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Relating next actions to projects

Because I am a rule-obeying control freak who's obsessed to do things by the book, I'm wondering about this. I read the book and am preparing to implement this system, but one thing I'm not clear about is how to handle projects.

The book says that the "Projects" list is a reminder for my open loops - OK.
The book says that next actions for projects don't go on the "Projects" list, but on the various action lists - "Calls", "At work" etc - OK.
It makes sense - it keeps the "Projects" list uncluttered and just a list of projects, nothing more.

But - if my project to "Fix car windows" starts with "Call Earl re that mechanic he recommended", which goes on the "Calls" list, when I have called Earl, how do I know it's related to the "Fix car windows" project (which now needs a new next action)? If it were just a handful of projects I could probably keep it in my head, but that approach seems counter to what GTD is about.

I guess I could just put some kind of indicator next to "Call Earl about...", like "Car windows: Call Earl...", but first I'd like to know how this should be handled according to the book. I haven't managed to figure it out yet.

I have a feeling I'll have a hard time tweaking GTD to fit me if I'm going to be like this all the time... Oh well ;)

GTD Wannabe's picture

I tag all of my...

I tag all of my NAs with the project's name at the beginning, e.g.,

[Car Windows] Call Earl at 123-4553 to set up appointment.

That way, I know automatically what project it is so, if I've done it, and I don't know what to do next, I can look at my project support materials for that project. Also, putting the tag at the beginning lets me easily sort my NAs into an alphabetical list, which puts project NAs next to each other, e.g., if I have more than one NA for a project. In addition, I use Outlook and some macros, and having the tag at the beginning is easy in terms of coding, i.e., easier to parse the beginning of a line for me.

 
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