Journey to GTD ZenImplementing GTD with

✔

Preface

Most of my implementation of GTD techniques are

based on blog posts and youtube videos

The key to GTD is finding a system and workflow that

works for you

Last Fall, I knew I needed to make some

organizational changes in order to maintain work-life

balance and be even more efficient with my time

My goal is just to show my system and the tool I’ve

decided to use as well as the strategies I’ve learned

along the way

I’ll discuss the tools I use but the practices are not

limited to a particular tool

Capture

Clarify

Organize

Reflect

Engage

The

Five

Pillars

of

GTD

GTD BasicsMy Top Level Buckets

Friend

s &

Family

Work Home School Misc

One-Offs Health Travel

Inbox

Friend

s &

Family

Work

Home

One-Offs

Travel

• General

• Routine

IT

• Dashboards

• NHC

• General

• Weekly Chores

Monthly Chores

• Misc

• Ironman 70.2

Florida

• Parents

Anniversary Cruise

• Vineman 70.3

• Birthdays

• Anniversaries

• Keeping in

touch

• Short term

things that

really don’t fit

with anything

else

GTD Basics

Buckets are called folders or projects✔

Buckets are called folders

Buckets are called notebooks or stacks

GTD Basics

Across tools

I try to use similar/parallel naming conventions to

making finding and filing things easier

✔

Build a system You trust

Build a system YOU

understand

GTD BasicsIf you have read the David Allen’s GTD book, you remember

that there was a default set of contexts: @Computer, @Work,

@Home

Contexts can be thought about in 4 categories

Some people do not use contexts at all

✔

Person Location Resource Priority

GTD Basics

Person

Location

Resource

Priority

Boss,

Spouse,

Billy Bob

Whole Foods,

Costco,

Library

Computer,

Phone,

Email, Web

Someday/Mayb

e,

Urgent

GTD Basics

Contexts✔

Tags

Basically, contexts or tags are a method to

easily search for related items across your

filing system

GTD Basics

Projects tie all tasks together into some sort of meaningful

action, providing objectives towards which those tasks are

directed

OmniFocus has 4 project types

Single

Action

Paralle

lSequential

Pause

d

GTD Basics

Single

Action

Paralle

l

Sequential

Each action item is dependent

on the previous one being

completed

Action items can be completed

at the same time, but are

related

Action items are loosely

related to each other

GTD Basics

Single

Action

Paralle

l

Sequential

80%

15%

5%

The majority of my

projects are single

action

GTD Basics

Sometimes a project stalls or

needs to be put on hold. In

OmniFocus, you can change a

project to this status which will

suppress reminders until you

make it active again

Pause

d

GTD Basics

Action items — Basically, for any project (and

a project is anything that takes more than 1

action), you need to ask yourself, “What is

the very next physical action necessary to

move this project forward?”

These actions get added to your project

GTD Basics

Single

Action

Paralle

l

Sequential

Laundry (Wash, Dry, Fold)

Research Hotels

Research Airfare deals

Buy X

Pick up dry cleaning

GTD Basics

Capturing actions is key to successful

GTD implementation

Get the action item into your system and

then trust your system

Capture Methods

Capture Methods

Siri remind me to

Quick Add

keyboard short cut

Email

Forwards

Paper notes

later added

Mobile App add

(but mostly let Siri

transcribe)

Clarify & Organize

Sometimes you capture the minimal aspects

of an action item to you inbox and then later

add it to a project, give it a context/due date,

etc

Have a well thought out filing system is key

Build a system You trust

Build a system YOU

understand

Reviewing

Optimal success comes from regularly

reviewing your projects and lists

Otherwise, your projects just become a black

hole and nothing gets done

Setup time to regularly review your projects

Some might be day, weekly, month, every

6 months depending on the project

Engage