GTD for Law Enforcement

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Copper45

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Is there such a thing? Keep in mind, 12 hour rotating shifts, different days off every week, don't always work the same shift, and your "office" is a car you may or may not be in at any given time... Anyone have an idea of how to make it work??
 
My suspicion is that it could work quite well. Using a review instead of heavy use of due dates means you can do the review on Monday or Tuesday and that would be perfect, as long as you do it. Contexts mean that you can do certain things when you're in that context. Use paper as your main tool.

Have you tried?
 
I concur with paper and suggest index cards as being small and portable - fit in your pocket. One card per context.
 
> 12 hour rotating shifts, different days off every week, don't always work the same shift

Well, you're probably already doing it, but having a very functional calendar's important :-) Otherwise, you'd run your system as usual - process incoming when you're at your inboxes, decide action, park in appropriate organizing places (projects, action lists, waiting for, calendar), and work when you have time.

> your "office" is a car you may or may not be in at any given time

I'd say carrying relevant support materials is important. I recommend carrying the following:

o calendar
o actions list
o waiting for (optional)
o projects (optional)
o capture tool (i.e., blank pad/cards)
o Action Support folder (for actions needing paper that doesn't have a dedicated folder)
o Read/Review folder (for those "between" moments - only for FYI reading)
o relevant project folders

Contexts could be useful, as mentioned elsewhere. If your computer and phone are with you then you'll be able to do actions requiring them...

Finally, having clear collection systems is important, due to your varying schedule. Having a time to empty them (I assume some come into your mail slot or inbox in your building) is crucial.

Good question; I'd like to hear how you customize it for your work.
 
As you probably already know, rotating shifts can make it very hard to get personal and family stuff done. I'd suggest paying special attention to your @Home context and calendar, so that you can be as productive as possible when you are in sync with family and/or the outside world. (Your neighbors probably won't appreciate it if you mow your lawn at 3 AM.)

At the same time, you probably also know that rotating shifts can do pretty nasty things to your biological clock. That means you need to avoid being too ambitious with your time off at the expense of your sleep/recovery time. Giving yourself permission to *not* do stuff is especially important under these circumstances.

Katherine
 
A couple other folders that DA recommends for people who are travellers:
IN
Return to Office
Return to Home
 
Thank you for all your insights. My two saving graces have been a Google calendar (which I can access from my cellphone, so basically "everywhere") that I have setup which lists my work days/shifts with access for my friends/family to add things to it (with the understanding that I may/may not be able to attend everything), and a simple pocket notebook with my to-do's written down, with different pages for priorties and contexts. I've been looking into the online GTD applications lately but haven't found one that really blows my skirt up yet.
 
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