Some 'where does this 'stuff' go questions'
I would love it if someone could offer some input on these
:)
Where do actions go that must be completed on a certain day and can
only be completed on a certain day? e.g. talking to a person you
will be in the vicinity of on Wednesday, etc. (Ticklers, Next,
Calendar, Waiting for?)
What about actions that are waiting for the inevitable - ebay promotions, exchange rate fluctuations? Someday/Maybe or Waiting for?
And again, what about actions like listen to podcasts in my idle time, or actions like a daily jog?
Lastly, do you use a separate GTD application from your calendar application, and if so, do things like call jim at 9 am go on the cal or GTD app?
Would love to hear some input.
2 Posted by roddyt on 18 Apr, 2010 04:27 AM
@c.barber80
I'll give you my take on these. Your first scenario is the easiest. Anything required to be on a specific date will go in my calendar, first and foremost. This I refer to regularly, and if necessary, I can get alerts from it. More on this later. In addition, it would go into Nirvana as a task with a due date assigned to it. On that date the task will be put in the Today list. I've set up the email option so my Today list is sent to me every morning. That would be the tickler. This feature isn't available (yet), but back in Toodledo I would also give it a start date which would hide the task from view.
Waiting for the inevitable - I'll try to use one of your examples. I don't know what kind of promotions ebay runs, but for discussion, let's say that they periodically offer 50% off their fee for selling items. You create a project to sell xyz. The first task you enter is "Check for ebay promotion," the second is "Submit sale notice for xyz on ebay." The first action is out of your hands and depends on someone else, so you put this in your waiting list. During your reviews you'll go through your waiting list, at which point you can check to see if the promotion is available. If it is, then check that off and Submit sale notice becomes the next action.
Listen to podcasts - As you've listed those, I wouldn't put either in my system. If you mean listen to podcasts in general because I like to, then I wouldn't bother as it wouldn't matter if I didn't listen. On the other hand, if it's a specific podcast that you want to listen to, I would create a task for that, and if possible, include a link to the podcast. This puts the task in your Next list where you will see it when you're scanning for next actions. Depending on your structure, you could assign a tag that might help you locate "idle time" tasks. As for the daily jog, I personally wouldn't bother, but I have heard of people that like to set up recurring daily tasks for good habit things like exercise because it gives them an added incentive. Hey, if it helps, go for it. Unfortunately, recurring tasks aren't available yet.
Separate calendar app - I have an iPod Touch, but I'm not a big fan of Apple's calendar. Instead, I use Pocket Informant. But I've found that the push notification system is not very reliable (for me anyway) for getting alerts, so I sync Informant with Google calendar, which in turn is sync'd with Apple's calendar, which is able to deliver alerts directly without having to go through the notification server. Where would I put "call Jim at 9"? That would definitely go on the calendar. It would also go in Nirvana if it was an action in a project that had to be done in order to move forward.
Hope this helps,
Roddy
3 Posted by Proximo on 19 Apr, 2010 09:58 PM
My feedback.
Actions with due dates:
I try not to use more tools than I need to get the job done, so I manage the majority of my task with Nirvana. This includes task with due dates. Nirvana will automatically move task with due dates to the "Today List" so I can see them front and center. You can also choose for Nirvana to move the task "X" days before the due date to the Today list if you required a head up for a particular task. Although I do use my calendar for specific things like meetings, I try to keep the "To Do" type of activity in Nirvana.
Waiting for:
I agree with roddyt 100%. It's important to make sure you clearly define your Next Actions to avoid procrastination when doing your Weekly Review. Nirvana will be adding collaboration feature in the future that would open up your options here.
Listen to podcast:
Again, roddyt is on the money or at least in my opinion. This is exactly what I would do and I am big on keeping things simple. I try not to add things to my system just because I have one. I listen to MANY podcast during the week. I use my iPhone to sync them from iTunes and listen to them in the car. I don't need a task reminding me to do this. Just as roddyt mentioned, If you must listen to the podcast to prepare for something else, It would go in Nirvana as a task.
Calendar:
I do use Google Calendar which is synced to my iPhone. I try to keep task with due dates in Nirvana unless it's a meeting or an event I am sharing with others. This is a great feature of Google Calendar. The reason I like keeping regular task or task related to a project in Nirvana is because it will put that task in my Today list automatically. I don't like to receive Calendar reminders for task when I can be using Nirvana. If I have a meeting where 3 other people are invited and I require some input from them, etc. I use Google Calendar. I am also forced to use my Lotus Calendar for meeting at the office. Again, I try to limit my Calendars for things like meetings and keep all my task/projects in my GTD system.
Hope this helps,
P.S. Great input Roddy.
4 Posted by c.barber80 on 21 Apr, 2010 07:13 AM
@roddy Thank you very much, extremely insightful and useful comments! A few quick questions;
So are you saying that if you use the inbuilt calendar on your iPod Touch, you can get notifications without being connected to the net? If so, awesome!
If Call Jim re: proposal at 9am was not part of a project (even though given the example this is unlikely), would you still put it in as an action in your GTD sytem?
@proximo Interesting input as always mate, like what you are saying about keeping things only in Nirvana if there is no need to put them somewhere else – goes very much with the ‘calendar is sacred’ GTD principle. I think this would be an ideal situation for me, however given that I rely on my iPod Touch largely for GTD, I am not always connected to the internet and if I have interpreted it correctly that gcal and the iPhone calendar can deliver notifications (pre-synced events, of course) without internet connectivity then I will probably be restricted to doing this. Also, I would probably need to ensure that if I was placing the task in Nirvana/my GTD system, that it didn’t show up prior to the due time, and that it gave me a decent notification.
Thanks again to both of you, very helpful.
I asked this question at a few other sites as well, and have compiled the results here: http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWQsCliUjhCHZGZtd3NwZDZfN2hybXp3b...
5 Posted by roddyt on 21 Apr, 2010 02:09 PM
Yes, any item listed in the Apple calendar with a notification set will deliver an alert even when not connected to the net--only Apple apps have that capability today.
Obviously, the most direct method is to enter right into the Apple calendar. As I said, I like Pocket Informant which I've sync'd with Google calendar, which in turn is sync'd with my Apple iCal account.
Now I can edit calendar entries from Informant, Apple's iCal, or Google's calendar, and all three will match. Obviously, you need a connection for the syncing, but once it's made its way to iCal, you're all set.
For the second part of your question, if I have to call Jim at 9am, then I will put it in my calendar as Nirvana doesn't have timed reminders.
If I can get away with calling Jim sometime after 9am, then either moving or causing to be moved (due date) a task to call him to the Today list is sufficient.
Roddy
6 Posted by c.barber80 on 28 Apr, 2010 11:25 PM
Thanks for confirming this. Looks like a pretty good solution to my problems :)
Yes I can see exactly why you would say that - if it must be done at a certain time: calendar, if it is just a next action, today list/next list.
Thanks again