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GTD for Working Parents
Bookworm | Jan 18 2006
I was going to jump in on the GTD for Homemakers thread, but thought perhaps this warranted a thread of its own. I'm trying to implement GTD principles at work and at home. At work, I'm at my computer most of the time, so can use Outlook and Bonsai to track my Next Actions, appointments, etc. At home, I must figure out a way to at least look at my Next Actions/projects/tickler file every day (which is buried in the closet at the moment), but it's hard to find the time. I might be "on the clock" with my 20 month old daughter from the minute I walk through the door until I collapse with exhaustion hours later. We're having "sleep issues" at the moment. (Let me just say in passing that I adore her.) Anyone else in the same boat? How do you handle the transition from work to home? How do you find time to "capture" everything that needs to be written down? When do you do your weekly review? Am I the only one that's always sending out birthday cards late? 3 Comments
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 I am in this boat,...Submitted by sonia_simone on January 18, 2006 - 1:04pm.
I am in this boat, having a fairly demanding full time job and an extremely cute, smart, talented and charming 6-month old. I make no claim to being tremendously organized at home, but the two tools that do work for me to keep things from _completely_ falling apart are a large daily calendar and a small pocket notebook. I'm using a Day-Timer one-page-per-day 8 1/2 x 11 for the calendar this year, which is where "flu shot at 2," "send birthday card" things go. Any big calendar would work--you want enough real estate to be flexible. As it happens, I use this to log everything the baby eats and when/how much he sleeps. This provides useful notes for the pediatrician, plus, let's face it, I am just obsessive-compulsive. But it actually can be helpful for figuring out things like the sleep issues. The calendar is in a three-ring binder, so in the back I have room for reference lists (prescription number and the phone number of the pharmacy, easy things to cook for dinner, stuff like that). And there's a supply, maybe 20 or so, of blank pages so I don't have to look all over the house when I need a new reference list. I tuck grocery lists into the front of the binder so I know where to find them. I'm using one of the 3x5 moleskines for my pocket notebook, which is fine. It has projects, NAs by context, a buy list, an errand list, a page for things to bring from the home to the office or vice versa, etc. I flip through it in the morning when I get to work, and maybe (ok, never) in the evening after the baby goes to bed. A good time might be in the car right before you walk in the door, though. I also have hipster PDAs in my car, my bedside table, and in all of my coat pockets. I keep an ultra fine point sharpie in each location also. (Nice because waterproof and never leaks onto my pockets.) This helps me catch the random urgent thoughts (hmm, maybe I should work that into my 43F title) that seem to strike at the least convenient times. I will break down and confess right here, I do not do weekly reviews for home stuff. I try and look at my pocket notebook every day or so, and that's about as good as I'm gonna get for the foreseeable future. » POSTED IN:
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