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How GTD has Changed GTD Wannabe’s Life

I’ve been experimenting with David Allen’s Getting Things done for about 9 months now. I still consider myself a novice, hence the GTD Wannabe moniker that I use. I’m most definitely stuck at the runway level still, but that’s okay with me. I’m at a point in my life where I inherently know my longer-term plan, i.e., finish PhD in two years or less, get job, re-evaluate goals then. So, this essay is a collection of ramblings on how GTD has changed my life, from a wannabe, runway-level, 9-month-in practitioner. Hopefully there will a nugget or two in here for you gentle readers.

State of Affairs Pre-GTD

Well, pre-GTD, I can break down my recent years into three distinct working environments. Each had its challenges and rewards, and each required a slightly different scheme for staying organized.

1. Administrator

I’ve been an administrator for a smallish business unit in a large organization. There was much paperwork to be done, most of it in accordance with various standards, etc. There was a high tempo of activity, requiring many one-off tasks, i.e., not much of my work could really be considered routine. I was always busy with several projects, some of them quite large and involved. My organization scheme at that point was slightly GTD, but of my own variety (this was before I had even heard of David Allen, or Franklin-Covey, or any of the organization gurus.) I had a computer. On that, I created an Access database to keep track of things that needed to be done, or had been done. Actually, thinking back, it was very close to what I’m using now, but more GUI, and involved. During the day, when things came up, I would either create a new entry in the database, or edit an old one. Things had due dates. They had categories and sub-categories. There was no concept of contexts though. I used this database for years, and since I had created it, I loved it. It’s pretty ugly now, but at the time, it was very slick - even fancy looking reports with fun fonts (since it was all for me). Some of the reports would be similar to what you could get out of a weekly review, e.g., list of projects (categories/sub-categories), with the NAs (tasks, items) that had been done, were pending, or were due.

In addition to tracking things in my database, I also tracked much stuff on paper. Everything had to be filed, which included printing emails and filing them. There was a numbered filing system, which was fine for work that had been completed, i.e., a general reference file system. For project that were still ongoing, I kept a set of current files on my desk. Actually, on my desk were three boxes: inbox, outbox, and pending. My goal was to keep my inbox as empty as possible, and everything being worked on fit into the pending box.

I also had a stack of scrap paper on my desk. Anything that came up that I needed to process got scribbled on the paper. Little squares were drawn to indicate a task to be done. At the end of the day, if possible, I would process the scraps, either doing what needed to be done, or inputting it into my database. Then, I would print out the list of incomplete tasks for the next day.

I found that this system worked extremely well for me, and well it should, since in retrospect, it’s very much like GTD. No wonder I got so much done then.

2. Travelling

I also spent a couple of years bouncing around the world, putting out fires, so to speak. I won’t get into the job, but suffice it to say that the requirements were that I had to travel and when I got there, I would be reasonably mobile, i.e., working out of a car. The nature of the work negated being able to use the laptop for anything other than required writing in the evenings. It could no longer be used as a primary organization tool for me. So, no more Access database, except when I was at home. No more reference files, since I had to carry everything I needed. On the plus side, each trip was sufficiently self-contained that if I packed properly at the beginning, I could carry everything I needed in an accordion folder envelope.

All required papers went into a file folder. On the front of the folder, I would tape a calendar, which gave me an overview of the project. When information came in that I needed to note, e.g., important contact numbers, it was scribbled on the folder. In fact, I have been known to write on my hand and arm when required, and then transcribe the information.

This working environment may seem insane, but I quite enjoyed it. I also like the self-contained nature. Once a project was done, the file was finished off and put away. Then, on to the next project.

3. Mature Student

Most recently, I’ve become a mature student, going back to university. The first year was intense, as I was taking a full year’s worth of undergraduate courses to catch up. Undergraduate courses are full of lessons, readings, assignments, and exams. I don’t recall using any particular organization scheme, with the exception that I’ve always had some kind of calendar, either hard copy or software-based. I must have kept various lists of things to do, but to be honest, everything was a blur. The advantage of this kind of work environment is that everything is relatively short-term, i.e., you either get your assignments done in a couple of weeks, or the point is moot. It actually reminds me of Merlin Mann’s Inbox series - where he advocates just deleting email you’re never going to get to.

After that intense year or undergraduate courses, I switched into graduate courses. Again, more courses, but more stretched out. Less exams and assignments. More self-paced work. To be honest, this has been the hardest type of work environment for me. I work best under pressure, which is just a nice way of saying that I like to procrastinate until I have a deadline. It was this perceived flaw in my character which led to me find GTD in the first place.

Finding GTD

As I alluded to before, I consider myself a bit of a procrastinator. Last summer, while refusing to get started on a rather onerous task, I was surfing the internet for help on productivity, procrastination, etc. I remember reading a couple of articles by Steve Pavlina. Then, all of a sudden, I stumbled upon the cult of GTD, i.e., the myriad of blogs, forums, and sites dedicated to it. It sounded interesting, especially since I’m a tool freak. I poked around for a while, and then went to the bookstore and bought the book. I enjoyed reading the book, although I’ve only done it once. I’m hoping to read it again this summer to fine-tune myself.

Ease/Difficulty of Implementation

I actually didn’t find implementing GTD too painful. I made sure to read the book through all the way first, and then went back and skimmed where required. To be honest, most of what’s in there is plain common sense, but it were so common, everybody would have some. I immediately instituted the concept of writing everything down, using contexts, using my calendar as a hard landscape, and instituting a general filing system. I had a home filing system, but I also had stacks of one-off things that didn’t deserve their own file folders. GTD changed that. I either tossed the strange things, or broke down and gave each paper a folder. What an epiphany! I didn’t block off a weekend or anything to process my place, and there are still a few collections of junk here and there, but I’m confident that all of *my* stuff has been processed accordingly. I think that the advantage that I had is that as a grad student, there is a lot of reference material, but not so much project support materiel, depending on where you are in your research. I tended to keep project material grouped together anyway, and I keep my reference material, i.e., articles, sorted by author names anyway, so it’s not like I had a 8 foot mountain of stuff to process.

Current Tools For My System

I was inspired by Emory’s verbose description of his GTD LoFi/HiFi system and started creating one on my blog. It’s still a work in progress, although the major components have been covered. This link takes you to the latest post in the series, which links to earlier posts. Here, I’ll just briefly discuss the major components of my system.

• Laptop: I almost always have my laptop with me, so I don’t mind keeping everything in a software program. I use Outlook for my hard landscape/calendar. I have been also using Outlook for my NA lists and have spent much time writing macros to help me out. Outlook also keeps track of my contacts and some miscellaneous reference information, like the size of furnace filters I need to buy.
• Palm: The reason I use Outlook is because I want to be able to sync to my palm so that when I’m out and about, I have most, if not all, of my information with me. I’m quite happy with the Outlook/Palm combination.
• EverNote: I use EverNote as my secondary GTD tool - it contains much of my project support material. This is where I keep web clippings related to projects, brainstorming of possible next actions, deep thoughts, etc. etc.
• OneNote: OneNote is another notetaking program, but with a completely different paradigm than EverNote. I find OneNote useful for reference material that I don’t really need to search for, but want to browse through, e.g., interesting pictures from the news, crochet patterns, latex snippets for particularly complicated tables and equations, etc.
• Text File, DOS, Perl, Python: I was extremely impressed with Gina Trapani’s recent series in LifeHacker about using a text file for your todos. I find it ‘fun’ to do DOS scripting, so I thought I would try to mimic her setup with a non-Cygwin environment. Of course, DOS just isn’t rich enough, hence the use of Perl and Python. The goal here was actually to come up with some system for my NAs that I could put on a USB stick, i.e., not requiring Outlook. It’s been a little project that I’ve been playing with for the last few weeks, and I’ve spent many enjoyable hours learning Perl. I’m not really using Python, just using a script that Gina provided to capture a bird’s eye view of what needs to be done.
• HPDA: Although I like my Palm, I also like being able to see all sots of stuff at once. So, while I’m not sure that I’m willing to completely give up my palm calendar, I have been known to use a template or two from the D.I.Y. Planner for days away from home. For example, if I have a busy day of appointments and errands out of town, I’ll use the Day Keeper template and write out that day’s plan. I can just stick that in my pocket for easy reference. There are a multitude of 3×5 templates in the newest version of the planner (and other sizes in other versions as well) and I keep checking them out to see if there is something new that I can incorporate into my system.
• Other Software: I’m a bit of a software freak. I love it all. I also enjoying experimenting with new applications in order to either speed me up, or just let me have fun. Right now, I’m really enamoured of SlickRun (tied into my text files), Colibri (replacing SlickRun for applications already in the Start menu, and the GUI is pretty - and oh, you can run it from a usb drive), GreatNews RSS reader (quick, simple, has exactly the features I want, and doesn’t need to be on all the time, so I’m not always tempted), Hotkeys (keyboard shortcuts, includes ability to work with dates), Copernic Desktop Search (completely changed my filing paradigm and lets me find anything on my computer). I’m also using Yahoo Widgets and Rainlendar to keep things in view on my desktop, like a quick view of my calendar, a “radar” text file to remind me of my important projects, etc.
• Tickler: I’m ticklish, so I don’t use a tickler. Well, really, I don’t find them useful for me. There are very few physical things that I need to be reminded of. Other things are put into my hard landscape, or given dates in my NA lists. Yes, I know, you’re not supposed to put due dates on NAs, but I really don’t want to see “Full desktop backup yearly” on my calendar. Instead, I have NAs that have start/due dates (and which will recur) to remind me of routine things, including housework. Because I use a computerized system, it’s easy to filter out things that I can do now, vs. things I can’t do until later. (Note that it’s painfully simple when using Outlook for your NA lists; not quite as simple with a text file, but have I said that I’ve been busy learning Perl.

State of Affairs - Post-GTD

What I have noticed is that with a trusted system, I feel better about the state of my affairs. Readers of my blog may notice that I tend to struggle with procrastination. Let’s be honest - playing with GTD tools is so much more immediately satisfying than researching something that’s still going to take 2 years to do. But, I’m confident that I know exactly what I’m not doing right now, and that’s okay. I’m not worried about the fact that I’ve become distracted and therefore completely forget what I was supposed to be doing with a certain project. Instead, I can clearly see exactly what next actions I have already listed for that project, and I know exactly where to find the project support materials.

I’m also extremely happy with the concept of a @waiting list. I always thought I was pretty good at keeping track what was pending, but now I know that I’m not forgetting anything. It’s already been useful for me. For instance, I had signed up for a warranty plan for my furnace - this required giving a void cheque last December. If I had just given the cheque and not noted it on my @waiting list, I would have forgotten all about it until the fall. At which point, my furnace would have broken down, and the company would have informed me that I didn’t have an extended warranty. With GTD, I kept track of this on my @waiting list and after several months of waiting for money to come out of my account, I called the company. At that point, I discovered that they had filed the void cheque without processing it. Yay GTD!