[Tfug] Organizational Systems?

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Zack,

> The GTD philosophy is pretty much:

I've learned that the *first* thing to do is get all of the
*tiny* things DONE as soon as you think of them.  By tiny, I
mean things that you can *do* in the time it takes to
*record* the fact that you need to do them!  (there are
a surprising number of these things that creep up in a
typical day and, if you just try to *remember* to do them
*or* make a *note* to do them, you've simply wasted time
and not made any progress on getting them done!).

For example, I used to leave tools, components, cables, etc.
on a countertop located by the doorway into the garage.
My thinking was, "These are things that need to be taken
out to the garage and put into their *prescribed* respective
homes.  I'll pile them ALL up here until I am ready to
move them all into the garage...".

Invariably, I would just end up with a big pile of "little
things" that be a constant reminder/irritant:  all these things
STILL are on your ToDo list.

So, now, as I find myself getting ready to set something in
that counter space, I simply walk the extra 12 paces into
the garage, locate the correct (labeled) box, deposit the
item(s) and walk back into the house.  This typically adds
exactly one minute to the time that it would have taken to 
just set the item on the counter -- a minute that I would
eventually have to spend anyway!

And, it keeps that (otherwise) growing pile from nagging at me
each time I passed it during the day -- or, added to it!

> 1. Get everything you want to do out of your head and
> written down.
> 2. Decide what's important.
> 3. Figure out a system to organize items from #1
> 4. Work through stuff
> 5. Repeat as necessary.
> 
> You're asking about #3, and for that, I've found that pushing task
> lists into text files works well, and keeping a calendar of things on
> a schedule (I'm a Mac guy, so it's iCal, although you could use any
> other program).  I also keep paper notes that I input and shred as
> quickly as I can, so I don't end up with a paper mess.

I've taken to a combination of PDA (for long term lists) and
3" square slips of (very poor quality; obviously lots of
post-consumer product in their manufacturing) colored paper
for "short term" (i.e. "daily") notes.

For me, this works because tracking several log horizon goals
on paper just means you end up having to put those tasks BACK
onto the "page" each time you rewrite a ToDo list.  And, a PDA
has *just enough* structure that I can group things without
spending lots of time trying to see what I have and find
something that I wrote down "ages ago" (i.e., last week/month).

So, for example, I have an ongoing list of issues that I want 
to remember to bring up with my MD (since I typically only see 
him for an annual physical -- too hard to rely on my memory
for that long a period of time; and, the sorts of things I
am likely to ask him are things I probably wouldn't want to
forget!).  I'll also maintain a list of maintenance issues
that I'll want to check next time I am under the car, etc.
I.e., things that I don't do often.

The poor quality paper scraps are a win because:
- they are small (means the list is constrained to just the
  few important things for that day or two)
- the paper deteriorates quickly; after a day in your
  pocket, it more resembles a Kleenex than a slip of paper (!)
  (so, the list gets discarded very quickly)

I've also learned that writing in pencil further guarantees
the self-defacing characteristic of that list  :-/

When I was younger, I used to make detailed (handwritten) lists.
I found that I spent far too much time writing and rewriting
lists (OK, you can cut down on the rewriting if you use something
electronic; but, if you keep revisiting a list, you're losing
time just reviewing what's on that list).

As I get older, I've learned to "simplify".  The stuff that
needs to get done will somehow get done.  ALL the other
piddly-crap stuff *might* get done; and, if it's truly NOT
important, then there's no problem if it fails to get done.

[the trick, of course, is figuring out a prior what truly *is* 
important]