GTD For Moms and Other Homies: The Lists

If you've been following the tips for getting your life organized you've already cleaned out your email inbox, started organizing using the dump it, do it, delegate it, or defer it rule, and created both reference and tickler files. Have you done all that? Any of it? If you have questions or need help, I'm so here for you. This may be hard to beleive, but I actually LOVE to organize stuff. But I want these articles to be useful for YOU. I want you to get organized so you'll feel better and have more time to do really fun stuff. Because as crazy as I am for organization, I'd still rather drink beer and eat nachos.

Also, if you think these posts are lame and you have no use for them, tell me that too. I'll stop, really I will! But barring a revolt, I shall persist! Here's the biggest revelation of all: the lists. This ain't your ordinary To Do list!

GTD For Moms and Other Homies Tip #4: The Lists

First off, I hope I've made it clear that all this GTD stuff is not mine, but the brilliant ideas of one Mr. David Allen, whose book Getting Things Done I sucked down in one weekend.

List Love
I've always been a big list keeper. I love the satisfaction of marking things off my list as I go. And I know I'm not alone in the habit of occasionally writing something I've already completed on my list just for the sheer joy of drawing a line through it. That's a bit sad to admit.

The problem with To Do lists is that you can get a little ambitious. That's not a bad thing, except that you don't always have enough time or energy to complete everything on the list. Then you end up either holding onto an evergrowing and sloppy looking lsit, or transfering everything onto a new list each day. As Mr. Allen points out, both scenarios are highly demoralizing because in both instances you're basically telling yourself you're a failure. You didn't finish your list, you big loser.

A New Kind of List
So what's so different about GTD lists? They are organized differently. Instead of having one big list of all the things you have to do, you keep several context specific lists. For example, you have calls to make, errands to run, etc. My work involves creative writing time, so I have a list of drafts to create. One very important list if you work with other people is the Waiting For list. I go into some detail about this over on Busness Pundit. Basically, it's a running inventory of things you're expecting from others. It's invaluable in making sure things don't slip through the cracks.

One of David Allen's site bloggers has created a nifty Excel version. I use the second option, with separate tabs for all your contexts. In addition, I wrote a macro to sort by date, because I'm always changing due dates around to accommodate new priorities. And because I'm a geek.

The beauty of these lists is that you can tackle action items based on where you are, what you have access to, and what your energy level is. I may not have a lot of mental muscle in the evening, but I can knock off things like 'look up current refinance rates' or 'remind Angie about fundraiser Friday'. That way all my little annoying tasks don't build up. The whole idea is to empty your mind of nagging thoughts of all the stuff you have to do, confident that it's all on the lists.

Someday...
One of the more fun lists is the Someday/Maybe list. Every time you think of something you'd like to do someday, maybe - add it to your list. So far mine has 'orgnize recipes', 'learn to write white papers', and 'publish an anthology of stories about outsiders encountering the Bible Belt'.


Let me know if you try the lists and how they work for you. Next week I'll talk about the difference between actions and projects, and how you can improve your odds of actually starting and maybe even finishing some of those Someday/Maybe dreams!