The Importance of Context [Hidden Dragon BizBlog 1.2]
I use the GTD workflow process to choose my Next Actions, and I am getting much better at it. In order to know exactly what action is next on your list, it is important to know the Context of your current situation. “Where am I?” is a key question, as is “How much time/energy do I have?” Knowing the answers is not always easy, but it is a learned behavior that can become a habit. Once this happens, your methodology becomes more transparent, and easier to use.
The Flexible Manager has more on the subject of Contexts:
For Getting Things Done the killer app. is context. Context is the label that is applied to the action or project (more than one action).
The best thing about context, and in general the GTD framework, is that it’s personal to you and not a system that you have to adjust yourself to.
For example I use my laptop a lot and a logical context might be @computer. However there are some tasks I need to be on the internet for some I need to be on the corporate network.
This then allows me to plan for @VPN or @www. If I’m on a plane and there are somethings that I can do without a connection at all, this becomes @pc.
The granularity of your Contexts is up to you, which is the beauty of the GTD system. What level of granularity do you use? Simply @Work, or @Computer, @Deadlines, @Monthly Newsletter, etc.
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Original post here: Stephen
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