ForumsGetting Things Done®What would you suggest to a beginner?


What would you suggest to a beginner?
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Stephan Waldeis

Posted: Aug 09, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Hi,

i decided to go for a Pro Account with Toodledo and will use it as my main GTD System.
Therefore i would like to have some basic tips from you how you would get ahead if you start from scratch, like i do.

I have about 60-70 Projects - i'm not sure if the Subtasks feature is the right for my projects, i'm not used to the concept how the UI works there. I would rather go with a seperate Folder per Project, would you think that this will work?

Any other ideas how to start?
mco

Posted: Aug 09, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
If you are interested in the Getting Things Done approach, I would encourage you to try simply using contexts, using Home, Work, Out, et cetera. Use one context for Projects, or perhaps 2 for Projects Work and Projects Personal, and have a Someday/Maybe context. This is what David Allen suggests, and after years of fighting it, I find it is really is the fastest and easiest way. I do find it is essential to have my project support materials NOT in Toodledo. For that, I use Evernote. In any case, the best thing about Toodledo is its adaptibility. As long as you keep your next actions and projects in good shape, you can fiddle with everything else, and only waste time. :)
richard

Posted: Aug 09, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
Posted by stephan:
Hi,

I have about 60-70 Projects - i'm not sure if the Subtasks feature is the right for my projects, i'm not used to the concept how the UI works there. I would rather go with a seperate Folder per Project, would you think that this will work?

Any other ideas how to start?


Much like GTD is a framework upon which you can customize your system, Toodledo is GTD inspired task management system with extreme flexibility.

If you wanted to, you could make a separate folder for each project, but I know most people, myself included, want a way to keep work and personal separate for viewing purposes.

Since you are going Pro, the typical hiearchy people use is Folder (Something broad like "Work") -> Task (Actual project name) -> Subtask (What would be your list of next actions). I do not prefer this setup because of my own personal implementation of GTD. You can read about my approach in my post in the Tips and Tricks forum "Pseudo subfolders" The organization part is really up to you.

Most of my collection is done outside of toodledo in my work inbox, home inbox, email inboxes, and hipster pda. During my spare moment, I will process items from inboxes as is appropriate, then I will add the task/project to toodledo, if necessary (which I can conveniently do from my iPhone). And that is it!

I also tend to differ from the way people use toodledo because my folders are project names, and I rarely have more than one task in any given folder. The task in the folder is my next action, and my folder name can help me figure out my next action as I complete one. I tend not to put multiple actions in a folder because I think it adds to the clutter that GTD is trying to clear up.

I use toodledo strictly for task management. My calendar is my iPhone. And when I need to look at my task lists, I can use the computer I am at, or my iPhone. Many of the other features in toodledo, I simply prefer to have in a physical form in my file cabinet.

I review multiple times during the day, probably dozens.

That about wraps it up. Honestly, though, try setting up toodledo how you think it should be setup. Then use it. Using it will help you customize it to how you want. You will learn what you like or don't like about your workflow. I know the way I have toodledo setup for myself is FAR different from the way I set it up when I first signed up. You'll have your workflow figured out soon enough. What's important is just using it.
Proximo

Posted: Aug 11, 2009
Score: 0 Reference
First of all I want to say Congratulations for wanting to be more Productive. I believe that Toodledo would help you accomplish this task.

There are many great ideas from brilliant people on these forums. Many of us implement GTD in different ways with Toodledo and they are all successful as long as it works for you.

There is no right way or wrong way, what I do suggest is that you look at others GTD setup as a basis and customize for your own needs from there.

I have share my GTD Setup with others on a different post which I will post here for your convenience.

https://www.toodledo.com/forums/5/2660/-1/proximos-gtd-setup.html#newest

My setup was something I tweaked many times as I used Toodledo with GTD to be productive at work, home and my business.

I learned a little from everyone so I won't take the credit for anything I am currently doing. Just listen to the advice from others and use what works for you.

Good Luck.
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