[Updated - again!] Daily habits for Getting Things Done

Update: I've received some great suggestions and links to other resources in the comments to this post - check them out and feel free to add your own tips and experiences.

You should also check out a great riff on this topic by John at Success Begins Today [link]

-- Dwayne

As a long-time Getting Things Done (GTD) follower, I love it and I hate it. I love it because it's simple, powerful, and flexible. I hate it because it's too flexible. I've had a hard time getting a specific workflow down and sticking to it. GTD doesn't have rigid "props" for me to use as mental queues like many other systems (with the Franklin-Covey systems, you can "ground yourself" to the daily task list - with GTD, there are a number of lists).

Part of my new year reset is to try to streamline my use of GTD and establish better rituals to help me keep up a consistent approach to evaluating my choices, scheduling, etc. (if you've visited here in the past, you'll know that this sort of thing is a recurring theme for me - I'm a bit of a GTD binge user).

If you have experiences or resources that have helped you create a set of daily habits for GTD, please let me know.

Please note that I'm not after yet another copy of David Allen's GTD Workflow chart - I know that one very well. What I am looking for is something that provides periodic nudges to condition me to automatically look to the lists, etc. as I find myself in between scheduled tasks. Something about the way I'm wired causes me to drift away from my lists, and I think I need some cues to bring me back to them.

This might be easier if I had the same routine every day, but I travel a lot and end up doing a lot of opportunistic things based on the work that I do. Rituals that will work regardless of location, time, etc. would be best. Other considerations are that I work with Outlook as my calendaring program (synced to my Treo 650 via Goodlink), and am using KeyNotes and KeyTasks to sync my notes and tasks with Outlook (Goodlink doesn't handle categories - that's a fatal flaw).

As I dusted off the old search engine, I've found some great articles from other practitioners that I think are worth sharing.

• Sylvia's GTD diagrams Sylvia's stuff seems like it'd be easier if I worked in the same place every day, but this is the closest I've found to what I'm looking for

• Dave Pollard on a streamlined workflow for GTD

• Michael Hyatt on his "Daily Disciplines" (this is a promising approach)

• 43F on a daily GTD workflow

• Steve Pavlina on Quarterly Planning time (doesn't help me with my daily workflow, but I thought it was very useful anyway)

The interesting thing I've noticed is how many of my blogging pals have already commented on the articles I've found - I don't feel so alone in this after all

Got others? Please share.

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Comments

[Sonja]

I had the same problem - too many lists, too many things to check
What worked for me: I made a single MindMap including all my lists (I am using MindManager for mindmaps). My map contains "things to carry with me when leaving the house", "shopping list", "at home", "at the computer", "waiting for" (orders and persons), "calls", "projects" and "maybe oneday list".
It's really easy with that map to keep track of my next actions.
Give it a try and see if it works for you too.
Greetings from germany
Sonja

[Des Paroz]

I have found a couple of key problems in my own GTD implementation, and see those same issues pop up regularly for many others.

Firstly, the review process is such a key. It is so imperative to have a dedicated weekly time to conduct your review - and to do it diligently, without procrastination. Mine is about to start , so this will be a short comment.

Secondly, watch out for the tendency to spend too much time working ON your GTD implementation, as opposed to working within it.

Finally, I have made a break through. I have gone back to a a hybrid paper based organiser for my lists and notes. Calendar and address books are still maintained on my PC/PPC combo, but Next Actions lists, Projects lists, etc are kept in Backpack, and then once a week (during weekly review) printed up and put in my organiser.

Its very liberating to use pen and paper to manage during the week. You don't realise how much time you spend on stuffing around with electronic lists, syncing, etc.

Just my thoughts. Good luck!

[Dwayne Melancon]

Those are some great suggestions, Des and Sonja. As both a fan of Mindmaps and a previous user of paper-based systems, I think they could both help.

On the mindmap side I have looked at ResultsManager, but couldn't get it to seem smooth enough for me.

For paper, I'm not familiar with Backpack but will have a look. The thing that worries me about a paper / handheld mixture is that some of my actions are embedded in Outlook reminders because of the way the GTD add-in works (those are all actions that relate directly to email). Maybe I'll just have to try it and see how it works for me.

[Tana]

I loved the links. What I would add is my "Six Most Important Things" habit. Every morning, I get up and review my lists, similar to Michael Hyatt's Daily Disciplines. I pick out six most important things I want to make sure I do today. They may be next actions, they may be projects I want to work on. They aren't intended to be a comprehensive list of what I will do today - they are just the six MOST IMPORTANT things I want to make sure I work on. Sometimes I come up with six, sometimes I only have four.

But then at the end of the day, when I review my day and tie up any loose ends so my mind can rest during the night, I review that list of six most important things and I use it to write (at least mentally) a list of my six most important ACCOMPLISHMENTS for the day. Sometimes the two lists are completely different - most of the time they are very similar.

I do the morning part when I get up before anyone else in my family. I review my lists, review my goals, write my six most important things list, do some inspirational reading, and then exercise, shower and eat breakfast. Then I go about my day. In the evening, I being my routine at 9:00. I get ready for bed, review my lists, make my six most important accomplishments list, and then I relax for a while and then go to bed.

I don't know if that helps or not, but for me, having that handful of items singled out really helps. Any list larger than that, your mind gets overwhelmed. But you can keep track of six most important things and feel good about getting them done while still managing to get other things done as well. It just keeps you focused on what you decide you need to be focused on for the day.

[Dwayne Melancon]

Cool technique, Tana! I think that might help me - it would at least compensate for the fact that I don't always look at my lists as often as I should during the week. If I get a bit more religious about weekly reviews, and do a "Six Most Important Things" anchor, that might do the trick. I like the end-of-day review aspect of it, too - and the setting aside a specific morning and evening time to recap and replan.

Thanks so much for sharing your tips here.

[Matthew Cornell]

One thing I try to do is be aware of transitions - spatial, mental, etc. The thought is that by being aware of them we can remind ourselves to check our context lists. I would like to integrated the idea of ritual with them.

The original post is here, if you're interested:

Transitions: A secret ingredient to Getting Things Done?
http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/2005/12/transitions-secret-ingredient-to.html

[Dwayne Melancon]

Thanks for the link to your post, Matt - they don't call you "Idea Matt" for nothing!

The transitions are exactly what I'm wrestling with.

[SKL]

I do a variation of Tana's practice. Each week, I choose THREE PROJECTS I want to significantly advance. Then, each day, I choose THREE NEXT ACTIONS for the day, one for each project. I find three is an easy number to play with -- it seems tiny and doable, but it allows for a lot of freedom and for GTD priortizing due to time, energy, etc. These three actions/projects are by no means the ONLY things I do weekly/daily, but they are the MOST IMPORTANT things that need doing NO MATTER WHAT ELSE pops up each day.

[Dwayne Melancon]

Another good one, SKL. The theme I'm sensing here is that you're all establishing rituals that force you to revisit your priorities and renew your short list regularly. What I've picked up that I *wasn't* doing very well was re-anchoring. My weekly reviews have continued to be "half-assed" for quite a while, so my daily review was based on a half-assed, squishy foundation. Not a good recipe. Maybe getting a more solid foundation will make me want to review my Tasks more often and keep me going back to the well for the next action.

Thanks again for sharing, everyone.