Dear DavidCo:

After working with the GTD system for quite awhile, I find tracking next actions in Outlook to be pretty easy.  The harder part is tracking projects.  Where do you do that and how do you move from the 10,000 ft. level to the runway?

Wayne Pepper, a senior coach and presenter with David Allen Company replied:

I keep my Projects list in Outlook Tasks.  I simply create a category in Tasks labeled “Projects”.  Then, whenever I process a thought, an email, a piece of paper that has an outcome associated with it that will take more than one step to complete, I create a new Task and enter into the Subject field the name of the Outcome (for instance, “tune-up car”) and then I identify the very next action (call mechanic to find a good time), and I create another Task with that action in the Subject field.  I would then categorize that next action as a call by selecting the “”@Calls” Category.  I then review my collection of Projects (my Projects List) once a week during Weekly Review, making sure the project is still relevant, making sure that I have appropriate Next Actions supporting it, and focusing on how much attention that Project has or has not been receiving as a way to assist my focus and intuitive choices for action into the following week.

Our GTD & Outlook Setup Guide also walks through using Outlook Tasks for managing both your Projects and Next Actions. It’s a great resource for applying GTD to Outlook.

5 Comments »

Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for your co-workers?  Out of ideas on what to get the boss who has everything?  Still hoping your co-workers would just “get” GTD and make your life easier?  Buy them the new GTD Workflow Map!  We have a new “office bundle” that includes one large Workflow poster, one small poster, coaching DVD + 10 additional folded-desk size maps.  Learn more.

No Comments »

One of the key buckets in your GTD system is Waiting For.  So what’s the biggest creator of Waiting For? Sent emails. Sure, you could slog through your Sent folder for which ones you actually need to make sure to track, but that’s like searching for a contact lens on the beach.  Good luck having that be a trusted and efficient system.  Another way to track Waiting For items is to create a simple rule or filter in your email program.   Here are those rules for two popular mail programs:   Gmail & Outlook.  If you’re on a different mail program, it’s usually pretty simple to set something like this up if it’s got a filter or rule function.  [Read more →]

32 Comments »

Wikipedia defines a killer app as “…so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology.”  So, what are your killer GTD apps?  What do you use regularly AND find to be essential to your GTD implementation?

• Where do you keep your lists? Your calendar?
• Do you sync to a handheld? If so, what is that?
• Your favorite collection tools?
• Killer desk supplies?
• Project planning, brainstorming and creative mapping tools?
• What else??

[Small request:   If you are commenting about an app, please disclose if you are the developer and/or involved with it in some way. Thanks.]

155 Comments »

Often, your project support will include documents on your computer like Word or Excel files. You can attach the actual document, but what happens if you update the original? How can you be sure you have the latest attached?  We got this very question from a GTD’er and thought it would be useful to pass along:

I am struggling with how to file electronic documents.  Some of the documents live in email, some live in folder and some in the tasks in Outlook.  I end up checking all three places to find the most recent copy of a document.  Do you have any suggestions on the best way to handle this?

A great way to do this in Outlook is to insert a hyperlink of the file, not the actual file attachment.  From within a Task note field, select to attach a file. Then choose “Insert as Hyperlink.”

4 Comments »

Thanks for this community contribution from Pete Tambroni. Here’s how he has setup his GTD organization on the iPhone…

In the original Getting Things Done, much of the focus was on paper systems with an electronic complement. These days much of our world is the opposite.

I try to have as much as possible in electronic form with a paper complement. Having things on a computer or PDA allows it to be searchable and easily changed from one category to another. But just because we can search for something doesn’t mean we should. Why not just know where it is? [Read more →]

8 Comments »

Hey GTD’ers–for those of you who use the Getting Things Done® Outlook® Add-In by NetCentrics, make sure you grab the critical update before Sunday. Here’s what they say:

NetCentrics has released an update for the Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In, Version 3.0.40.  This update is critical and provides you with the latest version of the Getting Things Done Add-In and offers the highest levels of stability.  This update needs to be installed before the Daylight Savings Time change (November 1, 2009) in the U.S. This update corrects the issues of the Add-In losing its activation status during Daylight Savings changes and time zone changes.

You can get it directly from the NetCentrics site. Note: please be sure to contact NetCentrics, the developer,  if you need support on this. They are the best ones to answer your questions (versus DavidCo.)  We just know so many of you use the product so we wanted to pass this along.

4 Comments »

Dean, an architect, wrote to David to ask for detail on using mindmaps in his GTD system.  Here’s the whole thread:

Hi David,

I have enjoyed reading Getting Things Done and Making It All Work.  I own an architecture firm in Michigan, and have been implementing your GTD system into my work and life plan.  I am very close to a smooth-flowing GTD process; However, I have one obstacle to overcome, and I would greatly appreciate your recommendation…

[Read more →]

4 Comments »

What’s out there for Lotus Notes users who want to sync To Do’s to their iPhone? Nothing.  As far as I know.  Believe me, I’ve searched for nearly a year. As a Notes user who was enchanted with an iPhone, I thought surely a To Do synching solution could not be far behind.  Nope. Nothing. You can sync Calendar and Email, but not To Do’s. It’s not a complete mobile GTD solution for me without To Do’s.

Because the iPhone was built without a Tasks application it means building not only a secure syncing solution, but a corresponding App on the iPhone. I thought Lotus would be doing that, but not from any releases I’ve seen so far.

A guy wrote to me this morning to ask what solutions are out there for this, as he’s about to roll out iPhones to their entire workforce. They use Lotus Notes and he’s been unable to find anything that will sync Notes To Do’s to the iPhone.  He asked if we are building it (no plans to.)

Has anyone heard of anything coming or available that will sync Lotus Notes To Do’s to the iPhone?  We’d love to hear about it.

31 Comments »

Meg Edwards, one of our senior coaches, created some fantastic coaching videos with the team at Netcentrics–makers of the Getting Things Done Outlook Add-In.  If you use this tool, you’ll find these to be a great series for learning to get the most out of this tool for your GTD system.  Even if you don’t use this tool, there is gold to be mined in Meg talking about the best practices of using Outlook.

Watch now

(GTD Connect members can watch these inside the Connect Media Library)

5 Comments »