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Many GTD article specifies that you put tasks for small items (that are less than 15 minutes long) and rest in calendar. I am thinking of using toodledo as primary system and then calendar for scheduling meetings only. So every morning I can see what work I need to do and be flexible on when to do them. Any insights? |
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The GTD book is both specific and emphatic that the only things that go on the calendar are actual appointments (at their assigned time) and tasks that have to be done on a specific day (which aren't given a time, just a day). The first kind is pretty obvious, but an example for the second kind would be you have a deadline of Friday 5pm for finishing a report for your boss and you need information from someone on vacation through Thursday. So you're going to have to call them on Friday to get that information to meet your deadline. In contrast, any task that doesn't fit those two categories goes on a list, not on the calendar. That way, when you look at your calendar, you know that the things listed have to be done on those days. If all the things you'd just like to get done on that day are listed, then the must-dos will get lost in the noise. If you're interested in GTD and haven't read the book yet, I strongly recommend doing so. Few people use GTD exactly as presented by the author, but I think it's important to start with the original and distill your own version rather than trying to work from someone else's interpretation. (Though those are still excellent to read, for inspiration.) |
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David Allen is very clear in "Getting Things Done" that the only things that should go on the calendar are "hard landscape" appointments that must be done at a specific time, and tasks that must be done sometime that day. Many people using productivity systems based on his vary from that practice. Including me, at least a little. In my world, all tasks go on a list. The size of the task doesn't have any effect on whether it goes on list or calendar, although if it is a big enough task, I might decide I need to break it down further to get to a real Next Action. Appointments and "to be done sometime today" are entered on the calendar. Where I vary somewhat from strict GTD is in blocking time on the calendar for my highest priorities. During weekly review, I'll block out a couple of hours in each of the next couple weeks for the things that are most important for now. That might be a specific deliverable at work, or a project at home that will take multiple work sessions to get done, or simply a note that I need to spend some additional time on a 20kft area of focus. I don't come anywhere close to filling the calendar, but I do make sure there is time reserved for things that might otherwise get skipped on my lists in favor of something else in the heat of doing things. This technique works most effectively when I make entries at a 20kft horizon of focus, rather than a specific project, although I do both. When that blocked time comes, I work on whatever tasks are appropriate for the purpose of the time block, then move on. |
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