Peter Gallant Implementing GTD

Lisa Peake

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Hi All,

Just wanted to throw it out there for us to discuss- anyone have any comments on the latest Interview with Peter Gallant?

What I took home from it was this:

-GTD is more than just a tool or a set of files or a labeler, it's a PROCESS.
-Perhaps the most common reason people hesitate to fully implement GTD is they forget that there's so much more than meets the eye.
-It takes some time to see the process working for you (aka be patient with yourself).
-Refining the process is a big part of getting to Black Belt.
-Each incarnation of the system is sure to be more specific to who you are/ what you do. I loved seeing this work for me in my different jobs and roles.
-Sometimes "busier" and "more input" is directly proportional to "successful" and "effective", it seems like Peter's life gets fuller and more demanding at the same moments. In Ready For Anything, David calls this "The better you get, the better you'd better get!"

Anyone have any other thoughts?

Lisa
 

Paul@Pittsburgh

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I received the CD with Peter's interview on Tuesday evening, which was very timely as I started out on a 4 hour road trip Wednesday and have been driving back this evening and finishing tomorrow. I've already listened to the interview 5 or 6 times now (not something I normally do) and picked up something different each time. I've really enjoyed the interview with Peter and thank him for his participation and insights.

The big distinctions I picked up that had the most impact on me were in no particular order

i) His comments about execution.
ii) Being able to track delegations and WFs (and demonstrate to those that you are tracking that you are doing this)
iii) Importance of the weekly review and project list
iv) The comments about viewing data/actions in different ways

I would like to ask Peter (and not sure if it is best to in this thread or separately) if he could expand on how he maintains 800-1000 NA's in his Outlook system and as many as 1500 separate items including WFs and S/Ms. One thing I do, is have additional categories in Outlook that represent my Areas of Focus and I can sort my NA's both by context or Areas of Focus. Do you do something like this Peter, or do you have other systems/techniques too?

Thanks

Paul
 

Paul@Pittsburgh

Registered
Hi Lisa,

Lisa Peake said:

-GTD is more than just a tool or a set of files or a labeler, it's a PROCESS.

This is a really important distinction I think. Something Peter said also in his interview - illustrating making up front decisions (he gave an example of the decision on a purchase order).

GTD is a mindset, a way of thinking and approaching thinking. It's about making up front decisions. When I look at some of the blockages on my current projects its often because someone (a colleague, customer, or even me!!! etc) hasn't made a decision and figured out what to do next! Realizing this makes me then ask the question, what do you need from me or elsewhere to make the decision?

Lisa Peake said:

-Perhaps the most common reason people hesitate to fully implement GTD is they forget that there's so much more than meets the eye.

I am in this category. My GTD implementation has been a slow evolution. I first used it as triage when I was hitting overwhelm basically doing 3 jobs (with one employer) all very different. That was 3-4 years ago. I've expanded my GTD system and covered all areas of my life, but it's never been a 100% inventory and that holds me back. My GTD system is still a great tool for tracking committments etc, but it's still somewhat reactionary and not a pro-active and creative tool. I am using the start of a new Fiscal Year to finally get it complete and current and tie in the projects to my annual and quarterly goals and reviews.

Lisa Peake said:

-It takes some time to see the process working for you (aka be patient with yourself).

I agree with this. And all too often in the early days, you feel that the Weekly Review, or the time taken to do a mind sweep etc or fill out your inventory is time not being spent on DOING stuff you KNOW already HAS to be done. At least that is what I found. As I made my lists, my mind focuses on the stuff that I now have in that list. Until I clear it I get blocked (or feel guilty) about completing the inventory. Peter's comments about doing the 1-2 days up front to get the system complete and that being a relatively small up front cost actually did help put that in perspective for me.

Lisa Peake said:

-Refining the process is a big part of getting to Black Belt.

-Each incarnation of the system is sure to be more specific to who you are/ what you do.

I agree with this too. On other discussion lists (such as the Yahoo lists) there are the purists and the tweakers. What I like about GTD is that it is an adaptible system. Our lists, contexts etc are unique to each of us (although we may all share a lot of commonality in e.g. context too).

Someone else here mentioned the E-Myth and I need to read this myself. The idea of systematizing my business, creating checklists and templates etc, at least as a reminder to me is something I am working on this year to create more formal and turnkey reporting to the parent company to which I report. I don't see my GTD system as separate from this, rather it is integrated fully into my reporting process (turnkeying out reports on outstanding quotes (WF's), outstanding tech support issues (WFs from the parent company) etc.

Paul
 

Peter Gallant

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Maintaining actionable and non-actionable items distinctly in Outlook...how I do it.

Paul@Pittsburgh said:
I would like to ask Peter (and not sure if it is best to in this thread or separately) if he could expand on how he maintains 800-1000 NA's in his Outlook system and as many as 1500 separate items including WFs and S/Ms. One thing I do, is have additional categories in Outlook that represent my Areas of Focus and I can sort my NA's both by context or Areas of Focus. Do you do something like this Peter, or do you have other systems/techniques too?

Thanks

Paul

Paul:

Thanks for your kind comments on the Connect Interview! To answer your question above, the overall number of Outlook "tasks" as of today is 1567. Of these, about 1,000 are true Next Actions. The remaining 567-odd entries represent, Someday/Maybes, Waiting For items, Ideas, and a category I use called Defer-Delegate. All of these categories are "non-actionable" and are really just placeholders to remind me (either with a specific due date or to be at least glanced at during the Weekly Review).

All of my actionable "tasks" - true Next Actions, are in the following categories:

@AnywhereASAP (many items I can work on anywhere).
@Calls
@Email
@Errands
@Home
@Office

Plus a couple of categories for stuff to discuss with my wife and family, etc.

In other words, not a zillion different contexts - actually, a rather small number of contexts where things need to get done - one of the most powerful keys to GTD - organizing by context primarily! There's real power in being able to bring up a list of every call I need to make - both personally and professionally, representing every commitment and project for which a call is the next step in closing that loop or moving a project forward.

I can't imagine doing it any other way.

So, to answer your specific question - all of those other "tasks" in Outlook that aren't real, true Next Actions get to live in non-actionable categories that I review as required, yet they're all in a single, unified system. Sometimes, I'll also add a "project" that really represents an area of focus, and then enter specific items related to this area as Ideas, Someday/Maybes and Defer-Delegate items to keep them out of both my head and out of my actionable categories.

It's critical to keep the actionable categories completely clean and pure for real, discrete, clearly-defined next actions only.

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Peter
 

Paul@Pittsburgh

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Hi Peter,

I understand what you mean and it sounds pretty pure GTD.

I am just amazed how you can go over so many separate items in a WR. Even just 10 seconds per item would be 4 hrs. I wondered if you had some way of cutting this down or do you just focus at the project level?

Thanks

Paul
 

Peter Gallant

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Weekly Reviews take time...

Paul@Pittsburgh said:
Hi Peter,

I understand what you mean and it sounds pretty pure GTD.

I am just amazed how you can go over so many separate items in a WR. Even just 10 seconds per item would be 4 hrs. I wondered if you had some way of cutting this down or do you just focus at the project level?

Thanks

Paul

Paul:

Thanks for your question. A good, thorough Weekly Review often does take several hours for me to complete if I'm "doing it right". I think this is likely the case for most people if they're really delving into the heart of their personal and professional issues and worlds.

For example, I spent over 3 hours today doing my Weekly Review before other commitments required me to stop. As I mentioned in the interview, when this happens, I try to focus on work/professional issues during my Friday review, and then take an hour or so over a good cup of coffee on a Sunday afternoon to review more of the personal domain.

In terms of dealing with your specific question - a couple of thoughts:
- I tend to focus at the project level - my favourite Outlook view for the Weekly Review is Actions by Project. I can rapidly see which Next Actions were completed but just not marked as such on a specific project, plus I can ensure that every project has at least one Next Action, so it's not "orphaned".

- Not every Next Action needs to be touched on during a Weekly Review. I know at a glance whether a Next Action is still a valid and relevant one in my world, and I move on rapidly, so many times I can scroll down through many Next Actions on a project very quickly. Many items remain "static" - patiently waiting for me to get to them as soon as possible - which is one of my bigger challenges sometimes!

- Where the time gets consumed is where I need to stop and think about an existing or new project - is it still relevant? Is there some new project that I need to define given my current set of respnsibilities to my company, my family, or myself?

Also, a quick comment for those who are new to the GTD process. I used to mistake getting prepared for a Weekly Review (emptying inboxes, voicemail, email, filing, etc.) as part of the review itself - it's not. Even when you're really prepared for the Weekly Review, it still takes some time to "go deep" into all of the open loops, details, projects, commitments, etc. that need to be looked at and, in many cases, re-evaluated against constantly shifting priorities, pressures, and opportunities.

It's the most valuable time that you can spend on "self-management"!

Regards,
Peter
 

Peter Gallant

Registered
Some quick comments...

Paul:

A couple of quick comments to your (excellent) post

Paul@Pittsburgh said:
This is a really important distinction I think. Something Peter said also in his interview - illustrating making up front decisions (he gave an example of the decision on a purchase order).

GTD is a mindset, a way of thinking and approaching thinking. It's about making up front decisions. When I look at some of the blockages on my current projects its often because someone (a colleague, customer, or even me!!! etc) hasn't made a decision and figured out what to do next! Realizing this makes me then ask the question, what do you need from me or elsewhere to make the decision?

I couldn't agree more Paul! Once I implemented GTD and the now-famous 2-minute rule of David's, things changed rapidly. When you become more proactive with your own communications and responses, and deal completely, in an up-front way with issues that are coming down the pipe at you - others notice this and begin to emulate the behavior quickly.

Everyone - try some experiements in your own work and home environment and see for yourself!

Sometimes, the blockage that Paul refers to can be overcome with even a gentle nudge of yourself or someone else to make that decision and move something forward that's stuck.

Paul@Pittsburgh said:
Someone else here mentioned the E-Myth and I need to read this myself. The idea of systematizing my business, creating checklists and templates etc, at least as a reminder to me is something I am working on this year to create more formal and turnkey reporting to the parent company to which I report. I don't see my GTD system as separate from this, rather it is integrated fully into my reporting process (turnkeying out reports on outstanding quotes (WF's), outstanding tech support issues (WFs from the parent company) etc.

I highly recommend reading "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber. While systematizing a business may not exactly be as easy as he portrays, the key concept is valid - create a business as a system so that anyone can run it, that it's eventually saleable as a "money making machine" to someone else (this is why franchises like McDonalds have such high value ascribed to them), and avoid making the mistake that many entrepreneurs (incuding myself) make at some point - doing the work "in" the business, rather than working "on" the business - its design and how it functions, so that others can be engaged to run it.

Regards,
Peter
 

12hourhalfday

Registered
It motivated me to do my weekly review on a regular basis and to talk to my supervisor about allowing me to block time aside for it.
 
S

satej

Guest
Reference to Next action plugin for Outlook

Dear Peter,

In your interview you mentioned that in addition to the Netcentrics GTD plugin for Outlook you use another "Next action" plugin that pops up a window when all NAs for a particular project are completed and lets you choose from a list of prepopulated next actions.

You mentioned that it wasn't a commertially available plugin but you picked it off from a forum. I couldnt locate it. Will very much appreciate if you could let me know where I can find it.

Thanks
Satej
 

Borisoff

Registered
Peter Gallant said:
All of my actionable "tasks" - true Next Actions, are in the following categories:

@AnywhereASAP (many items I can work on anywhere).
@Calls
@Email
@Errands
@Home
@Office

Plus a couple of categories for stuff to discuss with my wife and family, etc.

Peter,

could you please explain why you picked out @Email context? Do you find yourself somewhere when you can only do emails or there's some other sence in that? And where do you put items to discuss with different people like @Agenda?

Regards,

Eugene.
 
N

namaste

Guest
Peter please expand on one of your comments, if you can please

Peter -

You indicated that early on in adpoting GTD you used to mistake getting ready for your weekly review with doing your weekly review. If I look at my weekly review checklist there are several tasks in the list that are directed at completing processing that I haven't gotten to yet ... things like process all the loose papers, notes and so forth that you might still have pending. In fact I have my weekly review checklist broken down into two categories: "Maintenance Matters" and "Project Analysis and Review." However, I still consider the weekly review to contain those maintenance matters. This is notwithstanding completely understanding intellectually that the weekly review is to really stand back and oversee what is in my "40 acres." I find that the bulk of my energies is spent in trying to rope back in those processing tasks that I cannot/did not/will not deal with until the point I do a weekly review. In other words I spend most of my time trying to get my 40 acres back in order so I can stand back and look thme over. The "Project Analysis and Review" part tends to get short shrift and that is not a good thing. I fear that I resist the weekly review partly because of this.

Here is where I'd like for you to expand on your comment noted earlier, if you could: You have an enormous amount of stuff going on ... far more than I do in all likelihood. How do you keep up with the inputs that ~1,500 next actions entail?

Any input you might have on this would be greatly appreciated.
 

Peter Gallant

Registered
Recognizing the business value of the Weekly Review...

12hourhalfday said:
It motivated me to do my weekly review on a regular basis and to talk to my supervisor about allowing me to block time aside for it.

That's great news! Hopefully your supervisor was supportive of this, and recognized the value of enabling people to implement and, most importantly, to maintain their personal management systems on "company time" and the tremendous business value that this brings.

I would encourage anyone in a management position to encourage and support their direct reports by recognizing how valuable some scheduled Weekly Review time during the workday can be in contributing to employee job satisfaction, balance, productivity, ... (the list goes on!).

Regards,
Peter
 

Peter Gallant

Registered
Custom Project Form...

satej said:
Dear Peter,

In your interview you mentioned that in addition to the Netcentrics GTD plugin for Outlook you use another "Next action" plugin that pops up a window when all NAs for a particular project are completed and lets you choose from a list of prepopulated next actions.

You mentioned that it wasn't a commertially available plugin but you picked it off from a forum. I couldnt locate it. Will very much appreciate if you could let me know where I can find it.

Thanks
Satej

Thanks for your question. The software I mentioned was a combination of a custom project form and a Visual Basic add-in. This is a beta version of a public-domain program that was referenced on the David Allen Company's public forums. A search under "Custom Project Form" would likely find the relevant thread. Unfortunately, the beta code is not distributable, and an updated version had not been made available the last time I checked the forum.

The functionality of the custom project form is two-fold:

1. It detects when a project does not have a defined Next Action (contained in a list that is associated with each project) and prompts the user to enter a next action in this case, to avoid having a project that has been "orphaned" - with no Next Action. Of course, this would be caught during the Weekly Review (right...?!?!).

2. It provides a new form that ties together emails, tasks, files, and notes associated with a project, into a unified project view. I showed this to an experience project manager friend of mine, who told me that this reminded him of a "project charter".

In my opinion, this type of application provides some much-needed project-management support to an Outlook-based implementation of GTD.

A couple of us on the forum have talked about the idea of putting together some requirments for this, and perhaps talking to NetCentrics or some other developers about implementing a supported version of this - any thoughts from the Connect community?

Regards,
Peter
 

Peter Gallant

Registered
Thoughts on the Weekly Review...

namaste said:
Peter -

You indicated that early on in adpoting GTD you used to mistake getting ready for your weekly review with doing your weekly review. If I look at my weekly review checklist there are several tasks in the list that are directed at completing processing that I haven't gotten to yet ... things like process all the loose papers, notes and so forth that you might still have pending. In fact I have my weekly review checklist broken down into two categories: "Maintenance Matters" and "Project Analysis and Review." However, I still consider the weekly review to contain those maintenance matters. This is notwithstanding completely understanding intellectually that the weekly review is to really stand back and oversee what is in my "40 acres." I find that the bulk of my energies is spent in trying to rope back in those processing tasks that I cannot/did not/will not deal with until the point I do a weekly review. In other words I spend most of my time trying to get my 40 acres back in order so I can stand back and look thme over. The "Project Analysis and Review" part tends to get short shrift and that is not a good thing. I fear that I resist the weekly review partly because of this.

Great comment. The standard GTD Weekly Review checklist developed by David has some initial steps in it like "Collect and Process Loose Papers" - which are really pre-cursors for the main Weekly Review. The reason these steps are critical is that the Weekly Review really can't be considered (by my brain at least) to be complete unless it's based on a complete "initial inventory" of projects and Next Actions as a starting point.

I agree that the main value of the Weekly Review entails Project Analysis and Review, plus for me a Mind Sweep and asking myself some tough questions on Projects and Next Actions that are lingering on my lists for weeks without forward motion. In these cases, I ask myself whether I'm resisting these Projects somehow (Is the project till relevant to my world? Am I the right person to do this project? Do I have everything I need to begin the project or is there some dependancy that is causing me to resist doing it?

I agree that, for me, an issue continues to be whether I'm doing my Weekly Review to the depth it requires. It's the main opportunity during the week to think deeply about my personal and professional world, and where my life, focus and efforts will be invested throughout the upcoming week.

For Next Actions - the main cause of a Next Action not moving forward is usually that (a) it's no longer as relevant as it was; or (b) it's not a true, discreet "Next Action" that can be done in one step.

namaste said:
Here is where I'd like for you to expand on your comment noted earlier, if you could: You have an enormous amount of stuff going on ... far more than I do in all likelihood. How do you keep up with the inputs that ~1,500 next actions entail?

Any input you might have on this would be greatly appreciated.

As I mentioned in my interview, I track a lot of stuff in Outlook (I heard one time that Eric Mack had over 3,000 "tasks" in his implementation of GTD). Not all of my 1,500 Outlook task entries are true Next Actions - many are Waiting Fors, Someday/Maybes, Ideas, etc. that are not in themselves actionable, but represent valuable placeholders for issues and ideas in my personal and professional life.

That being said, I have about 800 Next Actions in the "@"-categories that I mentioned in a previous post in this thread.

I spend a fair amount of time handling the inputs coming at me - emails, calls, discussions with my management team, Board of Directors, and advisors - but handing these inputs frequently and proactively isn't just good GTD practice, it's a best practice in life and work as well.

Regards,
Peter
 

Peter Gallant

Registered
Why an @Email context...and why no @Agenda

Borisoff said:
Peter,

could you please explain why you picked out @Email context? Do you find yourself somewhere when you can only do emails or there's some other sence in that? And where do you put items to discuss with different people like @Agenda?

Regards,

Eugene.

Eugene:

Thanks for your questions. As for why I have a specific @Email context, it's primarily because of 2 factors:

1. Email is a primary means of communication for me (and most others these days) - as such, @Email is like an @Calls context. I find there's tremendous value in having a specific context for interpersonal communications that require a computer and net access. Many projects and important Next Actions are moved forward by communication!

2. Because I carry a laptop practically all of the time, many other actions that others may have on an "@Computer" context (Web surfing, writing up documents and spreadsheets, etc.) would be on my @AnywhereASAP list.

As for why I don't have an @Agenda category - @Agenda tends to imply that agenda for each important individual are then defined as a list associated with a task (not really a Next Action, but a task) on the @Agenda list. I experiemented with this, but found that I would be re-writing this list too often. For me, it's easier to define each individual as a "project", such as:

$Project:Agenda:{person name, or committee/Board of Directors}

I then just associated Next Actions that have come from emails or other inputs with this "Project Agenda" and voila, view Next Actions by Project in the Outlook view, and I have a complete list of items to discuss or review with someone, or some committee or group. In these cases, the associated category of the Next Action is "Defer-Delegate" to recognize that it's a placeholder, but the work associated with it lies with someone else. Otherwise, it would be on one of my "@"-categories.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Peter
 

jtabbi

Registered
More detail on "Next Action Support" folder(s)

Peter - could you clarify exactly how you implement your next action support folder(s)? Do you have one, or seperate ones for each context? James
 

Stodge

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Good question. i have just finished listening to the podcast in the gym tonight (it's amazing how quick the bike ride goes when i'm concentrating on the podcast) and this was the major thing i brought away from the first listening (of many no doubt). I often stuff things i know i will be working on and don't deserve their own reference folder back into my mobile inbox (me bad!).
 

Peter Gallant

Registered
Action support folders...my version...

jtabbi said:
Peter - could you clarify exactly how you implement your next action support folder(s)? Do you have one, or seperate ones for each context? James

Thanks for your question! The problem of action (and project) support folders was one of the more subtle aspects of GTD that I had to get my head around, and experiment with several solutions.

Here's what I currently have in terms of "gear":

- I carry a set of David Allen-issue plastic folders (they're available on the online store), including folders for: Inbox, Action Support (more about this shortly), To Home, To Office, Read and Review (very handy), plus a series of plastic pouches, appropriately labeled, that hold material specific to a single project in each folder.

- All of these folders are tucked into a small accordion file that lives inside my laptop bag, and goes most places with me on a daily basis. It's a bit heavy, but the ability to be productive anywhere is definitely worth it.

- I have a small 5x7 bound journal that I use to take notes in meetings, brainstorm ideas, etc.

Important: if I jot down something in the journal that represents a Next Action, including something for me or something I've delegated, I draw a square checkbox in the margin beside the entry. During my Weekly Review, I'm prompted by my Outlook-based Weekly Review category (a collection of recurring tasks that forms a checklist for me) to review this notebook and to capture all Next Actions out of it. I do this almost daily, and treat it like another inbox. As each next action is captured, I mark through the box I drew with a "C", for Captured. Very handy.

- I have a small collection of "field support" materials in my accordion file as well - a couple of blank CDs (nice for burning a CD to listen to in the car), some envelopes and stamps for quick mailings, and a laminated copy of the Advanced Workflow diagram (downloadable for free from the online store) to remind me of the GTD process when I need to refresh.

Here's what I do:

- every incoming scrap of paper goes into the mobile Inbox folder for processing. No exceptions.

- Once processed, a single piece of paper or a small collection of papers, or a coupon, CD, or other piece of "action support" material goes into the Action Support folder, with a corresponding Next Action in my system, ending with [CS] to remind me that the location of the material is my Current Support file. Tagging Next Actions with the location of the relevant physical material is often handy if it can be in more than one place.

- To Home and To Office are used to put processed material that needs to get filed in its place, though I do sometimes put an actionable item in there, so these files are actually dumped into my Home and Office physical inboxes for final processing / filing. Maybe a bit redundant, but it prevents missing a Next Action that I'm responsible to myself or others for - which is worth it!

- Each project, such as "Prepare Fiscal 2007 Operating Plan" gets one of the plastic folders, with a label stuck on the outside of the folder. Later, when this project is complete, the contents of the plastic file end up in a cardboard file folder, and I just peel the label off the plastic folder and use it as the permanent file label on the paper file - coundn't be easier.

- For the day's meetings, I will pull additional support files out of my Home or Office A-Z filing system and stick them in my accordion file, then drop them back into the files when I'm done with them. This helps me be prepared and informed for meetings.

- Whenever I'm waiting for someone, or in a dentist or doctors' office, or at the airport, out comes my own "Read and Review" file.

Aside from the physical weight of carrying this stuff around, it's a great solution. Everything is always at hand, and there's no "overkill" on creating files for single pieces of paper that have a short "life span" (though I am perfectly willing to create and label a file for a single piece of paper if it's long-term reference material.

To recap, the best trick out of all of this in my opinion is the "Action Support" file. Try it for a week yourself and see, if you don't have one already.

Hopefully this addresses Stodge's post as well.

Regards,
Peter
 

mondo

Registered
Hi Peter

Thanks for the detailed overview of how you work in what appears to be very fluid world - your home, office, the coffeeshop, whereever.

I really like the "CS" notation on the end of your NA in your system to show a processed action that has something in the Action Support folder. Closing the loop like this is cool.

As an additional thought, do you dump the Action Support file during the Weekly Review to ensure that theres nothing additional lurking in there? Something that should've been removed, or accidently crept in without being properly removed?

Thanks again

Des
 

jtabbi

Registered
Your version / My version

Peter:

Thank you so much for such a detailed response! This is great!!!

My system parallels yours in many ways... I have a 5x7 Moleskin that I take all my notes in. I was putting a circle A in the margin to signal a next "A"ction and then crossing that circle A out when I transfered it into my trusted system (outlook task). I will now try the empty square (especially since I use the quadrille Moleskin) and check off the box with a "C" when captured!

I will also try creating a Current Support folder and flagging next actions with the [CS] as you are. It sounds very functional. Right now I carry around a half dozen plastic folders labeled @CALLS, @OFFICE, @HOME, @COMPUTER, etc. that I put all my next action support material in. It am not yet sure if the [CS] folder is better or worse than all the seperate folders... we will see.

Thanks for being so open with your process - I am sure a lot of people will benefit from this thread, and the podcast/interview!

James
 
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