43 Folders

Back to Work

Merlin’s weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.

Join us via RSS, iTunes, or at 5by5.tv.

”What’s 43 Folders?”
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

Using lists to expose "soon" and "long-term" items

Drowning in To-Dos? Get Organized! [Datamation]

Good overview of GTD includes some interesting thoughts on "time-sensitive" to-do-lists:

Arguably, the most important thing you can do to aid in getting things done is to create an effective to-do list. People carry around PDAs or notepads all the time, scribbling incomprehensible notes in random order that just end up taking more precious time to decipher. "Getting Things Done" author Allen outlines a few sure-fire ways to get to-do lists under control, and shape them into something meaningful.

One approach that works very well, but doesn't strictly follow some schools of thought in this matter, is to make various time-sensitive to-do lists. The whiteboard in my office has three columns: HOLD, SOON, LONG-TERM. The "hold" section lists major tasks that need to be completed, but are waiting on someone else's action; and the required action is listed. The "soon" section lists major tasks that need to be completed within a few weeks, and "long-term" means basically "don't forget, we're working toward doing this." The GTD book says that you should have very focused and specific tasks in a to-do list, but just introducing this level of organization can tremendously improve the productivity of a to-do virgin.

While these fall outside a canonical GTD implementation (not that this matters), I do love the idea of keeping "we're working toward doing this" in plain site.

One way I try to address this is right in kGTD where I often attach a note to a new project and express the purpose in terms of goals and outcomes. If this sounds dorky or hard to do for all your projects, consider instead whether you've really thought through a) how you'll know what success looks like, and b) whether this is really a project that deserves your attention just now.

Tim G.'s picture

I second the idea of...

I second the idea of adding a note to all your GTD projects with "purpose" (why am I really doing this?) and "outcomes" (what does finished look like).

I started doing this around 6 months ago and it helps to bring a razor sharp focus on my weekly reviews. I review my purpose and ouctomes notes for each project right before going through all the possible actions I've identified to see which should be the NEXT action (of if they should even be on the list at all).

 
EXPLORE 43Folders THE GOOD STUFF

Popular
Today

Popular
Classics

An Oblique Strategy:
Honor thy error as a hidden intention


STAY IN THE LOOP:

Subscribe with Google Reader

Subscribe on Netvibes

Add to Technorati Favorites

Subscribe on Pageflakes

Add RSS feed

The Podcast Feed

Cranking

Merlin used to crank. He’s not cranking any more.

This is an essay about family, priorities, and Shakey’s Pizza, and it’s probably the best thing he’s written. »

Scared Shitless

Merlin’s scared. You’re scared. Everybody is scared.

This is the video of Merlin’s keynote at Webstock 2011. The one where he cried. You should watch it. »