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a quick procedural question

Hi,

So I've read GTD twice, listened to "Ready for Anything" and have been following 43 folders off and on for a while...

I've started my own GTD system... opting for a note-book in my pocket at all times, taking it back to my laptop at home where i have a system built with smart-folders on my copy of Journler. I have been going throw the work-flow chart and doing a regular review.

I have noticed a problem that i could use help with...

when I'm out doing stuff, I have my lists of next actions organized by context, ready for whatever situation arises. But, once I cross off a "next action," i'm sometimes confused about what the new "next action" for that project is. It doesn't seem productive to be constantly going back to my project lists every time I get a next action done.

How do i deal with this?

any advice is appreciated

augmentedfourth's picture

Re: a quick procedural question

First off, everybody has to solve this sort of situation in their own way. All I can tell you is how things work for me, and you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not to incorporate it.

I have a similar system, though my context-sensitive Next Action lists are printed to index cards and my tracking software is SimpleGTD. When I complete a Next Action, unless it's absolutely obvious what the subsequent one might be, I don't bother with determining another until my next Daily or Weekly review. Hopefully your lists are complete enough that you'll have more things to do in that context without having to refresh the list all the time!

The other thing I do, though, is that I keep master "Action" lists for my projects in SimpleGTD. The service lets you write out any number of Actions for each project while only flagging those you can do right now as Next Actions. I don't keep those master lists with me at all times; however, since I have already thought out the project structure past the current Next Action, it's often easy to remember what else I have decided to do.

Finally, who says you can have only one "Next Action" per project? If there are multiple things in a project that are independently do-able (i.e. no waiting for yourself or others to do something else first), put them all in your notebook!

 
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