GTD in a hotdesking environment

[MattEvansProfessional]

I know GTD rather frowns upon hotdesking, but the organisation I work for insists on it. So, all I am allowed to leave on my 120cm x 80cm desk at the end of the day is a computer screen and stand, a keyboard and a mouse (plus the wires to connect to my laptop). My storage consists of a locker 45cm x 35cm x 45cm. Inside that there a a fancy in tray that I can clip underneath the desk, which comes with a pen / pencil / etc tray.

I have just changed jobs within the organisation, so now seems a good time to have another go at implementing GTD (an this time, meaning it). I'm planning to use OneNote as my main tool (currently trying to get IT to sync laptop version with work smart phone). I'm also going to try to be as paperless as possible.

Any advice with managing the hot desking thing would be appreciated.

 

[John Forrister]

I know GTD rather frowns upon hotdesking. . .

How is it frowned upon?

If I understand what you mean by hotdesking, several of us do it at David Allen Company. But maybe you mean something else, and I am ready to stand (or sit warmly) corrected.

 

[jenkins]

How is it frowned upon?

If I understand what you mean by hotdesking, several of us do it at David Allen Company. But maybe you mean something else, and I am ready to stand (or sit warmly) corrected.

Maybe referring to DA's thoughts on hoteling? (p.91)

Some organizations are interested in the concept of "hotel-ing"--that is, having people create totally self-contained and mobile workstation capabilities so they can "plug in" anywhere in the company, at any time, and work from there. I have my doubts about how well that concept will work in practice. A friend who was involved in setting up an "office of the future" model in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. government, claimed that hoteling tended to fall apart because of the "Mine!" factor--people wanted their own stuff. I suggest there's a deeper reason for the failure: there needs to be zero resistance at the less-than-conscious level for us to use the systems we have. Having to continually reinvent our in- basket, our filing system, and how and where we process our stuff can only be a source of incessant distraction.

 

[MattEvansProfessional]

Jenkins, that's the kind of thing I mean. I mean, even, not being afforded the space to have an A-Z filing system. All the materials from training courses I have been on are stored at home, because there is no room at work.

 

[Oogiem]

Jenkins, that's the kind of thing I mean. I mean, even, not being afforded the space to have an A-Z filing system. All the materials from training courses I have been on are stored at home, because there is no room at work.

All stuff at home doesn't mean you are re-inventing it every time, just means your system is different.

 

[MattEvansProfessional]

Umm, it does mean that my filing system is about 40 miles away, which is hardly the 'immediately available' standard that David advocates.

I have to say, this isn't quite what I expected. I asked a question because I'm having difficulty being GTD productive in a hot desking environment. I seem to have found myself in a debate about whether I am, in fact, hot desking, or even if there ius a problem here. So, nobody has made a genuine attempt to help so far and I'm feeling rather let down.

 

[TesTeq]

Umm, it does mean that my filing system is about 40 miles away, which is hardly the 'immediately available' standard that David advocates.

Scan everything into Evernote. It will solve your filing system availability problem.

 

[tismey]

Umm, it does mean that my filing system is about 40 miles away, which is hardly the 'immediately available' standard that David advocates.

I have to say, this isn't quite what I expected. I asked a question because I'm having difficulty being GTD productive in a hot desking environment. I seem to have found myself in a debate about whether I am, in fact, hot desking, or even if there ius a problem here. So, nobody has made a genuine attempt to help so far and I'm feeling rather let down.

I guess the important thing to understand first and foremost is what part of your system isn't working due to the hot-desking element. Is it just access to your files, or are there other elements of the Workflow that are impacted?

If it's mainly filing for reference materials, does this impact anyone else? There may well be a case for a shared reference library in a bookcase or locker if there are multiple people struggling with the same issue, so maybe that's worth exploring? Otherwise, going paperless (as you've already noted) will be really helpful, although I can also see that scanning everything might be an arduous task - is it worth contacting some of the training providers to see if they have soft copies, maybe? Alternatively (and this is the approach I take to this), could you identify a subset of files to keep at/take to work depending on what you're likely to be working on? A To Home / To Office folder setup could be a really simple way around this.

Don't worry too much about the admonition against hotdesking in the book - there are a lot of implementation details that you can take, leave or adapt to suit you. The important thing is having a system that works for you and gets things off your mind.

Hope that helps a little...

 

[jenkins]

Jenkins, that's the kind of thing I mean. I mean, even, not being afforded the space to have an A-Z filing system. All the materials from training courses I have been on are stored at home, because there is no room at work.

I'm guessing you have more to file than would fit in one of those filing briefcases? Just checking.

Assuming that's the case, your only option may be scanning files into software, perhaps Evernote (though I have no experience there, hopefully others will have more information).

Besides that, as long as you have an inbox and your lists are stored digitally, I can't think of any major roadblocks. I do think David Allen is a little off when he says "Having to continually reinvent our in- basket, our filing system, and how and where we process our stuff can only be a source of incessant distraction" -- I just don't see why you'd be "reinventing" any of that. You just need to invent those things once in a way that works for your situation and then you're done. For example, you have a mobile in-basket. You're not "reinventing" your in-basket when you move it from one desk to another.

I suppose I can see "how and where" you process your stuff is technically changing from one desk to another. But your laptop is your hub in my opinion, so I don't see those changes in physical location as terribly significant. I do think it would be emotionally frustrating to change locations. It may be more challenging to get into certain routines (e.g., morning routine, end of day review, weekly review) since environmental cues play an important role. Therefore, my advice would be that you need to create strong routines with cues other than your physical environment. Perhaps it's the music you play, or the coffee you drink. Certainly the time of day should be consistent.

 

[Gardener]

Umm, it does mean that my filing system is about 40 miles away, which is hardly the 'immediately available' standard that David advocates.

I have to say, this isn't quite what I expected. I asked a question because I'm having difficulty being GTD productive in a hot desking environment. I seem to have found myself in a debate about whether I am, in fact, hot desking, or even if there ius a problem here. So, nobody has made a genuine attempt to help so far and I'm feeling rather let down.

I'm certainly taking your word for it that there's a problem, but I feel the need for more details on the problem. Most of my job involves electronic documents and data, so I've sort of forgotten what it's like to use papers at work. Can you offer a few examples of what you wish you had at work, and how you'd use it if you had it?

 

[Bill Myers]

MattEvansProfessional: I suggest you treat this "hotdesking" situation as though you're a mobile worker like I am (my job requires a lot of overnight travel), which often requires me to work out of hotel rooms when I'm not in client meetings. I would suggest carrying a laptop or messenger bag with a gusset in which you can keep some plastic folders that will take the place of stackable trays that you can't keep on your desk. I have five, labeled "In," "To Home," "To Office," "Action Support" and "Waiting For Support." I use them to manage paper materials that are part of my workflow while I'm on the road, just like I use stackable trays in the office.

I also think the advice about scanning paper documentation into a digital tool is sound, but it doesn't have to be Evernote. Like Evernote, OneNote is a cloud-based reference management solution and if you're already committed to using it for GTD I think it would work fine for storing scanned paper, notes and other reference. Then you can access that material anywhere you have a PC with an internet connection, or a smartphone or tablet if your company permits you to use such devices for work.

You'll also have to get used to doing a bit of planning if there are hardcopy materials you store at home that can't easily be digitized (like books, for example) to help you to remember to bring them when needed.

I hope that helps. Good luck with the new position!

 

[AngelaH]

I am very interested in this concept as a small business owner who primarily works from home, does a good bit of travel and is interested in a part-time co-working situation. I use Wunderlist as my list manager and Evernote for all reference materials. Evernote provides flexibility of organization (notebooks, stacks, tags) and inputs (e-mail, web-clipper, drag and drop). It also enables sharing very easily. I recommend a scanner - I got the Fujitsu ix500 ScanSnap
(which I don't know how I ever lived without and I use it to scan everything from personal financial and insurance papers to business reference, kids soccer schedules, warranties, online shopping receipts and travel confirmations. I share personal financial information w/my hubby via shared notes and/or notebooks. It's search feature is very robust and can even search for text within photos, such as street signs, so it's quick and easy to find things even if you don't have it pristinely organized. Hard-copy documents I find myself reaching for more than once get scanned into Evernote. I can insert links to specific notes into my list manager to direct me to something I need to read later or reference.

The premium version costs about as much as a couple large lattes/month and is well worth the investment - here's a link to the premium version: http://bit.ly/2bwMiSE.