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Re-evaluating GTD system and finding holes
Younghusband | Jun 15 2007
Over the past week I have been doing an overhaul of my GTD system (I do this about every 6 months). What initiated this was reading Ethan Schoonover's Scrivener to draft my graduate thesis, which made me rethink the way I capture, collect and file material related to that project. Offline system consists of a Moleskine + 3x5 cards, scheduling on my mobile phone, INBOX, ACTION, WAITING trays and an alphabetical letter-sized folders for filing. Since I do most of my work/tasks on the computer my digital system is the hub of my overall GTD system and consists of the following: Capture - Kinkless Desktop (Inbox), Mail (Inbox), Moleskine + 3x5 cards Filing - Kinkless Desktop, Mail (with Act-on), gMail, del.icio.us Tasking - Yojimbo (planning to use OmniFocus) Calendar - gCal (not really used much) Tickler - NONE! Here are the other apps I use for general productivity: Quicksilver, TextExpander, Backpack (for Remote Collection/Tasking, basically as an online Moleskine for when I am working at another computer). Overall I find my GTD system has three layers of collection, filing and tasking: paper-based and digital tools, and project-based which cuts across both paper and digital (oh, and don't forget Mail, which is it's own system of folders with Act-On). I also seem to have a rarely used fourth layer consisting of web-based solutions such as Backpack and gCal. I personally like using desktop apps more than webapps. As I spend most of my time in front of my computer, my wish would be for a task management app that works like NetNewsWire that syncs with lists online so I can check my lists when I am away from my MacBook. After examining the overall system I have found a number of holes:
Having a mix of digital, online and paper systems is difficult to keep simple and maintain balance (not causing redundancy). For example I track all my tasks in my computer, but when I go out I copy down any possible contexts I might face (errands, phone etc) onto paper which I carry with me. I think for simplicity's sake Tickler should be offline only. Having one tickler system to refer to in the morning after getting up makes things easier. Any tasks that come to me digitilly can be noted on 3x5 cards and filed away. My big question is calendaring: my mobile won't sync to iCal and checking gCal on it is a pain, but to tell you the truth I am never that far away from a computer so I don't really need instant access. Lastly is the Weekly Review. I gotta go back to The David to remember how to implement this in the system. I kinda stopped doing it and now it is so faded I don't remember how to get back on. Anyways, any thoughts or advice on revamping the system? 2 Comments
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 Thanks for sharing your system! In...Submitted by mdl on June 19, 2007 - 11:09am.
Thanks for sharing your system! In my humble opinion, I believe that the best way to make a hybrid (paper + digital) system work is to establish clear roles for the different tools, media. It seems to me that you have established the MacBook as the anchor of your system -- everything eventually makes its way into you digital tools. The key then is to process all your incoming items and to make sure they find their way into kinkless/OmniFocus -- or whatever other tool you might use. You want to make sure you have one central hub where all your "stuff" is deposited and processed. [1] Given a digital hub, paper then would have two chief roles: collection and portable lists: * Collection: Use paper to collect thoughts and tasks during the day -- but make sure that these get corralled into your inbox and processed in your digital system. In my opinion, a calendar works fine as a tickler system. You can schedule tickler reminders as all day events. [2] ---------------------------------------- [1] I work the other way around, using a paper toolkit to manage my digital life. Either way works. » POSTED IN:
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