Note Studio GTD Refresher
4. The Importance of Context
We've seen how the brain, while remarkable, is really bad at some things. One of the areas it is weak is that of reminding
us of things at the appropriate time.
Just to refresh your memory with another example, imagine you have a flashlight which needs batteries. Ideally, next time
you're at the shops, and you walk past some batteries, your brain should interrupt you, saying 'hey, don't forget that we need batteries for the flashlight at home.' But in fact, what is more likely to happen is that next time you are at home and you really, really need that flashlight,
you'll pull it out of the drawer. On seeing the flashlight, your brain will remind you 'that's right, this thing needs batteries!'
This kind of thing happens all the time. In the absence of any system, our brain remembers things
- when it's prompted (by seeing the object right in front of you), and
- at other random times (like at three o'clock in the morning).
Neither is very helpful.
One of the key points of GTD is that you get reminders at the right time. When is the right time? When you can do something
about it. Just like the best time to remember the flashlight is when you're out near a shop where you can buy batteries.
Grouping Actions by Context
In any productivity system, you'll maintain some sort of list of things you need to do. Dave Allen calls them action items.
For example, for a project such as "upgrade computer", the next action might be "call the computer shop to see if they have
the part I need." When you compile a list of all the projects in your life, you get a pretty big list. This results in a long
list of action items.
In GTD, each action is given a context. By context, we mean: where and when can you do this action? Where do you need to be?
What equipment do you need? Do you need access to a phone? Do you need to be at work, or at home? Do you need to be on your
computer? Do you need to be near your workshop? Or is it something you need to drive around town to do? These are examples
of context.
GTD doesn't explicitly define these contexts for you. They are left to be defined by you, because they'll be different for
different people. In my system, I use:
- Call
- Home
- Work
- Computer
- Errand
- Wait
All my action items can be sorted into these contexts. For example: "call the computer shop to see if they have the part
I need", is something you'd need a phone to do. Therefore, in my system, I would make this action a "Call" item.
You might be wondering - what is the advantage of sorting items by context? Well, there are three main advantages.
You Are Efficient
Wherever you are, you can quickly pull up all the actions you can possibly do in your current context. This allows you to
stay effective, whatever your circumstances.
You Are Flexible
You can stay productive when your plans change. So when your flight is delayed for half an hour, but you have your cell phone
in your briefcase, you don't have to waste that time. You can bring up a list of all the calls you need to make, and start
working through the list.
You Are Relaxed
You can forget about items which you can't do under the circumstances. For example, if you're on a plane flying away for a
business trip, you can forget about all the items you'd need to be at home to do. This makes your head quiet. People find this very liberating.
A Reminder
Remember: your brain will only relax once it trusts your external system. If it fears that you won't remember to use that
external system, or that some of your action items are not captured within that system, then your brain has to keep working
hard, and keep reminding you about stuff at three in the morning.
Next, we're going to examine in more detail about how items actually come into your GTD system.