A new beginning.
Posted by shanetechteach on August 24, 2009
Welcome to the first post of a fresh start, using an old feed:) I still haven’t thought of a suitable name yet so the Journey remains for now.
I’ve blogged before about personal productivity, and the frameworks and theories I tend to follow to try and organise my seemingly increasingly insanely busy life. Well I’ve come across a great little utilisation of one of my favourite programs to enable and enhance effectiveness, and after a 5 week run it seems to be working a treat. The system I am using is loosely based on GTD (Getting Things Done) which was originally made popular through the publications of David Allen. His books are a good read, as are the many blogs that explore the concept of GTD.
The key concept I am following is that of “Next Actions.” This simply identifies the tasks I should be focusing on as a priority.
The program I am using with this concept is Evernote. I’ve blogged about Evernote before, tweeted about it, even podcasted about it. Its an essential element of my toolkit. Within Evernote I have created 2 top level notebooks. These notebooks are titled;
- 0_next actions
- 0_to do
The “0″ ensures that the notebooks will always be situated at the top of the list of all notebooks, and therefore easily accessible. The “0_to do” notebooks contains notes for all the projects and roles I am responsible for. In these notes is a list of the tasks I need to complete relevant to this role or project. The key though is the “0_next actions” notebook. I transfer tasks from the “0_to do” notebook into the “0_next actions” notebook, only one task from a list at a time. This means each role or project has its next action in the “0_next action” notebook. When I get to work, I open that notebook and work through the tasks. This rule of one only is not strict, and at times I will overpopulate from specific roles or projects depending on timeline pressures. However, the maximum number of tasks in the “0_next actions” notebook is not to exceed the number of notes in “0_to do.”
As a task is completed, it is deleted from the list. At the end of each day, incoming tasks are processed into the appropriate note within “0_to do,” and a selection of tasks moved to the “0_next actions” notebook.
This is currently working for me. As long as I commit to the process, organisation is enabled.
August 25th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Shane,
I am so glad you’ve found a way to continue your web presence, even if it is a smaller one than previously. You are an inspiration and a voice of reason, reminding me there’s often more to it (usually right when I need it most). Let us know how you go with the 0_next actions…it’s sure to be better than the chaos theory I’m living by!
Mobbsey
August 26th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
[...] make me more productive. Number 1 on my list of these over the last year has been Evernote. Here’s a great post by a fellow teacher (@shanetechteach) into how he uses it to prioritise tasks. I use it to [...]