GTD
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May. 28th, 2006 | 01:12 am
location: home
At some point I noticed myself beginning to stress out over all the random projects floating through my head--and I thought back to the GTD book and remembered how the author promised that the system would help cut down on stress.
The theory was that human brains aren't that good at dealing with "I need to remember to do that later". He argued that if you ever had two things to do, one's brain would start to be unhappy because one of those tasks wasn't getting done (because you were working on the other). Since the second task wasn't recorded anywhere one's brain would feel the need to constantly keep remembering it, and then feel bad because it wasn't getting done.
I started off well by using a stack of 3x5 cards to try to organize things (aka hipster PDA). But of course that was too low tech, so I started using some text files, and then like all the other systems I've tried, at some point I stopped looking at the text files and went back to trying to remember everything.
One of the most critical steps of a "time management system" is to look at it. So I'm back to the 3x5 cards on the theory that physical objects function as their own reminder that you need to look at them.
But to make my life a little more pleasant with the 3x5 cards, I got a little plum colored 3x5 card carrier and some "durable index tabs".
(And yes I looked up the color name).
The theory was that human brains aren't that good at dealing with "I need to remember to do that later". He argued that if you ever had two things to do, one's brain would start to be unhappy because one of those tasks wasn't getting done (because you were working on the other). Since the second task wasn't recorded anywhere one's brain would feel the need to constantly keep remembering it, and then feel bad because it wasn't getting done.
I started off well by using a stack of 3x5 cards to try to organize things (aka hipster PDA). But of course that was too low tech, so I started using some text files, and then like all the other systems I've tried, at some point I stopped looking at the text files and went back to trying to remember everything.
One of the most critical steps of a "time management system" is to look at it. So I'm back to the 3x5 cards on the theory that physical objects function as their own reminder that you need to look at them.
But to make my life a little more pleasant with the 3x5 cards, I got a little plum colored 3x5 card carrier and some "durable index tabs".
(And yes I looked up the color name).
I just got GTD
from:
vixter
date: May. 28th, 2006 03:12 pm (UTC)
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Re: I just got GTD
from:
alienghic
date: May. 28th, 2006 07:45 pm (UTC)
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Here's my quick summary.
Projects generate lists of things todo, those things get written to lists organized by context. Contexts are the places where one can accomplish those tasks. (E.g. Home, Work, Computer, Particular Person, Driving around, Phone).
All new things go into the "inbox" first, where you then pull items off and decide what to do with them--do, record task list, or put it on someone else's task list. (Putting it back on the stack isn't one of the choices.)
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from:
soulsong
date: May. 28th, 2006 03:49 pm (UTC)
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from:
alienghic
date: May. 28th, 2006 07:48 pm (UTC)
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(I really want a better solution than the forget and start over system).
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from:
clynne
date: May. 28th, 2006 06:49 pm (UTC)
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from:
alienghic
date: May. 28th, 2006 07:52 pm (UTC)
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So one of the arguments is that peoples todo lists get cluttered with things like "get car washed", which actually has the hidden task "ask for recommendations for car washes" attached to it. Since that hidden task actually takes some thought the task gets ignored when we're quickly scanning our todo lists.
The GTD book make a gigantic point of the todo list only contains things that are the "next physical action" needed to advance a project.
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from:
theinfamousmom
date: May. 28th, 2006 08:17 pm (UTC)
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F'zer has a very, very, VERY hard time understanding time management and real priorities. I was hoping if he heard it from someone other than me it might sink in, but so far no luck. Especially after I put post-it flags on the pages in the book that tell him the same things I've been trying to tell him for decades. :)
I put GTD on hold at the library after looking at that "hipster PDA" web site. I bought F'zer a really nice leather 3 x 5 card holder close to 20 years ago and suggested that he might get a better handle on time management if he would put that in his pocket, and every time he started a new activity, whatever it was, write down the time. Since he has no internal "time database" and no idea how long any given activity takes, I thought we could construct an external database of average times for any given daily activity.
I think "fat chance" just about sums that idea up.
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from:
alienghic
date: May. 28th, 2006 09:06 pm (UTC)
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Also one of the reasons I went back to the 3x5 card todo lists is I needed return to the simplest possible thing that has any hope of working (as I stopped using the more complicated thing). It's so easy to construct goldbergian "workflows" that collapse from their complexity.
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PDA
from:
dilinger
date: May. 31st, 2006 02:04 pm (UTC)
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That is interesting. I used to have a cheapy cheap calender device, and i could put simple notes in it and have an alarm. My cell phone can now do that so If something is important I put it in there. My Cell has a full keyboard I'm not good at texting with the multi press sytsem. Not sure I want to be.
In either case. You have to use what works for you.
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