I would suggest 2 things here.
#1) That we all take the time necessary to REALLY try and understand and APPLY what DA has said about the @Context Next Action lists. This is not so easy to do.
#2) after we REALLY understand and can apply this, then we can start modifying it to suit our own personal work style.
The reason I say this is that DA has thought this through pretty carefully, and it takes a little while to understand it. So sometimes instead of trying to understand what he is talking about, we just CHANGE it too soon to suit our prejudices, and might be spoiling it without even realizing it, based on our own misconceptions.
On the other hand, once we really "get it", then I think it is very useful to customize to our own mind.
Each person's mind is VERY unique and idiosyncratic, in a very profound way. This is something most of us do not realize, how unique and individual each of our minds are.
So if a person spends all day at the computer, it is not a stretch at all for me to look at different areas of their computer as different mental contexts. As stated, there COULD be a handful of @Computer contexts grouped together, if that helps them. One could also cover this by using Projects, of course.
But the argument that Cyberspace has different contexts is not a stretch to me at all, for a person who lives 80% of their waking lives there, and only rarely sees the sunshine!
(we used to call this the musicians "studio tan", that is, they are as pale as a ghost!)
The entire point of GTD is to catch all of our open loops in our system, and then get them done, or feel good about choosing to not get them done right now.
My view is that once we REALLY understand GTD, then its time to get Creative, and apply these ideas in a way that works for our own brain and mind and life.
As long as it is WORKING for us, its working.
I think our primitive educational systems have trained us from birth to think in terms of "uniformity" and making our minds fit the system.
My view is that once we understand the system, we then customize it to suit OUR mind. The system is our servant, not our Master.
But good points have been made to really understand GTD first, and then creatively apply it. That is very important.
Seek first to Understand, then to Change it.
(I almost wrote, then to f*ck it up royally!)
I am currently experimenting with various different customizations for my personal GTD application.
How am I doing this?
Groping in the dark, and trying things, and flying by the seat of my pants.
Try something, see if it WORKS.
Over time, if we can experiment, and learn to trust our own Thinking, we can figure out something that really works for us.
The key though, it seems to me, is that we watch out very carefully that we are not butchering the entire methodology, and by doing so creating stressed-out unproductivity.
My view, trust your own thinking, and your own Intuition, try new things, experiment, and TEST the results.
First learn the technique by the book, and once you hit Blackbelt, then start to make it your own.
If you try to make it your own when you are still a White belt, you are likely going to screw it up royally.
How can we customize something we don't completely understand yet?
In progressive and experimental jazz music, they say,
"you have to learn to play INSIDE first, before you can play OUTSIDE".
or, ya gotta master the rules, before you can break the rules.
Coz
