Implementing GTD in Mozilla Thunderbird
Getting Things Done, or GTD, is not a new concept. For a couple of years, now, people have been writing about new and different ways to implement David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system. As per my usual “new approach to old ideas” penchant, I’ve come up with a way to implement GTD in Mozilla’s Thunderbird e-mail client. Here’s a little how-to, to get you started.
What is GTD?
If you’re unfamiliar with GTD, I suggest either checking out Merlin Mann’s excellent article on Getting Started with GTD, or checking out David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (amazon.com, $9.89).
GTD is, essentially, a tool for organizing and getting done, the “stuff” of your life. You categorize and actionize the “stuff” in your life. Check out Merlin Mann’s link, above, or the book for more details.
Why Thunderbird?
I’m writing this for use with Mozilla’s Thunderbird e-mail client because that’s what I use. This could just as easily be implemented in Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora, or any other e-mail client that allows folders and sub-folders, and allows for POP3 e-mail access (although I prefer using IMAP).
Personally, I’ve chosen implementation via Thunderbird and Sunbird (Mozilla’s i-cal, calendar app) because that’s what I’m used to using. Since I work from home, and run an online business, I am almost always in front of a computer, be it my desktop, or laptop. The times I’m not at home, thus far, I’ve been using a simple gregg-ruled notebook. I have an older Sony Clie that I’m looking into using (running the Palm OS), as well.
What You Need
To get started you need a few things:
- Thunderbird (or another e-mail client)
- A GTD E-mail address (see below)
- The Notary extension for Thunderbird.
- The Folderpane Tools extension for Thunderbird, if you want to re-order your accounts.
Simple to start with, eh? Here’s the low-down:
A GTD E-mail Address
Why?! Well, you could implement this in your existing e-mail accounts, but it makes more sense to have it completely seperate. Since we’ll be using the Thunderbird system to manage your GTD, you’ll need a way to take in incoming tasks.
Set yourself up a GTD e-mail. Since I have my own website, and e-mail addresses on that site, I set it up under my @fyreplace.com domain. In my case, the address is gtd-#####@fyreplace.com. I replaced the #### with a string of numbers that makes sense to me and is relatively easy to remember. You could just as easily have called it “gtd@,” but adding the extra numbers is beneficial for eluding spammers.
Once you have the e-mail account set up, add it to Thunderbird. When adding the account, make sure to tell it NOT to use “local folders.” Also, name your “account name” in T-Bird “GTD,” or something similar.
Notary Extension
The Notary Extension allows you to make notes on individual e-mails. This is useful not only for GTD, but any e-mail. Notes are stored in a plain-text file, and are viewable in a pane at the bottom of the message.
Folderpane Tools Extension
I use this extension to re-order my accounts (normally listed in the order they are added), so I can list the GTD account at the top (or wherever).
Setting Up Your Account
As I said above, do not use local folders, and appropriate name your “account” in T-Bird.
When you go to add the account to Thunderbird, you need to decide whether you want to use POP3, or IMAP. If your host only supports POP3, the decision is already made.
POP3
POP3 is ideal if you are only going to be using your GTD system on one computer. You don’t need to change any settings. However, if you are going to be using the GTD system across multiple computers, and wish to keep them in sync, I suggest using IMAP, if it’s availible. If it isn’t, then here’s what you need to do:
Once the account is set up in Thunderbird, access the account settings and change the following:
On “SERVER SETTINGS,” check “Leave Message on Server,” and “For at Most x Days.”
Change the number of days to a reasonable number. I suggest 15 - 20.
Now, anytime you add anything to your GTD, you’ll be able to retrieve it from any computer with an e-mail client. Err, just one drawback. You’ll have to categorize everything on each system. In other words, if you toss stuff into contexts on your main computer, you’ll have to do the same thing on your laptop. I highly suggest using IMAP, if availible, as it avoids the problem.
IMAP
IMAP is ideal if you are syncronizing between systems. Any folder (contexts, etc..) you create, or e-mail (item) you receive is stored on the mail server. This way it’s always there, and always sorted, no matter which system you access it from. To set up with IMAP, do your standard setup, but make sure “Expunge on Exit” is NOT selected and change “When I Delete a Message” to “MARK IT DELETED” (as opposed to “move to trash”) on the server settings tab.
Setting Up Your System
Account all set up? Great. Now let’s get cracking on setting up the GTD system. For visual reference, here’s mine:
As you can see, I’ve organized my system quite easily into contexts and projects. Thunderbird, having the option of subfolders, allows you to have a greater organization of projects by creating a seperate folder for each project.
Contexts
Create folders under the main (in this case, my IMAP requires me to create under “inbox”) labelled by context. In my case, I use the following:
- @blog: for tasks relating to blogging
- @contact: for calls, e-mails, etc..
- @home: for stuff to do when I’m not working
- @waiting: waiting on someone/something else
- @work: work items
You can create a seperate folder for each context, and with the “@” symbol, they will list up top. Your inbox is, just that.
You’ll notice I don’t have a @someday. I use a personal wiki, and a huge text file to keep track of someday ideas. If I did it here, I’d have seperate folders under @someday to track types of ideas. @someday->blog, @someday->travel, @someday->conquer, etc… I’m thinking of implementing this, but thus far I haven’t had the energy to go through my entire wiki/file, although “Implement @someday in tbird GTD” is in the file.
PROJECTS
I create folders underneath Projects, based on the TYPE of projects. If you have a lot of projects that have to do with the same general subject, create a master subject folder, and place a subfolder for each project related to that master. For instance, I constantly do/list things on eBay. I constantly write/do things involving blogging. You get the idea. Essentially, you’re using the ability to interrelate things to its highest advantage.
Populating Your GTD
You’re probably asking, “It’s e-mail. How do I add stuff to my GTD?!” Well, not to be too recursive, but you’ve answered your own question. To add something to your GTD, e-mail it to yourself. Send an e-mail to your gtd e-mail address (from any account). If it’s a single action, do the subject something like this:
Subject: Read new Dean Koontz Book.
Once you’ve sent the mail, it’ll land in your GTD inbox, and you can move it into whichever context you wish. Once you’ve COMPLETED the task, delete it. If you’re using IMAP, it’ll appear crossed out in your folder and you can expunge (permenantly remove it) on your weekly review.
For project-based tasks, you have two options:
Option 1:
Subject: eBay: List Green Dishes
That’s right, title the e-mail with the project name. THEN, once you’ve got it in the inbox, you can use the Notary Extension to list your action items. Like so (click for full size):
Personally, I’m not a big fan of doing it that way. I prefer using the Notary extension for notes and ideas related to the task at hand.
Option 2:
Subject: Photograph Dishes (eBay: List Green Dishes)
Your subject is your next action, and in parentheses is your project name.
When that lands in your inbox, you copy it to the appropriate project folder, and then move it from inbox to context. Then you can use the notes portion to make notes relating to the action, brainstorming, etc…
Weekly Review
Yes, I still support doing weekly reviews. Hopefully, as you’ve been finishing tasks, you’ve been hitting the DELETE key, so they appear crossed off in your tasks lists. When you do your weekly review, you need only add one simple thing to it. Go through and Compress (or expunge) the folder. In Thunderbird, right-click the folder and choose “Compress” and *poof*, all of your completed tasks are gone. Of course, you should also use this time to make sure everything is in the right place.
Remember, do NOT delete things from the project folders. This is your archive of the tasks you took to complete the project. I suggest, once a month, you delete completed project folders (unless you see a reason for keeping them).
Sunbird and Other Calendars
I mentioned my use of Sunbird, above. While GTD does not require a calendar, I find it useful to have one. The basics of GTD state that you only use a calendar for things that need to be done on a certain day, or at a certain time. I also add repeating tasks. For instance, if I’m posting a blog entry, daily, then I have a repeating task on my calendar, “Post Blog Entry.” The tasks to write the entries, are actually in my task lists. The fact that I make at least a daily post, goes in the calendar, as it’s a repeating task.
Aside from my e-mail, my calendar is the first thing I check of a morning. In fact, my entire morning goes a little something like this: Wake up to radio alarm. lay around for a few minutes until my brain manages to process that it’s daylight and I’m awake. Get up and pull on basic clothing. Bathroom. Coffee. Sit down at computer and check calendar. If nothing immediately pressing on the calendar, read personal e-mail. Read some rss feeds. Once my brain has booted up, enough, I go and get fully dressed and start my day. I bring this up, only because checking my calendar first thing in the morning gives me an idea of what’s in store for me during the day. In fact, I often have several tasks listed on my calendar, attached to a to-do list. Normally these are mundane tasks: check e-mail, read feeds, get coffee, GET DRESSED!, etc… However, checking them off as I go along, puts me in the mode of working and Getting Things Done. Not to mention, if I put a major thing to be completed, today, it’ll often turn into a project, and I’ll be able to make some actions based off of it.
Now, there are a lot of people who say that you shouldn’t put things on the calendar if they don’t have to be completed by a certain date. I think people need to reformulate that opinion. Get in the mode of thinking “if I didn’t finish something, today, it’s okay to move it to another day.” Alternatively, list things on your calendar as project starts. You are listing the fact that you’re starting the “project,” today… not that you are finishing it.
Tips and Tricks
NOTES
The Notary extension stores notes in a plain text file, associated with each e-mail’s subject. If you have a copy of “task” (or message) in your project folder, AND in your context folder, then anytime you update the notes for each task, they will update across all locations.
SPAM
Sometimes we get spam, whether we like it or not. To cut down on spam, set up Thunderbird’s filters to automatically delete any messages received from any e-mail address other than the ones you specify. Then, specify all e-mail addresses you use.
FILTERING
It is possible (though time consuming) to create a filter so that Thunderbird will automatically copy each task to its respecitve project folder. This is time consuming to set up (creating a filter), and must be done for each seperate project. Additionally, you have to list each project name in the subject line (i.e. “if subject contains ‘list green dishes’ copy to folder ‘ebay:list green dishes’ “). I normally only do this for very large, long, or involved projects that will generate a lot of actions.
QUICK COPY
If you are using IMAP, and you’ve set it up to merely mark an item as deleted (as opposed to moving it to trash), then you can simply drag the task to the project folder. Yes, it will show as deleted in your INBOX, but you can simply highlight the task and press the DELETE key, and *poof*, the task is undeleted.
Conclusion
I hope I haven’t gone too overboard in the descriptions. If there’s anything you don’t understand, please feel free to comment. If you have suggestions on re-writes of this article, feel free to e-mail me at fyre@fyreplace.com.
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