Where do things go that I may want to review in the future? calendar /tickler/other

M

macgrl

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If I have something that I don't want to review now but want to look at say in December (by December 5th for example) can I put that on my calendar to review on say december 4th? or a reminder on Nov 30th that the deadline for review is coming up? I know that the calendar should have hard edges of only what needs to be done at a specific time or day. I don't want to use a physical tickler file I prefer to use a digital format. Should I use another calendar for these sort of things rather than my actual hard edges calendar?:)
 
I like calendar email alerts. That way I can get something in my inbox which I can process appropriately closer to the time when I'll know what's going on, but the message itself is not in my hard edged calendar view.

One example I have at the moment is a subscription I have on trial. I get an email a couple of weeks before the trial ends, so I know I have to make a decision by the billing date, then the billing date itself is the hard edge.
 
How are you managing your action lists? I've set mine in Excel, and part of this is to have an electronic tickler - one of my columns is "show from" - for most items it is blank, but where I don't want to see it until a certain point in time I put a date in, and I use filters to intelligently hide those rows that shouldn't be shown yet.
 
macgrl;92438 said:
If I have something that I don't want to review now but want to look at say in December (by December 5th for example) can I put that on my calendar to review on say december 4th? or a reminder on Nov 30th that the deadline for review is coming up? I know that the calendar should have hard edges of only what needs to be done at a specific time or day. I don't want to use a physical tickler file I prefer to use a digital format. Should I use another calendar for these sort of things rather than my actual hard edges calendar?:)
Click to expand...

Some popular list managers, e.g. Omnifocus, Things, Toodledo, have a "start date" field available. It's a feature I use not only as a tickler, but to make certain kinds of work, such as writing, restart the next day. Some kinds of things, such as events which need prior prep, are both on a list and in the calendar. This is not duplication, as they serve different functions. Examples: making plans for dinner with three other couples after a show or preparing for a business trip.
 
If you don't want to use a tickler file then place a day-specific reminder to review said item on your calendar. A day-specific reminder is not the same as a day-specific task.

You might note on your day specific reminder where you filed the document to help you locate it quickly. The same can apply for both paper-based and electronic documents.

I have in the past moved an Outlook e-mail to the calendar to incubate it. It places the text and an attachment into the "Note" field. I can open the attachment and forward, reply, etc.

For paper-based items I prefer to use a tickler file. It's fast and easy. I have one at home, but not at work.
 
My next actions are in an iPhone App, Pocket Informant. I've setup a context called 'Tickler'. That way I can just have the things in there without a date, or with a date, whichever I like. They do show up on the normal Pocket Informant calendar, but I've changed the text to light green so they don't stand out as much as the other tasks/events (work is black, personal are purple).
I would set the date as the date you wish to review it, not the date that any action would be due.
 
You can certainly use the calendar for day-specific things, like reminders to look at something. It's still considered a hard edge because you are reminding yourself on that day, that you need to be aware of something coming up. The GTD book even mentions that you can use a calendar for this sort of thing. It's a great way to remind yourself of things on certain days!!
 
Tspall;92495 said:
You can certainly use the calendar for day-specific things, like reminders to look at something. It's still considered a hard edge because you are reminding yourself on that day, that you need to be aware of something coming up. The GTD book even mentions that you can use a calendar for this sort of thing. It's a great way to remind yourself of things on certain days!!
Click to expand...

thats great! thanks so much for your replies
 
Great question, but what kinds of actions (and purposes) might comprise review?

I end up with so many actions that begin with the verb "review" , whether on projects, one-offs or sdmbs that I know I need to try to be more specific about review means.

So I am collecting my own ideas and asking if others might be willing share their thoughts about the actual actions, implied or explicit, when "review" is among the words.

Some examples:

Review ( of previously prepared materials): read my notes and plans at an appropriate time before a presentation in order to be familiar with my phrasing, order, pauses and at ease; or read outline and notes before writing.

Review (of a list): Read through list and decide what on it is relevant and if the list is complete.

Review (of calendar): are there any conflicts? any waiting fors? any "@ adgendas", any unrecognized lead times.

Review (of stuff): do I have duplicates? are any pieces missing? are the instructions with the item? Does it fit the intended purpose?

Review (of reading material, clippings, etc)-does this merit closer scrutiny and analysis?

Review (of websites): exploration of sites I have been keeping a list for a variety of purposes.

Review (of project plans or notes):Do I see any problems? Why is it not moving? If it is complete--How did it go?

Any other ideas about review?
 
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