Getting Things Done-GTD Lab for CEP 810

COLLECT:
This is how and where I started my process, at my messy piled up crazy looking teacher desk. Usually I am surrounded by 22 gabbing, lively, adorable 5th graders, but I had a few hours of peace one afternoon while they were taken care of by the Middle School for Orientation. So I started the Getting Things Done process. First of all, I am a sporadic list maker. I am the organizer in my house, I usually do most of the shopping, I do all the accounting and I take care of the house. Scott does pretty much the rest. Then there is work, and now this class. So I started with making a list in my red notebook. This notebook goes everywhere with me. It contains everything from current lists to the medication my son is on.
I looked into listing on my iphone, but I am fairly new with my iphone and not quite fast enough of a typer so I listed with pen and paper. You can see the result below.




The list got bigger as the day progressed.....

PROCESS and ORGANIZE
There were a few items on the list that I was able to take care of quickly (the two minute rule) as I was at school and wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment. Two crossed out. Moving along, I started to place them in categories. If they were in the calendar category they immediately went on to my Google Calendar so the date is recorded and I will receive an email a day beforehand. Projects were noted with a "P" next to them and Next items were noted with an "N". I also realized at this point that many of the items on my list were big, so I started to list the smaller actions that would get me to the end of the project. A whole new checklist was created for our house move in July (as we are going on vacation for 6 weeks in June I thought some clarity on this huge project might be needed).
REVIEW
I used this time and point in the process to bring in my husband, so he could look at the lists I had made and see if he thought they were helpful. He liked the "Move" list so much a copy is now taped to the fridge.

How did I feel about this process and did it help me? I felt it was needed. I have a tendency to throw myself into projects and offer my help to various people without thinking of time commitments and if there were other commitments I was going to shirk off for the new shiny project. Seeing everything in one place put a clarity on it that I was lacking. Sometimes I sit at my desk and try and think of something to do, knowing full well that I have a lot to do but maybe not being able to prioritize it well. This list made it much clearer.
Will I continue the process? I would love to. I am already a good list maker but the organization of the lists was what I was lacking. I do think it will take some practice. I actually added to my calendar a few sessions for next week so that I will feel obligated to look over the list and re-prioritize it.