Rob Goodlatte

Every friday, as part of my weekly review, I not only examine all of my lists, I also examine where I stand in my courses. If I’m falling behind in any of my classes, I figure out where I’m falling short and add appropriate actions to my lists. Usually this translates into extra studying, but I try to be as specific as possible, down to page numbers if possible. Also, if I need to write a letter to a professor, I try to churn it out under two minutes and just send it.

Streamlined Tickler

The “tickler file” is a folder system in which you can file something away to be retrieved on the date of your choosing. It’s essentially a way to mail something to yourself, and it’s extremely useful. The standard tickler, described by David Allen, uses 43 folders – 12 months, 31 days maximum per month. But for me that’s overkill.

Typical school work lasts anywhere from 0-2 weeks, the exception being large projects (which are given their own folder in my system). Also, I’m working on a semester time scale rather than a yearly one. Therefore my tickler consists of only eight folders – 7 days of the week, plus one folder for next week.

I find one of the hardest components of the GTD system is extracting all the tasks I’ve scattered throughout my memory and writing them down. My solution to this problem is quite simple. Write a journal for five minutes every day. It doesn’t have to be an exclusively task-oriented journal, but chances are if a ‘loose end’ is floating around your head it’ll come out through your writing. After I write for five minutes I look over what I’ve written and extract my new list items.

iCal + Quicksilver + Z22

• To quickly add to-do’s from any app into a categorized iCal to-do list, I use this powerful apple script for quicksilver.
• To check my calendar and add new assignments in class, I use my dorky Palm Z22 with Missing Sync.