Energy Allocation

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gtdstudente

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Fellow GTDers,

Do any fellow GTDer's have any Energy allocation strategies they would like to post for the GTD benefit of all GTDers?

Thank you very much
 
dtj

dtj

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A useful idea is to have an "@braindead" context that can be applied to tasks that require very little energy or cognitive load. Things like tagging photos sorta just requires time, providing that you have an reasonable tag system already established.
 
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gtdstudente

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dtj said:
A useful idea is to have an "@braindead" context that can be applied to tasks that require very little energy or cognitive load. Things like tagging photos sorta just requires time, providing that you have an reasonable tag system already established.
Click to expand...
@dtj,

Makes sense and work from there to the more demanding

Thank you very much
 
Livtally

Livtally

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At the other extreme from @braindead, I have an @focus category I use to flag actions that require significant sustained mental energy.

Other GTD parameters being amenable (i.e., context, time, and priority), actions that require this sort of high-focus energy, ideally in a physical context where distractions and interruptions can also be minimized, are great choices for times when I'm most mentally sharp. (For me, this tends to be early in the day and early in the week before decision fatigue and assorted demands pull me in many different directions. Your mileage may vary, especially if you're a night owl!)

It also helps me to think of these @focus actions at the level of the weekly review. When my best times for doing focused work are otherwise committed on my calendar for the upcoming week, I can plan and prioritize accordingly. Sometimes I adjust my expectations; if there are no pressing deadlines, doing less focused work that week could be fine. Other times, I will need to block alternative slots on my calendar for this focused work, even less-than-ideal ones, to make sure I am getting the most important things done!
 
rbngp

rbngp

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I know I'm not alone, nor crazy in struggling with GTD contexts after all these years (italics refer to Paul Simon's song Still crazy after all these years).

Regarding my use of energy within my next action lists (I read about it a long time ago, it's not mine), I have subdivided @Computer in 4 different lists:

@HomePC: NAs I must perform while I'm at home.
@Computer-Fast: @Computer NAs requiring short amount of time and low energy.
@Computer-Zombie: @Computer NAs requiring long amount of time and low energy.
@Computer-Focus: @Computer NAs requiring long amount of time and high energy.

I've never been keen on subdivding @Computer according to the software I'd use (email, Excel, task manager...), since I feel working between 2-3 programs (and switching between them with Alt-Tab shortcut is not really switching contexts for me; for instance, if I have to fetch some data from a spreadsheet to write an email...).

Still, not perfect. Some of my @Compuert NAs are easy to fit into one of those lists; other ones, not so much, I guess.

I recently wrote a short series of essays about GTD contexts (being the second one where I discussed this and other personal struggles with them):

• https://twitter.com/rubengp/status/1769055791145701528
• https://twitter.com/rubengp/status/1769494698815565893
• https://twitter.com/rubengp/status/1769854893710246046
 
G

gtdstudente

Registered
rbngp said:
I know I'm not alone, nor crazy in struggling with GTD contexts after all these years (italics refer to Paul Simon's song Still crazy after all these years).

Regarding my use of energy within my next action lists (I read about it a long time ago, it's not mine), I have subdivided @Computer in 4 different lists:

@HomePC: NAs I must perform while I'm at home.
@Computer-Fast: @Computer NAs requiring short amount of time and low energy.
@Computer-Zombie: @Computer NAs requiring long amount of time and low energy.
@Computer-Focus: @Computer NAs requiring long amount of time and high energy.

I've never been keen on subdivding @Computer according to the software I'd use (email, Excel, task manager...), since I feel working between 2-3 programs (and switching between them with Alt-Tab shortcut is not really switching contexts for me; for instance, if I have to fetch some data from a spreadsheet to write an email...).

Still, not perfect. Some of my @Compuert NAs are easy to fit into one of those lists; other ones, not so much, I guess.

I recently wrote a short series of essays about GTD contexts (being the second one where I discussed this and other personal struggles with them):

• https://twitter.com/rubengp/status/1769055791145701528
• https://twitter.com/rubengp/status/1769494698815565893
• https://twitter.com/rubengp/status/1769854893710246046
Click to expand...
 
pgarth

pgarth

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gtdstudente said:
Fellow GTDers,

Do any fellow GTDer's have any Energy allocation strategies they would like to post for the GTD benefit of all GTDers?

Thank you very much
Click to expand...
One idea I’ve been playing with, that appears to work, is to monitor number of items in my lists.

If it’s more than 10, then has my attention.

At home is currently 29. Likely because I’ve been over from other contexts, who knows..

29 times 2 (minutes) is basically one hour. I then schedule when alert and crank thru that list and commit to at least inspecting each item. It typically goes below 10.

Just a random thought. I need to get back to actual work now. lol.
 
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