Organized Thinking for Getting Things Done

Agent Pugsly — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:24:15 -0400

CRITICAL PRIORITY

I will be working on studying GTD for the next 2 weeks. Once I feel completely COMPLETELY competent at the GTD way of doing things, I'm going to assault the holy shit out of members of the GTD community with my information and missions. GOOD TIMES

I find the GTD process a lot like the OSI model when troubleshooting a network. It's not a tool itself but a methodology for doing something.

I've been using folders, binders, tabs, heirchal folders holding text files, and trapper keepers with tabs for YEARS and YEARS. Every time I have felt a project has been completed or at least handed off, it was done using lists and notes.

Back in the day we ran collective meetings according to the OLD GTD system. Old business, New business, and the like as catagories for discussion topics.

I've found that the BEST, absolute BEST, digital infrastructure for using the GTD methodology is made by Microsoft. It costs way too much for end users to use, but it is CERTAINLY the best out there. Discovering this was one of the primary motivations for me when I first picked up the windows server architecture. Outlook, OneNote, Sharepoint Portals, Project, and Exchange all come together to not only help a person GTD but to ensure that TEAMS GTD.

What I want to learn is the methodology. I agree with the following lists:

When processing a bucket, a strict workflow is followed:

Start at the top.
Deal with one item at a time.
Never put anything back into 'in'.
If an item requires action:

Do it (if it takes less than two minutes), OR
Delegate it, OR
Defer it.

If an item does not require action:

File it for reference, OR
Throw it away, OR
Incubate it for possible action later.

If it takes under two minutes to do something, it should be done immediately. The two-minute rule is a guideline, encompassing roughly the time it would take to formally defer the action.

Getting into the habit

It won't take too much training to run through this list in my head every time I pick up my notebook or tablet PC. Once I learn this I will have one of the most important tools ever, a STANDARD that can be followed to ensure that I can communicate GTD with other people. GTD as a project management theory would be nice to see, and I've seen mention of it online.

Prove it and Do it

Once I learn this well, which I hope to claim I have in scant weeks from today (june 25th), I can then approach other people on here that have the GTD skill and start demanding that we contribute to a group GTD system. (Which, arguably, is exactly what the empowerment site IS).

It won't take long to come up with a way to integrate everyone's tool preference. There are a few NICE GTD open source apps out there that are cross platform and web based, windows has outlook/onenote, mac has OmniView, and there is much much more. Once we have seamless integration we have it.

GTD: Getting Things Done

GTD: Getting Things Done

lxpk — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:49:10 -0400

I recently adopted the GTD methadology of task management. I've been teaching all my friends how to do GTD using moleskines and OmniFocus.

Empowerthyself's Missionpedia will be evolved into a truly epic global collaborative GTD system that scales from personal errands and grocery lists all the way up to enterprises and collaborative projects.

I'm using the Mac OmniFocus app and I can't wait for the OmniFocus for iPhone.

GTD: Getting Things Done