Planning your days work

[StephenAdams]

Within the GTD system is there an approach for planning your day. I know with the next actions list you set out what is next to do, but how do you use either the next action list or a specific project list to work on the things you need to for a given day. For example, I work for a specific client (web development work) from 9-5, so I have a project for that client, but I also want to have some tasks scheduled to work on that are working towards a goal I may have or some part of my web development business that is outside of this client work.
Could time blocking and contexts be the answer? Block time for client work and time for business development and have those as context? I wonder what others do.

 

[ianfh10]

David Allen says the calendar should stay 'sacrosanct' and should really only define the hard landscape of your commitments - the things you really only can or must do on a certain time/day, usually appointments, meetings, pre-agreed calls etc.

For me, a kind of general time-blocking helps, but I don't put next actions from my context list on the calendar. I may scan my day and find a four hour gap I want to work with focus, so I block that out. I might find a 15 minute gap between meetings where it's not worthwhile doing much except emails or mindless admin. I usually name them something general like 'focus time', 'deep work' or 'admin'.

If I put a series of concrete next actions on the calendar, I'm giving myself an arbitrary deadline, and if I don't meet it, I've broken a commitment with myself. Usually, I won't complete them, and end up just constantly rearranging my calendar and moving actions back and forth between the calendar and task manager.

However, I like to block out my calendar in some way because it helps stop others scheduling too many meetings with me, and gives me structure to my day.

As for actually planning work for those blocks of my day, my task manager has a 'My Day' feature where you add tasks you want to focus on today without removing them from their context lists - they just appear as instances of tasks in those lists. It also suggests tasks to me to add, like tasks I had listed yesterday, new tasks I might have added, tasks I've flagged as important etc. At the end of the day this list is cleared without affecting the original tasks.

I use this as a 'hot-list' or what some people call a punch-list to draw together things I'd like to get done in those blocks I've defined. I usually put around 10 on: 2 large, effort-intensive, time-consuming actions, and 8 smaller ones. If I don't get them done, it's fine, and they're cleared off My Day without the guilt of having to re-assign them. This is also helpful because I'm not scanning through several context lists throughout the day to look for actions to take. I've done the defining once, and then I work from the hot-list only.

 

[Cpu_Modern]

The problem with time blocking is that it kills your flexibility.

Let me first state the "canonical" GTD organization, how you would place this going by the book. There is a section about the natural planning model in regards to projects where it states that after purpose and successful outcome, the next thing to clarify would be the working principles and guidelines, values, limitations etc to be observed while working the project.

Here you would state something like "want to work on this project on every week day" and thus you had the "official" reason to schedule that project in your calendar or tickler functionality.

So that would be the shortest answer. Your GTD system reflects to you that you wanted to work every day on that project.

The whole thing could also be a Level 4 vision thing "In the evening I work in my studio on some web devel stuff." So, once there you take a look at the @studio context list.

You can also time block specific next actions, e.g. "complete site-wide basic CSS files"

But this is all about calendaring stuff and sure it works, if it works, but what if it didn't and so on.

The question is more, why would you want to plan your day?

• because otherwise I fear to fall behind ie. to work too slowly
• I procrastinate on the daunting but important tasks
• I tend to wander off…

…are some of the more common answers.

Years ago I read "The War of Art" by S. Pressfield, because D. Allen had recommended it as a good companion to GTD and I agree. I also read "Secrets of Productive People" by M. Forster, which I would also recommend as companion to GTD.

Both authors come to the same conclusion in regards to those daunting but important tasks: establish routines, do these tasks routinely.

This is also what I am (trying) to do. I start GTD projects for establishing routines.

Some important thing I should work on everyday, that is worth a routine, isn't it?

 

[StephenAdams]

The problem with time blocking is that it kills your flexibility.

Let me first state the "canonical" GTD organization, how you would place this going by the book. There is a section about the natural planning model in regards to projects where it states that after purpose and successful outcome, the next thing to clarify would be the working principles and guidelines, values, limitations etc to be observed while working the project.

Here you would state something like "want to work on this project on every week day" and thus you had the "official" reason to schedule that project in your calendar or tickler functionality.

So that would be the shortest answer. Your GTD system reflects to you that you wanted to work every day on that project.

The whole thing could also be a Level 4 vision thing "In the evening I work in my studio on some web devel stuff." So, once there you take a look at the @studio context list.

You can also time block specific next actions, e.g. "complete site-wide basic CSS files"

But this is all about calendaring stuff and sure it works, if it works, but what if it didn't and so on.

The question is more, why would you want to plan your day?

• because otherwise I fear to fall behind ie. to work too slowly
• I procrastinate on the daunting but important tasks
• I tend to wander off…

…are some of the more common answers.

Years ago I read "The War of Art" by S. Pressfield, because D. Allen had recommended it as a good companion to GTD and I agree. I also read "Secrets of Productive People" by M. Forster, which I would also recommend as companion to GTD.

Both authors come to the same conclusion in regards to those daunting but important tasks: establish routines, do these tasks routinely.

This is also what I am (trying) to do. I start GTD projects for establishing routines.

Some important thing I should work on everyday, that is worth a routine, isn't it?

Thanks, Cpu_modern, this is a great explanation of a more GTD centric approach to planning. I suppose I have a list of projects I'd like to do, but I haven't sat down and really planned them using the Natural Planning Model, to see why I really want to work on them.
So it's more of a question of having a routine that allows you to work on the projects that are important to you now than setting some time to work on a set of tasks that might or might not get done?

I have read some of Steve Pressfields work, but not for a while, his work is really interesting.

 

[mcogilvie]

Within the GTD system is there ink an approach for planning your day. I know with the next actions list you set out what is next to do, but how do you use either the next action list or a specific project list to work on the things you need to for a given day. For example, I work for a specific client (web development work) from 9-5, so I have a project for that client, but I also want to have some tasks scheduled to work on that are working towards a goal I may have or some part of my web development business that is outside of this client work.
Could time blocking and contexts be the answer? Block time for client work and time for business development and have those as context? I wonder what others do.

There’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all answer, but I think in terms of rhythms and transitions between them. I’m teaching MWF this semester, and have several potential Zoom seminars on Th, so Tu is my most available day for bigger things. The summer is more episodic, with both professional and personal travel. I think of all this as part of the cycles-within-cycles approach of GTD.

 

[schmeggahead]

but I haven't sat down and really planned them using the Natural Planning Model, to see why I really want to work on them.

Maybe a look at the 3 fold nature of work would be helpful.

• Doing work as it arrives.
• Defining work (which includes time for the Natural Planning Model).
• Doing defined work.

Defining work also includes putting actions in contexts (or ways for you to blend the appropriate time for different types of planned work).
Defining work can include a daily review to setup your day (review calendar, action lists, etc.) This visualization of your successful day will help you instinctually choose a blend of tasks for that day.

Blocking time for next actions can prevent calendar takeover at the last minute while your day is in progress. This forces same day appointments to be cleared with you rather than showing up on your calendar without allowing you adequate preparation time (more defining work tasks). I mark these times simply as "Blocked".

Good luck.
Clayton.

P.S. If you use the pomodoro technique to track your work & break frequency, you could keep a count of the periods devoted to each work type during the day and when you return from a break, the counts could move you to balance the work without a task switch.

 

[Longstreet]

As everyone knows, I am a strong proponent of time blocking for focused work on projects, objectives, etc. We ALWAYS decide in the moment what we are going to do and that includes set time blocks. Maybe something has changed in your world and you have to rethink that time block. We must protect our time from unwanted meetings, etc. And I disagree with the idea that this kills your spontaneaty. Research has actually clearly shown that structure can be more freeing than only meetings on your calendar. Set an appointment for yourself for focused work.

 

[schmeggahead]

Set an appointment for yourself for focused work.

Bingo!