Getting things done (GTD)

Getting Things Done is hot. Especially in these times of information overload: we’re overwhelmed with content, mails and get tons of things to do. But we find it hard to organize ourselves. I have the same problem: I’m constantly connected and do things as they come around or are being presented. Up till now that has worked quite fine: I hardly ever forget anything and when I do, I love the thrill of working with a tight deadline.

However, I’m getting the feeling that my non-system no longer will cut it. So  I started looking for a GTD-system and as you browse the internet, you discover there are a ton of systems. Most of them come down to the same thing: feasable deadlines, cut the connection, learn to say no, do it now or do it later, … Just Google and you will see what I mean. The overwhelming amount of available work flows, forced me to create my own thing. Which, to be honest, didn’t really work as I started to fall back on to my old habits…

This weekend I came around the Chronodex by Scription – system, which attracted me instantly. In fact it’s more of a lay-out than a system, giving you the liberty to use it just the way you want. Chronodex is divided into 5 main parts:

  • Header in which you can fill out your ‘Satisfaction level’ & ‘Points of improvement’
  • Time schedule which is nicely lay-out in a graph-like circle
  • Next actions – list
  • Inbox/Notes (scaled up to importance)
  • Waiting for / Projects – list
I decided to give this a shot and have been using it since yesterday: I’ve printed out several A4’s, cut them up into loose A5 sheets and have been planning yesterday and today accordingly. So far, so good: I like the lay-out, love the handwritten liberty I have and I believe that the more I use it, the more I will become addicted. I will be mainly using it for work, planning my day-to-day workflow. I want it to become a nice and handy extra for my daily notebook. However I will have to figure out how to manage the tons of A5-papers flying around. I’ll see…

If you want to try for yourself, you can download the A4 template here or you can download the yearly 2012 planner here for free, with the cost of a prayer.