The default ResultsManager "Daily Actions" dashboard includes a branch that enumerates activities with hard deadlines in the next 7 days, but doesn't include a corresponding branch for activities that have soft target date — you only see the overdue soft target activities in the review dashboard. If you take the approach of using target [...]
How do you start your day?
(1) Reviewing your daily actions and/or doing a mini-review
(2) "Doing email" and emergency scanning
(3) Browsing the web to see if there are any new posts on activityowner.com
Even if you have the best of intentions of pursuing option 1, it can take several minutes to pull up MindManager, find your Map [...]
Does "last action" clutter make your "next action" maps less effective?
In a post on the Yahoo GTD-MindManager group, Colin raises the question of how to best handle completed tasks in MindManager maps:
Has anyone here struggled with the best way to track a history of completed tasks? When it comes to finite projects, it makes sense [...]
A post last month described an approach for setting the agenda for a weekly 1:1 meeting using ResultsManager. The meeting agenda template, available in the Dashboard Library, attempts to operationalize the GTD review approach into a MindManager Map by walking the manager/direct-report through the process of discussing activities that have become overdue, [...]
A key premise of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology is the need to create a basis to make the “decision in the moment”. David notes that even after deferring "someday/maybes", and distilling their work down to next actions, the typical professional will have 50-150 next actions to deal with at any [...]
Elizabeth recently posted on the Yahoo GTD_Mindmanager group on her use of MindManager to review the Incompletion Triggers list from David Allen's book Getting Things Done. The trigger list provides prompts to jog your memory of open loops that are "on your mind" that you need into translate to projects and next actions. She [...]
After a solid round of beta-testing and customer-driven improvements, Gyronix launched their GyroQ product today. Among other things, it has utility as a "GTD Capture" tool. Gyronix is following a novel "invitation-only" approach similar to what Google used in launching their Gmail service. Visit the "GyroQ Invitations" page for more [...]
Individuals and teams adopting ResultsManager as a productivity tool can increase their chances of success if they are familiar with (if not adherents to) David Allen's "Getting Things Done" ('GTD") methodology. The abridged audio version of David's book is a good way to get started, particularly if you spend a lot of time [...]
As a manager, having routine weekly/bi-weekly 1:1 meetings with each of your direct reports is essential for both project management and employee development. The effectiveness of these meetings is greatly improved if a defined agenda is available to guide the discussion and if the consequent decisions and agreements are captured and acted on reliably. [...]
In order to use GyroQ and In-trays effectively, you may need to do some renovation on the structure and organization of your maps and projects. You may have a "Map Central" page with links to several "sub-map-centrals" for areas like home repair, finances, etc. These pages might be crowded [...]
With ResultsManager and GyroQ, you have the option of accumulating your incoming items to in-trays in individual project maps, "area-of-focus" map-central pages, and/or the default "My in-tray" map. If you take the distributed approach, then it is harder to know if you have processed and emptied all your in-trays at the end [...]
Although ResultsManager can be used without it, the discipline to use it correctly and stick to it comes most easily if you are familiar with and motivated to use the concepts introduced in the "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. Chapter 1 of the book is available on the Business Week website. This [...]
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