Need help for Teachers, Training Managers, educators

[Jimonline]

I am a Training Mgr for an Insurance Company. I have started and stopped GTD to many times so I need a little push and some help. I teach everything from auto Ins to advance life planning and motivation to termination.

I would like to hear from some educators or training managers of how they have setup their workflow as well as examples of their next actions and how you are using the GTD method to set up classes and how to handle the overload of information.

I ussually have 2 or 3 different classes/seminars I am preparing and really get lost building next actions. I have the reference folder in place and it is great. It is just keeping the in-basket clear, the changing classes and the fluxuation that drives me crazy.

Jim

 

[Tspall]

Hi Jim!

I teach multiple subjects at a middle school so I can certainly understand what you mean. Plus meetings, etc, etc....

I use a pretty vanilla GTD setup. For me, the more complicated something is, the less I'll use it. I have Next Action categories such as:

@Computer - things I need to do on the computer
@Computer-Web - same as computer except on the Internet
@Agenda - things I need to talk to someone about, I also have Copy Machine in this category so I can make all copies I need at one time (it's a note attached to this NA)
@School - things that can only be accomplished at the school
Projects
Waiting For

(There are others, but these are the relevant ones)

If I have an NA for a Project, I put the project in block parenthesis so I know where it's coming from - example:
[School Website] Add teacher websites to listing page

It's also very important to have the Weekly Review. I sometimes get "too busy" (I know, no excuse....) to do one and I feel the effects during the next week. If things are happening too fast for a weekly review, perhaps you might want to consider daily mini-reviews.

I've found one of the most important things is to write something down the *moment* you need it, remember it, whatever. I use a Palm, but if I'm in a hurry I have a stack of 3x5 cards on my desk that can easily go into my pocket when it's needed or when I'm going home.

I hope this helps! Hang in there!