Project outcomes list and weekly review

fonsegrives

fonsegrives

0
Hello everyone,

I am new to the GTD forum but have been using GTD for about 7 years. What a great habit, i wished I had that when I was a student !

I realised recently that my project list was a bit too basic and I wanted to understand how other people keep their master list of projects with their associated outcomes before I update/upgrade my system.
GTD support kindly reminded me that using the verb in the project name is the easiest way to include the outcome.

But I tend to do the 'verb habit' for the actions more than for the projects.
For example under project "IT project" I might have an action "try Sketchup app" and another one "Read child internet safety article" so the outcome of "IT Project" is not too obvious for example.
On top of that, my list of projects also contains my Areas of responsibilities, so for "Child 1" I have lots of actions but not really one exact outcome that represent all of the mini projects inside it.

I am curious and I have two questions for you:
  1. Do you use a paper version, a mindmap or the list of projects in your electronic system (I use Actionlist synced to Toodledo) when you do your weekly review?
  2. Do you two lists for Areas or responsibilities and Project or do you merge them in one?
Any examples will be greatly appreciated and hopefully can benefit other members.

Best regards and many thanks in advance for your replies.

Fonsegrives.
 
I've been practicing GTD since 2004, although I've used other systems for short periods during that time. I've noticed a pattern of switching between paper and electronic. Right now I manage my lists digitally, but am more comfortable on paper in most situations. I block off time on Sunday evenings for my weekly review, but might do it earlier if I have a busy weekend or am out of town.

I use a single "flat" list for my projects. I list these as the desired end state, such as "I threw an amazing and fun Halloween party for family and friends by October 31, 2016." Detailed, but it allows me to see what I've committed to at a glance. The use of past tense lets me easily evaluate whether the outcome has been met. If false, I still have work to do :-)

I also keep my Areas of Focus in a separate flat list. I don't tie the areas and projects together. I tend to take on new roles at work on a regular basis, so it is subject to frequent change. My Areas list is more of a trigger list to create new projects. Coming from a Steven Covey/7 Habits background, I keep a short 2-3 description with the area to remind me of the "why". I also keep higher horizon lists of 5-7 yearly goals, personal values, and personal mission statement.
 
Hi RS356,

Thanks for sharing. I like the past tense for a future action idea. I think I will too separate the list of projects and the list of Areas of Focus and see how it goes.

I have also the 30 to 50,000 feet statements and lists. Very useful to review from time to time.

Cheers,

fonsegrives
 
fonsegrives said:
I am curious and I have two questions for you:
  1. Do you use a paper version, a mindmap or the list of projects in your electronic system (I use Actionlist synced to Toodledo) when you do your weekly review?
  2. Do you two lists for Areas or responsibilities and Project or do you merge them in one?
Any examples will be greatly appreciated and hopefully can benefit other members.
Click to expand...

I hate mindmaps, I am not a graphical thinker and they are usually just noise to me. So My list of Areas of Focus or responsibilities is an outline with some indented chunks. Here are some excerpts, the entire list is a lot longer.

For example 1 AOF is
I manage a sustainable farm that provides food and fiber to our surrounding community in an environmentally and socially supportive way.
Manage our Black Welsh Sheep flock​
We are the number one source for high performance, genetically proven Black Welsh Mountain sheep in North America.
We maintain at least 3 distinct bloodlines in a sustainable breeding program in our flock. We are using a modified form of the Conservation Breeding Guidelines by ALBC.
Our flock wool clip averages 5 lbs grease fleece per ram and 3 lbs per ewe.
Our flock wool clip meets or exceeds the quality of the UK clip.​
Manage our Beef Cattle​
We raise a few steers every few years to provide meat for ourselves, my stepfather and enough to sell to cover all of our expenses for all the beef animals.​
Manage our Chickens​
We raise all of our own chickens for meat and enough to sell to cover all of our expenses for all the poultry.
We raise all of our own eggs​

My AOF list is separate from my projects list and my action items. My AOFs are text files in DEVONThink and I review them at least qurterly or more often if I feel a need to.

My current projects and actions are all in Omnifocus.

I used to try to put a project into a single AOF and that is impossible because so many projects cover multiple AOFs. I found it frustrating to search for a project when I had them in a folder structure by AOF. It's a lot easier to manage with my flatter structure now.

I also tend to have a lot of active projects, my current OF system has

PROJECTS: 370
Active projects: 243
Current projects: 150
Pending projects: 93
On-hold projects: 116
Completed projects: 11
CONTEXTS: 35
Available actions: 292
 
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