Comments on: David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates

By: Barry Porter

Barry Porter — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:17:05 +0000

Anything I need to do that is date/time specific goes in the calendar. The items scheduled for the week are also added to an end of week review, just in case any are missed (as we all have those weeks). As mentioned to put items on a list requires discipline as it requires you to check all the necessary lists/buckets and that takes time and I don’t trust that system.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:56:46 +0000

Option 2 works well for me. I have such tasks listed in MyLife Organized, which is always open at work. By looking through the available next actions at the start of the day and whenever I have discretionary time, tasks like this are always taken care of in time.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:41:26 +0000

Actually, I just realized I do some of option 2, too… When a task is due Thursday, I write (WEDNESDAY) next to the task on the Next Actions list (or whatever date I HAVE to start working on it).

Since I use my NA list each evening to schedule the next day, this helps me quickly see which things I really need to put in the schedule, and then I can fill out the rest of the day with other tasks from the list.

By: Vivian

Vivian — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 18:38:05 +0000

I do some combination of options 1 and 3… I do keep all the tasks on my Next Actions list, but I’ve begun to schedule those next actions (or the projects) into 1-hour blocks on my calendar. Since I work from home, this creates the structure I need to get myself going (otherwise I do nothing all morning because I haven’t decided what to work on next, and then freak out in the afternoon).

By: John Forrister

John Forrister — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:10:17 +0000

Brandy, that’s smart. Better to think about your calendar and lists a bit more while you build trust in your system. You’ll know when the habit of checking calendar and lists is in such a groove that you don’t need the double-entry method.
– John

By: Brandy

Brandy — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:02:12 +0000

I have just started reviewing my action lists and based on what needs to get done, I put it on my calendar – kind of the double entry method that David describes here. I am probably thinking about things more often than I need to, but at this stage of my journey with GTD, I feel like this is a step of progress. This article helps me to see that I am at least on the right track. Thanks, David.