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Lance |
Ummm.... yes, a 1949 166MM Barchetta. I want one. A Google WAVE account, and the Barchetta. I'm afraid I'll have to wait for both. (sigh)
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Lance |
If you have both a Mac and/or an iPhone, check out iBank http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibank/ . They are directly competing with Quicken and doing a fantastic job.
I have finally been able to completely wash my hands of Quicken. My impression of Quicken is that they over-promise and under-deliver, and I've been using it for 8 years now. |
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Lance |
I find it hard to understand your criticism without an explanation of how you use Toodledo. I would ask if you manage folders as projects, with tasks and subtasks? If so, then I would agree. I use GTD and have about 100 projects and somedays/maybes. A horizontal list of folders is inefficient for me. A vertical format which lists all your folders on one side is a more economical use of screen real estate.
However, if you use folders for major sub-divisions such as one for Projects-Work, Projects-Home, Someday/Maybe, etc. then I think the GUI is pretty good. With only 4 or five folders across the top, project as task, and each task of a project as a subtask, I think it works well. I'm a Remember the Milk convert. While their GUI is very clean, it did not do what I wanted it to do for me. I needed at least one layer of subtasks. And I didn't want to spend a lot of time up-front with a system that required me to put characters in front of my Projects to separate them from my tasks, and a bunch of other similar crazyness. I also, tried Nozbe as well. Didn't like it either. However, I have been with Toodledo for almost a year now. And for someone with a crazy addiction to productivity systems and ADD, I think I have found a system that is structured enough to help me keep my ADD in check, but flexible enough to bend it just the way I like it. But the one thing that puts Toodledo over the top for me, and beats the competition hands down is their attitude towards their customers. Toodledo understand the, "Voice of the customer" concept and their customer service exemplifies this. RTM simply doesn't get it, and Nozbe is always making excuses (they stopped allowing searches in their forums, makes me think they have something to hide). I firmly believe that given two products, the one with consistent superior customer service (even if priced a little higher and/or slightly more attractive) will win in the long run. If you don't mind, explain how you use Toodledo. It helps the developer understand where your coming from. This will benefit everyone. And there are a lot of smart people who hang around these message boards (Anders and Proximo come first to my mind) who just might be able to give you a suggestion on how to trick out your system to make it work for you. |
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Lance |
Proximo,
I think you've identified how fluid GTD really is. Very similar to what you experience, when I'm working off NA's of a project, more steps will come to light. Some of them to other projects. And I just capture them in the moment. If I have time during the day I'll process them the same as everything else in my in-boxes. However, I know I'll process them during my weekly review. I've been a GTDer for almost 9 years. In that time I've fallen off the GTD bandwagon several times. The common denominator has always been NOT capturing everything - thinking that I'll remember it later, and doing a weekly review. I think some people at first feel overwhelmed at the sheer number of projects and someday/maybe's they have. Several hundred for most. But I would rather manage it on paper on in electrons (Toodledo) than in my head. I'm glad you brought up mind mapping. It has tremendous benefits and I'm teaching my son how to use it. As always, great posts on GTD. |
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Lance |
IceHeartX, I think I understand where your coming from. Much of my day is also spent at my desk, and at my computer. However, I still have many personal projects that don't involve me sitting at a desk. Your contexts are what you make of them and what will work for you. There is no rule that says you have to have lots of contexts. You don't even have to have any if thats your preference. Its just that when its Saturday morning and I'm out running errands, I only want to see those Next Actions in that context. While at the mall I don't want to see that all the phone calls I have to make. And when I'm at my desk at work, I don't want to see all my errands that I have to do.
It also depends on how far into the weeds you want to get in your projects. In your example of shopping at the mall, I would ask you why are you buying perfume and shoes for your wife? In other words, whats the outcome of buying perfume and shoes? Perhaps your answer might be her birthday is coming up. The real project then is the outcome or to organize a birthday party or dinner for your wife. Project: Organize a birthday party/dinner for XXXX Task: Go to the Mall with a context of @errands In the notes section of the task you can list all of the items you need to buy at the mall: perfume shoes etc. For many of my contexts that involve errands, I use the notes section to list out all the items. Like my example above: Home Depot or Lowes @errands In Notes: Rollers, brushes, primer, drop-cloth, outlet covers, white caulk When I'm on my way home from work or its Saturday morning and I'm out running errands, I can look at my @errands list and will see Go to the mall (with items in notes) Home Depot or Lowes (with items in notes) You may want more detail in your system and list every single 'thing' as a task. That's fine but I caution that you run the risk of making it more complicated and thus not using it. |
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Lance |
I have a slightly different perspective of just what a Next Action is. For me, its not what my focus is on that day, or week. I may be focused on one thing one day and several the next. Therefore, anytime I see the word focus in GTD lexicon, I naturally think "Areas of focus." This being the vertical 10K to 50K foot level of seeing everything. What I am speaking to here is below the 10K foot level area of focus and all horizontal in nature.
I think Merlin Mann at www.43folders.com sums it up best. Its just the "next physical action that gets you closer to completion. " That still sounds a bit ambiguous for some folks. Think of this as Outcome-Based thinking on steroids. Thats all the next action concept for me really is. Lets go with what's on my mind right now as I type this. I need to set up a meeting to discuss areas of responsibility. And this is where I love Merlins's humor: I need to $FOO because I want to $BAR I need to (organize a meeting) because I want to (make clear everyone's responsibilities' regarding the new Fiscal Year). Therefore, here is my project: Clarify FY10 Personnel Expectations. From this will come my list of next actions (verb the noun with the object). Block 1 hour on my calendar next week for the meeting, takes less than 2 minutes so I DO IT NOW. Call XXX to reserve conference room for the meeting, also takes less than 2 minutes so I DO IT NOW. Draft meeting agenda with expectations clearly defined. Obviously, this requires more than two minutes. Email agenda to attendees. This is dependent on the draft. Print XX copies of agenda. Ditto. Looking at my list, I have a lot actions that I need to accomplish. For me, the next physical action that will bring this one step closer to completion is to draft the agenda. So I place this on my Next Actions list. My next actions list is segregated/sorted by context. My contexts are @Home, @Office, @Phone, @Errands, @Computer-WK, @Computer-HM, @Agenda Draft FY10 responsibilities agenda with expectations' for each attendee. This goes in my Projects – Work folder as a subtask of project Clarify FY10 Personnel Expectations. As you can see, drafting the agenda is not my focus for the day or week. Its simply the next physical action for this project. Like David Allen says all the time, and Proximo has repeated here, you can not DO a project, you can only do the next physical action that will bring you one more step closer to project completion. Ceasing negative imaging will always cause an increase in energy. Avoiding action decisions is a recipe for stress. Last minute requests from our leaders is the number one source of workplace stress. Therefore, 20 minutes before the end of the next meeting, start asking "What's the next action?" Then the next time someone complains, ask them what the next action is. Then force them to act! Hope this helps. |
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Lance |
Very existential, I like it! Yes, this opens up a whole new way of looking at goals that I never thought of. One would almost say that this is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. You have to change the way you think and behave (and these are so synergistic) in order to achieve a specific feeling of wellness.
If I want to feel financially secure in 10 years that I would take specific steps (short term goals) to get there. How one defines 'financially secure' is entirely up to the person. Its entirely different than a goal of 'I want $10M in 10 years.' sfanget, great post! |
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Lance |
Posted by Kevin:
I concur think using Jott to get things to the inbox is exactly the way David Allen would recommend it. I think trying to put stuff into your inbox and process it at the same time is somewhat GTD-contrary. This is right on the money. I learned about Jott from an interview David Allen had with Jott's developers. David is a big fan of Jott and uses it to 'Capture'. He then will process the data later at the appropriate time. I use Jott in the car all the time w/hands free headset. So another vote here for defaults for Jott! |
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Lance |
Excellent post by Proximo! I would like to take some time here to point out a basic tenant of GTD that I think some people are having a hard time grasping. In its simplest, most basic form, it's a system to manage lists. That's pretty much it. Toodledo, for me, is nothing more than a very user friendly list manager. I could just as easily go back to paper if I had to, but prefer to use a list manager that is online based and can synchronize with my iPhone.
In the past most of us had one, long huge to-do list that was intimidating. We re-wrote our lists every day, or every week, with priorities and commitments to do 'stuff'. For many, anxiety would be overwhelming when looking at three pages of to-do's on a legal pad. One list would contain phone calls, office visits, errands, projects, and maybe a couple of books you wanted to read. GTD separated this into lists based on context. For some of you, one or two contexts is enough. If you work at a computer all the time, and rarely go outside of it, then one Next Action list is sufficient for you. However, as a government employee in finance, I need more. @Office (my physical office building – copies, faxes, stuff at my desk, etc.) @Computer-WK (to include online, offline, email, creating spreadsheets, documents, slides, etc.) @Computer-HM (same as above but only at home) @Phone (all phone calls both business and personal) @Errands (shopping, picking things up, dropping things off, etc.) @Persons Name (my supervisor- he is a director, so I keep separate all the stuff I need to bring up, questions, conversations and meetings. Throughout the day/week I list items we need to discuss so that when we are together it's a productive conversation. I honor his time and he respects mine.) @Agenda (same as above, just with everyone else I have to work with on a face-to-face basis.) This is the same, three page long to-do list, its just now segregated by physical context. When in my car on the way home from work, I pull up my list manager, choose @Errands and see that I need to stop by the hardware store and pick up some wood for project A, some paint for project B, stop by a department store for some items, and by the bank to make a deposit. To recap, I have lists of projects (separate post around here somewhere), lists of some/day maybe stuff (think bucket list), and a lists of Next Actions by context. With GTD, you can have as many or few lists as you need. |
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Lance |
Proximo is right on track with this. I think many people are uncomfortable with looooooong to do or next action lists. With GTD you will gain familiarity and learn to like them. My process is very similar to Proximo's with maybe a couple of variations but the basics are there.
Get inbox (physical inbox, email inbox, etc.) to zero! Right out of the GTD book, I pick up the first piece of paper in my box or email. Is it actionable? I think this is where people have such a hard time because if its not actionalble for them, then you either delete it (in effect saying NO), delegate it (saying not ME), or file it in a file folder for reference right then and there. If it is actionable for me, can I do it within the next 2-5 minutes? Sometimes yes, often times no. If I know I need to handle this item, but I'm not sure all of what needs to be done, I will make it a project such as, "Clarify item X deliverables for person Y." Under that project, the very next physical thing to move this forward might be a phone call, email or face to face with the person who put this in my box and I will list a sub-task such as, "Ask person Y for clarifying information on item X" (verb the noun with the object). I go through this process, the GTD workflow that's in the GTD Forum, with every single item that's in my various inboxes. My weekly review is my fail-safe, to make sure nothing slipped through the cracks. Couple of tricks-of-the-trade for me: I have a physical in-box at home that my wife puts stuff for me she wants me to do. No kidding, because of the ADD in me I may be hearing whats coming out of her mouth, doesn't mean I'm processing it. It works for us. I don't leave MS Outlook on all day! Yes, I only check my email a couple of times a day, and I get several hundred a day. There is no way I can work from my email in-box and get anything done and keep my sanity. I work from my next action lists. If it's a crisis, they will call me or come see me. I have found, more often then not, that their 'crisis' was usually resolved by the time I got to their email, by themselves. When your boss freaks out because you didn't respond to his/her email immediately, explain what your doing. Tell them that if they want all this 'other stuff' delivered on time, you can't be reading email all day long and getting distracted by every little email 'ding' that comes in. They may be a bit put off by it at first or feel uncomfortable (their own inability to manage time), but as you deliver on your commitments, they will come around. Turning off your email, does wonders for your energy level as well. |
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Lance |
I understand those who like to use folders as projects, probably because it gives that project an extra level to work with:
Project (as folder) Task Sub task However, for myself I would have about 80-100 folders since I have that many projects. Projects for me, are very closely aligned with GTD in that anything that requires more than 2 steps is a project. Folder (area of focus, roles, relationships, etc.) Task as project Sub task (milestones or major events, sub-projects) Sub-sub task (tasks to complete milestones or events, etc.) If an extra level is to be added, I would prefer additional levels of sub tasks instead of using folders as projects. For those who require the added detail or want to list every step of every project, its there. And for those who don't use it presently, its an option for them if/when they want to use it. I will qualify this because I migrated from analog GTD (paper) to digital. Check out David Allen's old school way of paper GTD. When it was mostly paper, all your project brainstorming and thoughts went on your project support paper. Often this was a sheet of paper that had all the details of your project, with all the next actions listed. Your 'lists' were all your next actions separated by context (just like Proximo noted in the other post) that you gleaned from your project page. Most of us would one list for each context, and a list of all projects. I have a few habits that I carry over from the analog-paper based system of project planning and brainstorming in my notes field. So for me, folder just a list of my projects. Tasks as projects, sub tasks as next actions. I prefer not to list every step or next action of a project as a sub task. Most every step of that project will be listed in the notes of Task as Project and from that I will pick the very single next action that will move that project forward and list it as a subtask. It's the more traditional way of GTD and still works well for me, but your mileage may vary. This message was edited Aug 12, 2009. |
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Lance |
@Proximo
I'm in the process of reading the second book. He speaks more to the philosophy than to the tools of the trade. Defining areas of focus and clarifying some of the more ambiguous stuff in the first book. But the nuts and bolts of the system still remain the same. I used a hybrid system between outlook and paper for several years. It wasn't until I found a system in the cloud was I able to be completely universal between home and work. RTM was it, but I spent far too much time trying to make it GTD friendly until I happened upon Toodledo. Never looked back. @Nathan I do use a Moleskine on my desk. I have an iPod and 90% of the time I use it to capture everything. I still keep a small notebook and my trusty space pen with me almost everywhere. In the car I call into Jott. But when I'm in a meeting at work, the Moleskine shines. As I get better and better at typing on my iPod (in the over 40 crowd who is learning thumb typing) I find myself using my little book less and less. I agree that sometimes, there is nothing that beats paper for rapid brainstorming or a good data dump of ideas. I'm pretty close to typing 60 wpm, but with a keyboard I have a tendency to backspace over what could be a really good idea. On paper, erasing takes to long so you just keep going. I think one of the things that makes Getting Things Done so universal is that you can go entirely paper or electronic. A list is a list and it really doesn't matter if its in electrons or ink. Every now and then I get the notion of going back to the elegance of a paper based system. |
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Lance |
I think I understand where your going here. Part of this has to do with your electronic trusted system having sub tasks dependent on each other in. That is, you check off one and the next one appears. A much requested feature around here.
Personally, I don't need it because when I set up my project, I brainstorm everything I think of in notes. I then enter as sub tasks only those very next actions that will bring it forward to completion. So if I have a bunch of 2-5 minute tasks in one project at home like painting a room, I just bust them out. I'm engaged enough with my system to 'know' what needs to be done. And this is a good point to bring up, the 2 minute rule. I use 2-5 minutes, depending on what it is. I could list all the prep-work needed to paint the bedroom: remove electrical and light covers, mask off windows and molding, spread drop cloth, etc. In my experience, this is more like a checklist of stuff under the task Prepare bedroom for painting under the project. Kinda like packing for a trip, I have several checklists I keep in a reference file for such things that I have printed off the web. Other will want to list each item as a separate task. And others still will want even more levels of task dependencies. I tried using task dependencies with Life Balance and it felt like just like HAL 9000 was taking over my life. It all depends on how far into the weeds you want to go in defining what a sub-task is. I refer to my lists often enough to just know what needs to be done next, always with my weekly review making sure I don't forget anything. I've gone a whole day or two without even looking at my action lists because I was so engaged with what I was doing, and getting a lot of stuff done, that I didn't want to interupt the flow. Some need that kind of structure and have to have everything mapped out and having that give them a great deal of security. Others will feel constrained by it (me) and don't mind a little bit of ambiguity, while keeping with the philosophy as a whole. Perhaps what I mean as a GTD purist, is that I follow the rules I have agreed to with myself consistently. I don't change them from one week to the next, so I have a great deal of trust in my system. Of course, I didn't get here overnight. |
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Lance |
@ Rory
Whenever I seem to get lost feel like I'm falling off the GTD bandwagon, whether I'm going through my inbox or during my weekly review, while looking at the item in question, I ask myself, "What single next action will bring this forward towards completion." I believe David Allen has a similar phrase. From a pure perspective given your scenario of loaning a book to a friend that your still reading, it becomes a project because of the multiple steps involved. The project is loan book X to friend Y. I'm assuming you did not make a commitment in 'time' that you would loan the book, therefore no action on the calendar is necessary. Under project Loan Book X to Friend Y, in the notes field you might brainstorm all the resources and actions you would need to bring this to completion: -Finnish reading the book (@home) -Place book in backpack so I don't forget (@home) -Bring book to work (@errand) -Keep track of the book that I loaned (spurs a new project) Then as your brainstorming, you realize that you have several books loaned out, and a few other items nagging at you. So you quickly capture the thought to make a list of stuff loaned out to include date and person. This will be processed, at the least during your next weekly review if not before then. Your trusted system will not let this nugget escape. Your done brainstorming and see several actions. Some will only list the very next action as a subtask. Others like to list all the actions of a given project as sub-tasks and use status to show/hide the very next action. Either one works well and I feel is more of a personal preference. If there is paper involved, I will make a file folder with the project name, and keep it filed in my active projects file. Projects that are completed along with reference items go in another drawer, A-Z. Lets say you list them all with the format 'verb the noun with the object: -Read Art of War Ch. 9 (Context @home, status: next action) -Place book in backpack so I don't forget (Context @home, status: hold or deferred or waiting, all could be appropriate since it's a matter of definition, just be consistent) -Bring book over to friend Y's office (Context @Work, status: hold or deferred or waiting) It's been a couple of days, late Thursday night you finished reading the book and went to bed. Next morning you went to work and first thing you did was your weekly review (I happen to choose Friday mornings for mine based on my energy levels). Looking at your Action Lists you check off completed items. While you only planned to read one chapter last night, because of your energy level and time you had available, you managed to read the rest of the book. Had you not, you could have completed the given task, and entered a new one with a new chapter. Hence why purists don't use priorities. Because your doing a weekly review, every project will be reviewed, one by one, for goals, outcomes, new tasks, completed tasks; ensuring at least one next action that will bring it forward to completion. In this case you realize that your next action is to place the book in your bag to bring to work. Therefore, Place book in backpack becomes the next action (Context @home, Status: next action). Also, because this is your weekly review, while processing your inbox you initiate that new project to track stuff loaned out (idea you captured earlier) with a tickler file that you will only check once a week during your weekly review, listing the actions needed to bring it forward to completion. Saturday you look at your action lists for @Home and there it is, Place book in bag. You complete this task, and change Bring book over to friend Y's office with context of @Work to next action. Go about your weekend. Monday morning while having your fist cup of coffee and reviewing your action lists, you see the task to visit friend Y and bring them the book. Since its early and the day is not crazy yet, you head on over with a cup of coffee and drop off the book. While there, you check your action lists and under @Agenda-Friend Y you had a question about a contract that you needed to discuss. On and on it goes. What I'm hearing is a lack of trust in your current system, therefore the need to depend on calendar reminders. I've been there! This is where the weekly review shines, reviewing your action lists on a daily basis, and your project list(s) during your weekly review at a minimum keep everything together. Doing so regularly will keep stuff from falling through the cracks and build trust in your system because its working for you, not the other way around. My best advice is to take it in small steps, adding a new component every week. Eventually you won't call it GTD, it'll just be the way you do things. |
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Lance |
Ditto! Keep in mind that their marketing strategy targets those who have disposable incomes that will buy an $80 leather note-taker wallet (or $50 poster), capitalizing on the GTD buzz.
For less than a dollar, I can pick up a Mead notepad and slip inside my 15 year old leather wallet. Coupled with my 5 year old Fisher space pen, I have my ubiquitous 'capture' device that goes everywhere. |
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Lance |
Absolutely! My wife and I both have separate calendars, but have 'write' privileges through Google Calendar and a 3rd party app that syncs to our iPhones. She will enter all her half days, parent/teacher conference weeks, Christmas/Spring breaks, etc.
I'm an amateur trail and Enduro MX rider and will enter as events races and poker runs that I may be interested in for the season. I'll put on there potential out-of-town trips for myself and my boss, and lots of the same stuff you mentioned above. When I do my weekly review and look at my calendar, I can see firm commitments that I have made and those of my wife's. I can also see that an upcoming camping trip is now a project, and start to capture all the tasks necessary to make it a fun and successful trip. If I decide that I want to attend a specific event coming up, I make a project to make reservations, buy tickets, pack suitcases, etc. We also have a shared calendar in the office where we all place date/time sensitive events to keep each other abreast of our activities. However, I will not and refuse to put tasks on my calendar and this is what I'm referring to as sacred. Only time and date sensitive events go on my calendar. Glad you brought this up as too few people use it this way. It works for me, but to each his/her own. |
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Lance |
I think due dates are very poorly used and like Proximo, my calendar is sacred. This is where I'm a GTD purist and won't budge. The only items that go on my calendar are actual show-stopper due dates, appointments, and stuff I want to be aware of. Aware of items might be times when key people are out of the office, events that I want to keep in awareness (sporting events, movie openings, etc.).
When it comes to priorities, I don't prioritize anything hence I don't use the hotlist. Again, this is also where I'm a GTD purist. I let my intuition, demand, time available, energy available to do the task determine what the priorities are. I believe this is where your weekly review is most important. If you are engaged with your system, updating your project list and checking off completed tasks, you will know whats important to you. Considering your 'goal' of reading one book a month. I'm with Proximo on this. Unless you are willing to schedule time on your calendar (firm commitment), say from 6-7pm tomorrow, it doesn't go on there. Ask yourself in what context are you reading? At home, at work, on the bus/train? In my situation, I vanpool 45min oneway M-F. So I get about an hour or so of work related reading done most days here. I don't put it on my calendar, because I might not have the energy to read on a given afternoon if its been a rough day at work. However, it is on my list to read/study section X (task with a context of anywhere) for a certification exam (project). Hope this helps. |
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Lance |
I completely identify with what your saying here. I've been using GTD for several years now. Give your system a few weeks to burp, then pick up the book again. Lots of stuff will jump out at you that you may not have noticed before.
To try and address some of your questions. Couple of assumptions. Projects for me is just like David Allen addresses. If it take two or more steps to complete, its a project. If its just a one step item but can't be done right now, it goes on my list with the appropriate category. Something like pick up a new latch for the back gate would be in my home list with the category errands. I only have four lists: Inbox, Projects-Home, Projects-Work, Someday/Maybe. That's it. Dates - If the project is not required to be done by a specific date, I don't give it one. Anything that goes on my project list, or task lists are commitments within the next six months to a year (depending on type of project). If I can't honestly make a commitment to complete project X in a reasonable time (you decide whats reasonable for you), it goes on my someday/maybe list. Because, someday, maybe I will do this. No commitment here on this list. The key is to review this list often. Stuff like recreational reading I do not make them into projects or tasks of a project. This type of reading is meant to be sporadic, fun, whenever I'm in the mood. The opposite could be to read a white paper for project X, read a specific book for a paper or thesis/dissertation to write. I think this type of reading is a project or a task of a project. Some might require a due date if there is a deadline involved. I think your on the right track here with this. One thing that has helped me keep my lists sane is this: Verb the Noun with the Object. You will see this referenced quite often in GTD forums, etc. By keeping clear the lines between what is a task, "Create a spreadsheet with 4th qtr financial data" is a task of project, "Publish Fiscal Year 2009 Financial Report." You don't have to be a GTD purist to use GTD. From what it sounds like here, your on the right track for what will work for you. Lots of info in these forums with lots of help in both the theory of GTD, and the technical side of making TD work they way you want it too. Hope this helps. Lance |
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Lance |
Posted Jul 30, 2009 in: Toodledo migrating to new servers
Score: 2
You guys ROCK! It's not always about the $$ from a customers perspective, but the service. Speaking for myself, but I think many out there feel the same, I'm willing to pay a few dollars more for consistently good, quality service. And Toodledo clearly exemplifies this. It's a shame, and perhaps a sad indicator of our society, that there are so few businesses out there that do the same. Thanks for keeping us in the loop.
p.s. I'm a RTM convert because they just didn't "get it." |
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Lance |
Cre84Him,
Welcome and were happy to have you join us. I'm somewhat new myself to these forums (been lurking in the shadows for several months). My foray into GTD was with Merlin Mann's first blog post at 43 Folders on the subject of GTD for us geeks. After that I was hooked! This message was edited Jul 17, 2009. |