Too many Next Actions!

Having a system you trust is indeed key. I've been a user of:

* Life Balance
* Things
* OmniFocus
* Outlook
* Moleskine
* Index Cards

Each of them have had their strengths and weaknesses, but I've never really hit that element of feeling that I had everything under control. Recently I started using TaskPaper (TodoList on Windows), and for the first time, things are starting to click. It's highly flexible and focusses on the basics, not trying to be everything to all people. With the more advanced tools such as LB or OF, I found that I couldn't pull back easily and get a broad perspective. With TaskPaper, I constantly am bouncing between project focus and context focus, adding and deleting contexts at will to fit the day.

For example, I generally have the usual contexts, but recently I added one called @focus because I have several projects that involve significant focus and dedicated time. I've blocked out calendar time specifically for that context. As those things clear up, I'll clear the calendar again. Not pure GTD, but I find my time gets booked if I don't create blocks like that from time to time.

The other aspect of flipping back and forth, is scanning the projects often helps me make rapid selections in my contexts. This isn't for the "10 minutes free to make some calls" opportunities, but more when I'm sitting at my desk, and can do any of 5 different contexts. I can drop into project mode, knock out a bunch of things, then flip back to context mode as needed.
 
learned;76965 said:
Recently I started using TaskPaper (TodoList on Windows), and for the first time, things are starting to click. It's highly flexible and focusses on the basics, not trying to be everything to all people. With the more advanced tools such as LB or OF, I found that I couldn't pull back easily and get a broad perspective.
Click to expand...

I've just started using TaskPaper on the iPhone and I really appreciate the thought that's gone into making it simple to use. I've even moved my calendar into TaskPaper from Pocket Informant. It's easy to add, move and tag; it's really just a highly accomplished outliner with some addons for task management.
 
A number of people have suggested using a timer/time block to focus on a specific context. You might look at the Pomodoro method (easy to Google) which gives you a simple, tested way of working in time blocks and saves you from reinventing the wheel.

Rob
 
6 years ago or so I struggled with this myself -- severely.

Since then, I have gotten to take life more lightly and think to myself:

OK, I have 60 next actions for this week after I just finished my Weekly Review. Is that too many? Maybe, maybe not. If I don't get to all of them this week, there's another week, and I will re-negotiate their (ever-changing) nature during next week's Weekly Review.

What actions would REALLY matter this week? Like if something crashes and burns, and they will become obsolete or non-essential any more? These are my key starting points...
 
I still consider myself a novice myself, in that I've done GTD wrong for some time, but am now recommitting to the fundamental concepts.

I'm focusing on a couple items mentioned in the "GTD Getting Started & Refresher Series" on GTD Connect. One issue is not to fall into the trap that GTD will do the thinking for you...the thinking part is still something you have to do. Another point is that when the GTD process is fully grasped, the tool used becomes secondary. Or in other words, if a tools limitations are bothering you, you're probably missing some fundamental concept of GTD.

I have 476 possible NA's in my list. I used to be stuck scrolling that list up and down with glassy eyes and losing motivation by the second.

I decided to turn off the computer and use my brain. First, take my project list...is it reasonable or does it need whittling down? IOW, have I set myself up for failure by getting over committed? If I'm over committed, what do I have to do to change that? Usually that involves talking to some people and renegotiating my commitments. Notice the computer can't do any of those steps for me, and won't even tell me that's what I need to do. I have to figure that out for myself by using the ol' 'noggin a bit.

Next, I look at my Projects list and pick the one I intuitively know needs attention the most. Narrowing my focus to just that project, I ask..."what's the next action I can do that will move the ball down the field on this one?" One of my bad habits is trying to plan all the steps needed to bring the project to conclusion before taking the first step. That's not GTD. GTD says just figure out what the Next Action should be and do just that. Well, with that much simpler question....the answer usually obvious. I make sure this is a true "next action"...that is, it's something within my power to do and it's achievable in a single sitting.

Then, armed with just that NA, I go do it. And I notice I'm energized by having something to do that's not only not overwhelming, it's completely within my ability to do. And I love that.

Then repeat as needed.

BTW, another concept I learned was that electronic lists have a bad habit of never getting pruned, whereas we naturally wind up pruning paper lists. That is, items passed over multiple times should eventually get deleted or moved to the "someday/maybe" list. In my work, things are frequently OBE (Overcome By Events)....hence I should be pruning dead, withered old NA's off the list as they become irrelevant. If not, again, I'm not thinking....I"m expecting the computerized list to think for me. Unfortunately a computerized list is just as dumb as a paper list...the list doesn't think...I have the do the thinking or no one's doing any thinking here...and if no one's doing any thinking, is it a wonder things are a mess?

Hope that's helpful!

BTW, the short answer to your dilemma is that you're over committed. And looking at computerized lists isn't going to fix that. That get's fixed the ol' fashioned way...
 
hiii

One thing I do is to decide on a context -- say @Computer-Office, or email, or whatever, and work through just that context for a period of time. One can even set a timer and say, okay -- 30 minutes in this context, 30 minutes in that one, etc. Don't schedule too much because your position sounds like mine -- new work appearing constantly and one has decide if this is more important than what I was going to work on.

Yuasa NP7-12
 
If you are working GTD completely, and you are doing a Weekly Review, I feel it is impossible to have too many Next Actions. I mean this literally

If you are running your system correctly, you should never have too many next actions.

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I feel so rich having found this thread. I really appreciate the sharing supportive spirit of it, and you all have taken a lot of time out of my re-organization process. Thanks! :)
 
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