Tip for GTD users - how to remind yourself into adding a Context for every new task

[John . Smith]

Hello 

Here is a little tip for you GTD method users.

Problem:
In order for GTD to work well, it's important for all your actions to have at least one Contexts. But during a busy day, it's easy to forget to do so.

Solution:

What I do is work from the Active Actions and make them slightly hard to read until they have a Context.
This keeps visually reminding/nagging me to add a Context until I have done so.

Details:

1. I set the base colour of my tasks to a pale, slightly annoyingly pale colour.
Tools ==> Options ==> Themes and Formatting ==> Task Format ==> Active Tasks ==> Font ==> Font colour ==> something pale (i.e. pale green would be "$0099DD99")

2. I also set the automatic formatting to a more readable colour if the task has a context of any sort.

Tools ==> Options ==> Automatic Formatting ==> Add [Add a new rule fairly high up the list of rules] ==> Condition ==> "(Context is not empty)  AND (ActiveAction)" 
Format ==> Font colour a darker colour (e.g. "$00007700" would be a dark, easily read green)

ALSO 

I have now set up a hotkey for almost every Context-Tag. They all start with  "Control+Alt" as there seemed to be fewer default MLO hotkeys using that space.

e.g. "Control+Alt+E" toggles the Errands context on/off.

If you have forgotten which Context-Tag hotkeys you have set up, they are all visible when you right-click the Context column

Fwiw, because I sometimes use several Context-Tags at once for my tasks, I find it easier to see what's going on visually, so I use the Icon column for this - which is also set up withing Automatic Formatting. 
a) Tick "use icon"
b) Click icon to select the icon you want

c) Set "Icon type" to "Custom" 

d) Set the icon position number if you want to space the icons out

e) Set the icon hint to remind yourself what context each icon was for. (e.g. "@Errands")

FINALLY 

In order to scoop up any tasks that have slipped through the net, I also have a view to just show tasks which have no Context-tags.

Personally I use: 

- Show Actions: Active

- Show hierarchy: No

- The Advanced Filter "Context is empty"

Personally, all of the above has rather transformed my MLO life  :^D

Hope you find useful.

J

[Stéph]

Interesting idea. I might play around with this concept at some point.