Joe's
Digital Garden

Minimal ZTD

Minimal ZTD by Leo Babuata and outlined on the Zen Habits1 site is a solid approximation of what I took away from [[GTD]]:

The basic four

  1. Collect: carry a notebook, write down any tasks, ideas or projects.
  2. Process: process everything quickly, preferably daily. Just make a call on each item in the inbox.
  3. Plan: each week list the Big Rocks you want to accomplish, and schedule them first. Each day list 1-3 MITs (Most Important Tasks). Do the MITs early/first.
  4. Do: do one task at a time, without distraction. Shut off email, phones, internet, clutter. Set a timer and focus.

The extended items

  1. Simple trusted system: keep lists organized by context
  2. Organize: everything comes into the inbox, and from there goes into contextual lists.
  3. Review: conduct weekly reviews focusing on goals and identifying blockers. Conduct a monthly review and annual reviews.
  4. Simplify: reduce goals and tasks to essentials. Remove everything but essential projects so you can focus on them. Simplify commitments. Make sure projects align with goals.
  5. Routine: Set and keep routines. Set up morning and evening routines. Make a routine out of the week.
  6. Find your passion: seek things you are passionate about and make a career out of them.

My Take Aways

  • I should move back to carrying the traveler passport to jot notes down instead of relying on the phone for collection.
  • The nightly review could benefit from identifying the 1-3 MITs ("A" priority tasks) and then recording those items into the traveler notebook.
  • I've grown very bad about multitasking (throwing up a video, or Mastodon, etc. while I work) and could probably benefit from quiet, focus.
  • The other virtues of simplifying, setting routines, and finding a passion are all very good and well.
  • Combining this with the Pomodoro Technique what if we assigned 1pd (pomodoro = pd = 90 minutes) to project tasks each day with a limit of 4pd/day.

External References

  1. Babuata, Leo. Minimal ZTD: The Simplest System Possible <https://zenhabits.net/minimal-ztd-the-simplest-system-possible/>. Zen Habits. Retrieved 23T04
  2. Babuata, Leo. Zend To Done (ZTD): The Simple Productivity System <https://zenhabits.net/zen-to-done-ztd-the-ultimate-simple-productivity-system/>. Zen Habits. Retrieved 23T04

Linked References