GOE - GETTING ORGANIZED EXPERIMENT - DAY 1 ASSIGNMENT

[mouser]

We want to keep this interactive, so everyone who is participating please do feel free to post even if it's just to say "yep i've organized a workspace!" and don't feel shy about it being your first post ever on our forum.  This is as good a time as any  

Also, the plan we have for this project is not set in stone (though we will be posting a more elaborate roadmap soon), so please do chime in with particular areas or issues or suggestions for stuff you think would be useful to address in the upcoming months.

Currently we plan on looking at several different systems (GTD, GED, etc.), as well as different software programs, our own upcoming fun productivity toy utility, and then brainstorming our own hybrid system as a group effort here.

And if anyone knows any other "systems" they think are interesting, please post them so we can look into it.

[brett]

Alright , Im still on track,
Home -Cleared desk
Work -Cleared small part of desk,

Will be going the software road. (ToDoList-CP, Stickies-zhorn)

BTW. Others that want to try a Screen PostIt note program, could do worse then trying HottNotes
http://www.hottnotes.com/
has a checklist feature that Stickies lacks


doublebogey

[tomos]

thats the first time I've seen the desk timber in a while (or plywood or whatever it is!)
Thanks Mouser!

On completion I was reminded of Robert de Niro in "The Analyst", who, once he told his problem to the shrink, felt so enlightened that he thought he was sorted - me, I felt a bit like that too (who needs to do anything else now !?)

I'm unsure of the "work area" - I cleared the deskspace on my computer table cause I reckon thats where I be - so I'll be constantly reminded by seeing my todo list or index box.

Got 3" x 5" cards and am trying out the A5 templates from the hipster PDA site (todo, week-printout, month, etc.)


Also reusing an indexcard filing box of sorts that I was given at christmas to help me learn my german vocab (but I'm not a very dedicated student ... )
I decided to use the headings:

To do
Office things -    (e.g. Tidy Up!)
Help -               encouraging quotes, ideas etc.

 see pic, (they are small cards - 2" x 3" inches, 5 x 7.5cm - I like the way you just put one thing on each.
Okay, off to work     )

[mouser]

I have to say i am loving my index card system in place of the old todo lists i used to write.
The old full page ToDo lists get messy and half completed and misplaced and just hard to keep track of.
The index cards are great: one per item, and when i complete one i can check it off and file it away.
And having a card for each item means i can shuffle them around, arrange them as a i please, and have plenty of room to write on each one.  and there is something pleasing tactiley from a 3x5" card.

[Perry Mowbray]

I'll be heading down the software road as well... I'll be using ToDoList (which I've used on and off for a number of years now).

- Perry

[nudone]

it is now Monday morning for me here. i've woken up an hour late (shouldn't really matter as i'm working from home but it really annoys me) and my eyeballs feel like they are too big for their sockets - a bit like a hangover and yet i've not consumed any alcohol.

i mention this as i was planning this to be the first day of hardcore efficiency and super motivation - but i feel like the complete opposite will be the order of the day now.

so, as one of the pseudo coaches for the experiment i am now declaring that i will have become fully motivated and on track within the next hour. i'll be setting myself a number of tasks for the day ahead - ALL of which i expect to be completed or, at least, attacked by the end of the day.

honestly, if i can snap out of this current thick head that i've got then the rest should be quite simple.

[Arjen]

I've just read about this experiment and will join, so I'll catch up as soon as possible!

Please let me know what to expect... Will there be an assignment every day? What will be covered?

[urlwolf]

I'm using todoList (TDL) http://www.codeproject.com/tools/ToDoList2.asp and I'm completely in awe with all the things it can do. The timing of tasks is great.

[nudone]

right, i'm now busy sorting out all the notebooks, scraps of paper and 'reminders' that i've been accumulating over the past ten to fifteen years. i ought to have done this yesterday to meet the deadline for having a clear mind and workspace but it was only this morning that a realised i really needed to break free from all these old 'to-do' lists and chuck most of them out - or, at the very least, put them in one place.

more importantly, i'd just like to say well done to everyone that has managed to complete the first assignment.

whether you found it a completely trivial thing to do or something that took all day and beyond (like me), the important thing is that you set yourself a task that was then completed. this is all we are really hoping to achieve - but with a greater number of successes than we would normally make.

deadlines like the one for the first assignment are there as a guide - you can, of course, create your own deadline(s) to meet. make it realistic and take it seriously. i didn't make the official deadline that mouser set, so i'm now playing catch-up and so i am even more determined to sort things out today.

one other thing i think worth mentioning (i can't remember if it has already be done) is that we will be trying to tackle different styles of procrastination. some of us will have a set amount of work that has been determined by outside forces (like your boss) and others (like me) will be inventing the work with no real penalty if it isn't completed - and there will be combinations.

i'm sure this means there will be plenty of tips and advice that seem completely irrelevant to your personal task problems. the question you will need to ask yourself is whether you are ignoring certain tips/advice that people make because it really will not benefit your situation or whether you are just blocking yourself from taking action and trying something new.

as you are here, taking part in this experiment, you will need to finally accept that you are perhaps wrong in the way you have been running things. yes, external factors will play a part and disrupt your plans but it is entirely your choice in how you react to them. reading a 'self-motivation' book is just entertainment - it changes nothing unless you admit what you have been doing doesn't work and that you actually have to put the ideas in the book into practise - EVERY DAY. if you've read about a new system then give it a few days trial, just as a bit of fun or do it just to prove that it doesn't work and that you really are an incurable procrastinator if that is how you want to define yourself.

i've got things to do so i'm off to do them...

[tomos]

sounds like the head has thinned down a bit nudone !

I think I'm working roughly the same timezone as you, and working at home, and I'm already finding the "group/collective-approach/energy" very helpful. (Also got to get back to work though )

[app103]

I plan on adding a few more things to my ToDo List program today in preparation for this. Gave it some thought and I want to be able to load it in my system tray at startup with a specific list of what needs to be done, so I'll have to add a tray icon, ability to minimize to tray and some command line parameters for the shortcut in the startup folder....might add drag & drop to open a file too, if I can figure out how to do that. (that's some stuff on my ToDo List for today)

I already have my Instant Boss there...and my old 3M Post-It Software Notes Professional.
Current professional version of the Post-It software can be downloaded here (trial) or purchased here...older very basic free version can be downloaded here. The Professional version is fantastic and a great value for everything they included in it. If you can afford it, buy the professional version instead of using the free one.

I am one of those that needs more than 1 special place. My desk is fine, but it's shared, so I need an alternate for when that spot is occupied by my daughter, which I kind of have.

Being the creative type, and knowing that ideas often hit at inconvenient times/places, I try to maintain supplies needed for recording those spontaneous 'brain farts' in every room of the house...even my bathroom has a small hard cover spiral notebook with ribbon through the spirals that hangs on a hook on the wall, with a pen attached to another ribbon so it won't disappear. My 'personal space' is whatever space I am occupying at the moment.

One thought I was having about this experiment...cost. We shouldn't need to have a second job to pay for getting things done...it will give us less time to get things done.

I have an aversion to spending any money that I don't have to on anything, not that I really have any to spend, any way. I am pretty famous for being a very frugal tightwad packrat, and making due with what I have or what I can get for free. If I hit the lottery tomorrow that wouldn't change...it's part of who I am and who I have always been, and something I am very proud of...I waste nothing. It's almost a sort of 'religion' with me. Not many people can live a life of 'luxury' below the poverty level, like I can.

Keeping that in mind, I will try to offer alternatives to spending any money when I see that someone makes a good suggestion that may involve a purchase of some sort, just in case there are others here that are like me and either don't want to spend money or can't. It would be nice if when everyone makes suggestions that involve a purchase if you can take a few extra seconds and try to think of a free alternative...make my job of tightwadding and thinking up alternatives just a little easier.

Mouser's suggestion of index cards is a very good one that I agree with.

My free alternative to that: junk mail envelopes

Save them. Not only can you write on the blank side, but you can put things in them too. Like writing the grocery list on it and putting your coupons that go with it inside, as an example. Take a fat magic marker and cross out any address junk that may appear on the reverse side.

Most items of junk mail you receive will give you 2 envelopes to use for free...the business reply one inside, and the one the mail came in. Reusing them for something will save you money, is good for the environment, and good for you emotionally, too, since your attitude towards junk mail will change a little. You'll be much happier when you go to the mailbox with the attitude of "oh, goodie! free envelopes!" rather than 'oh, no! more useless junk to throw away".

Another thought...

I am in a unique position here. I don't really have anything that I have to do...only things I want to do. Part of getting things done involves prioritizing...and part of that is knowing what things don't really have to be done, at all. Sometimes you think you have to do something but the only person that will be affected negatively if you don't is yourself, and the effects are so minor that the stress of forcing yourself to do them outweighs the benefits and you'd be better off not doing them, at all. Or maybe it doesn't outweigh the benefits...but it's still not something you have to do. So make sure it goes on the right list...not have to, but want to.

Like my craft corner...it's a big mess. But I know where everything is. Cleaning it up would be very time consuming, likely to make me very cranky and hard to live with while doing it, and carries a strong risk of a serious back injury to my already injured back. It would take days...or maybe weeks, and the only person really affected by whether I do it or not is myself...and I can live with the negative reactions of guests that see it, I don't really care what people think (the only opinions about me that really count are my own), and my family is used to it and doesn't care either. So that isn't something I have to do. And honestly speaking, it's not something I want to do either...so I don't.

[jgpaiva]

I was now thinking i need something that can make my schedule for me. But not something that will make me a full day schedule (since i tend to procastinate, i would leave the stuff that were meant to do during the morning, to the end of the afternoon). I need something where i can put the tasks i need to do, their priority and the time they take, and then, on the moment i am at home, i input it how much time i have before i have to leave (or go dinner or something), and it gives me a list of what to do.
Anyone knows any similar software?

[nudone]

good suggestions about reusing stuff, app. i've been collecting scraps of paper that would otherwise be thrown away - they just get used again for notes and stuff so it seems crazy to keep buying brand new pads. you can, of course, reuse card boxes for file/folder containers - if the box it too big then just cut it down. if such things aren't the right pastel shade of whatever it's meant to be this month then you'll just have to pop down to Ikea and buy something instead.

your position isn't so unique app. i really, really don't have to do any of the tasks (or should i say projects) i've set myself - that's why they haven't been done. year after year goes by and it always seems that NEXT year will be the year i get things done.

so, what is the difference about this time around? probably that i've been made aware that most things don't get done because other impulse distractions take precedence. does it matter if i do or do not get these 'projects' done? not one jot - the universe won't notice either way. so why bother? i'll let you fill in your own raison d'être.

[patteo]

I'm using todoList (TDL) http://www.codeproject.com/tools/ToDoList2.asp and I'm completely in awe with all the things it can do. The timing of tasks is great.

-urlwolf (September 04, 2006, 04:42 AM)

I have read your great mini-review and was intrique that you were an ex-MLO evangelist.

I currently use MLO and one of things you mentioned that was a disadvantage in ToDoList is the lack of a PPC version. This lack of PPC support may be a deal-breaker for me

Have you then found a way to at least read an exported file ToDoList and also found a way to enter or change tasks on the go on the PPC and then perhaps through an alternative mechanism synchronized it with the ToDoList on the desktop/laptop.

Do you know if there is there any intention to develop a PPC version for ToDoList ?

Update:
I did a search on the codeproject and there appears to be something for the PPC to view and edit the xml file although there appears to not be an update.
http://www.codeproje...=1512642#xx1512642xx

Oops, I guess I should have posted this reply in the other thread at
https://www.donation...57.msg35213#msg35213

[thomthowolf]

OK, I am done here.  I have cleared off my desk at work and at home, and I have finally selected  my set of tools.   
I will be going the software route, though I also plan to print out useful items and carry them with me.  In an earlier life I was an actor, and any professional actor will tell you that you must NEVER be more than an arms reach from your resume and head shot.  As I transition to writing,  I have adapted that to NEVER be more than an arm's length from paper and pen. I have finally accomplished that by  printing a calendar or todo list on the back of something I have already printed on, and I fold that into thirds (like a letter about to be put into an envelope) and stick it into my pocket. 


After having tried just about every existing to do list manager (no, really, I think I got to them all) I have finally decided to use Evernote.

Here's how I set it up:
1. Produce keyword category "@ context"
2. Make subcategories (@ call, @ work, @ computer, @ home, etc.)
3. Right-mouse click on each category and activate keyword filter using name of category. For example, "@ work" category is set to automatically assign any note with the phrase "@ work" to the @work auto category.
(To assign "@ call", I entered the words "@ call,@ phone,@ telephone" so that I can use any of those terms to assign the @ call category.)

How to use it
Collect all your to do items ( I use the single to do template rather than lists)
as you review the list, add keywords to indicate what project they belong to, and where they must (or can) be done.  Just type the keywords anywhere in the note
If you like, you can also add words indicating priority, or urgency, or even energy required. (I also have a category for "@easy" and for "@hard". )

The auto keyword category system will automatically categorize the note into "@ computer and @ work". Need items to complete while "at the computer"? Click on the @ computer category line, and all notes with the @ computer text will appear. Obviously, it's easy to select >1 category if required.

What really makes this work for me is the intersection panel.  During the collection phase I develope a practical list of all my "next actions" and I can quickly limit it to where I am and even to how much energy I think it will take, which gives me a menu to select how I will spend the next 15 or 20 minutes of my available time.

[thomthowolf]

While I am at it, I thought I would collect some responses to earlier posts:

BTW. Others that want to try a Screen PostIt note program, could do worse then trying HottNotes
http://www.hottnotes.com/
has a checklist feature that Stickies lacks

My personal favorite in this category of apps is WireNote http://www.wiredplane.com/en/wpt-wirenote/about.php
It is updated frequently, and does one trick that no other freeware alternative I have seen can do:it allows you to "stick" a note to a particular window, so that it opens and closes with that window.

I'm using todoList (TDL) http://www.codeproje.../tools/ToDoList2.asp and I'm completely in awe with all the things it can do. The timing of tasks is great.

I was really impressed with this particular software as well.  My only reason for not using it is that it is organized around projects rather than around contexts, and I really only want 1 list of things to do.  Also, I think that GTD is an attempt to completely disregard the traditional "to do" list.  No priorities, no dates, no timing.  The image I have in mind after reading the book is that you should see yourself as having endless free time, and a lovely menu of possible ways to spend it based on your time and energy. 

Being the creative type, and knowing that ideas often hit at inconvenient times/places, I try to maintain supplies needed for recording those spontaneous 'brain farts' in every room of the house...even my bathroom has a small hard cover spiral notebook with ribbon through the spirals that hangs on a hook on the wall, with a pen attached to another ribbon so it won't disappear. My 'personal space' is whatever space I am occupying at the moment.

I really love this idea.  I love computers, but paper is really faster and easier to add ideas to.  Later, I enter the notes into my evernote system.  My wife was not thrilled with all the pads I distributed around the house, but she seems ok now ... I think ...

One thought I was having about this experiment...cost. We shouldn't need to have a second job to pay for getting things done...it will give us less time to get things done.

Amen, brother!

I was now thinking i need something that can make my schedule for me. But not something that will make me a full day schedule (since i tend to procastinate, i would leave the stuff that were meant to do during the morning, to the end of the afternoon). I need something where i can put the tasks i need to do, their priority and the time they take, and then, on the moment i am at home, i input it how much time i have before i have to leave (or go dinner or something), and it gives me a list of what to do.
Anyone knows any similar software?

Have you ever looked at What to Do http://www.handcraftedbytes.com/?
This is another really close second place software, and, IMHO better realized than MLO.

[esiiteri]

So, I have started.  I am looking at GmailGTD as well as Agendus for Palm & Dektop.  I have been using Agendus for about a year after many years of Datebook3-6. I have also made files for all of the paper and loose stuff that is almost impossible for me to keep up with.  Hello weekly reviews! Good luck to all from the KIng of Procrastination!

[urlwolf]

I think that GTD is an attempt to completely disregard the traditional "to do" list.  No priorities, no dates, no timing.  The image I have in mind after reading the book is that you should see yourself as having endless free time, and a lovely menu of possible ways to spend it based on your time and energy.

This is a very interesting thought. I did just that (assume that my time is infinite) and the result is I have a backlog of projects started with people that are still expecting me to finish them anytime now.

I think it is a very exciting idea (it's all about intellectual curiosity, right) that you have a menu of things to pick from. But it is doomed to creating a backlog, and the projects rot if you do not work on them actively.

I think Mark Forster gets it right when he spends the first 2-3 chapters of his books showing you that your time is not infinite. In fact, it is very reduced, and most of us have activities that demand more attention than we can possibly allocate.

[thomthowolf]

I think it is a very exciting idea (it's all about intellectual curiosity, right) that you have a menu of things to pick from. But it is doomed to creating a backlog, and the projects rot if you do not work on them actively.

I think Mark Forster gets it right when he spends the first 2-3 chapters of his books showing you that your time is not infinite. In fact, it is very reduced, and most of us have activities that demand more attention than we can possibly allocate.

-urlwolf (September 04, 2006, 04:39 PM)

Very true.  I still like the menu metaphor, though.  The point of GTD is that life changes so quickly that a list you made this morning may not make sense by this afternoon.  If I can torture my own metaphor, then having the menu in front of you is not where you stop.  You still have to select something and get it done.  The idea is that you have EVERYTHING on the menu so that you can select exactly the right thing to do without worrying that you have forgotten anything important.  At least that's how I see it right now.  It isn't that time is infinite, but that it is free for you to fill with what makes the most sense at that moment.

[momonan]

I'm with you, urlwolf.  Most of us have no difficulty thinking of things to do -- far more things than we can possibly accommodate in a lifetime.  That's why I'm hoping NOT to just make a list of things to do and start doing them.  My hope is that I can evaluate what is really important to me and make sure I'm able to do them.

To help me with this, I'll be working on putting "First Things First," as laid out by Stephen Covey (author of "7 Habits of Highly Effective People") and two of his disciples in a book they wrote about 10 years ago.  I'll report how I'm doing as we go along.  I will still need to figure out a good way of getting the things done that I decide are important, so I am looking forward to reading everything that is working for each of us.

So many good ideas, so far.  Hearing the DETAILS really helps.

[jgpaiva]

Ok... Here I am reporting back on this one.
Only now i was able to get this first assignment done, but i'm glad i did it!
For those wondering if they should or shouldn't take some time to organize their workspace, i definitelly recomend: YES, do it asap!

I've removed everything i had on my main desk. Now, only my computer and work papers remain.
I also did something similar with my second desk (where i couldn't put anything anymore because it was cluttered with trash). It's definitelly a good feeling to be able to look around and see some empty space.

While i was on cleaning mood, i also cleaned the wall behind my computer, which was full of marks. I think this was important because now i don't have anything to distract me while i work.

This was definitelly a productive day! 

[Terflip]

  Well I know this all started some time ago and I'm not even sure this is really still going, but I'm in.

O.K. Desk looks cluttered really bad, so lots of work here!  As far as the other listed items, Good to go!!!

[Darwin]

Hi Terflip - the latest GOE was in 2007. Mouser is looking for interest in a new one: https://www.donation....msg152699#msg152699