In a previous posting I mentioned some upcoming forces – the sweetness of tools – that contest my analog / minimalistic approach of implementing GTD.

Another issue is a certain amount of thinking about this approach without adding any value. Currently I’m writing all next actions on 3.5 by 3.5 sized paper-notes. Now: should I tear a NA apart (makes me feel good for a second) when it’s done or should I keep them for future reference? If I keep them, shouldn’t I track metriks like time estimated vs. time actually spent, date issued vs. date done…? If I track those, shouldn’t I look for or build a database that visualizes trends…?

No. I need to trick and stick me to simplicity. Here is my plan:

1. take a basket and remove stuff inside
2. do the next action
3. make the corresponding note a little ball and throw it in the basket
4. repeat 2. and 3. until the basket is full
weekly do the review and post a picture of the status

Here is the next action balls basket as of today:

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Comments:

What a great idea – clutter that isn’t really clutter, but a sign of productivity :)
chris (http://www.chrislott.org/)
posted by Anonymous : 2/01/2005 06:30:20 AM

When I first learned about next actions, in the early 80’s, I was coaching people to write each thing that had their attention on separate pieces of paper, with the next action written on it. When the action was done, they just wadded up the paper and threw it away. Fabulous feeling! This takes the acknowledgement factor to a whole new level! – David Allen
posted by Anonymous : 8/04/2005 08:41:56 PM