Mark's GTD Bonsai Description {was Member of PalmOrganized Group?}

Here's a somewhat enhanced version of my GTD using Bonsai post from a
while back.

Preliminaries:
1) Thanks to all who have e-mailed me.  I am working on a shell of my
main Bonsai GTD Outline that I can send out to interested parties, but
... that may not happen for a week or two (real life impinges, I'm
afraid).

2) Bonsai is quite robust.  Undoubtedly there are better ways of
implementing parts of what I've done and so I offer this only as one
learner to other learners.

3) Do what suits your style.

4) Remember Occam's Razor.

================================

Bonsai by Natara Software on a Palm TX is my GTD engine. I have used
Bonsai for 8 years (2.5 yrs. with GTD) and I'm very happy with it. I am
a math professor at a small college.

My key criteria are that a GTD system must be nimble enough that items
can be entered quickly and robust enough to catch and track everything. 
Bonsai passes muster on both counts.

All of my Runway (actions) and 10,000 ft. (projects) horizons are kept
in my main GTD outline.  Other outlines are used as project support or
to parse my thinking at the 20,000 ft horizons and above.  My GTD
outline has macro life areas/roles at the top level (I know, sounds like
Covey, and you're right) under which are either single action to do
items or multiple-step projects, which in turn are parents of next
actions.

I enter all new stuff into the Incomplete filter (see Filters below). 
So my master GTD outline structure  looks like:

ME
[  ] Dentist Appointment           5/12  {entered as a to do, category
@Errand/Event, with link to Palm Calendar}
[   ] GTD scan of garage work area 4/30  {entered as a to do, category
@Home}
FAMILY
[   ]  Son's soccer match            4/18   {entered as a to do,
category @Errand/Event, with link to Palm Calendar}
>  Deck Repair  {entered as a Task with children designated next
actions}
[   ] Call Stewart to ask what Deck hardware he used    4/10
[   ] Buy wood at Lumber Yard
4/12
...
{I usually do not enter all the actions necessary to complete a project
(would be a psychological barrier for me), just the next couple as I
process to zero each day or in my weekly review}
WORK
[  ] Review Dept Budget   {a single action, entered as a to do item
under WORK}

> Calculus Test 2  {a project, entered as a task with children
designated next actions. Only the "next" next action will appear in my
flat filter list of next actions at WORK
[  ] Write Calc Test 2                    4/20
[  ] Grade Calc Test 2                   4/23
[  ] Grade Calc Text 2 student corrections   4/30
...
CHURCH
> Plan Men's Retreat
[   ] Call Royce to discuss guest speaker selection   4/10
[   ] Post announcement on church web site              4/14
[   ] Send e-mail announcement to family distribution list    4/14
...
[   ] Kid's puppet show practice            4/24

CHECKLISTS  {my repository for periodic tasks, items never get
"completed", only rescheduled. Here's where repeated to dos would be
useful in Bonsai; Natara says they're coming!}
> Daily  {a list of actions that I wish to develop into daily habits,
such as "Read 1 Chapter of a book", Review Runway (Next actions) &
10,000 ft (projects) horizons and check calendar & waiting for list.}
> Weekly  {actions that I need to do at least once a week such as Weekly
Review Checklist, E-mail a Distant Friend}
> Monthly  {e.g. Inflate Tires on vehicles, Check water softener salt,
Review 30,000 ft horizon (Goals)}
> Quarterly {e.g. Review 40,000 ft horizon (Vision), change oil in
family vehicles}
> Yearly  {e.g. Review 50,000 ft horizon (Life Purpose & Values), check
smoke detector batteries, antifreeze in vehicles, apply pre-emergent
fertilizer to lawn}
Sundry comments:

    * The most important features of Bonsai for GTD are: 1) Filters,
especially flat lists, 2) ability to designate children nodes as next
actions
    * Dates are mostly "do by" dates, except for events and deadlines.
    * Each item can be quickly configured via the "Details" settings (on
Record menu, but I use the Toolbar Icon) on which you can specify each
item's type (to do, task, simple), category, links to datebook,
contacts, keywords, etc.
    * Item categories are my contexts (@Home, @Work, @Errand/Event,
@Computer, @Phone, @Anywhere, etc.) I use categories for other things
too, which I'll try to mention herein. Filters can include items from
any number of categories, which means @Work, @Computer, @Phone and
@Anywhere actions can all be viewed with my @Work Filter (see Filters
below).
    * New items are entered using the Incomplete filter (see below).  In
the item details, I always enter a category (context) and due date
(except for Someday/Maybe's); if applicable, I enter a link to Palm
calendar or notes.
    * It's easier to use an action's item details to create a
corresponding Palm Calendar entry, rather than to exit Bonsai, open
Calendar, and enter the item separately (which then has to be linked in
Bonsai).
    * Someday/Maybe items are entered as any other items, except without
a due date.  Since these are the only entries without due dates, I have
a filter that displays all the Someday/Maybe's across all contexts.

    * Checklists items are categorized into their respective contexts,
just like any other tasks.  Weekly Review-->Home, Inflate Tires-->Errand
and appear on their respective next action list (flat lists produced by
filters).  They are never marked "complete", rather are rescheduled (by
changing due date) to their next occurrence.

    * @Errand/Event is my catch all category for anywhere I need to be. 
Events have a set time, errands do not.   The two are separated using
filters (see Filters below)
    * I have two additional Bonsai categories that are not contexts.  1)
Projects, for project parent items.  Allows me to bring up all my
projects using a filter (see below) 2) Checklist, for checklist parents
such as WEEKLY, which are neither projects or next actions thus would
"pollute" any other context category.
    * I do not use the following Bonsai features, not to say that one
couldn't: Start date, keywords or priorities (in item details),  link to
the Palm To Do app (Bonsai context filters are much better suited for
this purpose).

I can specify whether I want Bonsai to treat the children separately or
as sequential next actions; this is perhaps the single most powerful
feature of Bonsai that's not in a lot of other outliner applications.

FILTERS

Filters make Bonsai rock, because they are how all lists are produced. 
When I complete an item, if I've entered the project's next action, it
will take its place in the filter. I sort by due date, but Bonsai gives
you the choice to filter by date ranges such as today, tomorrow, this
week, next week, etc.

To access filters in Bonsai, open the outline and click on the drop-down
menu at the top right of the display (which initally reads "Filter
Off"). To create or edit a filter, tap on the bottom menu item Edit
Filters.

My main filters are:

*Incomplete  Hierarchical list of all incompleted items.  As mentioned
above, my top level nodes are Me, Family, Work, Church, and Checklists. 
Purpose: This is the filter into which I enter new items.

*Next Actions  Flat list of next actions from all contexts sorted by due
date.   Purpose: To view all upcoming next actions in chronological
order.

@Home, @Work, @Computer, @Phone, @Errand/Event  Flat list of next
actions for a given context, sorted by due date.  Filters can be
configured to show any combination of Bonsai categories, so a given
category can show up in any number of filters.  For example, actions in
the @Computer Bonsai category (context) show up in the @Work, @Home and
@Computer filters.  Purpose: Instant view all next actions that I can do
when I'm in a particular context.

@Someday/Maybe   Hierarchical list of all items without a due date. 
This list is my mind's "attic" so, for me, it makes the most sense to
view it broadly grouped by life roles.  Purpose: Instant view of all
Someday/Maybe projects (most of my Someday/Maybe's are not single
actions)

@Errands Flat list of errands or places I have to go by a certain date
but not at a fixed time and date (those show up under the Events
filter), sorted by due date.  It is configured to look for items in the
@Errands/Events category that do not have a calendar link (which, in my
system, would make them Events).  Purpose: Instant view of all errands,
namely, actions (e.g. shopping, dry cleaning, or the Post Office) that
require me to be somewhere other than home, work, or church, by a
certain date but not at a fixed time and date.

Events Flat list of events, which I define as places I have to be at a
fixed time and date, sorted by due date.   It is configured to look for
items in the @Errand/Event Bonsai category that also have a calendar
link (without which they would be Errands).  Purpose: Instant view of
all events, namely, actions (e.g.meetings, kid's soccer games, or flight
information) that require me to besomewhere other than home, work, or
church, at a fixed time and date.

When I check off an item as complete in one of the above filters, it
records the completion date.  You can configure the item the to
disappear from the filter, but I leave it there in case I check to
"complete box" by mistake, which I've done many times.  During myweekly
review I sometimes filter on Last Week (complete, incomplete, orboth) to
see if there are any loose ends to wrap up.

I execute GTD mainly on my Palm TX, but I keep Bonsai's desktop
companion program open all day on my computer at work as my dashboard.

The rest of my GTD system I'll leave for another time except to say that
my inboxes are e-mail and a 3"x4" composition book that I carryfor
ubiquitous capture when I'm out & about, on the phone, etc.  I use a
digital voice recorder to capture thoughts while driving.  At the end of
each day, before I leave work I enter the contents of my inboxes into
Bonsai.

I generally don't collect directly into Bonsai, unless I need to check
something else in Bonsai at the same moment I have incoming stuff to
enter.  Also, if I'm bored in some meeting I'll open up Bonsai and enter
incoming items from the meeting or my composition book, making less to
clear from my inbox later on.

Hope this helps,
Mark




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