I’m in the process of evaluating my GTD weekly review process, as I feel like I’ve entered into the trap of executing the checklist without concern whether I am doing so productively. Following is the current checklist I am using:
Collect Loose Papers and Materials
Gather all accumulated business cards, receipts, and miscellaneous paper-based materials into your in-basket.
- Physical Inbox
- Wallet
- Backpack/Briefcase
- Various Moleskine Journals
- Postal Mail
Get “IN” to zero
Process completely all outstanding paper materials, journal and meeting notes, voicemails, dictation, and emails.
- Process Physical Inbox
- Process OmniFocus Inbox
- Process Email
- Process Missed Calls, Text Messages and/or Voice Mail
- Process Voice Recordings
- Process Data from Note Applications
- Process Imported Photos
- Process Computer Desktop and Downloads Folder
- Process External Project Management Software
- Process Journal
- Process Time Log
- Process Book Annotations
Empty Your Head
Put in writing and process any uncaptured new projects, action items, waiting-for’s, someday-maybe’s, etc.
- Add them to the OmniFocus Inbox and don’t worry about processing them yet.
Review Previous and Upcoming Calendar Data
- Review past calendar in detail for remaining action items, reference data, etc., and transfer into the active system.
- Review upcoming calendar events – long and short term. Capture actions triggered.
Review Lists
- Evaluate status of projects, goals and outcomes, one by one, ensuring at least one current action item on each.
- Make sure each next action is really a next action and write it as if I were delegating it to someone.
- Browse through project plans, support material & any other work-in-progress material to trigger new actions, completions, waiting-for’s, etc.
- Review for any projects which may now have become active, and transfer to “Projects.” Delete items no longer
- Assign time to any critical projects on the Calendar
Review Any Relevant Checklists
Use as a trigger for any new actions.
Be Creative & Courageous
Any new, wonderful, hare-brained, creative, thought-provoking, risk-taking ideas to add into your system???
What does your checklist look like?
I follow the ZenHabits method: http://zenhabits.net/2007/02/how-to-do-weekly-rev… with a few tweaks to fit my own lifestyle
For implementing GTD you can use this web-based application:
http://www.Gtdagenda.com
You can use it to manage your goals, projects and tasks, set next actions and contexts, use checklists, schedules and a calendar.
Comes with a mobile version too, and with an Android app.
I'm trying to streamline my weekly review process at the moment, and found this article to be very helpful. Thanks!
Another tip I've found useful is before I get started on my review, I ask my wife if we have anything coming up in the week ahead, or if there's anything we need to get done. That usually generates a few Next Actions that would have otherwise derailed my carefully laid plans
.
How do you get though all this I always get stuck at process.
Process as often as you need until you get to a place where the weekly review processing phase is as short as your daily processing time. In the beginning this can be very time consuming. I suggest you block out periods of time in your calendar for this purpose until you get things under control.
Tina,
Don't get caught up in your backlog. Draw a line on the past by putting in a project to clear your backlog. Only process "current" items.