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How many Contexts do you have for your Next Actions?

I recently received an e-mail from a reader who was interested in learning more about how to use Contexts in his budding GTD practice. As an example I gave him the break-down on how I manage my own list of Contexts.

I thought it might be helpful to share the three ways that I use my contexts:

1. To implement Next Action tagging
2. To clear my In-box
3. To review and maintain my workflow

The List of Contexts

My own list is fairly short and straightforward:

• @Computer
• @Blog
• @E-mail
• @Agenda
• @Read/Review
• @Calls
• @Home
• @Waiting For
• @Research
• @Notebook

Some of these Contexts are closely related, as I would obviously need to be at a computer to handle e-mail and blog posts. The reason that I have broken out these two separate Contexts is that I have real folders for notes and clippings, etc. that fall into these Contexts. This allows me to take a look at my master list and decide which Next Actions to address at any given time.

Because I “do” my e-mailing in batches at 6:00 am, noon, and 5:00 pm, it makes sense for me to collect any outbound e-mails in a folder. For example, if it occurs to me that I need to send an e-mail to someone, I will jot down a quick note and put it in the @E-mail folder. The next time that I open Thunderbird in order to process my e-mail I will pull out this folder and send them out. If I am expecting a reply of some sort, the note will then go into the @Waiting for folder with a green tag and a note detailing the date and time of the outbound missive.

Conversely, my @Home Context is a consolidation of several contexts that existed in previous iterations of my practice. We keep a small whiteboard and a set of colored Expo markers on the refrigerator - this is where all of my household info is collected. Previously I had a seperate Context for the Grocery list, phone messages, and weekly menu planning.

Next Action/In-box Tagging

My home office and the In-box are both upstairs in our home, so I do not always put “Stuff” (like mail, or notes, or my Circa PDA) into the In-box immediately. Also, any purchases that I may make while out running errands create a receipt that goes first into my wallet before going through he In-box on its way to this month’s receipt envelope.

Each of these items will, however, get a Tag in the form of a colored Post-It flag. This flag tells me where in the system each piece of paper goes, without having to look it over a second time.

I may also make a note, which will go onto a colored minicard, or create a short sub-context Next Action list (or a mini-project, if you prefer) which goes onto a Post-It mini card. The flags, minicards, and Post-It mini cards all come in the same five colors, to indicate where in the system they will be going (I also print my organizer pages in the same colors):

• Red - Calendar
• Orange - Contacts/Notebook
• Yellow - Research Files
• Green - Waiting For
• Blue - Next Action/Tickler

The Post-its are particularly useful, as they can be stuck here or there, removed, and stuck up again somewhere else. (Part of the reason behind the color-coding is that it gives me a little extra visual stimulation which helps me manage my ADD.)

Clear Your In-box

As I go through my In-box each day (especially at the end of the day) having my list of Contexts handy is very useful. This allows me to process these items very quickly. If an item in the box has already been tagged, that means that it has been pre-processed, and can be filed, Tickled, or it is ready to do.

If there is something in the In-box that has not been tagged I know that it needs a little extra attention for proper processing. One of my favorite features of this system is that it has evolved to the point where most of the paper inputs that go through my In-box have a tag and a Context. This allows for much faster processing, and faster execution when the time is right.

Review and Maintain Your Workflow

I originally posted on this in November, but I want to expand on it a little. In your Weekly Review you should take a moment to evaluate your list of contexts, and take a look at how many action items are in each one.

• Do you have enough Context categories? Is there a category that could be split into two more specific contexts?
• Do you have too many? Is there a Context that is empty, without any Next Actions? Do you need that one, or could it be incorporated into another context?
• Are there Next Actions that belong together, but do not really fit into an existing Context?
• Is there a project that you have that may require a special, short-term Context?

This Context Review only takes a few moments, yet it can mean the difference between getting something done or losing it in your system. Please share your thoughts in the Comments.

If you found this post useful, please share it with your friends on Twitter using the tinylink http://tinyurl.com/5eup4s. Thanks, I appreciate it! Feel free to comment below, I enjoy discussing these ideas. ~@Stephen