- Waiting for
- Agendas
- Projects
- Specific lists
- Someday/Maybe
- Reference
Waiting for
This section has been a revelation to me. The whole Getting things done system is worth it just for this section. I have tried to keep a record of work I’m expecting from other people previously, but it has never worked because it has been too closely mixed up with my own tasks. However, the idea of keeping a list of all the tasks I am waiting for is just so simple and effective I’m amazed I didn’t think of it myself. I am currently using a diyplanner template from the Classic core pdf.
Agenda
Again, this is another area of Getting Things Done which is simple and effective. Unfortunately I am not as good at using it as I should be, instead I tend to write my agenda items in my next action list! Again, I have been using a diyplanner template.
Projects
This is a section I haven’t developed fully, so it is mostly a confused mess. Plus, I don’t currently have a methodology for keeping a list of my projects and relating it to my next action list. It is mainly made up of project support information in different formats. This is certainly an area I would benefit from some input, please help me out and tell me about your methods.
Specific lists
Again, this is a section I haven’t fully developed. In fact, I only have three lists in this section; a list of birthdays by month, my book wish list and a list of the templates I use in my organiser. I sometimes find it confusing that I also have several lists in my project section, but as I am working through those lists with next actions I think they are in the correct section and they shouldn’t be under Specific Lists instead.
Someday/Maybe
This is just a sheet of lined A5 paper where I write down thoughts and ideas that I don’t want to act on, or can’t act on at the moment. There has been one major flaw in my use of this section, I haven’t been doing weekly reviews very regularly so some items have stayed on this list longer then they should have done. However I’ve completed a weekly review for the last three week so I am starting to recognise the value of this section.
Reference
This contains a collection of papers that I frequently refer to. It currently includes, list of job numbers I need to book my time, list of milestones for one project and who is responsible for them, list of responsibilities on a different project and instructions on how to use the new phone system at work
As I’m sure you can tell, despite working hard on the earlier sections of my organiser, there are still plenty of improvements.
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Your planner-based system looks great. Thank you for sharing it. I’ve been reading your archived series which I found when I saw your downloadable pages mentioned on Digg. I’m going to try some of your ideas starting with the daily planner. Thanks again.
Hello Carmelita,
Thank you for the comment and compliments on my organiser, they are always good to hear 😀 I’m always changing my organisation system to incorporate new ideas so I would be very interested in how you use my day planner.