To Do

43f Podcast: Kung Fu, Meditation, and Sexual Intercourse

Merlin — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 05:10:15 -0500

Kung Fu, Meditation, and Sexual Intercourse

There’s as rich a body of literature about (and tools for) Productivity as most any subject you can imagine.

To avoid becoming an unproductive dilettante, make sure your practice of Productivity always takes precedence over your talmudic scholarship on the subject.

AKA: All the reading in the world won’t teach you as much as your first french kiss.

(Running Time: 03:47)

Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen from here:

”43f Podcast: Kung Fu, Meditation, and Sexual Intercourse” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on January 15, 2007. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

GTD: Project Verbs vs. Next-Action Verbs

Merlin — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 07:29:40 -0500

In implementing Getting Things Done, you're wise to understand that words are powerful things. And the king of words in GTD, as in life, is the verb.

How you articulate an activity or how you choose to frame a project within the context of your larger life and work will say a lot about how successful you can be in turning all your "stuff" into atomic actions that will work in support of valuable outcomes. This starts with simple things like beginning next actions with a physical verb, but there's actually a lot more subtlety (and potential confusion) to it.

In fact, one of the hang-ups that many people encounter in planning their work in GTD is that, no matter how hard they try, they can never seem to get the distinction between single-action verbs and the larger "look-into" style projects that may require sub-actions. This comes up a lot, and it can lead to frustration and untold friction.

Well, if you've ever shared this affliction of not knowing your verbs from a hole in the ground, I have some rare and unexpected GTD gold.

Buried in the companion booklet for the Getting Things Done FAST! CD set (currently out of print) is one of the more useful bits of GTD instruction I've seen outside the book. It's a list of "Project Verbs" versus "Next-Action Verbs" and, man, is it ever useful.

These materials (which I'd never seen anywhere else before) provide a powerful codebook for translating your own language and thinking into planning that is do-able and valuable. Put simply, there are verbs that suggest a single physical next action, and there are verbs that suggest a desired outcome with more than one step. And these tables can help you see and understand that distinction immediately.

Project verbs

Finalize	Resolve	Handle
Look into	Submit	Maximize
Organize	Design	Complete
Ensure	Roll out	Update
Install	Implement	Set-up

Next-action verbs

Call	Organize	Review
Buy	Fill out	Find
Purge	Look into (Web)	Gather
Print	Take	Waiting for
Load	Draft	Email

Get the distinction? Most all of those big verbs can and should be uncorked to reveal that they contain nothing but dozens of smaller verbs. And those little fellas are your physical next actions. That's your work.

I really wish I'd had these tables taped over my desk three years ago when I started doing GTD, because -- geeky as it sounds -- they're a kind of rosetta stone for ensuring that you correctly translate your stuff into either tasks or containers for tasks. So useful.

Getting that taxonomy and structure correct during the planning stage will do much to improve your life when it comes time for doing.

”GTD: Project Verbs vs. Next-Action Verbs” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on November 14, 2006. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Eightface: "Status Page" plugin for WordPress

Merlin — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 12:38:20 -0400

myStatus plugin for WordPress // eightface

Remember the "status page" post? Well our pal, Dave Kellam, has whipped a sweet little WordPress plugin that makes it really easy to bullet out some points right on your page:

This plugin allows you to create a number of fields specifying your current status and easily insert them into your templates...

You’re welcome to leave comments and suggestions, but be warned, I’ll probably try to keep things fairly simple.

I agree with Dave. I like it nice and simple.

Dave's status page is fun, and here's the first cut of mine. (Yeah, I know. Super-helpful, Merlin. Well, shut up, it's Friday.)

Update 2005-10-31 08:50:59

With some able advice from Dave and Ethan I've added a more blown-out status page, which includes quick documentation on how to make your own. Fly your freak flag, Nerdlinger!

”Eightface: "Status Page" plugin for WordPress” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on October 28, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Building a Smarter To-Do List, Part II

Merlin — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 08:09:00 -0400

Conclusion of our two-part series on improving the quality of your to-do list. Yesterday's post covered some basics and whys, the concept of the “next action,” and the importance of physicality.

« Start with yesterday's “Building a Smarter To-Do List, Part I”

Keep it Current

While you can and probably should track more than one next action at a time for each project (these are all the things that can be done now), it's vital to differentiate a true next action from any of the garden-variety items that just need to be done at some point later. In other words, be careful not to to turn your to-do list into an ad hoc project plan.

Now, now, now

Avoid the trap of littering your horizon with piles of crufty pseudo-tasks that can't actually be addressed (or, almost as often, can't be addressed yet). While you want to always stay aware of future obligations and the work that they are likely to generate, the to-do list is absolutely not the place to do it. Keep your to-do list a sacred tabernacle for current activity, and maintain longer-term task and support materials as well as appointments where they belong--in a project support folder and your calendar, respectively.

Remember: you should theoretically be able to choose any item from your list and, given the proper tools and context, start on the task immediately. Reveal hidden dependencies and move the later items someplace else; there’s no shame in tracking the small task that will keep things moving (and doing it is even better).

Trim, toss, and refactor

Make a habit of pruning your list of completed, dead, and obviated tasks. To be effective, your list should be alive-- a functional dashboard for understanding the immediate work at hand. And remember: your to-do list is not the place to park your ambitions or test the limits of your grasp. Constantly break tasks down and down to the most atomic work possible, and be ruthless about moving (or deleting) stuff that belongs someplace else.

Why Am I Doing This Task?

This is important. When compiling a list of all the stuff that's on your mind (and on your plate), it's crucial to unpack how each task you accept or assign to yourself will support your projects, your roles, and the goals you've set for yourself. Before adding a new item, reflect on the value that each chunk of work brings to your world.

Is this the best use of my time right now?
Am I the best person to do this task?
Is this something that must be done now? Why now?
What happens if I don't do this at all?

To illustrate the significance of these questions in the grand scheme of things , I'll borrow (and freely butcher) an image from developer Joel Spolsky. Try imagining your available time and resources as a wooden box--a fixed amount of space that can only contain so many cubic inches of “stuff.” You'll be filling that box with wooden blocks of varying sizes, each of which represents a separate task on your list. The bigger the block, the more time that task will take (and the more metaphorical space it will require in your box). Got it?

Let's say your notional box has 8 average-sized blocks in it right now, with a maximum occupancy of about 10 blocks. Now, let's imagine you're thinking of adding 5 big new blocks to the box. Well, you have some decisions to make now, don't you? Some of those blocks might fit easily into a team member's box (hello, delegation), while others might be reduced in size to fit the available space. But more often then not, you're going to have to do the painfully obvious and just free up some space--either by removing some old blocks or by forgoing the addition of new ones. Of course, it doesn't go without reiterating that the smaller the blocks (tasks) you choose to add, the more flexibility you have in adding and moving blocks; think about how (what becomes) that big IKEA bookcase arrives in that flat little carton.

Remember: for the sake of this visualization, making your task box any bigger is not an option, no more than you can add a few hours to your day or a couple weeks to your month. So the only variable in your control is what you decide to put in or take out--what tasks will you choose. The bottom line is that both those blocks and the box are ultimately your responsibility, so brace yourself for some hard decisions on where your priorities lie.

If it’s on your list, it’s a commitment

Try to keep this box image forefront in your mind whenever you're tempted (or compelled) to shovel more work into an already-teeming inbox. Look at each addition to your to-do list as a personal commitment to completing that action. Bear in mind that every minute you spend working on one task is necessarily a minute you cannot spend working on another. So ensure that your to-do list honors these reasonable limits and keeps you focused on the work that's most valuable to you.

This actually takes a surprising amount of discipline and requires making a kind of deal with yourself; no more treating your to-do list like the hope chest where you toss all the stuff you should be doing or might maybe be doing. The to-do list is a plan, and it’s a contract. If you’re not sure you want to do an item, take it off the list. If you can’t envision what doing the task will look like, off it goes. Jot and doodle someplace else.

Like so many of the things we talk about here, the to-do list is really a cipher, albeit an important one. As the artifact of your short-term planning, it becomes the developing Polaroid of your next few hours, days, or weeks. So, reframing your list as “the things I want to have done” helps set the proper state of mind; this is your life for the next little while, so don’t be skittish about taking it seriously enough that you can depend on it as the tactical plan for getting you where you want to be.

Solving common hang-ups

Getting good at this stuff is a process. Don’t expect to be an instant master of the to-do on your first try. To help you navigate some of the challenges that frequently await your to-do list, here’s some strategies for getting out in front.

Get a running start

Start off your day or your week by giving yourself several tiny tasks that can be accomplished in just a minute or two each. Aim low, and don't be embarrassed to make these really, really easy jobs. “Clean the keyboard,” “Empty the trash,” and “Add paper to the printer” might seem like pointless busy work, but ticking off several fast items in a row can often be the jolt you need to start tackling the bigger, scarier stuff.

Delegate actively

If you're tracking tasks that you've assigned to others or are waiting on work from someone else on your team, resist the urge to shift responsibility for ensuring their timely arrival. Give yourself tasks like “Call Alex for ETA on redesign sketch” or “Email Bob for latest revision of Chapter 3.” This active follow-up especially deserves a spot on your list when others are depending on your piece of that work to keep the project moving and on schedule. Even when the ball is in someone else's court for the moment, always give yourself timely reminders to ensure that it returns to your side of the net when it's expected and needed.

Cringe-bust your to-Do List

Ever notice how some items seem permanently stuck on your to-do list? Days, weeks, seasons may fly by and the same three or four hoary old tasks stare back at you, stroking their beards and cackling. Chances are you've stopped mentally processing these to-dos as tasks in the world and now just let your eyes fly past them so as to minimize the guilt, pain, and cringing that they cause you.

You can “cringe-bust” your to-do list by printing out a complete set of current tasks--preferably in alphabetical rather than priority or project order. Run through the list quickly, placing a check mark next to any item that causes you the slightest anxiety or concern. The idea is to root out the items that you dread doing.

On your second pass-through of the list, make a note on a separate piece of paper highlighting why you've been avoiding each task. Is it fear of failure? Boredom? Garden-variety anxiety about the outcome? Whatever your reason--and do be honest with yourself--generate a new to-do for each item that addresses the “cringe” rather than the actual to-do that's causing it.

For example, if you're dreading calling an introverted customer because there's always weird silences in the conversation, give yourself a to-do to generate a few topics that you can bring up when things start to slow down. It won't make the call fun, but it will get you past the anxiety that's holding you up. The trick, in any case, is to deflate the cringe-y task by replacing it with a more active, manageable, and unintimidating one that drains the situation of the power to control you.

When you've succeeded, cross out both tasks with a thick red marker, and give yourself a high five. You rule.

Related stuff

What's the secret to your to-do list? What tricks do you use to keep it together and make sure everything gets done?

Technorati Tags: gtd, planning, productivity, todolists, work

”Building a Smarter To-Do List, Part II” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on September 13, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

To-Done: Scheduling tasks

Merlin — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 08:09:07 -0400

How I learned to stop worrying and love my schedule

This is an intriguing idea. Peter converts his to-dos into scheduled blocks of work.

I now schedule EVERYTHING. As a result, very little gets missed. I’m still using next-actions, but I’ve added the step of mapping them out on upcoming weeks. This way, I can relax, knowing that I’m going to get them done.

If you’re reading this and thinking “so freakin’ what?” you’re probably not alone, but some of the GTD acolytes in the house might be hollering “Blasphemer!” since David Allen often suggests using your calendar only for “hard landscape” items, such as appointments with others, while leaving to-dos as “when you can” items that get knocked off as time, energy, and context allows.

But, the idea is really quite sound for someone like me (and most of the people I know). If you handle all your own work and scheduling (a/k/a “don’t have a ‘real’ job”), it’s entirely up to you to choose and do all the tasks on your theoretically unlimited lists. Giving yourself timed assignments like these seems like a potentially smart way to ensure that your stuff is getting done when you think it should.

Since you put the tasks in there, you’re certainly entitled to remove them as well, right? You’re just making some modest paper walls to give a shape to something that’s often frustratingly formless. Neat idea.

I continue to admire and enjoy how people are adapting the patterns of GTD without hewing slavishly to every syllable of the book.

This is a terrific example of how one pattern (“get it all down”) might seemingly contradict another (“calendar is hard landscape only”). Of course, they’re not really contradictory at all unless you choose to treat Allen’s suggestions as an operator’s manual or fundamentalist Productivity Bible. While that approach is useful for getting started with a system like GTD, it does seem valuable to let the ideas evolve and adapt into something that better comports with your own needs.

Edit 2005-08-18 09:35:25 - The referenced To-Done post was by Peter Flaschner not Keith Robinson. Sorry for the error (and thanks, Jay).

Technorati Tags: calendars, GTD, productivity, todos

”To-Done: Scheduling tasks” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on August 18, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Quicksilver: AppleScript to quickly add Entourage Tasks

Merlin — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:25:22 -0400

Entourage - Fast Task.scpt

A hacker who wishes to remain anonymous has answered my prayers by creating a modest one-line AppleScript that lets you pipe input from Quicksilver into a new Entourage Task with zero cruft—no Category, no Project, no date, and no reminder. Perfect for fast capture any place, and something I’ve craved for over a year.

To install:

Download the script, “Entourage - Fast Task.scpt”
Copy it to ~/Library/Application Support/Quicksilver/Actions/
Restart Quicksilver (CTRL-CMD-Q)

To use (just one example):

Invoke Quicksilver (usu. CTRL-space)
Type “.” to get the variable input field
Type “Test task”
TAB to the second pane
Type until “Entourage - Fast Task” shows up
Hit Return

Jump over to Entourage and you should have a nice new task sitting in your list. Note that the Quicksilver input, as ever, can come from practically anyplace; you can select text in Safari and “Send to Quicksilver” (CMD-Esc in most locations), etc.

Like I say, if you want all the “trimmings,” you should enter Tasks in Entourage as usual, but this is just terrific for capturing stuff quickly without changing modes. A minor godsend as far as I’m concerned.

(As ever with all my Quicksilver tips, I’m sure I’ve forgotten some critical element that makes this work on your end; if the Setup guide doesn’t answer your question, post a comment)

”Quicksilver: AppleScript to quickly add Entourage Tasks” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on June 14, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

More on gluing stuff together in Entourage

Merlin — Fri, 27 May 2005 06:29:00 -0400

The main reason I stick with Entourage for all my calendar, TODO list, and—to a certain extent—archival email needs, comes down to one word: glue.

As annoying as Entourage is in so many ways, I love that I can basically associate anything with anything via the “Link” functionality. This provides a handy little landing pad for any task, note, event, email, or contact onto which you can drop any other Entourage object as well as virtually any item from the Finder (for some reason it doesn’t easily handle URLs, which seems kind of dumb: use .weblocs as a workaround). Entourage then perpetually remembers that association in both the linking and linked items. Got it? Group like with like, and then get to anything from anything (Steal this idea, Apple; use Spotlight).

So, I can associate an email message with a TODO, attach a text file to a calendar event (see my article in June’s MacWorld), and even, apparently, attach Applications and folder paths to any Entourage object. Why is this last one so freaking handy? Lemme show you.

I love recurring tasks and use them all the time for repeating TODOs that I want to just forget about until they’re due again. One such task—ironically enough—is my monthly backup of Entourage’s glass-jawed database.

Now this isn’t terribly complicated, but here’s the steps I need in order to do this each month:

Get a reminder about the need to backup
Open the folder in which my Entourage identities (and databases) live
Open up the Database Utility to run the "Compact Database" command needed to generate the backup
Open the folder on my external drive where I keep my monthly backups
Copy the backup to the external drive’s folder

The beauty part is that I can embed links to the Database Utility app and both folder paths right in the reminder. When I get pinged each month, I can just open the calendar event, select all my stuff in the Links section, and click “Open.” Boom: the utility launches and the two folders open right on my desktop. No hunting, no searching, and no janky alias maintenance.

Think about applying this same process of linking in similar scenarios:

Keep all the running notes and Excel spreadsheets for a standing weekly meeting in one repeating calendar event (I’m looking at you, B-May)
Create a “job jacket” that contains the folders for all your design assets linked inside one event (like, maybe, the deadline)
Prepare for a retreat or other off-site meeting by keeping all the relevant folders, contacts, notes, URLs, and related events in one calendar item

Now if you’re already a long-suffering Entourage user, your eyes should be lighting up right about now, because this trick emulates several of the best features of the Project Center without the functional death march. No need to walk through the stupid wizard and tell it all the things you don’t need: just spark up a new task or calendar event, pop open the Links area, and start throwing your stuff at it. Super easy.

Now, I know nobody ever wants to admit to their dark existence on the Entourage downlow, but I must ask: Anybody else doing cool tricks with linking? Got a neat way you keep your stuff tidy in Entourage? Share.

”More on gluing stuff together in Entourage” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on May 27, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Cringe-Busting your TODO list

Merlin — Mon, 23 May 2005 08:58:01 -0400

As I’ve said before, items can sometimes linger on your TODO list a lot longer than you’d like, and it can be tricky to understand exactly why that is in each case. I’m convinced cringing is often a factor.

Being that it’s Monday, and a lot of us are planning this week’s activities, why not join me in a modest exercise.

Print out your TODO list (alphabetically, if possible)
Read it over—beginning to end
Go back and circle each item that makes you cringe, or that causes you some kind of existential angst
Per cringe item, think honestly about why you’re freaked out about it. Seriously. What’s the hang-up? (Fear of failure? Dreading bad news? Angry you’re already way overdue?)
Now, again, per cringe item, add a new TODO that will a) make the loathsome task less cringe-worthy, or b) just get the damned thing done
Cross the original cringe items off your list
Work immediately on the new, cringe-busting TODO

If you could do this for just one item on your TODO list today, wouldn’t you be a little better off? Is there a quick call you could make, a draft you could edit, an email you could return, or some other piddling 2-minute task that would plane some cringe off of your hated tasks?

Imagine if you did this today for five items on your list. Now imagine you began each Monday with a Cringe Bust. Might be a handy way to pick off old items and let some unnecessary anxiety out of your working week.

(For extra credit, find the item on your list that’s been making you cringe for the longest. Anybody else turning up items that have been inducing cringes for over a month? Ouch. I suck.)

”Cringe-Busting your TODO list” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on May 23, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Entourage & txt: In which the farmer and the cowman become friends

Merlin — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 04:28:00 -0500

I love that Entourage lets you link files to any item (task, contact, appointment, etc.). I use this feature all the time to point to text files on my Mac.

Why bother? Why not just use the built-in notes capability of Entourage? Ah, if you were a fan of text files you wouldn’t need to ask that, and if you were a fan of Quicksilver, the gears would already be clicking.

Among many features—as we all know by now—Quicksilver lets you append or prepend to any arbitrary text file without changing out of your current app. Once learned and ingrained, this will become one of your favorite things to do on the Mac, bar none; but Entourage doesn't currently support it. Still, this tip helps you get around it in a satisfying way—letting Entourage handle all the busy work, while your beloved text files do all the heavy lifting.

This, obviously, assumes you have Entourage and Quicksilver installed (more on Quicksilver here and much more here)

Open TextEdit.app; type some stuff; and save the document to your Desktop as a file called “frink.txt”
Open Entourage and create a new task called “Frink: Agenda”; save it (but leave the task’s window open)
Click the little chain icon () in the task header; select “Link to Existing...”; then select “File...”
In the dialog box, surf to your Desktop; select “frink.txt”; and click the “Link” button
You’re done

You now have a way to add items to bring up at your weekly meeting with Professor Frink at any time and from anywhere on your Mac, all without leaving your focal app. The beauty part is that the text file stays associated with the Entourage task even if it’s a recurring task. Note the quickest way to access your linked file is from any view list; just click on the tiny chain icon on the left and select your document (or any other attached items ) from the flyout menu.

Need some practical ideas for using this trick?

How about a “groceries.txt” that’s associated with your weekly “Go to Trader Joe's” task.
Associate your “Movies.txt” file with your “2nd Date with Ann” appointment on Saturday.
Planning a once-a-year trip to the flea market? Capture 11 months of wishlist items in “fleamarket.txt,” and attach it to next month's reminder for the big day.
Maybe start a text file for each member of your family where you can park birthday gift ideas, then associate that file with each of their contacts in Entourage.
Attach a text file of professional accomplishments to a task in your “Update Résumé” project.

The possibilities are endless, but the basic point stays the same—we all crave functional glue to keep the pieces of our world together. With a little help from Entourage you can continue to harness the power of text and Quicksilver from wherever you are.

”Entourage & txt: In which the farmer and the cowman become friends” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on February 16, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"

Using Categories & Tasks in Entourage

Merlin — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 08:19:09 -0500

Categories are a powerful tool for organizing any of the information you store in Entourage 2004—whether it’s email, contacts, appointments, or notes—but I think they really shine as a way to provide context for your task list. I use Categories almost synonymously with the idea of "contexts" that David Allen discusses in Getting Things Done—as a way to identify the location, conditions, tools, or focus needed to work on a given item. As I said the other day, I try to use my Categories to provide ready answers to the "How," "Where," and "When" of a given task as clearly and uniquely as is reasonable. You want to be analyzing and thinking about this stuff when you’re planning it, so you won’t have to process it again when it’s time to actually do it.

Still, it’s important to me to strike a balance even when I’m planning and processing: how do I touch each item as quickly and infrequently as possible while still ensuring that it pops up when and where I might need it later? For me this usually means applying only one Category per item and changing it later if the need arises. I mean, for example, I know I need to be online in order to send an email, but I don’t want to get bogged down in trying to describe every conceivable facet of the task with the finest granularity. (Keep repeating: "GTD is about action; it’s not about playing with lists.")

Also, as I’ve said before, I’ve found context to be one of the most challenging aspects of implementing GTD—especially because, on some days, my contexts feel limited to "computer" and "everyplace else." Still, getting contexts right for your unique situation can be critical to succeeding with GTD. If you’re struggling to think about what you should be doing next, something’s not working. For "next actions" to have the kind of brain-dead physical simplicity we all crave, they need to be situated in a way that lets you take them up wherever you are and without a constant level of meta-thinking about "whether this is in the right place."

All that said, here’s an overview of the Categories I use most when processing, filtering, and doing the items on my task list (currently ~150 items). Your mileage will absolutely vary.

Functional Categories

brainstorm - Never used if I really mean "write," but useful for when I need to generate ideas, start an outline, or when I want to just set aside a few minutes to get my head around a new idea.
calls - Requires a phone. Grouping phone calls into 20 contiguous minutes at a pass can save time and minimize future distractions.
chores - Stuff around the house—whether work or personal—that usually requires non-computer physical activity (Heaven forfend!). By the way, these are a great application of recurring tasks.
email - Reading, writing, sending, and responding to email. Most often attached to an item that will require a long note or detailed reply (> 2 minutes, end to end).
errand - Anything I need to do outside the house, in the neighborhood, Downtown, etc. (Reminder: I use SplashShopper to manage actual shopping lists, so no need for crufty "Buy foo item" tasks where "Go to Safeway" will do better)
read - Reading articles, web pages, proposals, books, etc.
write - You know. Writing. Usually implies work on a computer, except for when I just grab a notebook and hit the road to get a fresh environment. The point is, I know it’s time to turn everything off and focus on putting words on a page (or editing the ones I already have down)

Computer-Related Categories

Again, I know that many of these imply nesting; for my own system, I can live with that. I only want to tag an item with the Category that best represents its context (there's no manageable system that can do all the thinking for you). These sub-categories are still much more helpful to me than a generic "@computer"—that’s about as useful to me as "@breathing" or "@NorthAmerica."

mac-anywhere - Something, like installing a program I’ve already downloaded, that I can do anyplace I can use my laptop.
mac-online - Generic category for a task that requires an internet connection (I prefer a more specific one like "email" or "mac-research" whenever I can)
mac-desk - Requires I be in my office since the task requires something in that room—CD-Rs, an external drive, second computer, or supplies of some kind (e.g., cleaning the screen, fixing a friend’s Mac, etc.)
mac-code and design - General category covers design and development, graphic and html production, etc.
mac-print - Many true "next actions" begin with printing something out. Emails, documentation, an old draft I want to review—most start with a print job.
mac-research - Might as well be called "Google." This is just anything I need to look up on the web. (Word of warning: here be dragons. Don’t let a "quick search" ending up leading you to an extended surfin’ safari.)

Other Contextual Categories

agenda - An item I need to bring up when I talk to someone, the person of which is usually implied by the Project that’s applied to it in the "Project Center" (although I sometimes just add the person’s name in the Title of the task)
media - Movie, TV show, or CD I want to watch, buy, etc. Usually ends up being added to my big "Media.txt" file unless it’s specifically a time-based reminder ("O.C., Thursday @ 8:00")

Non-Contextual Categories

These are oddballs. A couple of them are GTD-inspired, but I think they all represent potential action down the road. Consequently, I filter them out of most action list custom views, and just review them separately every week or so. I think it’s important to add that many of the tasks tagged with the Categories "maybe-later" and "waiting" actually began life as a regular, functional todo I’d given myself, but later got retagged/downgraded to be one of these temporarily disowned items.

maybe-later - Lower priority items that I wouldn’t miss if they never happened, but would still like to maybe explore some time.
waiting - An intransitive task (basically, someone else’s todo) that is likely to turn into a task for me when I hear back from that person.
opportunities - Usually an idea for a project someone wants to do that I want to keep on the edge of my radar screen until I’m ready to do something with it. This needs a better home, but it works for now.

So that’s a quick look. I hope some of it is useful for you, but more importantly, I hope it helps you undertake a deeper look at how you organize and plan your work. To understand your work and not have it overwhelm you, I think it helps to grok where and when you can actually perform the constituent tasks. Getting your contexts wrong can mean a lot of frustrating list management and dropped balls, but knowing with confidence that your tasks are assigned appropriate contexts can be a huge timesaver and a big load off your brain.

What special contexts do you use to keep items on your radar screen? Any novel Categories you're using in your PIM?

(Nota bene: Fellow Entourage fans, be sure to tune in later this week for a post on the least utilized and most misunderstood feature in Entourage—custom views. GTD-friendly recipes await you.)

Related links

”Using Categories & Tasks in Entourage” was written by Merlin Mann for 43Folders.com and was originally posted on February 14, 2005. Except as noted, it's ©2010 Merlin Mann and licensed for reuse under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. "Why a footer?"