Till, Thanks very much for sharing your methodology. I think your file would make a great template if you are comfortable doing that.
Cheers, Phil. On Aug 5, 7:13 am, Till Poppels <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > After buying MLO pro for PC, I have now been working on a GTD- > compatible setup and want to share with you what I've finally come up > with so far. If anyone has any ideas as to how this could be optimized > (especially regarding the open questions - see below), please let me > (and everyone else) know :) > > --- Outline View --- > I use top-level folders for what David Allen calls "areas of > focus" ("roles" with Covey). As of now, I have identified 7 areas that > are currently part of my life: Finances, CV work, Fun/Leisure, Sharpen > the Saw, Education, Self-Management. Additionally I have the standard > <Inbox> folder, as well as a "Someday/Maybe" folder and a "Task > Templates" folder – both of the latter hidden in To-do views. > > --- Contexts --- > For contexts I use standard labels, such as "Computer" and "Home", but > I use two different "Errands"-contexts for two distinct locations I > might go to buy stuff. Also, I use the @-symbol only for people (e.g. > @Tom), because it makes the entry of the most used contexts (e.g. > Computer or Internet) faster. In addition to David Allen's "Anywhere", > I introduced the context "Take anywhere" for things that I could in > theory do anywhere, but have to think of taking them (in case I > anticipate having to wait somewhere). > > --- Action Lists --- > I have various action lists set up, depending on what I want to focus > on. In general, I use the following filters in the left-hand pane (in > that order): Contexts (operation set to "Or"), Effort, Time, Advanced, > Group&Sort. This allows me to quickly adjust constraints on task > choice in the order most relevant for me (I discovered that my energy > level (effort) is more important than the time required to a task). > Here are my most frequently used views, set up via the advanced-rule > option: > > * Weekly Focus * > This view is set up to show the following tasks (in that order): > starred tasks (see "Daily Planning" below); due within 7 days; weekly > goals. It enables me to see what's "on" this week and kill (what Covey > calls) "Quadrant I" tasks first, which I find very helpful. > > * Active Actions (by Goal/Project/Area-of-Focus/Context) * > These views are helpful when I feel like working on Project X or am > limited to Context Y or feel like I've been neglecting Area or Goal Z. > > * Completed Today * > Showing tasks that, well, I have completed today :D mainly for > personal validation and planning the next day. > > * Definition Required * > This is an exciting and hugely helpful view. I set it up to show all > items that need to be defined: projects without subtasks; major > projects without Notes (see "Project Planning" below); Tasks that lack > context, time required, or effort (equals 50). With this view I can > quickly switch to what David Allen calls "type 3 actions": define my > work. Once I defined a task/project, it automatically disappears from > the view. > > * Project List * > That’s right, I don’t use the Projects-option in the Outline view, as > grouping by project status doesn’t suit my weekly review. More on this > below (“Project Planning” and “Weekly Review”). > > --- Daily Planning --- > I try to discipline myself to "review and preview" daily, usually > before going to bed. I go over what I've accomplished ("Completed > Today" view), compare this with what's "on" this week ("Weekly Focus" > view), and star a couple of tasks to focus on tomorrow (using one of > the "Active by ..." views). These automatically pop up in my "Weekly > Focus" view, which is the first list I look at the next morning. > > --- Project Planning --- > Via Flags, I have classified all my projects as either “major” or > “minor”, mainly because my project list was rather long and I needed > some subdivision for the weekly review. Minor projects are “all > outcomes that require more than one physical action” (much in the > Allen sense), but don’t require a written definition (successful > outcome etc.). Major Projects, on the other hand, are those that do > benefit from some “ideal scenariorizing”, the results of which I write > down in the Notes. So minor projects require definition only when no > next action (i.e. subtask) has been identified, while major projects > require definition as long as the Notes section is empty (see > “Definition Required” view above). While I keep my project list as a > To-Do view, to actually plan a project, I double-click it to return to > the outline view. Here I can conveniently “ideal scenariorize” my > project in the Notes section and organize it via the outline > functionality. If necessary I create a MindMap, which I save > externally. > > --- Automatic Formatting --- > I’ve experimented with autoformatting, but so far haven’t come up with > anything permanent. I format major projects to be distinguishable from > minor projects. Also, as a university student, I highlight all tasks > related to studying. > > --- Weekly Review --- > Now, this really is the one thing MLO has helped me most with. In fact > I have never been able to successfully do a complete weekly review > until now. The key insight for me was to split up the weekly review > into several steps: > > 1. I do a quick Mind Sweep, to see if there’s anything “yanking my > chain” (items go into my Inbox folder via the rapid task entry dialog) > > 2. Process In-baskets: the crucial distinction here for me is between > processing and organizing. Processing just means deciding whether it’s > actionable or not, and if yes, to move it (Ctrl + M) to the > appropriate area/project in the outline. > > 3. Review last week’s completions and the Weekly Focus view to see if > I accomplished everything > > 4. Review MAJOR projects: I briefly review the successful outcome > (Notes) and review/add/modify next actions or subprojects. Also, I > identify new weekly goals for the upcoming week. > > 5. Review MINOR projects: I simply scan the (usually pretty long) list > of minor projects and see if they are still current. I try to identify > those that are “stuck” and figure out new next actions. > > 6. Review Areas-of-Focus: Collapsing the outline view (F6), I look at > my Areas one-by-one, connect to my role mission statement (stored in > Notes), and identify new projects. > > 7. Review Goals: I look at the successful outcomes both for short-term > (weekly + monthly), as well as long-term goals (yearly), and identify > new projects. > > 8. Review Vision: I look at my 5-year vision, do some visualization > and brainstorming, and come up with new goals or projects. > > 9. If I’ve come up with any new projects at all (mostly during steps > 4-8), I switch to a To-Do view called “Projects created today” and > define them: minor or major? If major, what’s the successful outcome, > what subtasks can be identified? > > 10. Finally, ORGANIZE actions. Using my “Requiring Definition” view, I > go through all the actions/projects that, as a result of the weekly > review, require definition and add context, time, and effort. > > This process takes me about 2 hours, even though I already notice > speed improvements through practice. At the end of the weekly review – > because it is complete - I can trust that all of my projects are > identified and defined, and that my action lists are complete and have > all the meta-data I need to later filter them in terms of contexts, > energy level, and the time available. > > --- Open Questions --- > * Attachments: is it possible to attach external files (e.g. MindMaps) > directly to tasks? > * Long-term goals: as of yet, I’m not entirely clear on how to manage > long-term goals… Do you guys define yearly goals as “due by the end of > the calendar year”? What about 2-3-year goals? Do you use due dates? > * I have not yet tried the “reminder” option. Any ideas on how to use > them effectively? I was wondering if they might work as some sort of > “Tickler file”, without using due dates. Sadly, start-date-based > recurrence is not (yet) possible… > > So far, so good. Let me know what you think! :-) > Till -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MyLifeOrganized" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mylifeorganized?hl=en.
