gtd-php Documentation | Users / Process

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Process

Emptying your Inbox

Once you have everything in one place, it's time to get that inbox empty; either do it now, or defer it. If an item takes less than two minutes to complete, then get it done now, and mark it as completed right out of the inbox. Otherwise, your job while processing is to create a "stake in the sand" for everything. Marking your stakes with complete information will create a robust system for organizing and retrieving your data later.

Assigning Type

Go to your inbox and click on assign type in the right-hand column of your item. Depending on the type chosen, you will now be able to assign metadata, such as category and context on the next screen. Click submit to update the database. (NB: If you do not have "allow changing of item types" set to true in the config file, you will not be able to change the type again, EVER.)

Editing Items

When assigning type, as above, you have

Time Context

Space Context

HTML in Fields

Deadline

Recurring Items

Tickler File

Converting to Another Item Type

Deleting Items

Post-Editing Behavior

Configuration#Behavior ?

Defining Next Actions

Completing Items

Someday/Maybe Lists

Managing Lists and Checklists

Creating Lists and Checklists

Editing Lists and Checklists

Organizing Lists and Checklists

The Four-Criteria Model for Choosing Actions

David Allen describes a process for deciding what to do next. It depends on four factors: the context that we are in (renamed space context in GTD-PHP), the time you have available, your available energy, and your priorities.

Space Contexts

A space context defines where the action needs to occur. In GTD terminology, Allen simply refers to these as contexts. GTD-PHP has renamed these as space contexts, to differentiate them from the time required.

To create a new space context hover over the Configure menu and select Space Contexts.

To edit a space context hover over Configure and select Space Contexts. On this screen, you can edit the name and the description of the context and have the option to delete it or move all items assigned to it to a new context. Alternatively, clicking on any context displayed in a report will bring you to the editing screen.

Time Contexts

A time context defines how long it takes for the action to occur. In GTD-PHP, you define the estimated time needed to complete an action. Therefore, when you are deciding what to do next, you will have a field to filter and sort upon which will help you view only what can actually be achieved in the time that you have available to you.

To edit a time context, or to create a new one, hover over the Configure menu and select Time Contexts. On this screen you can edit the name and the description of the context and have the option to delete it or move all items assigned to it to a new context. Alternatively, clicking on any time context displayed in a report will bring you to the editing page.

Available energy

When you look at your actions, you will choose what to do next based upon the space context you are in (in the car? Time to brainstorm about new projects, or make a few phone calls. Waiting for an appointment? Great time to catch up on your review pile.), the time you have until your next scheduled appointment/tasks, and how much energy you have. It wouldn't be very productive to try to prepare a major budget report just after a big lunch, would it? This is not represented in the GTD-PHP database per se... but you look at your actions sorted and filtered by category and space and time contexts to decide what to do next based upon the energy you have at that moment.

Priority

You might wonder why there is no priority field in GTD-PHP. That's because a central tenet to the GTD philosophy is that you can't assign fixed priorities to any action. Your priorities shift daily... sometimes even hourly. Therefore, those who use a system who assign priorities to items always seem to be in crisis mode dealing with the top priority items on a list... and never get to anything else. Therefore, when looking at your list, sorted and filtered by category, time, and space, you will decide what is most important at that moment and therefore decide what to do next. The question always is "It's 9:30 on Monday morning. My next appointment is in 1 hour. I'm at my desk. What should I do now?"

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