Keeping track of and meeting deadlines

[Eternal Optimist]

Hello all,

I've posted this as a reply to my last thread, but wondered if it would be worth posting as a new thread. - Hope I haven't broken any etiquette.

Can anyone give some practical advice on how to keep track of deadlines within the system so that you know what's coming up, know how many next steps need to be taken (I guess Barb's mind map in project support is key to that), know that you're moving through the next actions quickly enough and that you're prioritizing your entire list of next actions appropriately given the relative deadlines and ensure you meet the deadline?

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone is able to give.

 

[mcogilvie]

Can anyone give some practical advice on how to keep track of deadlines within the system so that you know what's coming up, know how many next steps need to be taken (I guess Barb's mind map in project support is key to that), know that you're moving through the next actions quickly enough and that you're prioritizing your entire list of next actions appropriately given the relative deadlines and ensure you meet the deadline?

Short answer: weekly review. This is your time to look back,look ahead and plan.

Longer answer: people are different, jobs are different and each project is different. Your GTD tools for calendar, lists and project support are probably not the same as mine. As you gain experience with your work and with particular types of projects, you will learn what is required. For most people, most projects don't require more than a desired outcome and at least one next action. For the more complicated projects, it all depends.

Suppose I am planning a wedding and writing a novel, both to be finished in time for the honeymoon a year from now. There's lots of information available on how to plan a wedding, and the critical early phase is choosing venues for wedding and reception. A novel, on the other hand, is likely to require a long middle phase of sustained writing. To produce a novel in one year probably requires writing at least one or two pages every day for most of a year. There's just no magic bullet that's going to fit every project. To know that you have projects, to review progress weekly and to keep moving forward with next actions are universal keys, though.