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How Granular is a Next Action?

One thing I'm still trying to wrap my brain around viz-a-viz GTD is how granular a next action is, in terms of a project. Say, for example, I have a paper to write for an English class (which I do). I figure my NAs are:

1. Skim book for passage to analyze
2. Re-read book, and take notes
3. Skim previous class readings to choose comparison piece
4. Re-read chosen piece
5. Write first draft
6. Revise first draft
7. Write final paper

It's 5, 6, and 7 that have me curious as to whether those are really NAs, or if they can be made more granular and subdivided. There's subtasks to the actual writing, I suppose, but do I really need "Write thesis," "Write supporting argument 1," etc.?

moises's picture

NA granularity is a trick

The point of GTD is to get things done, not to have a niftily organized list of projects and NAs.

In order to get things done it helps to have a niftily organized list of projects and NAs. But it is always important to remember that, outside of forums like these, no one really cares how nifty your list is; they care about what you get done.

The list is always subordinate to the doing.

The point of formulating a NA is to increase the likelihood that I will do something. Your question about granularity suggests that there is some kind of universal, absolute answer. In fact, the answer is always relative to your capabilities and the situation.

If I have never backed up the server before, I need to write an extremely granular list of actions:

1) find the tape cassette labeled with today's day,
2) push the eject button under the server's tape drive,
. . .

So, my NA would be step one above.

If I have been handling the server backup for some time, my NA would be, "Backup server."

The granularity is dependent on, and relative to, my experience, knowledge, and situation.

For creative, expressive activities, the NA is completely dependent on your experience, knowledge and situation. If you can write papers at the drop of a hat, your NA could be "Write Civil War paper." If you are struggling, then you will be advised to avail yourself of the age-old method of breaking a project into small, easy to digest, bite-sized pieces. If you are struggling, "write thesis" might be a subproject. Your NA might be, "reread pages 218-214 in Smith's book." If you are struggling, your best strategy is to make your granularity finer and finer until it is small enough to overcome your resistance. "Turn on computer," "Open xyz.doc file," "read notes on abc book," "free-write for 10 minutes," etc.

This is why the concept of NA is so brilliant. It doesn't pay to write down everything that needs to be done. It does pay to write down the next thing that needs to be done to help overcome inertia. I try to make my NAs as coarsely-grained as possible and as finely-grained as needed to get me to act.

 
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