[plaiditude]

I'm so glad to see paper planners on the list for Total, Relaxed Organization (TRO) online training.  I think there are still lots of people using paper for their lists/calendar.  I'm a techie, but I think best and am much less distracted when I use paper.

Any suggestions or best practices on using paper lists for TRO? For example, without the ability to sort, how do I organize my lists?

[Edited for clarity]

[Kevin Crenshaw]

Paper planners are a crucial tool for time management. 40% of Lifehacker responders said paper is their preferred tool for GTD!

Fortunately, you can do Total, Relaxed Organization with a paper planner as long as the planner meets certain standards. TRO demands a bit more from your tools than "vanilla" GTD, so it can deliver more relaxed control with less effort.

To do TRO Online Training for a paper planner, just pick another task list tool, like Outlook, and adjust the instructions using the information below.

Planner Needs to Have...

Here are the requirements for a TRO-capable paper planner:

1) Note pages for each day, or a separate Notes section for a running journal. (This eliminates a separate notepad that you carry with you.)

2) A vertical appointment bar for each day (used for time budgeting)

3) A task list area for tasks for each day (used for your Do Today list). Day Runner (I think) has a thin "Hot List" insert you can add and move around that works great for that.

4) Separate areas, color tabbed in the back, for tasks belonging to different contexts and projects.

Some Notes on the Approach

If you're already TRO trained, you can adapt the training to paper with the following guidelines (not all-inclusive, but should get you close).

Combine categories/contexts to handle the fact that on paper, tasks can only be listed in one category:

  Errands  = (Personal) + Errands
  Calls = (Work) + Calls
  1Bob = (Work) + 1Bob
  1Sue = (Family) + 1Sue
  S/M = Someday/Maybe for all  contexts

And so forth. You can document the category/context relationships on the tabs or the top of the task pages at the back.

You still need "hard" dates ("must start it by this date or bad things will happen") on your tasks (write in parentheses after the project/next step):
Basement remodel - Call plumber (8/31)

Write tasks into date pages when they have hard dates. Write the context first.

Write tasks on the context pages at the back in a loose "soft" date order, soonest near the top. Leave blank lines between tasks to accommodate inserting tasks. Don't rewrite the pages unless you have to, and do that during Weekly Review.

This means that tasks with only a soft date will only appear at the back of the planner. Tasks with both soft and hard dates will be listed TWICE: one on the hard date and once in the back. Duplicates are not a problem, you'll know them when you spot them and can cross them out quickly.

Daily review from today's planner page, calendar bar for the day plus "hard" dated tasks. If you have too many tasks already scheduled that day, you're over-using "hard" dates. DO continue to schedule 30+ minute tasks into the calendar on their soft dates. Your calendar is your time budgeting tool.

Weekly Review in the back of the planner. change tasks to "hard" dated if they are heating up and have a real deadline.

Monthly review in the back, Someday/Maybe category.

Coaching to Put It All Together

For now, most folks buy a half hour or hour of coach time to get 1-1 training for setting up their planner to meet their needs. Click here:

http://www.priacta.com/store/additional-coaching-services.html

I hope this helps!

[plaiditude]

I have a couple more clarification questions regarding TRO on paper.  I assume you would treat projects the same way as in electronic, using the "project name - next action" format rather than a separate list of projects? 

Also, how do you manage the project notes for small projects that only have a few steps?  I currently have a project page for some of my bigger projects, which gives me a place to put notes etc.  but I have trouble with small projects that may only have two or three action steps and maybe a couple of lines of notes.  I don't want a separate page for each of these (as following the project definition "anything that takes more than one action" would mean 40 or 50 project pages, plus some may not need notes or I may not know right away if there will be notes or not). Obviously, if I put multiple projects on a page, then how do I keep it organized (alphabetical won't work).  This has always been one of the most difficult things for me, and I often find I don't bother taking notes on some simple projects through lack of having a home for them that I'm comfortable with and can easily find.  Then I wish later I had kept better notes.

[Kevin Crenshaw]

You're right about how to handle project names in a paper system:

    Remodel Basement - Call plumber 555-1212

In many cases, that is sufficient. You'll change the next step when you reprocess and rewrite the task onto a new date. You do NOT want to brainstorm all future steps for projects anyway--that's a big waste of time, since priorities and needs change with time. Just write down enough to get things off your mind.

However, when you DO need to list future next actions, put them all into a "bucket," which you point to using [bucket name] shorthand:

* For large projects, the bucket is your dedicated project page (by project name).

    [Remodel Basement] - Call plumber 555-1212

The next steps and notes are in the "Remodel Basement" page in the Projects tab in the back of the planner.

* You can also keep that list of next actions in your files rather than in your planner. (I use this a lot for larger projects, especially when brainstorming.)

    Remodel Basement [R] - Call plumber 555-1212

The next steps and notes are in the "R" paper file.

* You can also have five or six numbered tabs in the back of the planner with blank pages behind them. Name them P1, P2, P3, .... Write the project name and next actions on a page anywhere under that tab. Leave a little space for more steps in the future, and draw lines separating them. Cross projects and steps off as they are done or scheduled.

    Remodel Basement [P2] - Call plumber 555-1212

The next steps and notes are found somewhere under the P2 tab in the back. You rarely have to look far to find the right one.

* My favorite approach for small, quick (3 or 4 step projects) is sneakier, and requires no rewriting of steps. When using a planner with a note area for each day, you should already be dumping all notes there: phone numbers, actionable tasks, doodles, and new projects that need to be done. When you do that, leave a little space for the next steps and other notes. This page is the temporary "home" for that project. You refer to it by date.

    Remodel Basement [11/18] - Call plumber 555-1212

[plaiditude]

Thank you for your very helpful reply!  Of course it has now given me another question

You said: "When using a planner with a note area for each day, you should already be dumping all notes there: phone numbers, actionable tasks, doodles, and new projects that need to be done."

I'm curious about this, it sounds like you are treating the note page for each day as a inbox/collecting point?  Or when you say "actionable tasks" do you mean new tasks that came in during the day that you worked on - keeping them separate from the tasks you had planned (which are in the task area)?

[plaiditude]

Kevin, could you provide some detail as to how you use the note page each day?  Your previous answer to me sounds as though you use the daily note page as an inbox for capturing new projects and tasks? Thanks!

[Kevin Crenshaw]

Great question. In a paper planner the Notes pages are used in true Franklin-Covey fashion (Total, Relaxed Organization merges GTD methods/principles with Covey methods/principles, and more).

Everything goes into the notes pages: addresses, doodles, meeting notes, phone numbers, ideas. Write in a check box next to anything actionable. This box does NOT mean "check it when it is done." Instead, you check it off when you have triaged it into your task list. Those check boxes will get cleared quickly. I keep a plastic sticky note arrow/tab pointing to the last page I processed, so I don't need to hunt for it during processing time.

Those notes pages then become a resource, in chronological order, of everything you did over time. You will find yourself referring back to those notes later. This is discussed for notebooks in general in  TRO Online Training.

That's it!