Where you keep your todo list determines what gets done

[Edward Vielmetti]

I have a question of technological determinism.

GTD implies that you keep a list of projects in
one trusted location. It also expects you to
do things appropriate to the context you are in.

If you kept your "todo list" in somewhere that was
dependent on having a computer screen open,
wouldn't you be predisposed to do computer-y
stuff ahead of everything else? After all you'd always
be in the right context to do more of it, and the
clean the bathroom tasks would require a context
switch.

I have a few more notes on this here:

http://vielmetti.typepad.com/vacuum/2005/07/where_you_keep_.html

this as I transition my planning tasks away from
the always-on computer screen into some more
papyrocentric or mobilephoneocentric approaches.

Ed
--
Edward Vielmetti in Ann Arbor, MI 48104
+1 734 276 5910
skype, AIM: edwardvielmetti

edward.v...@gmail.com
http://vielmetti.typepad.com

[Glenn Dixon]

I've been struggling with a similar dilemma. My commute time has just
dropped from over an hour to maybe 20 minutes. I'm in front of a PC 8
hours at work, then a bit at home as well. I need to organize and
rearrange, etc. while at the PC but when I'm out actually *doing* the
things on my lists (primarily at home) or when I'm in the car or at
lunch I'd like to be able to review and revise my lists. PDA's seem
like overkill, my cell phone has no such function nor keyboard. It's
looking like I may be taking that Hipster PDA out for a spin......

--
Glenn
damn...@gmail.com
http://damnablog.com
<a href=http://www.infidelguy.com?ref=trashy><img
src=http://www.infidelguy.com/images/infidel_guy_beholder.gif></a>

[Chuck Rubin]

Ed-

Transitioning to a card-centric system lets you work on items by context,
wherever you happen to be at the time.

Chuck
-------
www.nextactioncards.com
www.languageofliberty.com

[David Douthitt]

I, too, have been struggling with something similar.

My problems are:

1. I tend to want to use the computer for everything (as a computer
geek and system administrator).

2. Being a true geek, I've four different operating systems in my house
and four at work.

And to compound things, I prefer paper too. So what I'm leaning toward
is the following:

* Use GTDTiddlyWiki for the computer aspect: it's portable (put on a
USB FlashDrive) and should work on any OS and any browser (but not
remotely)

* Print cards from GTDTiddlyWiki and put into a Hipster Assistant

[Edward Vielmetti]

Thought I'd share some current thinking - this is not
quite a life hack yet, but it exposed some more of
my understanding of GTD "next actions".

Every next action has a context. So rather than
sort the list of next actions by the action verb
(lots of variations on get or do) I'm sorting them by
the context. e.g. rather than

clean living room

it's

living room clean

with the blackberry "tasks" application you have limited
search capabilities but it's enough so that if you type
in where you are right now you get a nice short list of
tasks appropriate to the location.

Some times I have a collection of tasks suitable for
more than one physical location, and so I have lines
in my tasks that read things like

bus write postcards
cafe write postcards
postcard to lou rosenfeld

so that when I see that I'm in the bus context I have
a jog of ideas to do there, and if I decide on the
postcard context I pull out my backpack (not the
37signals kind, the real thing) and start scribbling.

the "todo context" that is winning is the blackberry,
since it is small enough to be with me when the
Mac is closed, yet networked enough to be able
to handle the email and address lookup and bloglines
parts of my day in a pinch. As a capture device -
think of something, write it down - it does OK. I
augment it with a pocket moleskine and a supply
of 3x5 quadrille cards.

don't think I could pull this off if I had to shuffle
a deck of cards to see what to do next, that's
awkward on the bus.

Ed

On 7/18/05, Edward Vielmetti <edward.v...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Danno Sullivingt-et-un]

This system is very Life Balance-y. Have you tried Life Balance? Don't
know if they do Blackberry, but it's a lot like what you're
describing.

[Glenn Dixon]

Ed,

I have only recently implemented gtd using the DIYHipsterPDA approach.
I don't find myself 'shuffling' cards. I do take the PDA out, put
the appropriate context card on top and re-attach the binder clip, but
it's a quickie. Plus I don't have to write with two thumbs! :o)

But I do like your setup. I rarely need mobile net connectivity in my
current job (help desk). Most of my current projects are personal
(just moved).

--
Glenn Dixon
dix...@gmail.com

[Allen MacKenzie]

> If you kept your "todo list" in somewhere that was
> dependent on having a computer screen open,
> wouldn't you be predisposed to do computer-y
> stuff ahead of everything else? After all you'd always
> be in the right context to do more of it, and the
> clean the bathroom tasks would require a context
> switch.

Actually, the problem I had wasn't that I did computer-y stuff "ahead
of" everything else. It was that non-computer-y stuff was much more
likely to fall through the cracks than computer stuff. If I wasn't
sitting in front of the computer, then I just did whatever happened to
pop into my mind, which might or might not be the most appropriate
action. Which is one reason I switched to the D*I*Y Planner, a move
that I have been very happy with.

Allen

[Christian Mekkaniak Eriksson]

In my experience, were you keep your NA list is determined by were your
inbox is. I have gone through several GTD setups, from complex
laptop/PDA combos, Wikis to 100% analog. In all my setups I tried to
combine both work and home NA lists in one GTD system but it always
failed. When a system worked fine at home, it failed at the office and
vice versa.

I now keep my work related NA lists in Lotus Notes since 90% of all my
stuff is received and handled this way. Using CommonTime's mNotes I
have it sync'd in my Palm as well.

At home I'm going 100% analog instead since most of my private stuff is
received verbally or through mail or phone. Most of the time when I
need to review my lists I'm not in front of a computer.

So far I have had no problems with two separate GTD systems for work
and home. I even believe it is good to keep work related stuff outside
the private life. At home you should rest your mind from work. But if
there is a need I can always whip out may Palm at home, or pick up the
hPDA from my bag at work.

/Christian, mekkaniak.blogspot.com

[David Douthitt]

An update: I gave up on GTDTiddlyWiki (nice though it was).

One of the problems I've always had with various organizer approaches
is I always wanted to have it with me. Even planners, PDAs, etc. -
none of which was truly portable.

The Hipster is portable, and the DIY forms are beautiful. I plan to
expand it with my own card formats. I printed the DIY forms onto
8.5"x11" cardstock (110 lb. paper) and cut them with a nice slicer.
110 lb. is probably just a little too thick, but it works - the
storebought 3x5 cards seem to be thinner.

I also purchased a set of A-Z filing tabs; these seem to be much too
thick, but at least that keeps me from using too many :-) I use them
as dividers (ignoring the A-Z tab). I haven't decided if I'm going to
keep them in (the few that I use) or put them aside.

I also shifted to a "medium" binder instead of the "small" binder clip
- as it handles the number of cards I need better.

I do combine work and home both on these cards - though separate in
Context, as well as separate "Agendas" (for separate people).

[Hanni Ross]

I use my moleskine, that way it stays with me wherever.