I'll be doing in the near future, I move that item up near the top of the list. If I see something I'm pretty sure I won't be doing soon, I move it to the back of the list.
That's all there is to it, and it seems to be working pretty well for me personally. Maybe it'll work for you.
(Of course, I've still entirely dodged the question of "Yeah but HOW do you DECIDE what to do?" An awful lot has been written on that subject already so I think I'll leave it for another day.)
Cheers,
Roger
I do a couple of related things which seem to be a little unusual (but maybe they're not) when it comes to GTD:
1. I often don't review my entire NA list. Most often I'll read through the list until I see something that I feel like doing, and then I'll start doing that thing, aborting the rest of the list review.
2. I sort my NA list. A lot. If I see something I think I'll be doing in the near future, I move that item up near the top of the list. If I see something I'm pretty sure I won't be doing soon, I move it to the back of the list.
That's all there is to it, and it seems to be working pretty well for me personally. Maybe it'll work for you.
(Of course, I've still entirely dodged the question of "Yeah but HOW do you DECIDE what to do?" An awful lot has been written on that subject already so I think I'll leave it for another day.)
Cheers,
Roger
weekly review
My system is entirely in one excel sheet. My NA's can have a due date assigned (if there is one) or a wish date (in a different column, a date that I would "like" to finish them).
During my weekly review when I decide in general on which projects/actions I will be working on or would like to work on during the upcoming week. I give those a wish date, for example next friday. That means that in my list they show up right after the ones with a due date (I sort first on due date, then on wish date). So I know at any time what items I really must do (the ones with due dates) and what items I wanted to work on during the last review (the wish dates).
Sometimes I do something completely different from what I anticipated with my wish dates, and then I simply erase or report the wish date. I never transfer that kind of items to and from my calendar.
What I start to notice is that when things are going really well (gdt-wise), I have very few NA's with hard due dates, simply because in the flow of reviewing, deciding and acting on wish dates all my NA's get done before the actual due date arrives. That is when I really feel "wow, i'm doing things before they become urgent, and I really am on top of things".
Myriam
debbieg;85335 said:
My system is entirely in one excel sheet. My NA's can have a due date assigned (if there is one) or a wish date (in a different column, a date that I would "like" to finish them).
During my weekly review when I decide in general on which projects/actions I will be working on or would like to work on during the upcoming week. I give those a wish date, for example next friday. That means that in my list they show up right after the ones with a due date (I sort first on due date, then on wish date). So I know at any time what items I really must do (the ones with due dates) and what items I wanted to work on during the last review (the wish dates).
Sometimes I do something completely different from what I anticipated with my wish dates, and then I simply erase or report the wish date. I never transfer that kind of items to and from my calendar.
What I start to notice is that when things are going really well (gdt-wise), I have very few NA's with hard due dates, simply because in the flow of reviewing, deciding and acting on wish dates all my NA's get done before the actual due date arrives. That is when I really feel "wow, i'm doing things before they become urgent, and I really am on top of things".
Myriam
Two different but (hopefully!) equally valid answers to the question:
1) the key distinction you need to make with your calendar versus your lists is between things that MUST be done on a particular day (they have to be done that day or not at all) and things that would be NICE to get done on a particular day (it would make you happy/fulfilled if they got done that day, but nothing is going to fall apart if they don't). If you start pre-choosing actions to work on it can be easy to blur the distinction between those two types of actions. If you're going to pre-choose, you need to make sure that you do it and record it in a way that makes the distinction clear. I personally like to think about 2-3 "most important tasks" -- things that don't HAVE to be done that day but that, among the things on my lists, seem like the most important ones to work on if I get to, but I record them on my calendar in a different way (different label and marking color) from the calendar items that MUST get done that day.
2) As I've gotten better at developing and maintaining my next actions lists, I've found that it matters less and less which specific action I choose at an given point in time -- all of the actions on my list are going to get dealt with on a relatively short cycle (in my world, no more than 2 weeks) and I find that as long as I'm looking at my lists regularly and keeping them up to date I can pick just about anything in the moment of choice and feel pretty good about it.
--Marc
1) the key distinction you need to make with your calendar versus your lists is between things that MUST be done on a particular day (they have to be done that day or not at all) and things that would be NICE to get done on a particular day (it would make you happy/fulfilled if they got done that day, but nothing is going to fall apart if they don't). If you start pre-choosing actions to work on it can be easy to blur the distinction between those two types of actions. If you're going to pre-choose, you need to make sure that you do it and record it in a way that makes the distinction clear. I personally like to think about 2-3 "most important tasks" -- things that don't HAVE to be done that day but that, among the things on my lists, seem like the most important ones to work on if I get to, but I record them on my calendar in a different way (different label and marking color) from the calendar items that MUST get done that day.
2) As I've gotten better at developing and maintaining my next actions lists, I've found that it matters less and less which specific action I choose at an given point in time -- all of the actions on my list are going to get dealt with on a relatively short cycle (in my world, no more than 2 weeks) and I find that as long as I'm looking at my lists regularly and keeping them up to date I can pick just about anything in the moment of choice and feel pretty good about it.
--Marc
debbieg;85371 said:
hi Debbie,
sure, I don't see why not. It's not a very complicated spread sheet, I'd be glad to share it and receive comments about it!
I'm writing down a NA right now: clean out spread sheet (I don't feel the need to post a spread sheet with all my items in it) and post it on gtd-forum :grin:
That'll probably be something I'll do on friday evening (I've got an evening of "small administrative NA's" planned as my husband will go out to watch a football game)
Myriam
debbieg;85371 said:
hi Debbie,
sure, I don't see why not. It's not a very complicated spread sheet, I'd be glad to share it and receive comments about it!
I'm writing down a NA right now: clean out spread sheet (I don't feel the need to post a spread sheet with all my items in it) and post it on gtd-forum :grin:
That'll probably be something I'll do on friday evening (I've got an evening of "small administrative NA's" planned as my husband will go out to watch a football game)
Myriam
Kelly: just to clear things up. Do you read through the whole list of Next Actions or you can stop somewhere in between and start doing? If you read through the whole list, do you read it through it again when finished with the Next Action or you pre-choosed what to do when was reading for the first time?
kelstarrising
Kelly | GTD expert
When I'm scanning for something to choose? No, I don't make myself read the whole list before deciding every time. Most of the time I'm just choosing based on what stands out. Kind of like scanning a grocery aisle. I don't look at every box of cereal before deciding. I'll see which one calls to me and go for that.
And, since GTD is not black and white on this (nor is my personal experience!), plenty of times I would read the whole list to know what all of my choices are. So really just go for what works in the moment. And in the next moment you might choose a different way to do it.
And, since GTD is not black and white on this (nor is my personal experience!), plenty of times I would read the whole list to know what all of my choices are. So really just go for what works in the moment. And in the next moment you might choose a different way to do it.
nunodonato
Registered
Hi everyone!
Put some time in studying what are really the best contexts for your life & work, I figured out it really saves me a lot of time by doing valuable "filtering" of my NAs.
Besides that, I tend to "tag" some NAs as "quickies" (less than 15min), because I tend to look for those many times
(sometimes because of time restraint, other times just because I want the feeling of more accomplishment (quantity of NAs) in less time
Take care,
Nuno
Put some time in studying what are really the best contexts for your life & work, I figured out it really saves me a lot of time by doing valuable "filtering" of my NAs.
Besides that, I tend to "tag" some NAs as "quickies" (less than 15min), because I tend to look for those many times
(sometimes because of time restraint, other times just because I want the feeling of more accomplishment (quantity of NAs) in less time Take care,
Nuno