How to (quickly and efficiently) see if a project has a next action?

I didn't go back to read the original post and I'm sure there are many great suggestions so far. Here's what I would add (or say again):

Consistent Weekly Reviews will help build trust that you have a next action captured for each project.

Between Reviews, some people (not all) want a quick view of that linking in their tool. Some tools do this better than others. A tool like Outlook will only make this possible with keyword searches on that project. More sophisticated tools like Todoist and OmniFocus have this linking baked into the tool by their design. Other tools will do it with tagging pretty effectively.

So it is possible, with varying degrees of sophistication, and some people need that linking. It's not against GTD to need it or want it. I found it more work than it was worth and have a simple set up in Todoist. Go with whatever setup you need to feel confident in your system and choices.
 
I think that part of the difference between why people link or don't link may be whether their typical tasks make the project obvious.

For example, I have a task, "Prep the former pumpkin space." It's useful for me to be reminded, right in the list display, that that's part of the "New front strawberry row" project. It affects the priority, when I'm looking at my "Farm Digging" context and deciding which task to do today. It affects exactly how I prep the space--luxurious soil instead of lean soil appropriate for herbs, and perennial-plant luxury instead of burn-off-fast luxury as for, say pumpkins.

Now, I could have phrased it as "Prep the former pumpkin space FOR STRAWBERRIES," but...I don't wanna. :) I don't like extra words in my tasks; they clog up my brain while I'm scanning. And while "for strawberries" is pretty short, there are other situations where there would be a lot more text. ("Prep 11A-11G for favas, remembering to make soil appropriate for tomatoes in the spring with just a little added fertilizer" is a lot more complexity, for me, than, "Prep 11A-11G for favas" inside a project, "Winter catch crops for tomato bed.")
 
mdtannet said:
I have read all kinds of threads here and elsewhere about whether or not it makes sense to "link" next actions in your GTD tool. Apparently I am not the first to have consternation over this.

The consensus seems to be that you should not "link" next actions to a project directly. Instead, GTD would seem to say you just need to have a complete Projects list and a Next Actions list. If written clearly, it should be obvious what project you are moving along while completing a Next Action.

That all makes sense to me. Where I get confused is when my brain is trying to make the link in the other direction. In other words, if these are truly separate lists, how can I quickly and efficiently make sure that each of my projects has a next action during my Weekly Review?

I have 50-75 projects. Am I really supposed to read each one, then click over to my Next Actions list, scan it to make sure I see a Next Action, add one if I don't see one, then click back over to Projects and repeat?

I'm hung up on this and appreciate any suggestions on what I might be missing.

*I use Todoist btw.
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Hi @mdtannet,

Quickly, my 2 cents on this.

I'm not sure about the "The consensus seems to be that you should not "link" next actions to a project directly"
What I'm sure of is that you do not need to (in the perfect GTD world), which is slightly different.

I usually advice people one thing : You must be confortable with your system, ideally almost having fun using it. Otherwise you might just quit the method just because of the system itself.
So if not having a link between project and next actions is a struggle for you, then do implement that link the way you want (I'm sure many shared different ways to do that).

If I may add, I've seen many struggling with that "project" thing. For me project management has nothing to do with GTD.
Those 50-75 projects you have, how big they are ? How big is your contribution ?

Very often in a company, someone is only working on a piece of a project, not the whole projet. So it starts to be confusing, "Project" in GTD is different than the "Project" itself. So if it can help, I like to call GTD Projects "Outcomes" and not projects. It creates a clear distinction (and help to define what the outcome is). It also help not having "big projects" where you start to add more and more actions, without any visible ending.

Regards
 
How I have 'linked' Next Actions to Project is through color coding, either with colored pens-& -paper or Word, All Projects [four columns in landscape] are Associated with one of my four Areas-of-Focus [Concerns, Life-Navigating, Obligations]: DIVINE, HEALTH [includes all personal and professional relationships], FISCAL, UTILITY as such the Next Action has the corresponding color: Pray Rosary, Weekly Review, Mortgage/Rent, Clean Kitchen. It still requires some thinking. For instance, Car Insurance could be either green or blue? Thus, blue for "Research Car Insurance" since a Car is a 'UTILITY' while green for "Pay Car Insurance" since Payments are a FISCAL concern/obligation
 
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I think, from what I gather reading this thread, that to some this system could be inspirational:
betterhumans.pub

How to Implement a Killer GTD System in Google Sheets

The Power of Simple Columns, Rows, and Formulas
betterhumans.pub betterhumans.pub

Specifically his use of hashtags to denote projects:

The Project ID is a unique identifying number that follows the scheme #pxxx (hash symbol, the letter “p”, and then a unique number). This number started with 1 when I first began tracking my projects, so that column was #p1.
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The purpose behind the project ID goes beyond just the use in Google Sheets. In fact, it’s the glue that holds my entire organizational system together. I store files and notes related to projects in various places — Workflowy, Evernote, Simplenote, Google Drive, Microsoft Outlook, and my work computer hard drive. I use the project ID to tie all those things together.
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I also use todoist and am aware that it only shows one list at a time. The way around it is to open two browser windows and arranging them side by side.
vidmate mobdro
 
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Cpu_Modern said:
I think, from what I gather reading this thread, that to some this system could be inspirational:
betterhumans.pub

How to Implement a Killer GTD System in Google Sheets

The Power of Simple Columns, Rows, and Formulas
betterhumans.pub betterhumans.pub

Specifically his use of hashtags to denote projects:
Click to expand...
For me, maintaining an Index like #p123 falls into the category of extra work that software can do better, that I don’t want to do, and probably would have bad consequences if I didn’t do it habitually. Personally, I am tired of both software and productivity schemes that think it is their job to train me to do what I want them to do. It’s like having someone who reports to you constantly assigning you extra work.
 
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GTDUser said:
@mcogilvie are you referring to the GTD methodology in general or the problems described in the article?
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I’m a long time gtd’er. What I find unpleasant is the use of a meaningless string as an index to projects and everything related to those projects. I’ve used both OmniFocus and Things, both of which associate projects and next actions. I’m also not too keen on using a spreadsheet for GTD.
 
TesTeq said:
@mcogilvie What about PowerPoint/Keynote? Or Photos? ;)
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In context, this should be understood as using spreadsheets for GTD(tm) list management. Obviously, one can accomplish tasks using a spreadsheet, as one can with Powerpoint, Keynote, or a screwdriver. But I don’t use a screwdriver for list management. I have heard of people who keep visual lists, so maybe Photos is a good option: @computer album, @home album, et cetera. ‍o_O
 
My project list and next action list are contained on the same list. I use a very simple database with three columns- context, next action and project. The next action for the project is right there in the adjacent column. It's maybe like using a screwdriver but it looks very much like a list on my phone :p
 
treelike said:
My project list and next action list are contained on the same list. I use a very simple database with three columns- context, next action and project. The next action for the project is right there in the adjacent column. It's maybe like using a screwdriver but it looks very much like a list on my phone :p
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But that’s how GTD apps are typically implemented: they are databases. Yours is simple, which is great. Spreadsheets are a bit different, more fragile and harder to audit. You can inadvertently change one formula in one cell, and everything goes bad.

My original point was that I shouldn’t have to do the work the app should do for me. Using a string like #p123 as a project index requires extra work to maintain a look-up table (#p123 = “clean out basement”). It would be extra work for me, and would tend to produce “mind like swamp.” Modern spreadsheets do have look-up tables and other database functionality to automate stuff like this, but then you have to implement and maintain said stuff.
 
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