| “Just in case you might want a three-column layout that doesn’t require the usual sacrifices, we thought we’d share this technique. Not that you’d want that or anything.” |
January 31, 2006
In Search of the Holy Grail By Matthew Levine
January 21, 2006
Transitions: A secret ingredient to Getting Things Done? By Matthew Cornell
“Until recently I didn’t have a good idea of how to trigger looking at these actions, other than trying to apply traditional habit-forming ideas [1]. However, while reading Marilyn Paul’s book It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys I had an insight – In the Time Management section she says to be aware of transition time, and ask:
- Where am I?
- What did I just experience?
- What’s next?
- What do I need right now to be present with this situation?
With respect to my GTD practice, I’ve adapted this to mean be aware of environmental changes [2] (either mental or physical), because they often indicate changes in context. Here are some example transitions:
- Leaving the house – Is there anything I need to take, based on where I’m going?
- Leaving the driveway – Is there anything on @Errands I can pick up?
- Entering the office – What contexts are available? @Phone? @Computer?
- Finishing an action – What’s my context/time/energy/priority like? Should I activate another action from an associated project?
- Finishing a phone call – do I have time to make other calls from @Phone? (a )”
