Getting Things Done using Outlook 2007 - Part 2: WORKFLOW: The GTD basic workflow, my adaptation in Outlook

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 05:58:55 GMT

In my last post I gave an overview of the elements of Outlook that I leverage in my implementation of GTD. In this post I'll cover two things: the basic Getting Things Done workflow and how this shows up in Outlook as I've got it configured.

The Getting Things Done Workflow

GTD suggests a five activity workflow:

Collect - In this step, you collect all your stuff. This is about getting all of your thoughts and notes and email and everything else into one place so you do something with it. For some people, there's a lot of stuff in the physical world. For me, there's very little. A few notes here and there. For the most part, my collection process is non-existant because I don't have much that isn't already in Outlook somehow.
Process - In this step, you "process" all the stuff you have collected. The key to processing an item is deciding whether action is required or not. If action isn't required, you can delete it or file it. If action is required, the two most important things to figure out are: (1) the next action you'll take (call mom, read a doc, etc.) and (2) the context in which you'll take the action (when I'm on my computer, at home, etc.). Anything you can just do in two minutes you just do. There are other components, but that's the core for me.
Organize - As I understand it, this step is mostly about organizing the supporting materials that you need for your actions. For me, this is mostly about what I file away (since it's easy to find once it's filed -- in Outlook).
Review - On a regular basis (usually, once a week) review everything! See if there are new things on your mind you need to get into the system. Review priorities. See if there's stuff you're waiting for that you should have gotten by now, etc.
Do - "Doing" is about your previously identified "next actions." Also, doing happens in a particular context. One of the key things about GTD is that you figure out the action and context during Processing. You don't do the doing then. Later, when you find yourself with some time in a particular context (half an hour with no meetings and time to do something), you flip right to the context list that corresponds to where you are and just start doing!

For me, this translates into the following condensed "zones" in Outlook:

In - Similar to my inbox, this is where fresh stuff arrives in my system and it lives here for a short period of time until I decide if I need to take action on it, file it or delete it. In Outlook, I implement this with search folders.
Process - This is where I deal with everything that needs action. Stuff needs processing once I've flagged that I know I need to take action but I haven't figured out what I need to do (next) or the context in which I'll do it. This is implemented as an Outlook view on the To-Do list.
Do - When I have time in a context, I start working through the next actions previously identified for that context. This is implemented as a set of Outlook views on the To-Do list.

For the rest of this post, I'll show how these three "zones" feel in Outlook. In upcoming posts, I'll describe how the implementation works in Outlook.

In

My "In" is split into two search folders:

The first folder is called "Incoming" and it's a search folder that shows me all unflagged mail in my Inbox. I look at unflagged mail because once mail is flagged, I've decided that I need to take some action on it and I don't need to see it until later when I'm able to either do the next action or think through what the right next action will be. My other "In" folder (I call it Tier 2) is for all of the mail I get on mailing lists. Outlook rules move these all out of my Inbox so they don't clutter things up.

Mail sits in my Incoming folder for typically no more than a day or two. Sometimes it's only there for a few minutes. When I'm looking at my Incoming (something I do very briefly 10-15 times per day), I can do one of four things with an item there: delete it, move it to a file folder, reply very quickly or mark it for later action. When marking it for action, I could just flag it () if I'm in a hurry, or I could process it right then and there by selecting a context and a next action.

Contexts in my implementation are done with Outlook categories. Here's a partial list of mine:

My categories break down into three main groups:

'@@' - Agendas for discussion with specific people. Above you'll see Cynthia, Ron, etc. Having items categorized using these agenda contexts mean that when I finally get time with these people I don't forget to bring something up.
'@' - Normal contexts ala GTD, like "Computer" and "Work." For me I have an additional one called @Focus. This is what I use for when I have an extended stretch of time that I can really use to work on something that takes uninterrupted concentration at work. I actually book time on my own calendar for @Focus work (not usually for specific items but just multi-hour blocks for whatever focused time is most important when that time arrives).
!Someday and !Waiting For - Someday is for the GTD Someday/Maybe items. Often the next action isn't clear and you don't have time to do it anyway even if it were :-). !Waiting For is how I mark anything that I am waiting for back from somebody.

Next actions are indicated differently for mail messages and tasks. For tasks, I just put the next action in the Subject of the task. For email, I use the Flag To field when flagging the message:

So, to summarize: mail leaves the "In" zone in one of two ways. Either I just quickly flag it to indicate I need to take action but don't have time to think about it more now (I'll figure out action and context when I process next) or I set the context (using a category) and next action (using Flag To). Either way, it just disappears from the Incoming view.

Process

When I have a bit of time (on average once per day), I put my attention on the Process zone. This is where I have everything that I know needs some action but I haven't thought through the specific action and context. To get here, I go to the To-Do list and then bring up my [Process]. This view filters everything on my todo list down to those things that need action and/or context identified.

Here's how my Process list looks right now:

When it's time to process, I go through each one of these items and identify a Next Action and a Context (including Waiting For or Someday). Again, the Next Action is done by flagging using Flag To and setting Context is using a category.

There are two fancy things to note about this view.

The first is the Age column. I've setup a custom field that will show the Received date for the item in an easier to use format than just a full date/time. Just a bit easier on me when scanning.

More importantly is the Next Action column. This column shows the next action that's been identified for the item in the list. If no action is defined, then the subject of the item is shown. While the actual logic to make this custom column work is somewhat complex, the basic rule to remember is that the Next Action for a task is its subject and the Next Action for a mail message is the Flag To. So a task, by definition, always has a next action. A mail message doesn't. When a mail message first shows up in the Process queue, the Next Actoin column will just show the subject of the message until you flag it for a specific next action -- at which point the column will, quite nicely, show you the next action to take.

Of course, once an item has a context and a next action, it just disappears from the Process view -- ready for actually Doing (the Getting Things Done part of Getting Things Done :-)).

Do

Phew! That was a lot of work before actually doing any work...

The good news is that once you've done the processing, when you finally get around to being ready to "do," you're hyper-prepared. When I find myself in the car ready to make some calls, I have my "@Calls" list already done. When I have a free half-hour at my computer, I consult my @Computer list and just start doing Next Actions.

All of these items show up in context-based views of the To-Do list:

We've already discussed the [Process] view.

The [Someday] and [Waiting For] views are simple -- they just show the items that are categorized with !Someday and !Waiting For, respectively.

The [Agendas] view shows a list of items that I need to talk to people about -- grouped by person for easy access:

The [Action] view shows all of the core action contexts: @Computer, @Home, etc.

And in all of these action views the most important thing is that the the Next Action shows up right there in front of you. (Yeah, I did blur them out because they're private).

So, that's pretty much it. I check my Incoming fairly regularly but it's very fresh stuff and things don't stay for more than a day. Once or twice a day I 'process' and figure out next actions and contexts for everything I need to take action on. Then, when I find myself in those contexts -- I just do!

In the next post I walk through how I make all of this work with Outlook.

David Ornstein's Blog: Productivity

Getting Things Done using Outlook 2007 - Part 2: WORKFLOW: The GTD basic workflow, my adaptation in Outlook

The Getting Things Done Workflow

In

Process

Do