The Tools
- Ruled pocket sized Moleskine notebook
- Pilot G-2 Pro gel pen
- Pilot EXTRA FINE ink refill
- Ruler
- Post-It sticky tabs
What to Do
The first thing I did was divide the Moleskine into the necessary categories. According to Dave Allen, separation of mental tasks and categories is a must. To be included in this system is;
- Projects
- Calendar
- Next Actions
- Someday/Maybe
- Waiting For
- Project Reference (notes)
I plan on using this Moleskine for at least one year (plus) so 64'ish leafs are required for a week-at-a-glace calendar, 10+ leafs for projects, and then 20'ish leafs are left over for project support notes.
How to Do It
Starting with the first page, label this Projects + Someday/Maybe. In here I also divided the page in half using a vertical line so that I may record 40 items per/page rather then 20. Like so;
PROJECTS & SOMEDAY/MAYBE... (PG 1-20)
Separation of mental tasks and categories is a must.
LEFT PAGE SPINE RIGHT PAGE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |PROJECTS |SOMEDAY/MAYBE |-|PROJECTS |SOMEDAY/MAYBE | |--------- |--------- |-|--------- |--------- | |[x]publish GTD |[ ]visit japan |-|[ ] |[ ] | |[x]clean closet |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] | |[ ]write book |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] | |[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Then count 10 leafs and place a tab for your calendar/next+actions. Here I plotted out a rudimentary calendar system on the left page (Mon-Fri) and a Next Actions (plus sat-sun) chart on the right page. While Each day receives four lines I am only drafting a few weeks in advanced to redefine the system as I go.
CALENDAR AND NEXT ACTIONS (PG 22-126~)
LEFT PAGE SPINE RIGHT PAGE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|AUGUEST 2006 |-| WEEK33 |
|--------------------------------------|-|--------------------------------------|
|{ 21 MONDAY }|[ ] |-|{ 26 SATURDAY }|{ 27 SUNDAY }|
|[x]@noon meeting |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|--------------------------------------|-|[ ] |[ ] |
| { 22 TUESDAY }|[ ] |-|--------------------------------------|
|[ ] |[ ] |-|||NEXT ACTION |||WAITING FOR |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|--------------------------------------|
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[x]visit k-mart |[ ]appraisal re bob |
|--------------------------------------|-|[ ]wash the car |[ ] |
| { 23 WEDNESDAY }|[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ]@9 call Joel |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ]Joel's BDAY 29|[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|--------------------------------------|-|[ ] |[ ] |
| { 24 THRUSDAY }|[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|--------------------------------------|-|[ ] |[ ] |
| { 25 FRIDAY }|[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
|[ ] |[ ] |-|[ ] |[ ] |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mokeskine GTD Cal: Self drawn Cal
And lastly count at least 52 leafs from the start of the calendar (or more) and then place another tab to mark the start of your project notes and reference area.
~Fin
