However, just writing stuff down doesn’t help you get things done. How many of us have an ever growing to-do list with so much stuff on it that we don’t know where to start? I think the concepts of “next actions” and “contexts” are very important because they help you focus on the next step to take. It saves you from deciding to make brownies, only to find that you don’t have eggs for the batter because you skipped the first “next action” of making sure you have all ingredients. My mom does this constantly, and we end up eating some pretty odd meals sometimes. “Make brownies” is a project, and my mom writes it down faithfully. She just doesn’t break it down further to steps like:

“Find my recipe”
“Make sure I have ingredients”
“Buy missing ingredients”
“Prepare brownies”
“Frost brownies”
“Wash dishes”

So much of this is implied if my mom puts “make brownies” on her to-do list. Yet any one of the actions for the project can throw off her timing if she doesn’t perform them or performs them out of order.

The context part of GTD is critical too because my mom may go to the store to buy things but might not buy the eggs needed for the brownies because it’s not on her @store or @errands list. She needs the info about buying eggs when she’s at the store with her shopping cart, not at home when she’s trying to make brownies. When she finds she has no eggs, she either has to rush to the store to get some, delegate the rushing to my dad, or try using something different to substitute for the eggs. None of these solutions is what I’d call stress-free productivity.

So I do like this easy intro to Getting Things Done. The thoughts just need to be fleshed out so a person can use the whole concept easily.

@Kay, @Noelle, @Linda, @Michele, @Christina: glad you enjoyed/tolerated my odd sense of humor.

@Brad, @dad: I try to migrate my scraps/notes in the general direction of the place where they’ll be most useful. Things to research eventually work their way to the computer-desk; grocery lists wend their way to the kitchen; to-do items end up in a pocket or where they need to be done. But getting from “ex-cerebrum” location to final destination can take a while (much to the chagrin of my sweetie). @Sally, for time-based notes, this destination is the calendar.

@Noelle, @Steve Johnston: yes, I find great satisfaction in crossing out items or tossing the scrap in the recycle-bin

@Susan: yes, using “WSD” is a bit of a poke at the acronyms/abbreviations used in the realm. But then, I’m a geek, so I eat/breathe/sleep TLAs.

@John: while GTD-proper _can_ be done without flashy accouterments, the cult-of-GTD seems to promote the more ornate trappings. And while I understand the system, it’s more overhead than I want in my life.

@Peter (A different one): THIS is my biggest problem. I need a GOMA system. You write the book, I’ll make sure it gets into our local library.

I’ve considered using a PDA device of sorts because (1) I’m a geek and (2) I like the searchability & sorting, but I found that too often I wouldn’t have it on-hand, so capturing ideas ends up on paper anyways. And I have this bit of a family battery-curse.

My little way of uncluttering my brain.

“However I became bogged down in the implementation details.” Everyone does. It’s tough to get the first (or fifth) time. But when you do it’s really really cool. Also, (imo) you need to read Allen’s book at least three times before you can start to understand his system.

Paper tends to go missing, and therefore important things become lost. I have one rule: when I commit to a task, I write a contract to myself in my Moleskine (simple, to the point mind you, but a contract nonetheless).

When the task is done, noted, transferred or whatever, I draw a line through it.

Simple.

The only trouble with them is if I drive to a higher elevation they tend to leak.

Nice article, Tim.

I also have a small pocket mod to capture the random ideas before they float away, like the name of that flower I saw in a catalogue and would never find again.

Know where to get the best pens? Doctor’s offices. Pharmaceutical reps bring them outstading pens and they never mind giving me one when I’m there.