GTD1-2-3-Session1-20060129

GTD 1-2-3 : Collecting
  Review or new
  Also on call: Marion Bateman and Meg Edwards
GTD 1-2-3 is designed to walk through five GTD phases
  collect
  process
  organize
  review
  act
Each phase deserves suffiicient time.
  Session one is collect
  Session 2 is processing and organizing
  Session 3 is review and act
Benefits of Collecting
  allows clearing so you are undistracted from the other items demanding attention
  How can you focus on what an email means when surrounded by piles
  Allows for an understanding of everything that one needs to manage
  Frees up physical space
Why do people have piles? They function as physical reminders
  but piles can blend and lead to lack of control
  Transition from pile to list management is part of GTD
  Piles can be OK - if they are discrete (all bills in a single pile, no bills in other piles)
  List reminders often function as more efficient
First thing to manage is filing
  usually a lot of things (>50%) needing collection will require filing. Not being ready for this increases the friction and resistance.
  Clear a drawer before starting to collect.
  Reference to filing PDF, and to the power of effective filing.
  Simplest system often best - general reference of A-Z, or a currently working system.
  reiteration of non-hanging folders.
  Some people like to partition into current, ready reference, archive, etc. But keep it simple.
  Bonus point: if half you have around you is reference, how much clearer to have only those things in front of you need action
  Resistence to filing often indicates some need for tweakage of your filing system.
  labeller cult - make it fun.
  Even if you are deep into GTD, its good to review your filing setup
Collecting
  Once have filing set up
  A physical and psychological corralling of everything that represents our attention.
  Everything that isnt REDS probably requires processing
    Reference
    Equipment
    Decoration
    Supplies
  Literally go around the desktops and put it together
    not always what is on the desk, but what those items represent. Make a note of these for the inbasket
    write separate notes, at least initially, for the inbasket. Eases processing.
    Include previous planners and other collections from the past - lurking information
    Not processing, JUST gathering.
  Not just office, but home
  Also do a mental walkaround - mind sweep
    templates includes a mindsweep list
    Good thing to clean house periodically
      how much mindsweep in weekly review?
    One way to mindsweep, what happened in the last hour that had my attention. Anything left incomplete there?
  Staving off overwhelm
    Just because you write it down, doesnt mean you need to do it now.
  Also good to think of in a walkaround - what are things you see that you would like to be different.
  Advocates at least a blended system - paper and computer
  How much should one write down? Enough that you wont have to think about this again. Doesnt have to be totally complete.
  Always keep paper around for future collection.
    Notepad at the phone,
    HPDA or notetaker wallet in pocket.
  Timeframe
    Commit for at least a couple of hours, more likely at least a half day.
  Tools
    paper
    recorders - need to be cleared often
    pdas
    mindmapping software
Collecting is not limited to just the individual, but often good for a group (family, work team, etc)
Collecting is not processing. You will come back to this - you are delegating to your future self the decision of what things mean.
Cautions
  Purge and Nostalgia rabbit trail should be avoided. Defer some of that review for future with an inbox entry.
  Resist the urge of distraction.
What youre up against when you start - Comfort Zone and change
  healing crisis. exposure of your open loops youve hidden from yourself can lead to a feeling of stress
  Growth can be unfamiliar territory
  Remember that you are unlikely to be the most out of control person.
  Biggest change is getting things out of your head. That things are collected OUTSIDE your mind in a trusted place/system
    Have the ideas, but dont hang on to them
Meg relates story of daughter who at 7 is collecting and externalizing.
Marion: The power of control (making decisions) about what is in your life - but this takes some up front time.
Opens lines for calls
  Q: one week onsite, one week offsite job. How best to manage files
    This is an increasingly common question. No simple answer, but making distinction between reference and action items it is logistics
    what needs to be copied
    what needs to be brought along
    retention of checklists for trips to help predict
  Q: How to block out sufficient time for collection, but not able to have sufficient time to process it all
    In implementing, try to collect in spaces or in boxes. Then process these temporary piles in batches.
    Most efficient is to do as much upfront as possible, however.
    Immediate handoff of hot items to inbox.
    Triaging your IN: Maybe three boxes, but these need processing in short order
      Immediate
      for filing soon
      may need action, (someday/maybe)
      trash (of course)
    A good idea to think ahead a bit - plan ahead for the next period.
  Q: How can one best handle receipts. Keeps on hand to enter into quicken, but always ends up being too late
    Are they items worth keeping?
    Keeping them separate in a pile only works if you are diligent about dumping them. If not, inbox them - 2 minute rule will apply to most of them, or can sort the inbox for them and batch process.
    Example of the secondary inbox problem, just like a pile to file
  Q: WRT receipts. Can use scanners, etc.
    probably more trouble than they are worth, but is intrigued by book cataloging scanners.
  Q: Tracking systems for projects (bugzilla, clearquest, etc). How do they work within systems generally (as they are distinct from the system)
    Primarily a processing topic (so next week).
    The action reminder system can be very different than your reference system. As long as the reminder points to the reference material.
  Q: Concern about lists getting stale. How does one get jumpstarted back into GTD?
    Meg: When things get stale, review the workflow. Confirm that one is doing the weekly review. Do project lists need refocussing? Do you need to redefine projects or actions?
    Marion: when lists flatline, means that some items have actually been completed, but the items remaining are lesser commitments which could be discarded or S/Md. Give yourself permission to close the loop for now.
    David: Often this is a sign that one could throw it all away and start again. This way you can discover what is now really important. When system wanes, often the system needs to just be caught up with where you are at that time. Go up to 10/20/30K and come back to runway.
    Its not the system, its the focus the system facilitates.
  Q: Best practices for electronic filing
    Best practice is what is easy.
    A good idea to retain only the parts you need - Cut and Paste the pertinent elements
    Dont mix action and reference information.
    Marion: Google Desktop seems to provide some success for her teleconference users (searchability).
    Marion: Dont forget to follow compliance and archive rules of organization.
  Q: What about subsystems into a general reference system. what to do with a) appliance manuals and b) journal articles
    It can be useful to create subsystems if they are clearly demarcated (so appliance manuals, or journal articles on a particular topic)
  Q: Notes in spiral notebook.
    DA advocates using a legal book and putting items into inbox. Has a distrust of notes with symbology.
    If you do have a notebook, you must be diligent about processing.
  Q: How does one deal with the rapid input - feels like always collecting, never processing.
    The idea is that while one is not perfect, one has to improve consistently, practicing the skills.
    The volume is not entirely in our control, unless we can force the time to process. Part of work is defining work.
    Set aside some time to at least triage, and enforce the discipline to keep after it.
For next week:
  Collect as much as possible.
    If youve got a good collection, look in the hidden places.
    Look at calendar to make sure you have time to invest in this if at all possible.
    Check to make sure filing is in order
  Next week is processing and organizing. May be helpful to have a set of examples.