In Part 1, I covered intake and transfer of tasks. In this part, I tackle reviewing, doing, sweeping, and some other tools that I have found helpful.
Review
Review: Master Task List
I am using Checkvist for my master task list. You don't really want to hear about how much time and money I spent on numerous other software applications and sites (Things, TaskPaper, Toodledo, Remember The Milk, Nirvana and Hitask to name only a few), so I'll focus on what's working today.
Review: Paper
Okay, so the cool thing about keeping a steno pad is that I have a running chronology of my notes, which is kind of "duh", but I have proven that if I have a page flexible system (3-ring, Circa, etc.) that I will fiddle it into meaninglessness. The steno pad gives me enforced continuity.
Review: Mobile
This is where I say, "Oh no, my system is flawed. Oh well. What was I doing?" I do not access my master task list on my phone. At some point, I have to take responsibility for my priorities and not surrender accountability to my "outboard brain". (For a lengthy but rewarding read on this topic, I suggest The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nick Carr.)
Does this mean I have forgotten things while away from my computer? Yes. Repeatedly? Yes. For tasks, this doesn't really bother me. For events, my phone will supply extra e-mail and pop-up reminders about upcoming events.
Do
I don't really have any advice here. You all know how to do your work better than me. However, my most effective doing happens when I follow my own advice below.
Sweep
I break down my sweep routines into three categories:
Sweep: Daily: Morning sweep
I do the same set of tasks every morning. Sometimes this takes two minutes but if I have a crazy day, a morning sweep is a lifesaver for my peace of mind. Here are the steps:
Sweep: Daily: Task sweep
I check my list after I do something. I do something else. Repeat.
Sweep: Weekly: Comprehensive Sweep List
I keep a list of every conceptual area where I might have a task. Here are some broad areas to give you an idea:
Add projects and tasks related to any new goals I establish.
Sweep: Monthly: Review roles
This is similar to my areas of responsibility. Do I have any new roles? Have I dropped any roles?
Sweep: Monthly: Review goals
Have I met my goals? If not, then are they still goals or just things I beat myself up about? Adjust goals as necessary.
Sweep: Monthly: Consider life goals
This is often too weighty for me to give serious attention but I owe it to myself to think about it every so often.
Sweep: Monthly: Set 30-day goals
Add projects and tasks related to any new goals I establish.
Supplemental Tools
Here are a couple of not-quite-GTD things that help my process.
Fluid
Suggested by the makers of Checkvist, Fluid is a Mac app that allows me to turn a web page into an application to which I can assign a shortcut key.
FreeMind
FreeMind is a mind-mapping (a.k.a. clustering) application. I can brainstorm, export my cluster to an outline in HTML, copy the text of the outline and import it into my master task list. Nifty.
Notational Velocity and Simplenote*
Notational Velocity (Mac) and Simplenote (iPhone) are notes applications applications that sync with each other. This is explained much better in this article on GigaOm.
* I include information on note-taking since for me it is an inherent part of intake and translating notes to tasks.
Summary
I hadn't come to fully appreciate the complexity of my process until I tried to write it down. Like many others, I have only come to this point through years of trial and error and refinement, which is of course still ongoing.
I share this in hopes that you might pick a piece of it out for your own use, if it is helpful. I assure you that some parts of my system will be unsavory, and I advise you to take what's useful and leave the rest. I am open to suggestions, if for no other reason than to spur discussion about how we all tackle the same goal of getting organized.
A myth that I held as a young lad was that once I found the perfect solution, I would stop fiddling and life would be grand and problem-free. But I have come to accept that nothing in life is perfect, and I can appreciate the joy of the journey instead.
Attached files
Review
Review: Master Task List
I am using Checkvist for my master task list. You don't really want to hear about how much time and money I spent on numerous other software applications and sites (Things, TaskPaper, Toodledo, Remember The Milk, Nirvana and Hitask to name only a few), so I'll focus on what's working today.
- 99% keyboard driven. This is a must for me. Hands on keys means uninterrupted flow.
- Free. I paid for a subscription, but only because I like to fiddle with color schemes and that was in the pro package.
- Unlimited nesting. I wanted to nest my projects within my areas of responsibility (see below), which was not possible in the other systems I used.
- Import text chunks. I can take any block of indented text from e-mail, Word or Notational Velocity and import it into a task or notes outline.
- Tag support. I could finagle tags into most any system, but it's nice that Checkvist has them already.
- Due dates. Okay, geek-out time: I have an outlined task list with tags AND I can track due dates with it? No way. (Way!)
Review: Paper
Okay, so the cool thing about keeping a steno pad is that I have a running chronology of my notes, which is kind of "duh", but I have proven that if I have a page flexible system (3-ring, Circa, etc.) that I will fiddle it into meaninglessness. The steno pad gives me enforced continuity.
Review: Mobile
This is where I say, "Oh no, my system is flawed. Oh well. What was I doing?" I do not access my master task list on my phone. At some point, I have to take responsibility for my priorities and not surrender accountability to my "outboard brain". (For a lengthy but rewarding read on this topic, I suggest The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nick Carr.)
Does this mean I have forgotten things while away from my computer? Yes. Repeatedly? Yes. For tasks, this doesn't really bother me. For events, my phone will supply extra e-mail and pop-up reminders about upcoming events.
Do
I don't really have any advice here. You all know how to do your work better than me. However, my most effective doing happens when I follow my own advice below.
Sweep
I break down my sweep routines into three categories:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
Sweep: Daily: Morning sweep
I do the same set of tasks every morning. Sometimes this takes two minutes but if I have a crazy day, a morning sweep is a lifesaver for my peace of mind. Here are the steps:
- Review calendars >> add tasks
- Read new mail >> add tasks
- Review old mail >> add tasks
- Prioritize tasks >> set Today tasks
Sweep: Daily: Task sweep
I check my list after I do something. I do something else. Repeat.
Sweep: Weekly: Comprehensive Sweep List
I keep a list of every conceptual area where I might have a task. Here are some broad areas to give you an idea:
- Every project at work
- Every room and area of my house
- Every community of people
- Major items I am responsible for (finances, pets, cars, computers, etc.)
Add projects and tasks related to any new goals I establish.
Sweep: Monthly: Review roles
This is similar to my areas of responsibility. Do I have any new roles? Have I dropped any roles?
Sweep: Monthly: Review goals
Have I met my goals? If not, then are they still goals or just things I beat myself up about? Adjust goals as necessary.
Sweep: Monthly: Consider life goals
This is often too weighty for me to give serious attention but I owe it to myself to think about it every so often.
Sweep: Monthly: Set 30-day goals
Add projects and tasks related to any new goals I establish.
Supplemental Tools
Here are a couple of not-quite-GTD things that help my process.
Fluid
Suggested by the makers of Checkvist, Fluid is a Mac app that allows me to turn a web page into an application to which I can assign a shortcut key.
FreeMind
FreeMind is a mind-mapping (a.k.a. clustering) application. I can brainstorm, export my cluster to an outline in HTML, copy the text of the outline and import it into my master task list. Nifty.
Notational Velocity and Simplenote*
Notational Velocity (Mac) and Simplenote (iPhone) are notes applications applications that sync with each other. This is explained much better in this article on GigaOm.
* I include information on note-taking since for me it is an inherent part of intake and translating notes to tasks.
Summary
I hadn't come to fully appreciate the complexity of my process until I tried to write it down. Like many others, I have only come to this point through years of trial and error and refinement, which is of course still ongoing.
I share this in hopes that you might pick a piece of it out for your own use, if it is helpful. I assure you that some parts of my system will be unsavory, and I advise you to take what's useful and leave the rest. I am open to suggestions, if for no other reason than to spur discussion about how we all tackle the same goal of getting organized.
A myth that I held as a young lad was that once I found the perfect solution, I would stop fiddling and life would be grand and problem-free. But I have come to accept that nothing in life is perfect, and I can appreciate the joy of the journey instead.
Attached files