GTD ideas for software consultants?

[SGuenette]

Any software consultants have a good GTD system setup they would like to share? I have a home-based business with no employees but many clients to track projects for. Also have tons of emails, of course! The @computer category won't work since thats the majority of my work!

I use MS Outlook and a Dell Axim H30 Pocket Pc.

Thanks.

 

[Beltza]

Splitting up your N/As in contexts has a very important purpose: filtering the actions for all actions that you can physically do in your current situation. Just like you I spend a lot of time at my desk, and therefore my @office context is by far the biggest (I don't use @computer, since there is no difference between my office and my desktop computer).

In the office I look at all my @office N/As, without being bothered by tasks I can't do at my office. The I apply my criteria (available time, energy, importance) on this list to decide what I am going to do next.

 

[whsbpb]

(Strange - I already replied to this, but it doesn't seem to have reached the forum. Here goes again.)

Splitting up your N/As in contexts has a very important purpose

Personally, I find the context thing to be the least useful aspect of GTD. And I think it's important to note that it is *not* a core part of the methodology. It may apply to some people, but my view is you can safely discard it and still use GTD.

I am like the OP in that the bulk of my NAs would be @computer, and I've never found further contextualization helpful. Instead, I divide my NAs into two groups:

1. HEALTH - NAs connected with ensuring my business grows. For example, NAs associated with new product development, marketing efforts. The cool, fun stuff.

2. HYGIENE - NAs connected with ensuring my business doesn't shrink. Paying bills, general admin, etc.

I allocate time for each, so that the HYGIENE stuff gets done. Of course, in reality my best laid plans of time allocation do get distorted by events, people, internet forums about GTD . But my time allocation gives me a general guideline and something to aim for.

So then if I'm in a HEALTH time slot, or a HYGIENE time slot, how do I choose which of the many NAs in each? Well, I do anything time critical, and then it's a simple random choice. As I've mentioned before on this group, I class myself as an inveterate maximizer (see "The Paradox of Choice") and so I can't afford to get into debates with myself about "The" most important NA to do. I choose one - any one - and get on with it.

Works for me. YMMV, but I re-state my original point. @context-ing is *an* approach to dividing up NAs into chunks, but it's not the only one. And GTD is much more than - and independent of, in my opinion - @context-ing.

--