My Top Tips Gleaned from GTD
These are the things that really changed my life that I learned from Getting Things Done:
1. Maintain Lists by Context
Yes, I had read a thousand times about the difference between those who do well and those who don't is those who do well keep to-do lists. But I was never able to maintain the lists that I had to keep writing over in my planner day after day.
Then I set up an Excel spreadsheet with a tab for each context. I was off and running! This stuff was great. I was using that Excel file all the time every day.
For me, lists by context is the key learning from GTD. If I someday lead a life of simple peace and tranquility, then I can abandon my lists by context. Until then, the only way you'll take my lists by context is by prying open my fingers after rigor mortis has set in.
2. Keep a "Waiting For" List
I used to put stuff in my calendar: "John promised product X by March 25." But that wasn't enough. The stuff wouldn't show up; I'd call; I'd get another date and the calendar was a waste of time. Now I have one organized list of all the stuff that's promised to me.
3. Don't Be Afraid to Make a New Folder
I had always had an alphabetical folder system. I had already done it, so to alter it would somehow have been to admit my fallibility. I read GTD, bought a battery-operated Dymo labeler (sorry, DA, no power cord), and learned that folders, like Darwin's species, change. New ones come into existence and those that are badly adapted to a changing environment are extinguished .
I took DA's advice and trashed all my plastic label tabs on my hanging folders. That lowered my resistance to creating and extinguishing new folders for my cabinets.
I then went a step further and did something an old boss of mine would do. I made an Excel list titled "file folders." In column A I list the folder name, in column B I have the option of listing some of the contents of that folder. Lots of times I can't remember where I filed something. I do a quick Ctrl-F search and, often, I find it.
It's a little extra work, but the reality is that I have all sorts of documents that could be filed in more than one folder. What I learned from GTD is that the extra up-front work more than pays for itself at the back end.
4. Get a PDA
I thought about it for years. I started GTD, as I said, without one. I'll never look back. It's great doing GTD on my PDA. It also enables me to do what I never did with my paper planner: I use little bits of open time to write in my PDA.
My PDA has a voice recorder. So, as others have mentioned already in this thread, now, when driving, I get a thought and I grab the PDA and record it. In my pre-PDA days I would, occasionally, grab my cell phone, call the office and leave myself a message on voice-mail. But that was a much more tedious process and I had much more resistance to overcome with my cell phone than I do with my PDA.
5. Date Stamp All Action Reminders
Brilliant! I didn't do it for my first few months of GTD. Then I caught it on one of my rereadings of the book. Today I just put in my "Wating For" list:
040322 Connie form 5500 return receipt for profit sharing
I do this for everything. I precede the reminder with the year 04, month 03, and day 22. This is real useful down the road when I can see how long I or someone else has let an action slide.
That's some of what's worked for me so far. I still have a long way to go. My home organizational system lags behind my more highly developed office system. I suppose that when I am a true master I will be able to say, a la Jason Womack, that the top tip is to ask, "What is the Next Action?" But I am not there yet.
My last tip would be keep rereading DA's books and follow the website. The GTD method is invaluable. But it takes time to master. My organizational system requires constant maintenance to keep it functioning well. I also require continuous reminders from DA and Jason and CosmoGTD and others of how much better it can still get.
