4 More Hidden GTD® Project Categories

If you are looking to bring your GTD game to another level, digging into a good podcast can really help. I happened to listen to the GTD Podcast episode #32 "The Better You Get," where Meg Edwards and Kelly Forrister went over some great new project categories to consider as part of your mind sweep.

Four Hidden Project Categories

• Projects or Issues
• Processes or Procedures
• Creative Opportunities
• Competency Building

These were so good that I was inspired to grab my capture tool of choice and write down four more to consider.

Repeating Routines

I have found that I have a lot of daily routines that I set up as repeating projects in OmniFocus. Everything from feeding the fish (every two days) to watering the plants (every 10 days). These really help for projects that are better suited for an irregular repeating cycle. If it were daily, my fish and plants would die. The pro tip is not to be afraid to set the repeating cycle to be very irregular. With OmniFocus you don't have to think in only daily or weekly terms -- try every 3 weeks or 18 days. During your next weekly review, ask yourself if there are things that are slipping through the cracks and could be helped with a repeating project.

Habit Builders

Another close project category to consider in your mind sweep are projects to help build good habits (or break bad ones). These are things that you know you should be doing, might always be doing, but need some re-enforcement. I have a daily health project (every day) that reminds me to do things like stretch, drink water, exercise and take a probiotic. While exercise at this point isn't something I need OmniFocus to remind me to do, it feels good to check it off. Years ago my dentist told me I need to take better care of my teeth and to use a waterpik "regularly." This turned into a repeating project, only three actions, and I have had good checkups since. Are there any habits you are trying to form or to enforce? Try making them a project and setting them to repeat.

People

It always seems strange to write down someone's name as the project in OmniFocus, but it works. I use people projects as buckets to capture things I need to do for that person, or things that person has committed to me. For my direct reports, this is my way of keeping on top of any open items or things to review together. It also helps in my weekly review, as my employees are certainly one of my areas of focus, and coming up with a next action for each one keeps them top of mind. For others, such as my child, I use this technique as a way of capturing all her tasks that she struggles to capture herself. There is nothing like reminding a teenager that before they can go get pizza with their friends, they have to write that thank you note that they promised to do four days earlier. I have found that the person in question eventually gets tired of being reminded, knows I will not forget, and starts to capture it themselves (Right @justedelstein?). Do you have open loops with your spouse, business partner, child, friend? Don't be afraid to make them a project.

Internal Commitments

This last one has been the hardest and newest for me to build on. An internal commitment is something that you want to do, said you are going to do, but is really only for yourself. It isn't something you have committed to others and usually isn't something that will get you in trouble if you don't do. They are things that are softer than goals but still rattle around in your brain. My "ah-ha" internal commitment recently was reading books. While I have a goal to read a certain amount of books each year, I find I go through long stretches of days and just don't do it. My new approach? Make finishing the book a project in OmniFocus. This will put it in my face daily, reviewed weekly and bring my level of awareness up a notch or two.

Do you have any hidden GTD project categories, leave them on our Facebook page, in the Salesforce Success Community, Power of us Hub or directly with me @JasonMAtwood