How to get back on the GTD wagon
- Thread starter macgrl
- Start date
Start over and focus on the habits, not the tools.
You need a working system before you can effectively do a weekly review. You're at the beginning and setting up a new system.
Start by collecting and capturing all of the "stuff" in your life. Grab a notepad, start at one corner of your property and scrutinize every square inch for reminders of unfinished work in your life. Do the same thing with your workplace, too. Then do a mind sweep and get it all that has piled into your head onto that list.
If you haven't already set up a location in your home where you keep your inbox and can process and organize its contents regularly. Same thing in your workplace.
As far as your tools go, use a paper system for your lists unless you already have an electronic list manager and calendar and can use both efficiently and effectively. An early project for many new GTDers is "R&D electronic GTD system" but they use paper until they complete that project. Some stay with paper; there's nothing wrong with it (unless you lose it).
You might not be ready for weekly reviews for a couple of weeks to a month if you are just starting out; there's too much backlog of "stuff" in your life at the onset. But once you have the first three habits on cruise control (collecting, processing and organzing) then weekly reviews are mandatory to keep all of your commitments current.
Good luck.
You need a working system before you can effectively do a weekly review. You're at the beginning and setting up a new system.
Start by collecting and capturing all of the "stuff" in your life. Grab a notepad, start at one corner of your property and scrutinize every square inch for reminders of unfinished work in your life. Do the same thing with your workplace, too. Then do a mind sweep and get it all that has piled into your head onto that list.
If you haven't already set up a location in your home where you keep your inbox and can process and organize its contents regularly. Same thing in your workplace.
As far as your tools go, use a paper system for your lists unless you already have an electronic list manager and calendar and can use both efficiently and effectively. An early project for many new GTDers is "R&D electronic GTD system" but they use paper until they complete that project. Some stay with paper; there's nothing wrong with it (unless you lose it).
You might not be ready for weekly reviews for a couple of weeks to a month if you are just starting out; there's too much backlog of "stuff" in your life at the onset. But once you have the first three habits on cruise control (collecting, processing and organzing) then weekly reviews are mandatory to keep all of your commitments current.
Good luck.
Oogiem
0
Collect then Process Current stuff first
I'd start by doing a full collection, then processing those items. Sort of a super weekly review. It might take a week or so of working at it several hours a day but that would get me back up to speed with my world.
If I had a previously populated list manager I'd archive it and call it backlog and move items over only after I'd dealt with the immediate collection and processing of current stuff.
macgrl;91902 said:
I'd start by doing a full collection, then processing those items. Sort of a super weekly review. It might take a week or so of working at it several hours a day but that would get me back up to speed with my world.
If I had a previously populated list manager I'd archive it and call it backlog and move items over only after I'd dealt with the immediate collection and processing of current stuff.
I would definitely start by collecting everything that's "open" right now. That way it's all together while you decide what the next step is. The next question would be, do you have a trusted system to put all this in, or is this part of the reason you fell off the GTD wagon? If your system is sound, then it's a matter of putting things back into their proper context and projects. If your system isn't sound, then you need to get that fixed before you can move on. Without a good, solid trusted system, you won't be able to trust yourself that everything is being processed correctly.
Good luck and hopefully these answers will help you out.
Good luck and hopefully these answers will help you out.
macgrl;92280 said:
Are you going to use Omnifocus? It's very good, but kind of like driving a big truck. I've struggled to make it simple and agile. I have seen the suggestion, I think in the Omnigroup white paper, of just using the context side to get going, and then setting up projects. I haven't tried it, so I have no idea if it really works.
So I have just bought the GTD Implementation guide and am really looking forward to using it 
I am hoping to get started on it today and do a bit each day
Last week I did a mindmap of everything that was going on in my life, I thought it might be interesting to post a brief overview so here it is -
As Areas of Focus I have -
Houses (i manage some properties for my parents) - projects within this include sort out safety checks, one house needs garden tydying, check dates and with tenants about renewing contracts
Home (my own house) - projects include build little wall at front next to drive, snagging list for lounge, organize shed
PHD ( I am studying for a PHD kinda part-time kinda full time) this is a bit more complex because under this heading not only do I have the actual PHD but I also have students to supervise, a journal that I am involved in and some classes to attend
Personal such as gym / lose weight, car insurance, book a holiday etc
Now that I have elaberated a bit more on my commitments if there are any tips on how to organize these areas of focus (projects? sub projects) it would be appreciated.
I am hoping to get started on it today and do a bit each dayLast week I did a mindmap of everything that was going on in my life, I thought it might be interesting to post a brief overview so here it is -
As Areas of Focus I have -
Houses (i manage some properties for my parents) - projects within this include sort out safety checks, one house needs garden tydying, check dates and with tenants about renewing contracts
Home (my own house) - projects include build little wall at front next to drive, snagging list for lounge, organize shed
PHD ( I am studying for a PHD kinda part-time kinda full time) this is a bit more complex because under this heading not only do I have the actual PHD but I also have students to supervise, a journal that I am involved in and some classes to attend
Personal such as gym / lose weight, car insurance, book a holiday etc
Now that I have elaberated a bit more on my commitments if there are any tips on how to organize these areas of focus (projects? sub projects) it would be appreciated.