How do you have so many NAs?

folke123

Registered
Hi!

David Allen says that most people have more than 50 next actions (and many have over 100!). I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong in my GTD setup, because to me that feels like a lot! - And I still feel like I have quite packed days.

I currently have 8 private ones, 10 for my job, 7 in waiting for, and like 12 in my calendar for the current week (mix off apointments and using it as a tickler file for actions)
I guess I have a few more in the "project plans" for the different projects, I try not to plan to far ahead but there a few actions there (like 10)

I do try to only have one active project for each "category" of my life (so I have like one project active for my side business, and a few possible ones to do after that one in my S/M list, without any NA specified) one project for self improvement, a few for my job etc.
I don't really put in leaisure time things in my NA either, things like "play video game x"

I guess that could be it?


It would be great if you guys could tell me how many different NAs you have in your different categories, and maybe list them if they are not to private (or list the ones that are not) and also the number of projects you got.

That might help me understand if I am doing something wrong, or just structuring things a bit different than you guys do


Three bonus questions:

1) How often should/do you empty your "in" (And do you always empty every "in" you have)
2) Should you add hard deadlines to your next actions if they exist? (so that you can see the deadline in your NA list)
3) Do you add leisure activities to your next action lists? Things like "Watch youtube" "Play computer game", "Browse reddit" and other fun stuff you like to do. Why? Why not?
 

Oogiem

Registered
It would be great if you guys could tell me how many different NAs you have in your different categories, and maybe list them if they are not to private (or list the ones that are not) and also the number of projects you got.
Currently I'm at 187 active project available next actions 171. The disconnect is because I have a couple of projects that are active but there is a start date for their current next action. These are actions that I cannot do before then.
1) How often should/do you empty your "in" (And do you always empty every "in" you have)
2) Should you add hard deadlines to your next actions if they exist? (so that you can see the deadline in your NA list)
3) Do you add leisure activities to your next action lists? Things like "Watch youtube" "Play computer game", "Browse reddit" and other fun stuff you like to do. Why? Why not?
I empty ever inbox at least ocne a week. Some I do more often but at a minimum everything gets to empty once a week.

Yes, I will add hard deadlines of it really does exist but I'm far more likely to have start dates not due dates.

Yes, I will add lesiure activities when I feel I need to. I have some next actions related to scrapbook projects right now on my lists.
 

mcogilvie

Registered
Hi!

David Allen says that most people have more than 50 next actions (and many have over 100!). I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong in my GTD setup, because to me that feels like a lot! - And I still feel like I have quite packed days.

I currently have 8 private ones, 10 for my job, 7 in waiting for, and like 12 in my calendar for the current week (mix off apointments and using it as a tickler file for actions)
I guess I have a few more in the "project plans" for the different projects, I try not to plan to far ahead but there a few actions there (like 10)

I do try to only have one active project for each "category" of my life (so I have like one project active for my side business, and a few possible ones to do after that one in my S/M list, without any NA specified) one project for self improvement, a few for my job etc.
I don't really put in leaisure time things in my NA either, things like "play video game x"

I guess that could be it?


It would be great if you guys could tell me how many different NAs you have in your different categories, and maybe list them if they are not to private (or list the ones that are not) and also the number of projects you got.

That might help me understand if I am doing something wrong, or just structuring things a bit different than you guys do


Three bonus questions:

1) How often should/do you empty your "in" (And do you always empty every "in" you have)
2) Should you add hard deadlines to your next actions if they exist? (so that you can see the deadline in your NA list)
3) Do you add leisure activities to your next action lists? Things like "Watch youtube" "Play computer game", "Browse reddit" and other fun stuff you like to do. Why? Why not?
I float at around a hundred next actions, of which almost half are email-related. I have about 25 projects at any one time; I could not limit myself to one per area.

1. Ideally, every day, but in practice sometimes every two days.
2. I do add real deadlines to next actions. It seems silly to me to not do so.
3. Mostly not for the kinds of leisure activities you mention, which, if you will forgive me for saying so, are casual and of low value to me. I do some of them, but they are 5-minute break things. I have a recurring agenda item to check with my wife regarding weekend plans, which includes things like hiking, picnics, and zoom get-togethers with friends. I don’t track streaming stuff to watch because most streaming services have watch lists. Occasionally, we‘ll watch something in real time, a play, concert or special show, and that gets scheduled.
 

Gardener

Registered
I currently have 8 private ones, 10 for my job, 7 in waiting for, and like 12 in my calendar for the current week (mix off apointments and using it as a tickler file for actions)

It sounds like you have even shorter lists than I do, and I like my lists very short.

My work stuff is in a separate system. In my personal system, I currently have twelve active projects and about forty next actions. (Edited to add: That ignores the hundreds of items in someday/maybe lists and other lists.)

I go through my main inbox at least once a week, ideally every day.

I try to only add deadlines if there's some external force pushing that deadline.

If I have actions related to leisure activities, they would usually be about enabling those activities, like buying a book that I'd like to read, or remembering to tell the DVR to record a particular show, or remembering to thaw something needed for a recipe I want to try, that sort of thing. I wouldn't have a next action for actually watching the show.

Some example project and next actions, choosing some where privacy isn't a big issue:

Project: Move firewood
NA: Sweep where the wood was
NA: Find a home for the empty wood holders

Project: Clear garden for spring
NA: Clear out those leaves by the front tomatoes
NA: Prep front half of row 5 for pole beans

Project: Food management misc
NA: Freeze more rice
NA: Freeze those eggs
NA: Use up that cheese

Project: Get the greenhouse going
NA: Move greenhouse junk to shed.
NA: Start lettuce seedlings

Project: Ongoing decluttering
NA: Pair up shoes for donate.
NA: Check weather for greenhouse junk driveway giveaway
 

folke123

Registered
Currently I'm at 187 active project available next actions 171. The disconnect is because I have a couple of projects that are active but there is a start date for their current next action. These are actions that I cannot do before then.

I empty ever inbox at least ocne a week. Some I do more often but at a minimum everything gets to empty once a week.

Yes, I will add hard deadlines of it really does exist but I'm far more likely to have start dates not due dates.

Yes, I will add lesiure activities when I feel I need to. I have some next actions related to scrapbook projects right now on my lists.
Wow!

Could you give some examples of your projects and next actions? (just a dump from your lists if they are not too private)
 

folke123

Registered
I float at around a hundred next actions, of which almost half are email-related. I have about 25 projects at any one time; I could not limit myself to one per area.

1. Ideally, every day, but in practice sometimes every two days.
2. I do add real deadlines to next actions. It seems silly to me to not do so.
3. Mostly not for the kinds of leisure activities you mention, which, if you will forgive me for saying so, are casual and of low value to me. I do some of them, but they are 5-minute break things. I have a recurring agenda item to check with my wife regarding weekend plans, which includes things like hiking, picnics, and zoom get-togethers with friends. I don’t track streaming stuff to watch because most streaming services have watch lists. Occasionally, we‘ll watch something in real time, a play, concert or special show, and that gets scheduled.
Then you have around 4 NAs per active project?

Could you list some projects and NAs? :)

3) I add things like "check with X if they want to meet up" and then add "Have dinner with X on my calendar" which seems to be the same way you do it.

The activities I mentioned were more of examples that you can do yourself, at any time. I currently do not add them to my list even if they would be bigger (Paint a painting if you do that for fun, or hike alone in the woods, or make really hard recipie x if you like cooking)

Would you add such examples to your list? (Basically I guess I am asking if you add solo leisure projects to your list if they would be bigger, or if you only have things that somehow bring your life forward)
 

Longstreet

Professor of microbiology and infectious diseases
I am big on using the front burner and back burner philosophy. In my weekly review, I decide on what I will focus on the following week. I move other items - projects, actions - to my back burner. I do daily reviews so if something changes, I can easily move items from the backburner to the front burner. My system is digital so this is very easy to do.
 

Loukas

Registered
I am big on using the front burner and back burner philosophy. In my weekly review, I decide on what I will focus on the following week. I move other items - projects, actions - to my back burner. I do daily reviews so if something changes, I can easily move items from the backburner to the front burner. My system is digital so this is very easy to do.
@Longstreet can you give more details on how exactly you do this in NirvanaHQ? Thanks

More specifically, if you are moving projects from Next (front burner) to Later (Back burner), don't you run the risk of missing out on some tasks you have deferred?

Also, if you have documented your workflow in another post, I would really appreciate a link :)

Thank you
 

GTDengineer

Registered
Actually, your situation and GTD process sounds great. If it’s working for you, why question it?

Regarding your questions:

1) How often should/do you empty your "in" (And do you always empty every "in" you have)

A: something between daily and weekly generally works well

2) Should you add hard deadlines to your next actions if they exist? (so that you can see the deadline in your NA list)

A: a single action with a deadline should go on your calendar instead of an action list


3) Do you add leisure activities to your next action lists? Things like "Watch youtube" "Play computer game", "Browse reddit" and other fun stuff you like to do. Why? Why not?

A: I don’t. For you, the answer is: yes if you feel like your leisure activity is in need of some kind of management. No if you prefer complete disconnect from systems in your leisure time.

Also, remember that you can keep checklist of all of your leisure ideas, and review them during your leisure time. These are not necessarily next actions, but could become actions in the moment.
 
I think this depends on all sorts of different factors - some as follows :
  • How complex is your life? I have 170 Next Actions, but I run 4 different businesses, and have 2 hobbies where I am Chair of Committees. If you have one job and just recreational hobbies, it's going to be fewer Next Actions.
  • How granular are your Next Actions? Are they really down at the 'widget cranking' level (eg. Phone Bob, Write e-mail), or are they chunkier? If you have big next actions that could take hours to complete (in one sitting), perhaps that's why there are fewer.
  • How much are you in control of your work projects? If these are given to you, with plans and deadlines already in place, then this is going to dictate to an extent your list of Next Actions. However, if you are self-generating then the lists are likely to be larger. In fact, I find my bigger challenge is keeping my Current Projects list to a manageable size that I can actually achieve! There are so many things I want to achieve that I can sometimes try to tackle too much at any given point.
 
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