David Allen in Getting Things Done, or Making It All Work does not dictate what system you need to use to apply his principles. That is left up to the individual.

My system is largely paper-based – I spent some years with a digital system and then opted to go back towards a paper based approach as it integrated into my use of a notebook and journalling.

Please download a document containing my system (My GTD System) so you can follow along as I describe each page:

1. Weekly Planner
This is an adaptation of what I have used for years from my exposure to Stephen Covey. I still like to keep my Mission, Roles and Goals in front of me – even though I also work with the 6 Horizons of Focus that David Allen teaches. The “Weekly Priorities section” are the big rocks that I need to pay attention to in the week ahead.  You will see that for each day I have a “Day Tasks” section at the bottom of the page – this is not my main task list (that comes later) but just a note about things that HAVE to be completed on specific days in the coming weeks – it is more of a “note to self on a specific day” reminder list than a genuine to do list. I am rather strict in only putting appointments on the weekly planner. There are some tasks that get scheduled but you will see that GTD encourages you to batch complete tasks so many of those are done when the context is right and time and energy are suitable to the task.

2. Projects List
This is a listing of each of the projects I have on my plate right now – I have two pages at present with things like: (1) Write Book Chapter for Zondervan; (2) Develop Youth Pastor Training Track, (3) Plan Supernatural Series for Sundays at Youth. Each project is then given a next action to be completed – sometimes I identify the next 2 to 4 actions steps, but often it is just the next one that needs to be completed to bring the project one step close to completion.

3. Next Actions List
This is the heart of the GTD system. The emphasis is on action management and you continually ask what the next task is on a commitment that you have agreed to, or an idea that come into your mind, and you enter that in your action management system which is kinda like a task list on steroids – the secret is to come up with a next action (something special and concrete you can do) and then allocate a context to it. So you only think about the action when you are in the right context – you no longer look through long lists of tasks to find something you can actually do (ie. you do find yourself at the shop wondering what you were supposed to buy because you just look at your @errands list and see it written there). I have the following contexts (and you will see that this system manages my whole life and not just work or church related stuff):
@Calls (phone calls I need to make).
@Computer (this is stuff I need to do when I sit in front of my computer – some people split this into online/offline but I am seldom not connected to the internet so they are merged).
@Office (this is pretty much for things I need to follow up on when I am at church – things to give to people, stuff to get, etc).
@Calendar (this is for stuff that I need to get scheduled in my diary – meetings to set, events to attend, etc).
@Meetings (this is a list of meetings that I have schedule or things I want to bounce off people – this is working alongside a later page I will describe – my Agenda list).
@Home (this is a list of things that need to be done once I am around the home. They could relate to work or church, but they can only be done at home).
@Errands (this is a list of all the things that I need to get when I am out and about, or buy, post to collect, etc.
@Waiting For (this is a list of things that I can’t do anything about until I get a respond or something back from someone else. This makes sure I don’t forget about things that are suspended).
Another context that GTD recommends is an @Someday/Maybe list – and I had it on this page, but it has moved to its own page. See later.

4. Agendas List
This is a list of all the people that I connect with regularly – my wife and kids are even on this page, including all my staff, key church leaders, people I am mentoring, the 5 youth pastors in surrounding churches that I meet with and a few other guys who are mentoring me – this is a place to make a note of issues that I need to raise with them or things I need to get for them when I next see them. I am very structured in when I see people and plan these into my diary a few weeks ahead at time. Some are weekly appointments, other bi-weekly, some monthly and others ad hoc. So the name is in the left column and notes in the right column down the page.

5. Ideas and Insights List
This page gives me a place to capture sayings and quotes that I don’t want to forget. I type these up each week in some time set aside in my diary to do this – usually on a Monday morning.

6. Prayer Journal
This started a while back as one of my contexts on my Next Actions list page but is has now become a page on it’s own. It is helping me to be more proactive with actually prayer for things that I commit to pray for.

7. Someday/Maybe List
I mentioned this earlier – but it is anything that comes up that I am not ready to make a project right now. It might be dreams, ideas, things to do one day – but they all get capture and lurk there until I review them and decide to either delete them as wild ideas or turn them into projects.

8. My Responsibilities
This is quite a new list I am working on. It is a list of all the things that I feel responsible for – in my different roles and things that I need to do daily, weekly and monthly. It gets a bit nitty gritty orientated, but again it means that I don’t have to try to remember things – my system reminds me about them. Many of these things get scheduled in my diary and reminders are set there for me. Here is my list at present:
* Home: Wash the Dishes; Take out the Rubbish Bins; Help Around the Home; Maintain the Property; Handle Medical Aid
* Consultancy: Revise Material Regularly, Create CDs, Submit Invoices
* Personal: Eat Healthy, Walk, Run, Play Squash
* Community: Get to Know Neighbours, Help with Vigilance, Respond to Crises
* Pastor: Pray, Read the Word, Provide Spiritual Direction
* Youth Pastor: Oversee the Vision, Empower staff, Liaise with Elders, Oversee Adult Leaders, Lead a Connect Group
* Student: Keep Reading, Summarise Books, Listen to Podcasts
* Mentor: Set Meetings, Identify Issues to Work On, Follow Up on Issues, Create Accountability Structures, Share Resource
* Daily: Devotions, Help at Home, Connect with Kids, Listen to Podcasts, Read
* Weekly: Set Weekly Goals, Visit Blogs, Type up Notes, Set Mentor Meetings, Listen to Sermon Podcasts, Charge Headset
* Monthly : Set Monthly Goals, Pay Accounts, Review and Revise Budget,
* Yearly: Set Annual Goals, Tax Return, Clear Out Files (3 Jan, 1 July)

9. My Weekly Review
The secret to GTD is the Weekly Review. You must look through the whole system each week and see if anything is falling through the cracks – cross things off – to be honest I am so thorough in the week that my weekly review is not difficult, although I have the following list that I am now using and it is adding a lot of value:
* Review Planner: Mission, Roles, Goals
* Process Paper: Inbox to Zero, Receipts
* Process Notes: Ideas, Podcasts
* Review Calendar: Last Week, Next Week
* Mind Dump: Thoughts, Walk around, Family, People, House
* Review Lists: Projects, Next Actions, Agendas, Someday/Maybe, Waiting For, Prayer, Ideas
* Review Email: Waiting For, Action, Read
* Review Habits: Time management, People management, Work/rest balance, Devotions,
* Review Learning: Books, Podcasts, Articles
* Review Entertainment: Movies to watch, TV series to watch, books to read
* Review Diet: How am I eating? What are I over/under doing?
* Review Character: Fruit of the Spirit, Integrity, Keeping Commitments
* Review System: Are there areas for Improvement?
* Preview Week: Down Time, Family Time, Weekly To Do List
* Enjoy Reward: Have a Cuppachino
You will see that the document contains my review items and there is a column in the left to check when I have done each step.

Next, we will look at the support items that work alongside these printed pages.