Exam time

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I got an 86%, 52 out of 60 right. I am happy with that, B+ I guess. It was interesting to see which ones I missed, thanks!
 
TPorter2 I got 51 out of 60 for a score of 85%.

Now comes the sour grapes. What a poorly formulated exam! For example:

The two-minute rule is magic!

It's not magic. If DA said it's magic he was not speaking literally. If the question were "Figuratively speaking the two-minute rule is magic," I might put True. But the whole thrust of DA is that this stuff is not magic.

Arabic numerals are not magical. They are just a highly efficient technology for storing and manipulating numbers. Roman numerals just are not as efficient as Arabic numerals.

OK. I've vented.
 
53 correct for 88%. No, the two-minute rule is not magic. I don't care what anybody says... lol.
 
Don't know what this says about me, but I just took the exam and got 60 out of 60. Well, I keep telling folks I am black belt at GTD . . .

There are a few points in the exam I could quibble with, but it sounds like the questions and answers were probably pretty literally taken out of the book (although I haven't pulled out a copy to verify the references).

Randy Stokes
randystokes@cox.net
 
Actually, come to think of it, every day is an "exam" for the practitioner of GTD -- and there's no "final" exam, just a new one every day. The magic is when you stop thinking of it as an exam -- you're just getting things done.

Randy Stokes
randystokes@cox.net
 
95%

This is a decent way to test an individuals academic understanding of the material, but I would really like to see a test that exposed the strengths and weaknesses of a user's implementation of the GTD methodology.

I have a Someday/Maybe item to build a test such as this where a user would indicate, for example: how many weeks in a row they have successfully performed a weekly review; are the 20,000'-50,000 levels clearly identified and regularly reviewed; do you ALWAYS have an ubiquitious idea capturing tool with you; how long has it been since you had a productive thought that wasn't captured; and how often do all your inbaskets get to zero?

I think about this as I commute and stuff but I still haven't quite brainstomed enough to get it into a decent project plan. I could get parts of it from David's own description a few months ago of the different "belt" levels of GTD. I'm a web developer so once I figure out what all the questions should be, performing a logical evaluation of the questions and letting the user know what their strengths and current weaknesses are (or current belt) will be a piece of cake.

If anyone else has had this thought and would be interested in collaborating on it, feel free to send me a private message.
 
The 95% post above was from me. I was logged in. I don't know what happened. I've seen where others have experienced this but this was my first time. Hmmm. Interesting.
 
59 of 60 (missed #16), but if there was a way to score implementation I think I might make only a C+. I picture DavidCoer’s walking into my office on a coaching gig with a grading sheet: “ah, tickler file three days behind, and let’s have a look in those ears to see what you’ve got on your mind and not on a list. And look at your @office…are those really next actions? I don’t think so. And all those projects without outcomes statement… Where are going buddy boy? Don’t know, do ya?”

And to top it off I procrastinated today in the loveliest of procrastination settings: STAPLES.

But man, compared to four month ago, my office sings and the work moves through on rails.
 
I found that test by Googling for “natural planning model”.
It threw up several sites presenting good reviews and commentaries on GTD, including the forum of Organizedhome.com, which had some excellent posts on applying GTD about the house, and also one or two familiar looking posters!

DFE
 
Well I said the two minute rule wasn't magic either, but when I look around my house, I'm truly astonished. It might as well be magic. I'm almost ready for my next guru who is going to be Martha Stewart (or the virtual Martha who is her organization). I also didn't remember what the natural planning model meant (still don't).

Some of the wrong answers were really cute. I got 85 or 86. I could have done better, but I did it really fast and read some questions incorrectly. However I would pass the practical exam handily if anyone came to my house to evaluate me.

Today I emptied my inbox at home in about 10 minutes and processed everything including a two-minute task that included a phone call, my weak point. I got rid of some vestiges of past organizational schemes. Now all I have is one notebook with next actions, projects, and helpful lists, an inbox, a little notebook and a useful filing system. I processed half a week's worth of mail and various papers from the kids' year end of school, plus things I'd picked up all over the house during a frenzy of next-action-doing. When I started, it was about eight inches tall, because I had chucked books and hardware in it as well as papers. I got to the bottom of the inbox and only put one thing back in. It was a note that said "ask Debbie if she remembers Sara." What do I do with something like that? Debbie is a person who may or may not be coming over to my house on Sunday. Otherwise I would not bother to call her. My guess is that I should have put it in Sunday's folder in the tickler file, then just left the note on the counter on Sunday. But I was pressed for time. On my way to work I took care of seven next actions in two stops.

Cris
 
cris-
I hesitate with those types of notes too. Right now, a note like that would go on my @agendas list, which I bring up whenever someone is in my office or whenever I'm on the phone, just to see if I have something for them. Non-work related goes on the agendas list in my organizer, but is more likely to be missed as my home stuff is less contextualized. I’m further along at work while home GTD is still a struggle.
 
I don't use agendas, except for the list of things my husband needs to do. But I'll think about adding one. I put things I have to ask people on my errands list.

I wanted to add that one of the questions I missed was the one about the project being fully defined if all the next actions that can be done without something else happening first are written down. I said false, because I only read half the question. I thought it said a project was fully defined when all the steps from beginning to end had been written down.

Having thought about this, I realized I have some poorly defined projects where I've only listed one next action, more or less "work on project X." They are complicated projects that have many steps, and I haven't sorted out all the possible next actions.

The prime example is the project of putting family snapshots into photo albums. For better or worse, this is a very complex project, and in my next action list I had written "work on photos." I brainstormed for a bit and came up with several next actions, and three of them are done. At the same time I organized my workspace so I could proceed with the more formidable next action of putting the 4 x 6s into sheets with plastic pockets (about 2/3 has been done for a while, but as time goes on this fraction is getting smaller). I've had some emotional difficulty with this project because I've been confused and frustrated by having to think about what to do with our burgeoning digital database.

In the back of my mind, I knew I was giving this project the short shrift. But really, how much can one person do? I only got to this point after taking care of many, many other things that were hanging over my head for a long time. I suppose I should be more aware that certain things are only going to be done "someday."

Cris
 
I feel like I've adequately defined/planned a project when I have enough next actions set down to get it off my mind and I have a trusted system that ensures I will look at the project in more detail when I need to do so.
 
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