GTD. The most frequent problems in the use and solutions

- I kind of did everything right, but nothing works. What am I wrong?
- I read so much about GTD, I tried to start it several times, but nothing happened. Why?

If you ask yourself this question, then you have not yet given up and you have a chance to return everything under control. Few initially disassemble all cases. We still need to develop a number of habits and rules in order for the system to “spin”, as it should be. I will tell you what I had by my personal example.

GTD entry

The book is read, the to-do list from MS Outlook is ported to MLO. There was a half-hour pause when I was sitting, looking at the screen and could not understand - and now what to do with it? Putting it in the inbox was the easiest - picked up and dropped. But what next? Can someone spy on a real to-do list?
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Task: to contact comrade XXXX and ask him for his to-do list, in order to understand what to do next

So, the list is sent, let's look at it. GOODS, WAREHOUSES, SUPPLIERS ... Hmm, but I do programming? Yeah, let's try this - PROGRAM1, PROGRAM2 ...

STOP!!!!

Here is your first mistake. You decided to copy someone else’s system without even understanding its principle and, most importantly, not accepting its rules for yourself. But in the future we will have to live with all this.

Postulate: you must completely trust the system and follow its rules

Stop and immediately begin to develop rules that will not allow double interpretations. The harder and simpler they are, the more effective your system will be and the easier it will be to live with it.

For example, rules for setting contexts:

@ - a place
# - time
= - type of action
~ - status

Or the rule for naming folders: begins with a noun that displays the essence of the cases collected in the folder.

As an example:

ACCOUNTS. To pay
PURCHASES. Electronics
HOBBY. Reading of books

What will it give us? A list with time will grow, and finding something in it will be a problem. What was it called? "For payment", "Unpaid", "Accounts"? .. Knowing that this noun you will quickly find the right folder, because you have already formed this name once, taking from your head what seemed to you most fully reflect the essence. The second time you will not have to wrestle for a long time - you have three times fewer options (we exclude verbs, adjectives, moods).

The more such small rules, then it will be easier.

So, what should we do at this stage? Right! Make a rule. So, we look at our task - “The user reported a program error, fix”.

The rule - a task should contain only an action that is actually performed. The sentence should begin with the words that need to be done. Meaning should be most accurately displayed in the title. Everything else goes to the note

Correcting the title - “Correct the error in the program XXXX: incorrect behavior of function A.” The user's letter, additional data, your thoughts on this account go to the note to the task.

Now we still have a problem - where to put it?

STOP!!!! You forgot something. Rules, rules and more rules. Mark the task with contexts first, and then calmly send the task where you want. In my system - place, time (if any), action, status (if any).

What does this rule give me? I am sure that all my affairs will be marked with contexts, and I can always find them by cut. So I ... TRUST THE SYSTEM.

And yet - where should I put it? The answer is simple, and you probably already guessed, - according to my rules. Yes, we are building rules for your folders, where you will group and store all your affairs. It all depends on your imagination.

For example:

WORK \ DEVELOPMENT \ PROJECT OF SUCH THAT TO \ PROGRAM A \ ERROR IN PROGRAM A

Why am I not too worried about folders, where to post? Because I have a number of safety nets in the form of contexts. The task will be available for cuts on them and will not disappear from view at the right time.

And if at some point (and it comes, believe me!), I decide that I need to reorganize the folder system, then I won’t lose anything, because in the end we are working by contexts. Folders are needed only in order to plan our actions within the framework of selected goals. Goals tend to change, become irrelevant. But the task is not. If it is a bell, then it is a bell. The action "call Andrew" can not get rid of the context = call.

Cases dismantled. What's next?

Yes. There is such a moment. Things are laid out, you continue to sit and look at the beautifully laid out tasks, not understanding what to do. Moreover, you do not even understand, but what has NOW given you?

All the "profit" obtained as a result of these actions is the separation of the wheat from the chaff. Tasks from goals.

I repeat once again, for those who do not remember. A task is an action that can be performed. A goal is what you want to accomplish by completing tasks.

Examples of goals : get a job, release the next version of the program, solve the problem with a neighbor dog that shits you on the lawn early in the morning.

Examples of tasks : download sample resumes, call Andrew, and set a time for the meeting, make changes to the program description on the site, go to a neighbor and threaten to fill his face if he again forgets to clean up after his dog.

So what's next? Perform a snapshot of the tasks for the current context for your location and possible actions and proceed to their execution. Everything, more from you at the moment nothing is required.

And most importantly - stop memorizing something! It seemed worthy of your attention - write in the inbox and continue to work quietly. There will be time - you use your entire set of rules and the case will be cleared up in due time under the millstones of your system.

Retreat from the rules - you will mess up your mess.

Damn it. Anyway, there are problems!

And who said that everything will be decided as if by magic? All that you had before, makes itself felt. Do not worry, you are not the first to go through all this.

• Not enough time for some tasks that still need to be solved.
  It is solved by the strict schedule of the day at the beginning, when certain tasks are done at a certain time, no matter if there is something or not. We actively use time filtering.
• Some execution tasks require too much time. Again, there is discomfort from the feeling that “everything has stalled”
  It is necessary to split up the task, to ensure that the execution of one task does not take more than a certain period of time (for me - up to an hour).
• Some tasks “float up” too late; discomfort is created because I don’t have time to do something.
  It is solved by the context of statuses or priorities (the recurring problem “check categories ~ Important, ~ Avral, and setting priorities / weight of tasks). You can use goal flags (Goals), say “the things I want to do this week”
• There are tasks that are important, but for some reason I avoid them (frogs)
  It is solved by volitional decision and setting a daily task - “eat at least one frog.” If a frog does not eat at a time, then it should be split up.
• Long task lists. Again, the discomfort of feeling that the mountain of affairs grows faster than they are done.
  Solved by delegation, splitting into categories, daily routine, filtering by goals (why would you see in the current task list what you are not going to do this week?)
• Tasks for which it is not clear what to do now. Those. we sit, we look at the task, we do not understand what to grab to start doing it
  This is just a mistake in the definition of the task. Most likely - it is a goal or "elephant". It is solved by opening the MLO and dividing this task into small subtasks that imply quite specific actions (call, find, ask, write ...)

Uff ... It seems to say everything? What do you want to say at the end?

There is nothing difficult in GTD! It all comes down to simple primitive actions.