Black Belt Productivity

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Today we would like to welcome in Frank Meeuwsen, creator of whatsthenextaction.com. Frank is based in the Netherlands, and is trying to get David Allen to take his Roadmap seminar across the pond. All it seems that he needs is guarantee that a room full of people will go and see it. So contact Frank if you want to take a little vacation and learn from the David at the same time.

Thanks to Frank for writing for us. It seems that we may have broke his writing back. We are most appreciative of him for taking the time to write for us.

- Michael

What’s my next action?

Heyho all you GTD-lovers. Michael and Jason asked me to do a little article on my current state of affairs with GTD. I hope you all can enjoy it and find something usefull in it.

What your state of affairs was like pre-GTD?
Hmm….well not too bad now I look back. I lost some files and some papers every now and again. Or I forgot to call someone on the right date and time. But most of the time, my life was pretty organized. What I did miss was some sort of system to help me keep it organized. I have two important places where I have a lot of things going on: Home and Work. At work, I have a lot of projects going on at once. From little projects where I need to call someone to make sure something gets done, to bigger projects, working with 4-5 people and lots of subprojects. At every project, I had the feeling something was missing, like I didn’t have a grip on the overall project. Ofcourse, I had my to do lists and I always found myself throwing them out at the end of the day or reschedule to the next day. Looking back, it really wasn’t a to do list. With stuff like “Finish Q3 marketingplan” on it without even having thought about it, it was more of a projectlist.

At home, things are a bit different. I am an information junkie. I read too much, can’t remember it all, have dozens of thoughts at once and try to do it all. Reading tons of webfeeds, buying books and never even touched them again. I have gigabytes of DVD’s on my harddisk I would like to see but don’t get around doing that. The projects we have at home vary from painting a new room to gardening. We don’t really have a system for it, we just do it when we get around to it. And yeah, we sometimes forget some important events. So we really really needed a calendar…

But one of the biggest issues I always had (and sometimes still have) is to just do things. I always seem to find a way to not do things. For instance, we moved into a new house a year ago. One of the best things in the house: we have a garden! I never had one so now I could fullfill my longlife secret dream of making a garden of my own. One year later, I actually cut the grass once or twice, cleaned up some plants but that’s it. I visioned myself working in the garden, planting stuff in the ground and all. But for some reason I never really did it. So every now and again, I still feel myself pre-GTD…

How did you found out about GTD?
If my memory serves me right, it was somewhere in September 2004 I first read about it. I believe it was on 43folders.com who just started. Clicking through some posts and some other sites made me aware of this whole GTD-cult. Because it was based on a very simple system, I had a feeling this could me very interesting for me. So I bought the book and well…it laid on my desk for two months. Because I was too busy getting stuff done and didn’t take the time to start reading it. But at one point I picked it up and read whole the way through the book in about 4 evenings. And I read it again. Every now and again I pick it up and read some paragraphs and some notes I took in the book itself. I read the book while commuting to and from work so one of the biggest problems was the real implementation.

How easy/difficult was your implementation?
I think it was pretty funky to say the least. I never took a weekend off to implement. I never really did a full implementation at once. I just trial-and-errored my way through it. Because there is one quirky habit all GTD-addicts have: the use of Another Shiny New Software Tool. Or better yet: Another Shiny Piece Of Hardware! Yeah! “My GTD-life will not be complete if I don’t have software X or gadget Y.” Or what about “I will not get into true GTD-zen if I don’t own this magnificent piece of hardware which I should buy right now instead of cleaning the garage”. Now we all know, deep down in our hearts, that behaviour is ridiculous. You don’t really need a PDA to get your life organised. You don’t really need the latest untested alpha version of some Web 2.0 app to make sure you have your head still on. Come on…

When I got to that realization: implementation got a lot easier for me. Because it is not the tools that count, it’s the thought. To remain in martial arts terms: Once you master the principle of your martial art, that is so much more important than the right form. I wrote about this after I had a conversation about this with my Tai Chi master. This was, in retrospect, a turning point for me in how I look at GTD and the organization of my life. I really doesn’t matter if you drop your NA’s in Outlook, My Life Organized or on your left arm with a marker. As long as you trust your system and you review it regularly, it will be fine.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am still fond of Shiny New Applications and Electric Things With Powercords. But I look at them more closely before I buy it. Do I really need it and will it solve all my problems? Most of the time it doesn’t, but hey, you need some reference point right?

Currently, after 18 months of GTD-ing, I am really getting into the Weekly Review. I am so in love with it and I totally agree with everyone who says you don’t do GTD when you miss out on the Weekly Review. It is still hard. I am still learning to think about my projects in another way that making lists and running around trying to “do a project”. I now have a two hour timeslot on Thursday morning to run through my lists, projects, appointments and loose papers on my otherwise very tidy desk. And the rest of the week it is just tweaking those points. And just getting things done. Actually, one downside of this is, I will get a bit stressed when I don’t do my Weekly Review. I feel I am missing out on some projectflows and some waiting for’s.

One thing I am more aware of now and want to change is my list of contexts. I tried a variety of terms but for some reason it doesn’t really stick with me. I think this has to do with my use of separated tools for home and work and my kind of work. I am either on the road or behind a desk with a PC with always-on Internet. This makes it hard to have one context called “@office” or “@computer” since that is the same for me. So I am working on this. On several GTD lists and blogs, this is a ever-returning topic so I am glad I am not the only one

One other thing I am so working hard on is procrastination. The Dave [Allen] always talks about the priorities and how you feel. Well let me tell you, after a hard days’ work, when you come home, you don’t really feel like cleaning the floor or the toilet or whatever. Or you don’t really feel like filling in that tax form (unless it’s a tax return form…) or fixing that shelf. So it just stays and lingers and waits…This is one thing I really need to pay more attention to. I have tons of things to do in and around my house, but for some reason my webfeeds, magazines and TV keep whispering “…digest me…let me entertain you…”. This is just one big issue for me. And the biggest realization is: I am it. I am responsible for my own actions. No one else. “Make it up, make it happen”.

Nice, such a by-effect of a simple system like GTD….

What are your current tools for your system:
Since my implementation still changes over time, some tools might change every now and again. Right now I am working with the following

Hardware

Laptop: I have my laptop for work always with me. It’s the only PC I currently have. I do have an older desktop PC, but this merely functions as a data-warehouse, with all my movies, music and photos on it. On my laptop I have a little diskpart called “My files”, which is NOT the same as the default “My Documents”. I hate that part of Windows, especially since it tries to sync with our server at work and well, it doesn’t. So I made my own directory with all important personal projects in it, some music and some downloaded stuff. I also have tons of PDF’s on it. Non-organized. Because of the software on my laptop.

PDA/cellphone: I have a HP6515 PDA/Cellphone/GPS-navigator. Cool gadget. But really clunky and not the best cellphone in daily use. The Outlook sync is perfect and gives me a lot of freedom and possibilities to work without my laptop. I don’t use my PDA for notetaking and recording. I can’t work with the stylus and typing on it is not fast enough for me. I’d rather use my Moleskine for it

Moleskine: Yeah, I also have a few Moleskines. Love the format, the paper and the cult behind it. I use my Moleskine for notetaking and braindumps. I have it with me all the time so I can quickly jot down some notes and process them later. Works perfectly! But it is purely an input device. The Moleskine-lovers will hate me for this, but when I have captured a meeting in my notebook, I process those in appropriate tasks and actions. Then I rip out the pages (OMG!) and keep them with the project file. This way, I will always have the original notes. Believe me, it has come in handy sometimes with clients who don’t believe they have agreed to do something.

Ticklerfile: I have my own hardcopy ticklerfile but I don’t know why I have it…On average I have 3 or 4 notes in them I need on a day. But most of the time, those notes go into my projectfiles or I translate them in NA’s. Tickets, brochures, coupons…that’s all that goes in there but it is not much. So I am still pondering if I should keep it or just throw it out.

3×5’s: The 3×5’s are in my car so I can capture random thoughts and ideas on them. Since they are not always that relevant (for instance, a song I hear on the radio, some errands, an idea for a potential client) they are processed at least once a week. I feel this is one of the advantages of GTD. Since I don’t have to think about all the relevant issues all the time, my mind gets some creative freedom and new ideas pop up. Whatever I do with them is totally up to the idea. Some work, some don’t.

Software
Good software is the backbone of my GTD life. I tried the whole Hipster PDA thing but I really need some sort of digital place for my projects and actions.

Outlook GTD add-in: At work we use Outlook. Period. No other mailprogram can connect with our Exchange server and I need Outlook for my co-workers to check my calendar and for filing purposes. So I bought the GTD Outlook add-in from Netcentrics. After some fiddling around I use it on a daily basis now. Every mail gets through the steps of the add-in and it proves to be a lifesaver every now and again. Sometimes I need to find a message quickly while on the phone. My projectlist and my taskviews are of great help with this.

The add-in is not perfect, it has its bugs. But you can work around it, they are not that horrible. Pay attention if you synchronize your Outlook with a PDA through Activesync. The add-in can give some quirky behaviour, with your Outlook crashing. Always open up Outlook first before you put your PDA in tha cradle.

Gmail: For personal mail I use Gmail. Despite the big Google-eye which may watch my email, it sure helps me filing important emails. I have made different labels for some projects, not all of them. Some projects require very intense emailtraffic, like organizing an weblogevent. I really need filing for those kind of volumes. What also helps me is the Greasemonkey Gmail macro which gives you keyboard shortcuts for Gmail. Very fast and very easy to use! Check Lifehacker.com for more info and a demo.

Google calendar: I am getting used to Google Calendar for some personal appointments. Best thing: The look and feel of a desktop application. The Gmail integration isn’t that magnificent right now for me. But I like it and it works for me. I am waiting for Office 12 to arrive so I can integrate all calendars through the iCal subscription format. Oh the joy!

Feeddemon/Newsgator: My webfeed aggregator. I don’t use my FeedDemon as much as before, since I also have the Newsgator Outlook plugin. This gives me the opportunity to have some important feeds directly in Outlook. Which surprisingly results in reading less of the other feeds. I didn’t think this would happen but I am slowly finding out you can’t read 140 feeds and pretend to know, process and act according to everything. Not in my life anyway. Both FeedDemon and Newsgator have an excellent synchronization utility. It also comes with a mobile version, so I can check about 10 feeds while waiting in traffic or on some appointment through my phone. The downside of this is that reading the feed alone is sometimes not enough. You might want to bookmark it, email it or have some other task. This is not that well developed in the Mobile version (meaning: non-existent)

Copernic: I have the Copernic desktop search client installed so I can search very rapidly through PDF’s, docs, emails etc. Very handy and it gives me the reassurance that I can always find the right document for a presentation or while in a meeting. Ofcourse, the biggest problem with searchengines also pops up here: What is the right keyword?

Backpack: One of my most popular posts on my blog is how to use GTD with 37signal’s Backpack. I describe how I use Backpack in my personal life to track my projects and Next Actions. In a follow-up article I tell how you can use tags to describe your context. To tell you the truth, my Backpack configuration has become very stale. Yeah, ever since we are rebuilding our house and we are expecting a baby, not much else is of any importance. And since my girlfriend tracks the rebuilding and what we need for the baby, I don’t really use my Backpack that much. I need to think why that is, perhaps I feel another article coming up…

It is not that I am unhappy with Backpack, but for some reason I don’t feel compelled to work in it for my GTD needs.

What is the state of affairs like now, post-GTD?
I think this is a though one. Since I am not GTD Black Belt in any way or form, I don’t think I am there yet. As you can read above, especially my personal life still needs some cleaning up and reconfiguration to get really GTD.
One thing I have really learned from GTD is it doesn’t matter what tools you use. When you have the principles right, anything will work for you. You can’t learn GTD from some Shiny Software or Hip Device. You really need to study and look inside yourself to get real with the principles. Once you master those, you will see that GTD is more than “just” a productivitytool. It is, at least to me, a way to look at everything you do and how you act in your everyday life.

I thought that GTD would help me in not having to decide what to do next, but that the system would offer me the next action according to some algorithmic blackbox. Boy was I wrong! What it did do for me is making clear what my purpose is in my job, how I feel about the things I see and feel around me. I can say, that through GTD, I now have a better function at my office and work more pleasantly. Because I found out, through a trusted system, where my strenghts and weaknesses are in my professional life. This made me more aware that I was at the wrong function. One meeting with management made it clear for them as well.

So to me, GTD has made some profound changes in my life (without getting into religion and all!) and I am still learning from that. I find the whole analogy with martial arts very true and see some parallels with my Tai Chi practices. So in that matter, I am also learning. But back to reality, GTD is a very important part of my life and I can’t imagine going back to the way it was. My life is not perfect and stressfree, far from it, but I do feel I am on the right track with the proper chain of thoughts in my head. And that, I thank to The Dave.