Relation between projects and next actions

[@Newbie]

Hi everyone!

As the name suggests i'm quite new to the whole GTD "thing". I just finished reading the book and am in the process of setting up my archive system and composing lists and such. I am running into one problem though. I don't seem to completely have grasped the connection between projects and the next actions that come out of those projects.
The way I understand is that you'd have a list of projects and every week during the weekly review you would decide what the next action is to get closer to the fullfillment of that action. Seems straightforward but it leaves me with a lot of questions:

- what if the project needs no be finished more quickly? do i plan several next actions for a week for that project (and how do i keep track of the order)? Or should i move up my review? (but how does that interact with other projects)
- when completing next actions, how do i keep track of what action belongs to which project?
- what do i do with complete action plans that come up in my head as i compose the next action list? do i store it with the project or do i somehow connect it to the next action that i put on the list?

Thanks in advance for trying to help a newbie out, now i'm back to filling my in-tray with you know half my home since it is the very first time that i have an in-tray.

ps. I apoligize in advance for maybe not getting al the terminology right. English is my second language and I read the book in dutch because for some reason i could now find the new version in English.

 

[Folke]

- what if the project needs no be finished more quickly? do i plan several next actions for a week for that project (and how do i keep track of the order)? Or should i move up my review? (but how does that interact with other projects)

You can create new next actions for the project during the week as you go. Or you can create the whole project plan, if you prefer, and "activate" additional next actions from there as they become possible to do.

- when completing next actions, how do i keep track of what action belongs to which project?

If you use a digital GTD app (Doit, Nirvana, Zendone, GTDNext, Omnifocus, Things ...) this usually sorts itself out. You organize your actions into projects and the actions appear "tagged" with the project name wen you look at your next list.

If you use paper or a paper emulating app (Wunderlist, Google Tasks ...) you have no such connection. Those who use such apps usually say they do not need it. You might consider writing the actions more clearly if you want to make sure you do not forget what they are all about.

- what do i do with complete action plans that come up in my head as i compose the next action list? do i store it with the project or do i somehow connect it to the next action that i put on the list?

See previous answer. If you use a good GTD app you can keep it in the app (which I do), but some prefer to keep the future, dependent actions in a separate pla outside. These not-yet-actionable actions are considered, in GTD terminology, to belong with your "project support material"

 

[SiobhanBR]

- what if the project needs no be finished more quickly? do i plan several next actions for a week for that project (and how do i keep track of the order)? Or should i move up my review? (but how does that interact with other projects)

- what do i do with complete action plans that come up in my head as i compose the next action list? do i store it with the project or do i somehow connect it to the next action that i put on the list?

When you realize you have a project you can capture as much information about that project as you need to get it off your mind. These notes/plans are "project support" and should be kept with the project. Any actions that you can do now (that don't rely on getting other actions done) should be added to your Next Actions list. Many of your projects may have several actions available to you now. Once you've completed an action, it often makes sense to keep going working on the project so do that. When you need to stop, make sure you've captured the next action that you need to move forward on that project. The weekly review is a backstop, that makes sure at least once a week you think about each project.

- when completing next actions, how do i keep track of what action belongs to which project?

I tried doing this when I first started GTD and, honestly, it was not worth it for me. As noted by Folke, some people like to make this connection by using an app but I have found it is unnecessary. If you are really doing a weekly review every week then you will know what projects you have (even if you have over 100, which I do). You will want to work on the way you describe your next actions to ensure that you know exactly what they mean to you.

So, for example, "Call Mom" is ok if you just want to chat but "Call Mom about babysitting on Friday for the ball game" is better if that is the reason you are calling. The first example might relate to an Area of Focus "Relationships" and the second might be related to a project "Heather's birthday party" but you will know that.

 

[bcmyers2112]

I was going to chime in but SiobhanBR's response was so on the money anything I'd have to say would be redundant.

 

[Oogiem]

I try to plan as many of my next actions as make sense. For many projects if I do the planning properly at the beginning it isn't going to change for the lifetime of the project. In my world it might take months or even years to finish a project. My GTD list management tool, Omnifocus, automatically will keep available any actions I can do on my context lists unless I specifically switch it to sequential.

I do not do well not knowing what actions relate to what projects so I nearly always make the connection in my tool. I typically run with approximately 200 projects. Many of those are more like checklists, They are repeating projects that I do over and over again on a monthly, seasonally or yearly basis. I keep them in Omnifocus because

1) I need all my available actions in one location for ease of reviewing and using them
2) I use this as a backup so that in the event I am injured or disabled someone can come in and pick up my OF system and know what has to be done on the farm to keep the sheep healthy and cared for.

One key thing is not that once a week you define a next action but that AT LEAST once a week you review an project and make sure that you have at least one next action available to you. You may define on and work through many actions on a single project during a single week. You may notneed to define allt eh steps, many people use the next action like a bookmark to tell you where to starrt, not how much to do in any given work period.

 

[@Newbie]

Thank you all for your responses! I'm really not able yet to comment on how all your suggestions might work or not work for me since i don't really have enough experience working with GTD yet (though historical moment, i did just acquire my own filing cabinet . Right now i have a physical in-tray, a filing cabinet, and a few lists in evernote to keep track of projects, next actions, someday/maybe items and will be filled with checklists as needed as well. I just add the project to the next action note to keep track of it for now, and i did really like the bookmark idea, combined with being aware of noting a next action when you have to stop working on a project. I'll let you know how i get on with it. For now, lots of thanks for helping out a newbie!