Ep. 369: How Do You Choose What to Do?  🔗 **Source:** [Ep. 369: How Do You Choose What to Do?](https://share.snipd.com/episode/2bb9b7a6-57a5-47da-bc06-4b12bf657f7e) ## Highlights - **Engage Means Choosing To Be Appropriately Engaged** - Engage includes more than doing tasks; it also includes resting, reflecting, or doing nothing as valid choices. - Ana Maria reframes 'getting things done' as being appropriately engaged, citing naps, quiet time, and looking out the window as legitimate engagement. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez Because that's really when in GTD we have an opportunity to actually decide what to do as well as decide what not to do. So even though the step five, it's known as engage, it doesn't necessarily translate to doing. Engage can also be as in, well, it's well known when we talk about getting things done. And when we say getting things done, it's not about getting things done, but about being appropriately engaged. Engaged can also be taking a nap. Engaged can also be stopping for a moment. Engaged can also be looking out the window. I mean, there's so much science these days that confirms the need for quiet time, need for a reflection, the need for being bored, you could even argue. So let's broaden perhaps the definition that we may have about engage so that it includes choosing perhaps not doing anything, which is doing, by the way. But for the eye of the outsider, it may look like you're doing nothing. And yes, you are doing nothing. So it includes doing. ([Time 0:03:26](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4ee70905-e622-4b1f-8df2-44133c5bc4bb)) - **Predefined Work Is Next Actions And Calendar** - Predefined work means working from your next actions lists and calendar, with the calendar taking priority. - Ana Maria emphasizes that 'predefined work' specifically refers to next actions and calendar items that feed what you can engage on. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez So when we think of engage and we consider the threefold nature of work, which you may be familiar with, we're really the engage step. If you think about it, it's really a step when we're talking about the different criterias for deciding what to do is when you are actually looking at doing predefined work, which is The first circle here to the left. So the threefold nature of work basically describes pretty much what you can do on any given moment, on any given day, throughout your day, given the nature of work. You cannot either be doing predefined work, which is what we're focusing on today when we talk about engage and deciding and choosing what to do and that a lot of words to say that's when You're working off your lists or that's when you're working off your calendar so you can pretty much you know summarize it down to predefined work is doing it's working off my lists or Working off my calendar and if i want to be even more specific, I should say working off your next actions lists and working off your calendar, because your lists obviously also include Projects and someday maybe at a very minimum, if you haven't personalized it yet to include other lists, but we're not going to go there today. ([Time 0:05:46](https://share.snipd.com/snip/936291e1-db31-4cef-987e-612e6bb31510)) - **Decide Immediately Whether To Stop For Unplanned Work** - When unplanned work appears, decide based on context and priority who it's from and what else you have scheduled. - Ana Maria advises weighing the sender (e.g., your boss) and existing commitments before stopping your planned task. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez And I'll talk about a couple of other frameworks in regards to, well, then what list of my next actions list should I be working from, right? Because that's the next level of dilemma or discussion. But the truth is that on any given day at 11.30 a.m., if there's nothing on your calendar and perhaps you're now going to decide to do something off your next actions list you may be challenged By the fact that the phone rings or you may be challenged by the fact that a message arrives on slack or you may be challenged by the fact that someone pokes their head into your office or You know whatever interruption let's say or unplanned work better term shows up that's why we have unplanned work here as well so in that moment in time at 11 30 a.m it's like oh my god do I keep working on my next actions list or do I respond to the slack to the slack message from my boss well you have a choice right now, right? And we kind of all know what the answer is to that because it really depends. It depends on who you're getting the message from, given everything else that you have on your plate. It's really a priority to stop what you were about to do, to allow for that unplanned work. ([Time 0:07:52](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0343b9ef-ee0f-47b9-925e-134e7c00a8b5)) - **Empty Your Inbox Before Working Incomplete Lists** - If your inbox hasn't been emptied, prioritise defining work (emptying inboxes) over working predefined tasks so your lists become trustworthy. - Ana Maria warns an incomplete inbox undermines trust in your next actions list and suggests using free time to process it. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez Correct. And at 1130 a.m., you get a message on Slack. You're going to ignore it. But you realize that you haven't emptied your inbox for the last three days. So now you have another variable to consider, which is defining work. What's the best use of your time then at 1130 a.m.? To go empty your in? Because you have, you know, the bandwidth to do it. You're rested. You have the energy. You have the time. There's no meaning coming right after, you have a couple of hours, you know, etc. So what's the best use of your time? Should you then define work, which means empty your in. Your in's, remember, are all your capture tools. They can be digital, they can be on paper, they can be physical, and they can even be mental, which obviously we discourage because we teach your mind is for having ideas, not for holding Them. So at that moment, you have all these choices. And you may say the best use of my time, given that I have two hours and given that I haven't emptied my in, is to actually empty my in. Because my predefined work is incomplete. Remember that what feeds your inventory of predefined work or what feeds your lists is the work that you've defined. It's everything that comes through your in tray. So often it's a much better use of your time to empty your in than to work off your predefined work because your mind is very quick and your mind knows that that list is incomplete. Therefore, it's not going to trust your choice. ([Time 0:10:22](https://share.snipd.com/snip/575613ec-787b-447d-bde8-9f5dc2090b0e)) - **Apply Limiting Criteria: Context Then Time Then Resources** - Use the limiting criteria model: first context (where your body is), then time available, then resources (energy/focus). - Ana Maria explains context shrinks options (office vs. travel) and should be the first filter when choosing actions. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez Because now, OK, I have the time. I've already made my decision. I'm going to work on my predefined work. Well, what list do I work on? Well, you're probably familiar with our limiting criteria model, which is, in my opinion, a very effective, and I'm going to call it foundational, instead of using the word basic, Because sometimes basic, it's translated as non-important. Oh, well, that's a basic move, and I'm advanced kind of thing. Not really. It's basic because this is really what you're limited by. You got no choice unless you change your ecosystem or you change where you're at. Why I'm saying this is because when it comes to designing what to do off your predefined work, your first limiting criteria, it's always going to be context. And this goes a little beyond whether we like it or not. It is what it is. It's not good or bad. That's the brilliance of David. He really put something very complex into very practical terms that are immediately applicable. Because ([Time 0:12:48](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bf479d40-0614-43fa-ba13-551865e6cb59)) - **Name Contexts Based On Actual Tools And Environments** - Don't assume 'anything anywhere' is effective; pick contexts and name lists that reflect real tools and environments you need. - John Forrester illustrates with a complex spreadsheet that is theoretically accessible on phone but practically requires a big screen. Transcript: John Forrester We often hear from people that I can do anything on my phone, so contacts don't matter anymore. I would challenge that. I'd get into asking you some specifics about what kind of work you're doing. And just because I can do anything on my phone doesn't mean I should do anything on my phone. And I'll just give you a wild example. I was working on a big spreadsheet yesterday, lots of rows, lots of columns, complex formulas, pivot tables, all this other stuff. The thought of working on that on my phone, just because I can open it on my phone, I would drive myself crazy and it would be entirely ineffective for me to be trying to work on that item On my phone. You could think of the phone as a place just because my phone is here in my office with me. The phone is not the place for me to work on that task. I need the biggest screen I can manage. If I could have the whole wall behind me a screen, that could be useful. So think about that when you're looking at what you can do as far as naming your contexts. Don't just say, well, I can do anything anywhere. Maybe you can do anything anywhere, but is that the best place for you to do that? Is that the best tool to be using? ([Time 0:18:51](https://share.snipd.com/snip/cc208b12-183b-4232-a7b2-857cf9086c5e)) - **Start Next Actions With Verbs To Simulate Contexts** - If you use one next actions list, start each entry with a verb to group and make tasks scannable. - Ana Maria recommends verbs to let digital tools alphabetize and simulate multiple context lists within one list. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez And I think these days we may be seeing more, just one next actions list, given the possibility for all of us to pretty much get work done from anywhere. So that could be one solution to just have a next actions list. And then you make sure that you start every one of your next actions reminder with the verb that clearly describes to John's point, right? Maybe, you know, work off Excel sheet regarding blah, blah, blah. Like I'm making that up, right? Then call so and so and then email so and so or serve web or slack someone always start with that verb because then what happens obviously all digital solutions are going to alphabetize It so it's easy for your eyes to go to that grouping and then that in itself is going to give you the possibility it's equal to having more than one list. But for some people these days, because they find themselves being able to do work from anywhere, right? Just the next actions with the beginning verb that groups them solves their conflict. I'm getting pushed back these days. Well, but computer I can get from anywhere. My phone I can get from anywhere. I can do this for everything is anywhere. Agreed. But then how are you going to be able to do exactly what John was describing if you just have it all lumped together and with no kind of easy way to differentiate? ([Time 0:20:14](https://share.snipd.com/snip/a0b81b4d-28c2-426e-9d56-0add32edaefe)) - **Priorities Exist Within You Not On Paper** - You don't set priorities; you have them — your values and relationships create built-in priorities that surface automatically. - Ana Maria illustrates with answering a parent's school call or saving a child in danger as priorities you don't need to compute. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez We like to say that we don't set priorities, we have them. Because often the question is, how do I set right and and based on what we've seen so far you you will know what to do or not do from from just from applying this limiting criteria it will Very quickly give you the answer if you just keep on using this obviously remembering knowing that we're talking about doing predefined work. We're not talking about doing work as it appears, or we're not talking about defining work. Those are two other different, those two have different approaches. This is the approach for doing predefined work. And why I say that we don't set priorities and I say that we have them is because you all know exactly who to answer the phone to just from seeing the name on your phone. Because very quickly, you identify if that is a call that it's valuable to you, that it's a priority to you based on who's calling. So, you know, let's say you're at work and you're in the middle of about to do something very, you know, very of top priority. However, the phone rings and it's a call from your son's school or from your daughter's school. I bet you that you're not going to think it twice and you're going to answer the call. In other words, you prioritize doing work as it appears versus doing predefined work. And that's not good or bad. It's given your priorities because it's a top priority for you, obviously your children. And if they're calling from school and they never do, something must have happened. ([Time 0:22:05](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e0d5e95f-6148-4062-a848-6ab0512a90b8)) - **Use Weekly And Horizon Reviews To Remove Dilemmas** - Do regular reviews at different horizons so your day-to-day choices are informed: weekly for projects, monthly for areas of focus, quarterly for goals. - John Forrester stresses weekly review keeps your system current and eliminates daily dilemmas about what to do. Transcript: Ana Maria Gonzalez So when you think about this model and you go, okay, great. And how is that going to help me without going so extreme, you know, saving someone's life or my aging parents calling or someone or school calling? How do I decide what to do off my list? It's still 1130 a.m. I have two lists to choose from. I have time. I have energy. Which one do I do? Thank you for asking the first the first place that's going to help you decide it's the ground level which is what we're talking about right deciding which action to work from then the Weekly review will continue to help will continue to inform your decisions on the day to day because the weekly review is when we go higher on the horizons and we actually take the time To review each and every one of our projects and each and every one of our projects are actually influencing our decisions you know on the calendar or the actions list so you're doing Your weekly review weekly will guarantee that you have no dilemma let's say in deciding what to do or not do because you're familiar with your system You have the actions that are required To move all these projects forward. You just reviewed a week ago and you're about to review again. So that keeps the boat afloat. Then obviously your next horizon, areas of focus and accountability, which are pretty much your roles, what your job is, right? What's important to you at a personal level? So health, family, relationship, social work, environment, pets, you name it, finances, et cetera, and then work, whatever it applies. Having that inventory complete, it's very useful, again, to inform your decisions on your day-to basis. But how do I do that? You know, like, do I have to, each time I have to choose the next action, do I need to make sure it's in alignment to any one of my areas of focus and accountability? No, that would be crazy making. But we certainly recommend that you review your Horizon 2 once a month. And again, it's that reviewing. It's that keeping your system current, complete, consistent, that keeps on giving you the trust of designing what to do or not do. So this is not hard, but it doesn't come free either. You've got to do the work. You've got to do the work of populating and you've got to do the work of reviewing it. ([Time 0:25:11](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8fa6d468-755a-49a2-9973-c11df1658b5e))