A blog about productivity for the Internet entrepreneur.
My goal is to help you focus on your passions by reducing or eliminating the time needed to maintain your life.
So you’ve already made checklists for all of your routines and acquired the habit of using them consistently. What’s the next step?
Go through each item on your checklist and ask these questions:
Take a step back and look at the entire checklist and ask: Can I create a system or process to simplify (including outsourcing the entire checklist)?
Currently, I practice GTD using Omnifocus [pdf link] as the execution tool. I believe this system to be the best out of all the systems I’ve tried thus far, yet I still struggle with prioritization. After completing a few weeks of agile training with our awesome Rally coach Ann, I began to think of how I can apply agile principles, particularly the prioritization methods, to help solve the priority issue.
The first major difference that struck me is the prioritized backlog that is central to agile vs. the list of next actions split by context that is key to GTD. In trying to follow the non-prioritization ethos of GTD, I always have this feeling in the back of my mind that perhaps I’m working on the wrong thing at a given time. My work around has been using due dates and flags within Omnifocus. Specifically, due dates are for items that have some consequence if I fail to deliver on that date and flags are action items I’d like to complete that day.
Here are some initial thoughts of how to apply concepts from both GTD and Agile within the framework of the GTD weekly review in order to achieve some level of prioritization.
Part of my daily email routine involves logging into my Google Apps GMail accounts and applying the label:unread filter, which allows me to review any emails that I did not read throughout the day (since I filter my emails aggressively).
Now, I have found an even easier way to do this via my feed reader (which is currently NetNewsWire on Mac OSX and Reeder on the iPhone). Simply, use the following magical URL in your feed reader and enjoy:
https://mail.google.com/a/[your domain name]/feed/atom/unread
Note that you will need to authenticate your feed using your Google Apps username and login, where the username is your full email address.
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:
Ever since I read the article on Notational Velocity syncing with Simplenote by Merlin Mann combined with the wonder of Markdown, I’ve re-discovered the joy of working with text files. So now I’m using either Simplenote (when traveling with my iPhone) or Notational Velocity when I’m on my Laptop in most cases for taking notes. The following simple tip will give you an idea of how you can use these program’s powerful search mechanism to help you get things done.
Whenever I am taking notes and I realize that the item I’m writing down will end up being an action item, I add [A] to the beginning of the text. Then when I do inbox processing, I open up Notational Velocity and type [A] into the search box and then all notes that have pending action items appear. When I click on the note, all the instances of [A] are conveniently highlighted. Then I take each item and process through my GTD system (OmniFocus) deleting the [A] as I go along. For those with less complex task management needs, this could be the only system you ever need. Very simple, scalable, programmable and no vendor lock.
Do you manage notes using simple text files? What is your method?
With GTD, it is not uncommon to be faced with a list of 100+ next actions all within the same context, especially if most of your day is spent within a certain context (such as @computer). David Allen suggest that the context, time needed and energy required should be used to determine what to do next. But when your list is100+ items long, it can be a daunting proposition to actually make that choice over and over throughout a hectic day. Following are some techniques I have developed to help with this problem.
Do you have a todo list with hundreds of seemingly important items? Does looking at that list make you want to just ignore the whole list altogether? If you answered a resounding yes to these questions, this post is for you. The following advice assumes you are using the GTD methodology. If you are not using GTD, please read this first to gain the best value from this information. I hope that these tips can help you get back on track with your GTD-fu for the new year.