Some other people, places, and things mentioned in this episode: OmniOutliner. Shortcuts and automation combine a central dashboard in Obsidian with OmniFocus, Toggl, DEVONthink, and more. Jimmy talks through his system that uses automation to bind multiple products together via deep linking.
Tasks sit in Projects, and this is the set of Projects you have committed to finishing. These are the tasks you are currently focussed on right now I have even written a setup guide, which guides you through the process of creating the views and workflows needed.The Horizons of Focus describe six ‘perspectives’ on your’ work’.
Why are you focusing on that Area of Focus? It helps you progress toward a goal in Horizon 3 or Horizon 4. Why are you doing that project? It develops an important Area of Focus in Horizon 2. Why are you doing that task? It furthers some project in Horizon 1. At the level of Ground you’re doing a task. The whole ‘what is my life about?’ question.As you consider your work * each step up through the horizons adds context to the layer below.Moving through the horizons means asking ‘why’:
The stuff that’s important to you might arrive at any of those horizons. Joining a running club will then involve several tasks at the Ground level (research, signing up, etc.)This ‘work’, i.e. What could you do to progress your Physical Health? You might create a project to join a running club (Horizon 1). For example, consider the Area of Focus’ Physical Health’ (Horizon 2).
David Allen has often stated that:Your brain is for having ideas, not holding themThe implication being you need to store the ‘not finished’ stuff in some external system. Task management toolsAnother important part of GTD (and what is often attractive to novices with it) is the choice and configuration of tools. If you have a nagging doubt about your career, knowing what to do with that idea may take months to conclude what that means to you and what steps you may need to take. For the higher horizons, clarification is often not immediately forthcoming, and you will need to apply additional thought. Clarification is about answering the question ‘what do I do with this?’In the case of getting bread on the way home, the answer is clear.
I’ve struggled to use task management tools to generate that kind of clarity. This tool helps me organise my tasks into projects and my projects into folders (which represent Areas of Focus).What is implied by any task management tool is that you are clear about what you want to do. The task manager I use is OmniFocus. The obvious choice of tool is a task manager.Most task management tools are built around the concept of organising tasks.
Tinderbox notes have a name and can contain text (much like any note system). It is “a motivated, continuous effort to understand connections (which can be among people, places, and events) in order to anticipate their trajectories and act effectivelyI use Tinderbox as a tool for clarificiation.The core object of Tinderbox is the note. More exactly, sensemaking is the process of creating situational awareness and understanding in situations of high complexity or uncertainty in order to make decisions. The Eastgate Systems web site describes Tinderbox as:…a personal content assistant that helps you visualise, analyse, and share your notes, plans, and ideas.In the companion book to the software, _ The Tinderbox Way_, the author (who is also the developer of the software) Mark Bernstein says:Much of this book emphasises the use of Tinderbox notes to discover what we are actually thinking or to affect our future frame of mind.I see Tinderbox as a tool for ‘sensemaking’, i.e.:Sensemaking is the ability or attempt to make sense of an ambiguous situation.
I’m not trying to filter or categorise. In recent years, this has meant I am beginning to think about what my goals for 2020.I start by creating a Tinderbox file and then creating notes for anything that feels relevant. An exampleAs I write this, it is the start of the Spring of 2019 (at least in the Southern Hemisphere). As I think about, then make, those connections and relationships I begin to make sense of what I am thinking and that leads to an understanding of what I need to do. You can extend notes through either built-in or custom attributes (a little like fields in a database), and they can be visually manipulated to create categories and meaning.This flexibility means that notes can be arranged and connected in any number of ways.
I add text to a note to describe it further.What I like about this approach and this tool is that nothing feels ‘rigid’ yet. What does ‘Financial health’ mean in 2020). I create new notes that elucidate some of the higher Horizon notes (e.g. I cluster together notes that feel related. In the first instance, it’s capturing:As you can see, it’s a mixture of things across the Horizons of Focus.Over time, I return to the file and add things, or shift them around.
I also modify the appearance of the Tinderbox note to reflect that it has been shifted to OmniFocus and include a URL to the OmniFocus project.That works for each item. Then I move over to OmniFocus and create a new Project with the notes field of the OmniFocus Project, including the URL of the Tinderbox note. From there, I select ‘Copy Note URL’. I control-click on a note to bring up its contextual menu. That said, eventually, the ideas will have developed to the point that they feel like:Then it’s time to ‘move’ the idea from Tinderbox to OmniFocus. Some of the things I want to work on span multiple Areas of Focus and it’s interesting to explore those (Tinderbox can create Aliases to notes, so they appear in numerous places).I don’t expect or want this process to be quick.
This, again, feels like I am prematurely classifying these items. The mind-map is a hierarchy. Why not use other tools for this?In the past, I have tried both mind-mapping tools and pen and paper to do this activity.The issue I’ve found with mind-mapping tools is the rigidity of their model. Its power and flexibility come with a steep learning curve. What about other tools?Tinderbox is, by the developer’s admission, a complicated piece of software. I am looking for anything that needs further development or to capture any new ideas I’ve had or to make notes about the progress of an idea.
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