Hi, so here I am responding to this thread. I didn't reply after each reply..wanting to really take to heart the advice from fellow GTD'ers and make sure it truly resonated with me.
PeterW;80938 said:
We're doing it so that we actually drive what we're doing in life rather than feel like we're constantly being driven by others/circumstances/whatever. If we're in the driver's seat, then we get to decide where we are going and can schedule our own goals and get to where we want to be next weekend/next week/next month/next year/next 5 years/etc.
& I have to say that right off the bat this really hit home for me. Perhaps I forgot about why I even purposefully set out to discover a system to help me sort my life...but ever since reading this I revamped my entire OmniFocus system...from de-complicating my contexts, projects and the folders that rested to house it all...but i'll get to that.
bradenchase;80939 said:
This might sound harsh but your blah is probably due to insufficient (or possibly complete lack of) project planning. Don't be offended because I'm speaking from years of experiencing the same thing.
Project planning is an important step in the whole process. If you don't plan out you project, really put stakes in the ground about it, more often than not your next actions end up being mini-projects but you don't know that until you start trying to do it.
Example. On my sent action list is Call Fred. I go to do it. What's freds number? Don't know. Maybe Sarah knows. Next action, call Sarah. What's sarahs number? It's in my...left it at home. Maybe John knows. Call John. John is at lunch. I'll call him after lunch. Ive had this happen in many forms many times. Insufficient planning make s you numb to your lists.
I guess what I'm saying is that choosing an action to do next is not the same as choosing the next action. And you can't trust your list of next actions if you haven't planned/thought out the project sufficiently. Therefore, numbness.
Hopefully that made sense.
It made great sense and this leads me further want to ask why when i'm looking at my NA lists, or overall projects for this matter, I am purposefully numb to say 3 particular projects...and it just so happens these 3 projects with the next actions i'm numb to, ignoring them as I scan for other NA's, are the most important projects in my GTD/OmniFocus system.
Since posting this thread and totally revamping my system I've been tackling NA's left and right with a sense of accomplishment, but still having my mind being tugged by the top 3-4 important projects that I know i'm numb to. (I'd love to admit that i'm probably ignoring them because of insufficient planning these projects but on the other hand I think i'm afraid of not successfully completing these 3-4 big important projects)
Take for example, transferring to a university. My successful outcome would be to transfer to a 4 yr. university within a month. Not unheard of, but in my mind i'm hearing voices saying its too late or the financial aid wont transfer over or the units i've taken wont, etc. - Which has led me the past few days to tackle actions around this project; and yes i'll feel good knowing i tackled 15 needed-to-do actions, but having not tackled that 1, 2 or 3 actions from this very important project weighs my mind down big time. David Allen in a recent podcast said something along the lines regarding intuitive next action decision making
Which next action if I accomplish will provide me with the most satisfaction and sense of accomplishment?
abhay;80940 said:
Do a weekly review. Especially go through all projects and even more important: higher horizons than projects. Do it now, and do it weekly if you are not doing it already. Get the bigger picture. Once that is kept alive, the actions can be seen as nuts and bolts of those things.
In addition: Look at your action lists as a "can wait" lists from time to time. Occasionally just finish the "cannot wait" items and relax in the confidence that other things can wait, and you exactly know what they are.
Regards,
Abhay
In my OF i've created a few folders (I should mention this is all trial and error, if it works great, if not during my weekly review its back to the drawing board) that read "Active" "On Hold" and "Someday/Maybe"..with the Active Folder holding a sub-folder titled "Focus."
Someday/Maybe folder is only really pulled out during the Weekly Review, while the On hold folder houses projects that aren't going to blow up anytime soon, could be on hold, or may have a start date soon but isn't quite about to hit prime-time. The active folder houses all the projects that i've assigned to be active and should be tackling when I'm in any appropiate context, have time and energy...while the Focus folder (within Active folder) will house some active projects in the active folder that I should be focusing on.
I jotted down a note suggesting for my upcoming WR at the end of the week to perhaps try creating 3 folders in the Active folder housing projects in level of significance; such as 1)Most Important/Satisfying, 2)Should Tackle, 3)Do These Too.
Again- i'm thinking out loud here.
DragonsLady;80964 said:
One of the things I've noticed is, especially with projects and goals, is to visualize the outcome, then work to that. Are there any projects on your lists that have next actions that you're actually working toward? Are there any just for fun, just for you projects that you're working on? Each time you can cross off one of those Actions, you can see you're closer to the completion of the project. That means looking at the projects during the weekly (or monthly or quarterly or annually depending on the level of the project/goal) reviews. Then, finally, when you've accomplished one, is it time to set another one? Is there something more that you want? Just some ideas from a newbie.
This too really hit a sweet spot for me. For the longest time I would only add things to my system that I considered work. Things for fun, at most would be added to my iCal if it had a set time/date.
Since revamping my system I've cleared out my mind with everything i want/should be doing....including the fun stuff, not just work/school.
Cpu_Modern;80965 said:
If you want a "The list is cleared! Hurray!" - effect in your GTD system, the NA lists are the wrong place to look at. NAs are about beginning work, not finishing. You can creating lists to clear by grouping your projects. For instance you can have a group of projects that you want to complete 'next'. Once every project on that list is done, you arrived at 'next'. You cleared the list, know you can shout your Hurray!
I think this is the post that originally made me think about creating the current Active, and On Hold folders...and furthermore the level of importance folders.
peakaytea;81035 said:
...but what does it mean that you haven't gotten to the end?
"Since I still have things on my to do list, I can't go play."
"Since I still have next actions, I must not be doing a good job."
Maybe that's the question you need to ask?
Years ago I had a summer job in a technical library with a wonderful coworker. One day, he said, "Time for a break!" "Well, I'll be there in a few minutes. I have these magazines to catalog first." "Patti," he said, "this is a library. Magazines and books will always be coming in. Take a break."
I will always have laundry to do, dog hair to sweep up, meals to plan and cook, and next actions to do. But I still make time for breaks.
After listening to DA's podcast about how to begin
doing and he mentioned level of energy available i've been seeking some way to add this to my system. Admittedly daily, there are times after banging out numerous actions that I do want to keep going but need a break to tackle the stuff (if available) that don't require too much brain power.
