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Getting Things Done with Independent Classes
Chris | Jan 8 2008
Hello! I am a college student, taking independent classes. This means that, except for one online class, I have little accountability. Unfortunately, this has always been a problem with me. Are there any tips and tricks for applying to GTD to this situation? I basically am just handed a syllabus and the reading material. Although I can set due dates for the units, I still procrastinate and am not efficient in getting things done! Prior to learning about GTD, I had thought of getting a tutor. The job of this tutor would really just be a general one, to give me some accountability. So each week, I would feel pressure to make sure I had everything done. But is there some way GTD can help? I am in need of becoming a better self-starter, because putting things off in this situation is far too easy for me to do. Any comments/suggestions/questions will be appreciated! Thanks! 2 Comments
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 GTD doesn’t handleSubmitted by MarinaMartin on January 10, 2008 - 8:45pm.
GTD doesn't handle time/deadline-based tasks very well. I recommend REALLY chunking your assignments down. Way down. Depending on what your reading assignments look like, maybe to 10 pages of a textbook at a time, or one article at a time, etc. Make sure each chunk is something you can very easily do in one sitting. Then divide your total number of chunks by the total number of weeks before you need to have the reading completed. Firmly set a deadline each week by which time that week's chunks need to be completed. The tinier my next actions are, the more eager I am to check things off, and the more I get done. It will take a couple solid hours to get it setup, but since you know all your responsibilities in advance, you can type it up fairly easily. Do you have a blog, a Twitter account, a Facbeook profile, etc.? Those are great for holding yourself publicly accountable. I'm amazed by what I get done if I know 600 people on Twitter can click my URL at any moment and see half-written content on my website, for example. » POSTED IN:
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