I’m trying to implement a Getting Things Done (GTD) system which works for me and which I can stick at on an ongoing basis. I’ve tried various set-ups in the past but constantly find them becoming derailed and eventually abandoned. In the process, however, I’ve seen enough to know it is something I want to get working more permanently. I’m making a push at the moment to get a proper system that works for me and that I continue to use. I’ll keep my progress posted on this site.

Online or Offline GTD Implementation?

The first issue is (as I see it) the big one. The main reason GTD hasn’t worked for me to-date has been that I’ve never found the right balance between online and offline. Previous systems have either been almost entirely computer-based and then failed because I spend most of my time away from the computer / my @computer list is the largest and I need all my online time for clearing it. Or they’ve been largely offline (i.e. in a notebook or organiser) and have failed as they are too bulky to carry around or are too inflexible to use. The offline systems are further affected by the fact that much of my offline time is not in contexts suitable for use of the system.

It seems to me that my ideal system will have to be somewhat of a mix between online and offline. It will also need to be workable with inconsistent and limited time in each context.

Some ideas I have which I’d like to try implementing:

• Having lists stored / in the most appropriate format for where they’ll actually be used. For example computer actions should be stored in a text, excel, or similar file on my laptop / usb key, while errand actions should be stored in a lightweight notepad or similar that I can carry with me anywhere.
• A central offline store for projects which is used to farm actions out to the appropriate lists. I’m thinking about having a large notebook which acts as the processing phase of GTD exclusively – inboxes will get summarised into there in terms of the projects / actions they inspire. Then the projects can be extracted to a list somewhere and the actions farmed to the distributed lists as and when appropriate. This processing setup would also let me make good use of the relatively large amount of time I have where I’m able to work on my own stuff but don’t have computer access (which was the Achilles’ heal of my attempted online systems).
• I may make that central processing notepad small enough to be portable if needed (I’m thinking legal pad / moleskine…).

Mixed Online / Offline GTD System

So I’m going to give the mixed online / offline system a go. It’ll take more work to set up and get going, but hopefully it will let me tailor individual parts of the system to more neatly integrate with my situation.

To kick it off, I’m going to begin with the following:

• A medium-sized notepad (large enough not to feel restrictive, small enough to be portable if needed). This will be used as a funnel into which all inboxes are emptied and processed. It will contain a series of entries, each a single line identifying a project and the next action on that project. These will be scored off as I farm them out to the various lists.
• A pocket-sized diary for calendar items
• A pocket-sized notepad for entering @errand / @anywhere tasks.
• A medium-sized notepad for @home tasks
• A text file for @computer tasks (stored on my usb key)
• A medium-sized notepad for project / someday maybe lists

Note that I already have reasonable systems in place for initial capture – that’s something I do to a decent enough standard for the time being.

During offline time I will process inboxes into the processing pad. Then as appropriate I’ll move items onto the distributed lists when I’m in the appropriate context to do so.

Next Actions

I could go elaborate endlessly on the details, but I’ll save that for later. Today I’ll focus on two things:

1. Getting hold of the various notepads, etc.,
2. Making a start on processing some of my inboxes into the processing pad,
3. Doing any two minute actions which show up during that time.

Do you lack the time to do the things you really want to? If so, consider whether it might be possible to reduce the time you spend on your current activities to free up some time to use as you please.

As someone trying to start a small business, hold down a regular job and still have a life I certainly feel the pressure of limited time. Here are some ways I evaluate the activities I carry out and ensure that time is not wasted.

1. Eliminate – Consider whether the activity is really necessary. Does it contribute to your objectives? If not, what would happen if you didn’t do it at all? If the answer is not much, then go ahead and drop it. You can always resume it later if you find that it is really necessary.
2. Delegate – Is there someone else who can do the activity for you? And when it comes to producing something it doesn’t need to be someone you know – there’s are whole world of people producing everything you can think of. Get on Google and see if it already exists. A great example of this is building software – much of the general purpose routines you are likely to need have already been written and can be found online. Another example of delegation is shopping online – have someone else trek round the supermarket collecting and then delivering your items. Use the time you save to build your business.
3. Automate – Can you set up a system to perform the activity for you? If so, you can take yourself out of the loop and retain the benefit of the activity while freeing up your time. You may even be able to increase productivity as you will be able to have the activity performed many more times than you may otherwise have been able to. But only do this if the benefit of automation outweighs the initial cost of setting up the system.
4. 80/20 – Are you currently doing too much on this activity? While perfectionism produces great results, it steals time which could be used to achieve other, higher goals. Do you really need to spend so long staring at your website’s stats? Decide what information you need, get in, get it, then get out.
5. Bulk processing – Is there a benefit to be achieved from performing multiple repetitions of the activity in immediate succession? If so, try to group these activities into blocks and do them in one go. Save up the ideas you throughout the day (or week) for improving your business. Then go through them in a block and decide what action to take on them – you’ll get a different, more effective answer than if you wander off half-implementing each idea as you have it.
6. Multi-task – If you have to spend time on an activity, try to exploit opportunities to perform other tasks at the same time. Have a problem ready to solve in the shower. Have something ready to read or listen to while you’re on the train.
7. Practice – When an activity occurs repeatedly, consider whether there are any skills which if practiced would speed up the activity. In particular look for skills which will not naturally improve (above a certain level) without a period of deliberate practice. A good example of this is touch-typing. A bit of time invested to improve your typing speed by, say, 20 wpm will vastly repay the time invested for many people.
8. Generalise – Does the activity represent a special case of a more general activity? Can you get good at the more general activity and then use that skill to rapidly perform the specialised activity. While this may not directly save time on that activity, it may provide a free opportunity to prepare for better execution of future activities. Are you wasting time on mis-managed projects? Learn proper project management (or better still GTD) and then use this to quickly and efficiently tackle the current and future projects.

If you are feeling short on time, consider the activities you currently perform. Start with the one which consumes the most of your time and look at it through the lens of each of the above points – how much time can you free up for yourself? And more importantly, what will you do with it?