1/7/2023 0 Comments Gtd contexts![]() NOT tag:pc-only This tag was only allowed in two contexts, so I made it part of the base context template.NOT isSubtask:true This lets me use RTM subtasks as checklists for things I don’t want to show up as individual tasks.NOT list:inbox Suppresses un-processed tasks to enforce the separation of processing and doing.I use it as a mini-context if I happen to be talking to that person and check it during my weekly review to make sure nothing languishes too long. NOT list:agenda The agenda list contains non-urgent things I need to talk to specific people about.I immediately noticed most of the contexts shared a base set of logic, shown below in RTM smart list syntax: Then I used this logic to build my contexts. ![]() Weekly Review A special context I use during my weekly review.īased on those criteria I built a table to visualize what mapping of locations and tags would get the results I wanted.Work Similarly, work tasks I can do anywhere.These are personal tasks I can do anywhere. Personal This is one of the new ones that’s been really useful.Errands Anything I have to do at a specific location that’s not my yard, house, or the office.I use a single list for all my work tasks. Office - quick Analogous to the home - quick variant and most often used when I only have a few minutes between meetings.This context is especially useful for ensuring yardwork stays out of my home contexts during the Seattle winter, 1 when the days are short and there’s lots of useful evening time after sunset. Yardwork Tasks I can only do outside when it’s nice.Home Same as above, but not limited to quick, shallow tasks.It helps me check off necessary busy work during interstitial time, which frees up larger time blocks for more substantial tasks or just relaxing. I use this context when I only have a few minutes or when I’m feeling too unfocused or tired for a larger project. Home - quick Quick, personal tasks I can do when I’m home.I started with an a priori list of contexts and a short description of what I wanted each of them to achieve: The rest of this post shows how I use this metadata to define a new taxonomy of contexts that more accurately reflect what can be accomplished now, for various useful values of now. As a refresher, I now use the following locations and tags: #quick, #personal, #work, #pc-only, #phone, #waiting, and #maybe. The fix started with changes in how I process. I was frequently staring at “work” context that was half-full of tasks that could only be done in the office - but I wasn’t actually there. That’s true, but Starbucks is not the office, and there are things I simply can’t do remotely. If I leave work early for an afternoon appointment near my house it’s more productive to start working again at a coffee shop or in my living room than it is to drive back downtown. ![]() I had over-indexed on this change and jumped to the conclusion that locations were no longer important contexts. But I always have a phone in my pocket, so “by phone” makes less sense - and when that phone has ubiquitous internet access “by computer” becomes similarly meaningless. The classical GTD contexts were distinctions like at home, at work, out shopping, by the phone, etc. The concept is timeless, but GTD was originally published in 2001 and what makes for a useful context has evolved. A context groups tasks with similar constraints so you only see what you can do right now. The doing part of GTD is supported by what David Allen calls contexts. In this post I redefine my contexts to match. Part 1 - Capture describes how I capture tasks and Part 2 - Processing how I process and tag tasks in RTM.
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