Lotus notes 8.5 GTD model

raztoky

Registered
Hi everyone,

I just discovered GTD few months ago and I am already addicted to it! :)

I am using Lotus notes 8.5 and I would like to know if someone in the forum is using it for GTD purposes?
I tried eproductivity and another GTD template but I would like to set it on my own.
I need to know how do you use basic Notes functions for GTD especially for tasks :
- creating a project
- creating a next action
- etc..

Sorry for my newbies question as I am still a little confused on some technical views.

Regards,

Raz
 

dfontaine001

Registered
Raz -

I use Lotus Notes 8.5 which in my corporate environment syncs with both my Blackberry Bold and my new iPad Air.

I found the GTD setup guide for Lotus Notes invaluable (you should be able to find it in the Store) when I first started out on my GTD journey (December 2010). I will share a few things about how I use Notes as my "system":

- all my Projects and Next Actions, as well as all other aspects of my system, are housed as "To Dos"
- I use the Category feature to sort all the entries. For contexts relating to my actions I have things like Home, Office, Business Development, Agendas and several others. For Projects, I have several categories such as Projects - Home, Projects - Delegated, Projects - Delivery and several others.
- I name Projects using Capitalized Titles and make the "success oriented", such as "Client ABC - Advice Provided" or "Billy Joel Concert Attended" (that one is done and man was it awesome)
- For Actions that relate to Projects, I start the title with a similar beginning to the Project which helps me ensure I have actions for all projects if I do an alpha sort. An examples would be "Client ABC - initial call with client to discuss scope" or "Billy Joel - purchase tickets"
- I try to include either due dates or "last done" dates in the title so I can easily identify things that I need to prioritize or followup on
- I have a categories called "Incubate" that have months or years attached to them which acts as my "someday" category and keeps my context lists under control - - I review those at the start of the month and move either actions or projects into more current state if need be
- I have a large "Waiting For" category, which is split between those things I am waiting for from colleagues, those I am waiting for from clients and those I am waiting for at home.
- I have a category called "Recurring" which contains all those regular "maintenance" things (such as "Complete GTD weekly review - last done Mar 16 14").
- I do use the "high" priority for some actions that are more urgent - I do this primarily because those items show up at the top of the list when I open my "Tasks" on my Blackberry.

A couple of other things about "process" :

- I make sure my email in box gets to zero (or really close) first thing every morning. Any new Projects or Actions are recorded if I cannot do the task in a few minutes.
- I use folders like crazy to organize email, but I review them regularly to keep them cleansed.
- I have a paper file system at both home and work that is alphabetical like the GTD book recommends.
- I regularly through the day am adding new Projects or Actions and marking them complete, Everytime I mark an action complete, I record a new Next Action to take its place if the project is not finished.
- At the start of the month, I review ALL the entries that were marked Complete in the previous month and, particularly for Projects, consider whether I will need to do that again next year in which case I create a new Project entry (such as "March Break 2015 - Vacation Completed") and add them to the appropriate Incubate list. I also think about other actions such as business development followup opportunities.

Hope the above helps. Looking forward to hearing how you are doing.....

Dan
 

Sam Mike

Registered
Raz -

I use Lotus Notes 8.5 which in my corporate environment syncs with both my Blackberry Bold and my new iPad Air.

I found the GTD setup guide for Lotus Notes invaluable (you should be able to find it in the Store) when I first started out on my GTD journey (December 2010). I will share a few things about how I use Notes as my "system":

- all my Projects and Next Actions, as well as all other aspects of my system, are housed as "To Dos"
- I use the Category feature to sort all the entries. For contexts relating to my actions I have things like Home, Office, Business Development, Agendas and several others. For Projects, I have several categories such as Projects - Home, Projects - Delegated, Projects - Delivery and several others.
- I name Projects using Capitalized Titles and make the "success oriented", such as "Client ABC - Advice Provided" or "Billy Joel Concert Attended" (that one is done and man was it awesome)
- For Actions that relate to Projects, I start the title with a similar beginning to the Project which helps me ensure I have actions for all projects if I do an alpha sort. An examples would be "Client ABC - initial call with client to discuss scope" or "Billy Joel - purchase tickets"
- I try to include either due dates or "last done" dates in the title so I can easily identify things that I need to prioritize or followup on
- I have a categories called "Incubate" that have months or years attached to them which acts as my "someday" category and keeps my context lists under control - - I review those at the start of the month and move either actions or projects into more current state if need be
- I have a large "Waiting For" category, which is split between those things I am waiting for from colleagues, those I am waiting for from clients and those I am waiting for at home.
- I have a category called "Recurring" which contains all those regular "maintenance" things (such as "Complete GTD weekly review - last done Mar 16 14").
- I do use the "high" priority for some actions that are more urgent - I do this primarily because those items show up at the top of the list when I open my "Tasks" on my Blackberry.

A couple of other things about "process" :

- I make sure my email in box gets to zero (or really close) first thing every morning. Any new Projects or Actions are recorded if I cannot do the task in a few minutes.
- I use folders like crazy to organize email, but I review them regularly to keep them cleansed.
- I have a paper file system at both home and work that is alphabetical like the GTD book recommends.
- I regularly through the day am adding new Projects or Actions and marking them complete, Everytime I mark an action complete, I record a new Next Action to take its place if the project is not finished.
- At the start of the month, I review ALL the entries that were marked Complete in the previous month and, particularly for Projects, consider whether I will need to do that again next year in which case I create a new Project entry (such as "March Break 2015 - Vacation Completed") and add them to the appropriate Incubate list. I also think about other actions such as business development followup opportunities.

Hope the above helps. Looking forward to hearing how you are doing.....

Dan
Are you recommending the GTD for LOtus setup guide then?
 
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