How to use GTD as a general contractor

E

erikP

0
Hi all,
I'm a dutch general contractor/carpenter. Since its a very small company of 2, most i have to do is woodwork. But of course a lot of things need to be organised and as one would expect, the phone always rings when you are on a scaffold with full hands. I do use gtd for a couple of years now, climbing on and falling of the wagon often. Did try to go digital (one note and todo) but currently back to paper. Which is awkward in itself, since the surroundings are often dusty and the notebook is "always" "over there"
So the question would need to be, how to use an on-site digital system which is flexibel enough for meetings with clients, co-workers etc as wellicht as keeping track of supplies, orders and deliveries.
I could really use help!
Regards, Erik
 
erikP said:
Hi all,
I'm a dutch general contractor/carpenter. Since its a very small company of 2, most i have to do is woodwork. But of course a lot of things need to be organised and as one would expect, the phone always rings when you are on a scaffold with full hands. I do use gtd for a couple of years now, climbing on and falling of the wagon often. Did try to go digital (one note and todo) but currently back to paper. Which is awkward in itself, since the surroundings are often dusty and the notebook is "always" "over there"
So the question would need to be, how to use an on-site digital system which is flexibel enough for meetings with clients, co-workers etc as wellicht as keeping track of supplies, orders and deliveries.
I could really use help!
Regards, Erik
Click to expand...
May be I would use TODOIST for that. See on the forum what I wrote about it. Todoist is a really good software and you can work on common lists with your teams. If you dont need to collaborate you have the choice NIRVANA is a GTD app very well done, Things and omnifocus if you work with Apple devices. The mobile app of things is just great. Omnifocus is great if you take time to set it simple and correctly.
 
Last edited:
erikP said:
Hi all,
I'm a dutch general contractor/carpenter. Since its a very small company of 2, most i have to do is woodwork. But of course a lot of things need to be organised and as one would expect, the phone always rings when you are on a scaffold with full hands. I do use gtd for a couple of years now, climbing on and falling of the wagon often. Did try to go digital (one note and todo) but currently back to paper. Which is awkward in itself, since the surroundings are often dusty and the notebook is "always" "over there"
So the question would need to be, how to use an on-site digital system which is flexibel enough for meetings with clients, co-workers etc as wellicht as keeping track of supplies, orders and deliveries.
I could really use help!
Regards, Erik
Click to expand...
@erikP

Small-sized List(s) micro-binder clipped under baseball cap-visor as is used on this end for Errands in the possible 'absence' of pockets as is often the case with polo shirts and some women must seemingly endure with women's apparel ?

Hand-Held / i-Pad sized Dry Board ?

Clip-board(s) [standard/junior] . . . "oldie but goodie" . . . somehow unobstructively attached to tool-belt ?

As above, Junior notepads ?

Ps. Please keep at least one protected eye(s) on Fingers-&-Thumbs at ALL times with lots of Pausing and Double-Checking especially when busy with time-constraints . . . heed Slow-&-Small ? Thank you very much

As you see GTD fit. . . .
 
My best advice is to make sure that you have an effective capture tool easily at hand. Maybe a smart watch that can record your voice?

When you are 'in the trenches', all you really can do, is to capture thoughts and ideas. When it's time to clarify and organize, you need some kind of work station (it CAN be a laptop or tablet when seated in your car - or a paper based system for that matter) where you can process what you've captured. The key point is always to capture input into a trusted place, so you can free up your mind and be present with whatever situation you find yourself in.
 
Thanks for the replys,
I'm looking at Notion, but hesitant. It seems to be just another of many listmanagers. Though i saw something like speech to text, which can speed things up.
The biggest problem for me is that, on site, i'm not stationary so it is difficult to set up an "office". I can offcourse carry a small amount of paper in a back pocket. And my (android) phone is always with me. I'm a bit hesitant using building materials as a "block-note" because it is still material that can be, and has been, used complete with unproccessed notes..... don't ask...
The next problem is the moment i can process stuff: After a full day of working. At which moment energy is low. So things need to be quick and easy then.
Lunchtime is also for phonecalls and weekends for financial admin/quotes and stuff like that.
Hmm i'm rambling. Sorry for that.
 
erikP said:
Thanks for the replys,
I'm looking at Notion, but hesitant. It seems to be just another of many listmanagers. Though i saw something like speech to text, which can speed things up.
The biggest problem for me is that, on site, i'm not stationary so it is difficult to set up an "office". I can offcourse carry a small amount of paper in a back pocket. And my (android) phone is always with me. I'm a bit hesitant using building materials as a "block-note" because it is still material that can be, and has been, used complete with unproccessed notes..... don't ask...
The next problem is the moment i can process stuff: After a full day of working. At which moment energy is low. So things need to be quick and easy then.
Lunchtime is also for phonecalls and weekends for financial admin/quotes and stuff like that.
Hmm i'm rambling. Sorry for that.
Click to expand...
I recently set up a GTD system in Notion after years of using Asana, and I am very happy with it. This is a tool that can be as simple as "electronic paper" if you like, but you can also set up complex database solutions.

One thing I really like about Notion is actually the Android app! This looks and feels a lot more like the desktop version than any "companion app" I have ever seen.

To me, it's always a question of "process", not "tool". David Alles talks about the importance of setting aside time for processing, which is also part of our work...

Also, to me it's not super important that the capture tool is 100% integrated with my list manager. Most of the time I capture directly into Notion, but if I find myself driving a car and need to capture something, I don't trust that I will remember it when I arrive - I instead speak into my smart watch. Whenever I am in "Clarify" (processing) mode, I will listen back and type it into Notion. It sure is an extra action step, but it keeps my mind clear and I don't have to worry about forgetting...
 
erikP said:
So the question would need to be, how to use an on-site digital system which is flexibel enough for meetings with clients, co-workers etc as wellicht as keeping track of supplies, orders and deliveries.
Click to expand...
@erikP Try https://nozbe.com . Good stable multiplatform system for small and not so small teams. 10+ years without a glitch. Made by a humble European team! Great user support. They really care.
 
René Lie said:
I recently set up a GTD system in Notion after years of using Asana, and I am very happy with it. This is a tool that can be as simple as "electronic paper" if you like, but you can also set up complex database solutions.

One thing I really like about Notion is actually the Android app! This looks and feels a lot more like the desktop version than any "companion app" I have ever seen.

To me, it's always a question of "process", not "tool". David Alles talks about the importance of setting aside time for processing, which is also part of our work...

Also, to me it's not super important that the capture tool is 100% integrated with my list manager. Most of the time I capture directly into Notion, but if I find myself driving a car and need to capture something, I don't trust that I will remember it when I arrive - I instead speak into my smart watch. Whenever I am in "Clarify" (processing) mode, I will listen back and type it into Notion. It sure is an extra action step, but it keeps my mind clear and I don't have to worry about forgetting...
Click to expand...
Proces being the most important!
I started with gtd while running and owning a 20+ contractors company. Back then i really had a dayjob just as a manager. And GTD was easy enough to implement. But alone/with two, which by the way varies, doing production and managing, its a hassel to free time to fill/clarify/maintain the system. So a minimalistic, physical small, easy to process, setup which is always "on me" is what i guess im looking for.
Btw, home sick now, normaly i do not have the luxury to think about things like this
 
TesTeq said:
@erikP Try https://nozbe.com . Good stable multiplatform system for small and not so small teams. 10+ years without a glitch. Made by a humble European team! Great user support. They really care.
Click to expand...
I have tried nozby among a couple of others. At the end i stuck with Todo (wunderlist) the longest. Reason for it being the simplicity. But again fell off the wagon a couple of times. Which i do not mind, but it costs me too much time to start it up again and again....
 
erikP said:
To All,
I just imagined something. I'm going to make a specific "card holder" for the on-the-fly note-taking. And with an "inbox" for the cards. Making it as simple as possible to collect the notes.
I'll try it for a while and let you all know how it went.
Thanks for sparring with me
Click to expand...
Yes! This resonates with me, and is absolutely along the lines of what I was trying to express earlier. This solution does not need batteries or Wi-fi, which is great! I truly believe that keeping the distance (and number of steps) from having a thought to capturing it as small as possible is key.

Best of luck, keep us posted!
 
Last edited:
René Lie said:
Yes! This resonates with me, and is absolutely along the lines of what I was trying to express earlier. This solution does not need batteries or Wi-fi, which is great! I truly believe that keeping the distance (and number of steps) from having a thought to capturing it is key.

Best of luck, keep us posted!
Click to expand...
" . . . keeping the distance (and number of steps) from having a thought to capturing it is key."

GTD huge !
 
René Lie said:
I see now that something is missing... I was meaning to say "keeping the distance (and number of steps) as small as possible"... Corrected now!
Click to expand...
@René Lie

And off your mind :)

Furthermore, a way to build speed into one's system without the unwanted inherent risk(s) that all too often comes with advances in speed ?
 
Last edited:
The pitfall for me seems always to be: making the system too complex by making too many categorys. And then getting to a point where you know everything is there, jou just can not easily find it. And off course by getting complex the systen gets slow.
Now on for prototyping my idea. And as said/promised, something simple and i will let all of you know how it want in a couple of weeks
 
erikP said:
The pitfall for me seems always to be: making the system too complex by making too many categorys. And then getting to a point where you know everything is there, jou just can not easily find it. And off course by getting complex the systen gets slow.
Now on for prototyping my idea. And as said/promised, something simple and i will let all of you know how it want in a couple of weeks
Click to expand...
Good point!

When setting up my new system in Notion, simplicity an "no nonsense" were key objectives for me.

That being said, one might find it necessary to have a somewhat complex structure in the back-end to simplify the use of the system, just like David Allen says about a car being constructed in a complex way in order for us to just turn a key to start the engine...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top