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So I thought it might be interesting to do a greatest-hits of the techniques introduced in the GTD system, with an eye towards describing methods that could be adopted independently of the rest of the practices. To kick off this series, I’m going to start with the idea of grouping items by context.
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Mike’s asked (among other things - answers to which can be found in the comments here) how Gmail fits into the GTD system. Since I was already planning on doing another post on GTD, I figured I’d go answer this question with just a link: 43 Folders talked about just this topic a little under a month ago, and there are some links in the comments, too.

Next GTD post coming soon…

That’s it - I’m a convert. About a week and a half ago, I ran across this post on Anil’s blog. Always one to be intrigued by potential productivity-enhancing activities, I checked out the referenced 43 Folders and read more about the wonders of Getting Things Done. That afternoon, I picked up the book itself from the bookstore on the way home and started to read (not on the way home, though - that would’ve been dangerous!)

After finishing the book, I decided to try the system out - so the next day, I took a few hours at work and started to collect all my ‘open loops’. I cleaned out my cube, throwing away loads of old material and piling everything else into (and eventually beside) my inbox. Once that was done, I pulled out a stack of paper and started writing down anything and everything that I could think of that I needed to do - get stamps, return library books, write out my career development plan, everything - and tossed all those into the inbox, too.

I started slowing down after about a half-hour, so I then turned to processing. I picked up the first thing I could reach in the inbox area and decided what to do with it - toss it, file it, delegate it, defer it, or do it (the latter only if it’d take less than 2 minutes). I started a series of lists in my copy of ListPro (which I chose since it comes in both PocketPC and desktop versions) - a Projects list, a Next Actions list, and various other lists recommended by the system - so that I’d have a place to log the results of my decisions during the processing; big to-dos (those that would take more than a single physical action to accomplish) were added to the Projects list, while single actions and the next actions required on the big to-dos were added to the Next Actions list, etc.

After a few hours of this, I’d finally addressed everything in my pile and I felt markedly better. Instead of being distracted by stray thoughts when I was, say, reading a technical document (something I’ve always had issues with), I could focus much more strongly on the task at hand - secure in the knowledge that when the time was appropriate I’d be able to turn back to my lists and see what other actions I have committed to.

See, that’s the insight and the power of the Getting Things Done system. I, at least, have always had my productivity reduced by internal distractions - I’ll be doing one thing, and *bam* I’ll think of something totally unrelated that needs a-doin’. I always thought I was just easily distracted, but now I’m hearing that most people are like that, and that there are strategies (e.g., the GTD system) to cope with and curtail those ditractions. The key is to relieve your mind of the responsibility of reminding you of things you need to do; by moving your reminders to a superior, external system, you free up your mind to focus on whatever you choose to focus on. So far, it seems to be working - I’ve implemented the system at the office and at home, and I’ve noticed a increase in my ability to devote my full energy to the task at hand. It’s a very, very good feeling; I can understand the dedication with which people promote the GTD system.

About a month ago, Ethan Marcotte discussed OmniOutliner as one the applications that’ve made his transition to the Mac just a bit easier. As the proud new owner of an iBook myself (woohoo for testing machines), I promptly bought a copy and found myself transported to outliner heaven.

Unfortunately, I’m not primarily a Mac user - not even at home, where that shiny new iBook sits and calls to me. Since first hearing the siren’s call of OmniOutliner, then, I’ve been going through withdrawal through most of my computing day. Well, the no-outliner DTs aren’t welcome ’round here any more, ‘cuz I just found something to fill the need: ActionOutline. With only a few exceptions, the UI is quite good; it’s learnable, forgiving, and attractive.

AO isn’t a replacement for OmniOutliner - as far as I can tell, there’s no support for custom columns, for instance - but it’s easily enough to last me until I get home.

I’ve been pondering lately how best to go about dealing with my ever-increasing quantity of to-dos. It seems that every time I turn around, my todo list has grown by one or two new significant projects, and I’ve been at something of a loss on how to deal with the increased load.

In light of this, I’ve decided to adopt a New Year’s resolution a bit early - I’m going to take one hour every day and devote it to one of the major projects (e.g., the Atlas) on my todo list. It doesn’t have to be the same project every day, and it doesn’t have to stop at one hour, but I will spend at least one continuous hour working on one of the big things I have to do every day.

I figure I’ll try this strategy out for several months and re-evaluate it around the end of March. In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye out for any other time-management techniques that might be of use. Wish me luck!