CEP 810 - Getting Things Done

I organized my "Getting Things Done" (GTD) process using an app that I found for my iPhone.  I searched the Apple App Store for "GTD" and found an application called 'Action Lists for iPhone - GTD Task Manager'. that claimed to follow David Allen's GTD system.   I chose to use an iPhone app because it is something I always have with me, which will tend to make me use it more regularly.  I am always checking email and Facebook on my iPhone, so now I can also be checking my GTD tasks.  This application allowed me to 'Collect' all of my tasks into an 'inbox', just by selecting to add new tasks.   I used the GTD 'Process' step while entering tasks, instead of entering all tasks first, and then deciding if the task was short or actionable.  Since I had limited time to work on this project, I opted not to include the tasks that were not actionable, nor the tasks that were less than 2 minutes to do.  The application then allowed me to 'Organize' the tasks into projects, calendar, next actions, and waiting, just like the GTD process mentions

Going through the GTD process for the first time was actually pretty straight forward since I used an application that guided me through it.   The application "forced" me to follow the process.   Pencil and paper, or a general task list application, would have required me to know and apply the GTD process.   Instead, this application pretty much helped guide me through the GTD process.  Not knowing what I was getting in to, I kept the number of tasks to a manageable size so that I could pay attention to learning the process rather than spending precious time entering all of my tasks.

I think the GTD process will actually help me become better organized and hopefully relieve much of the stress I feel from trying to maintain too many tasks in my head.  What I like about this process is that tasks become more than just a list of things I need to get done, now they are organized and prioritized.  Normally, my tasks would just fall into buckets of 'Home', 'Work', and 'School' tasks, without any type of prioritization.  So as these buckets filled up, I just begin to feel more and more overwhelmed.  The GTD process puts another level of categorization on my task list.  Now, my tasks are organized more by when they are due, not by what type of task (work, home, school).  This will allow me to see what tasks I have a commitment to finish, which tasks have actual calendar due dates, which tasks/actions just need to be done as soon as possible, and which tasks I am waiting on for some reason or another.

I am going to (try to) continue using this GTD process, if anything it will help me keep track of all of my CEP 810 assignments :)   I am hoping that having the tasks collected in this application will help lower my anxiety of trying to remember everything, helping me to focus on doing tasks, rather than worrying about tasks.  Plus, having my tasks readily available on my phone will hopefully make it easier to continue to use the process.   The other thing I learned that I will try to do is to identify which tasks are actually actionable, and which ones are short enough that I should just do them right away.  Hopefully that will keep my task list down to a manageable size and give me fewer items to have to worry about.