A To-Do List : Guided by Actiontastic

I must confess that I have not jumped on the bandwagon for the GTD philosophy even though it might be in my best interest. Despite my lack of adoption, I have still made an attempt at “getting things done” and made us of a program called Actiontastic.

What is Actiontastic?

Actiontastic is “a free tool to help you get things done on your Mac or on the go”. It is inspired by Getting Things Done, a book by David Allen. The software (mac only) allows me keep a daily to-do list of “single actions,” but I can also then group items into projects. A further grouping is that items can be identified by context. This may be my favorite feature because context can me something like “phone,” which means that here is my list of things to do when my phone is available.

My to-do list method

I typically jot down all things as they come to my mind into Actiontastic. During the day I will update my list so that there are no single actions remaining and I have a clean slate to work with. And right before bed I will create a new to-do list for the next day. I have combined Actiontastic with another program known as Aurora, an alarm clock program that I will go into detail about another time. Aurora allows me to have Actiontastic load when my alarm goes off. Therefore, when I approach my computer to shut off my alarm I confronted with my to-do list for the day and can get started.

How is the to-do list helpful?

A to-do list can be quite daunting, but overall a very helpful tool. I am a person that always has things on my mind and I have a difficult time moving on if there is something that needs to be done. Typically the issues are trivial and so in an effort to focus on the task at hand it helps me to write (or type) the to-do list item down and then I can push it aside for the time being without fear that I will forget to do it.

How to execute the items on a to-do list?

The best advice I have found regarding this matter is How to Actually Execute Your To-Do List: or, Why Writing It Down Doesn’t Actually Get It Done. The best advice I have gathered from the article is to reward yourself for completing an item on the list and to break things down. My to-do list is mixed with things I do and do not want to do. I try my best to keep the list alternating so that to complete an item that I “do want to do” I must first complete an item that I “do not want to do.” And the easiest way to complete the “do not” item is to make sure the task is broken down as much as possible. Try to have each segment take up the least amount of time possible so that you have no reason to fear it.