Tara Nofziger of Tara Nofziger Design recently commented about being a morning person and this means struggling to do an in-box sweep at the end of the day.  This means that it can be really difficult to have all capture devices emptied and a clear action list all set for the coming day.

Photo by Kevin Lawver

I’m like that too.  I seem to operate best early in the morning, possibly because of caffeine, (or maybe it’s just that there are a lot less distractions if you get to work before anyone else does, and before the phones start ringing), but is this an issue?

Yes it is.  And the reason I say this is because there may be things in your capture devices that really do need to be done urgently, meaning that very day!

What’s the solution then?

In my post about being an imperfect GTDer (Getting Things Done – GTD – by David Allen) I suggested that at least with my handwritten capture device (my notepad) I could use a triangle to define something that was uber-urgent.  (Squares define something for me to do and circles are something someone else has agreed to do).

I always feel it’s such a waste when people with incredible potential get bogged down doing stuff they simply shouldn’t be doing. So my posts on this site are predominantly about exploring ways to avoid this and to help people lead to their full potential. If you want to join with me in this journey you can follow me by rss feed, by email or through Twitter

This system works really well with my notepad.  Every time I leave a meeting or get back to the office I do a quick scan looking for triangles and away I go.

However, it obviously isn’t a sensible solution for other types of capture devices.  Whether that be dictation tapes, PDA’s or mobile phones.

My solution is simple.  Even when I’m capturing any other way, I always keep a pen and pad handy.  If anything comes up that is that important, then I revert to the “old-fashioned” way.

What I’d like now is a suitable pocket wallet sized capture device that has a good pen and space for cash and cards.  I know there’s the infamous GTD NoteTaker wallet but at the price plus with postage to New Zealand…  I don’t think so!

I’ll just keep my eyes peeled for something suitable.

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