Welcome back! It's good to see you again. Please note that I am now publishing all new material at my hub site: In Context Blog

Brett Kelly, the former host of the Cranking Widgets blog lets loose (with both barrels): My Scandelous Confession and A Royal Rant About GTD. Super. Right about the time that I am having an existential crisis about my own GTD practice. The Lovely Bride and I have been on the road for just over two months now, and being 100% mobile has taught me a few things. Like it is much easier to “do” GTD when you have an office. Or a house. Try putting everything that you need into a laptop bag and a couple of file boxes.

Here is what Kelly has to say:

Having been a fairly vocal proponent of GTD for some time, this is one of those things that I’m happy to write after having removed myself from the throngs (and I mean *throngs*) of productivity/GTD bloggers. Ever since I launched The Cranking Widgets Blog, I’ve been singing the praises of this productivity methodology to any j*****s who would listen. Now, after developing a little bit of discontent with the whole thing, I can bring it to you folks without having to fear a decline in readership. Here goes.

First of all (and probably most importantly), I’m starting to feel like GTD is really effing hard. The amount of time and effort it takes to (according to the book) manage a list of tasks, a calendar and some filing shit has become prohibitively long for me. I look at a scrap of paper in my in-basket, and I’m positively put off by the effort it will require to add it to the project list, choose the next action, pull out a blank folder, label it and file it away. Perhaps I’m just being lazy, but that’s the freaking honest truth.

Built-in anxiety is almost a guarantee. Unless you’re a poster child for GTD, you’re going to have shit slip past the defenses of your system. Hell, David Allen himself has confessed to “falling off of the wagon, repeatedly” on several different occasions. And if you’ve become such a loyal adherent, the very act of *not* doing the GTD thing will create stress. This might just be my own dumb brain thinking about this stuff the wrong way, but I’d bet the contents of your wallet that this type of mental spasm is more common than you think.

What say you? Where do you want Productivity in Context to go in 2009? Is Getting Things Done over? How excited are you about the prospect of a new book from David Allen?

What did you think of the first two FAQ posts - and would you like me to work with you on developing this system (for lack of a better word) into something more (and by more I mean less, GTD has too many folders and rules - I have to confess that I only look at my Tickler File once a week nowadays).

Leave a comment, let’s discuss this. In the meantime I am going to be downsizing from 43 folders to 15.(More on this later)

Related:
James has been thinking about this even longer than I have.

Updated for 2010!

Get your 2010 GTD Calendar here

A revolution in calendar design, that you can print for yourself!

What exactly should a calendar do? And how should you use it to get the most out of your day?

Rule number 1: Your GTD Calendar should not work against you.

Your calendar should be your guide, a map or a directory to get you through your day. The layout of the information should be designed to work with your natural viewing habits. It needs to help you, not hurt you.

Rule number 2: Your GTD Calendar is not a ‘to-do’ list.

A calendar is a tool that is supposed to tell you where you need to be and when you need to be there, or when something is scheduled to happen.

For those of you familiar with David Allen’s Getting Things Done productivity system, you know that only three things are to be entered into your calendar. Three things. That’s it.

1. Time-specific actions

“Time-specific actions” are, simply put, appointments or meetings. These are the things that have to happen at, you guessed it, a specific time.

2. Day-specific actions

“Day-specific actions” are things that need to get done on a certain day, but not at a pre-arranged time. For example, you may need to print out the latest sales figures sometime on Thursday, because you have a meeting to review those figures at 9:00 am Friday. “Print sales figures” goes into the calendar for Thursday as an Action, while “Sales Meeting” goes into the calendar for Friday as an Event.

3. Day-specific information

“Day-specific information” consists of things that you need to know on a certain day, such as directions to a meeting, what your spouse is doing that day, or where to find contact information for a call you need to make. It can also serve as a pointer to a Reference File or something on your Waiting For list.

Putting Raw Data Into the GTD Calendar Pages

Read more about the 2010 GTD Calendar…

Many readers and visitors to this site leave comments or send e-mail asking for specific tips on how to manage some portion of their workflow system. You say you don’t have a system, and that’s why you need help? Well, everyone has a system, some are just more robust than others.

No matter how busy you are, I am sure that you have some way of recording those “inputs” that come your way. Maybe you just try to remember them, and lay awake at night worrying about things that you forgot. Here is the number one secret to getting more things done so that you can enjoy your life and work again:

Capture your to-do list

The next most popular question is along the lines of “What tool is the best, and which tool do you use?” I have to tell you that I have tried a lot of things, and the one tool that I have found that works best for me is this:

My handy-dandy notebook. I never go anywhere without it. I write down everything that pops into my head, so that I do not forget. You can do the same, and likely with a $.99 spiral bound notepad from the grocery store. This is the very first step in creating a robust time-management system that is adaptable to your own particular needs and situation.

Capture: Write down everything that you need to do.

This notebook is the perfect place for you to jot down ideas and inspirations, your shopping list, a contact’s phone number, whatever. It is better than scratch-paper, because any jottings are bound in and won’t get lost. You can even stick some blank 3″x5″ cards in the back in case you need to jot down a note and give it to someone. Handy-dandy.

Analog vs Digital

This is where the use of a capture device becomes controversial. There are many in the Getting Things Done community that swear by their PDA/handheld device for doing this sort of capture and inputting it directly into their workflow system. This can be a very attractive option, and one that I do recommend if you already have a handheld that you can use for this purpose.

If you do not have one of these PDAs or smart phones, I do not recommend that you run out to buy one. Learning to use a capture device of any kind requires a shift in your thinking. You have to learn a new habit, that of collecting your tasks and organizing them into an action plan.

I do not use a digital device to capture my inputs for two reasons:

1. I just don’t like it. I seem to have an “unhealthy” love-affair with notebooks. I enjoy writing with a pen or pencil, and being able to create pictures or sketches or other non-verbal ways of expressing ideas. I suspect that I do more of my thinking in patterns and images than I do in words. This type of capture can be difficult in the majority of handheld devices.
2. The notebook as a capture device is independent of my workflow application. As a “productivity blogger” I get offers to use and review different applications (like Wrike, UltraRecall, OnePlace, etc) all the time. In an effort to provide value to my readers, I do take these systems for a test drive - and few of them are able to “sync” with any handheld devices. In addition, I don’t have to worry about upgrades or new versions of software suddenly becoming incompatible with my notebook.

Creating an Action Plan

Whichever method or tool you use for capturing the inputs, ideas, and tasks, you still have to process those tasks into an action plan for execution. For getting them done. Again, there are quite a few software applications out there that have attractive features and benefits for a wide range of personality types. Some people are more visual, some like adding a lot of detail, some people are comfortable with simply making a list and checking things off. No matter what application (software or legal pad) you choose you need to have the same goal for its use:

Contextualize: Assess each item on your list.

• Does it fall into the category of a task that needs to get done? Should you do it Today, Tomorrow or Later? Put it in the proper file folder, or enter it into your master list (paper-based or software application).
• Does it fall into the category of an appointment/meeting? Then it needs to go into your calendar.
• Does it fall into the category of reference material? Then it needs to go into your archive or your Tickler File for later use.

The Franklin-Covey method recommends assigning each task a letter- or number-based priority (A B C, A1 A2…). I have found this to be inefficient and inflexible. Things happen. “Fires” start. Your workflow needs to adapt to the situation you find yourself in at any given time. For this reason I recommend David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology and use the two-minute rule: If you can accomplish a task in two minutes or less, just do it. Do them all. Do not get bogged down in making your list or trying to sort the less-than-two-minute tasks.

When you look at your list and see a bunch of little things crossed off as completed it gives you a good feeling. Now you can work on the larger, more time-consuming tasks. There are two ways to address these more-than-two-minute tasks and projects: 1.) set an appointment with yourself to do it in your calendar, or 2.) enter it into your master to-do list (paper-based or software application). The kind of master list that you use is not important. Actually using the list and marking items “complete” is important. Take your time, feel free to experiment with different applications for a week or so. If it does not feel smooth and natural after a week’s use, go back to the legal pad until it’s time to try another one.

Your calendar is not a to-do list

Let me say that again: Your calendar is not a ‘to-do’ list and it is not an In-box. For those of you familiar with David Allen’s Getting Things Done productivity system, you know that only three things are to be entered into your calendar:

1. Time-specific actions
2. Day-specific actions
3. Day- or Time-specific information

That’s it. Because your calendar is a tool that you use to tell you where you need to be and when you need to be there, or when something is scheduled to happen. That is why Allen refers to it as the Hard Landscape. Keeping a separate, master to-do (paper-based or software application) list saves you from having to copy tasks or activities from one day to another if they did not get done.

In summary, you already knew how to manage your list. What you didn’t know was how to capture then organize your list. Now that you have a better understanding of what the tools are and how to use them, you should be able to tackle that list and get some things done.

Dave Crenshaw has a post on a subject that is near and dear to my heart:

Over a year ago I was working with a business owner who was in severe time debt. He was working in the ballpark of 90 to 100 hours per week, and both his business and family were suffering. We started by calculating his per-hour worth. When doing his most profitable activities, he was worth $500 an hour or more. Yet we found that he was spending approximately half of his time, 45 hours or more per week, performing $25/hour, $10/hr, and even minimum wage type work! Why? A huge factor was that he was surrounded by Time Liabilities.

At one point during our training he needed to punch holes in some paper for a three ring binder. Yet when he went to punch the paper, his paper puncher clearly wasn’t up for the job. He had bought a cheap model that had was basically broken after a month of use. I watched as this business owner kept turning his stack of papers around twice to punch. Most often he kept misaligning the punch and ruining the stack.

This poor fellow was spending lot of time on everything but that “vital 20%” of effort that brings in the 80% of the results (your mileage may vary, I just like the simplicity of the 80/20 “rule”). Do you ever catch yourself doing things like that, at home or at work?

Are your own practices holding you back?

Take a few minutes today to think about your workflow, what your nominal schedule will be when you start working on Monday morning. If you get to the office and you are not looking at a streamlined and productivity-optimized workspace, then get ready to make a change.

Monday’s post will give a step-by-step description of how to get your “stuff” organized, with pictures! Don’t miss it - Subscribe to the feed, get the next post in an e-mail.