{"id":4186,"date":"2010-09-15T09:00:32","date_gmt":"2010-09-15T17:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gtdtimes.com\/?p=4186"},"modified":"2014-02-03T14:31:06","modified_gmt":"2014-02-03T22:31:06","slug":"davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/","title":{"rendered":"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question:<\/strong> Where do I put deferred tasks that are due, for example, in three days?\u00a0\u00a0 If I’m processing my Inbox on Monday,\u00a0 and I know the next step to completion is a two hour task, “at Computer” that is due on Thursday, do I make a decision to do it at a specific time, and put it on my calendar? Or do I put it on the @Computer list? Or Something else?<\/p>\n

David Allen: <\/strong>In your environment [Editor: David has coached at this fast-paced Fortune 100 company]<\/em>, if you have something that requires two hours of time, and HAS to be done within the next couple of days, I would schedule that two-hour block for yourself and hold yourself to keep your appointment with yourself. That way it gets off your mind the rest of the time. Not a bad idea to do that for ANY action that requires more than an hour of uninterrupted time, in your interrupt-driven kind of world, if it really has to get done within the next week or so.<\/p>\n

The other option is to keep it on your At Computer list, with the due date right beside it. You’d have to have the discipline, however, to be looking at that list ANYtime you have discretionary time (which takes a lot more engagement with the lists than most people are doing).<\/p>\n

The third option would be to double-enter it–put it on the At Computer list, and drag the Task entry over your Calendar button in Outlook and make it a day-specific reminder on Thursday (or perhaps Wednesday, to be safe) that it’s due on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Of course none of this works if you don’t stay appropriately engaged in reviewing the lists as needed.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Where do I put deferred tasks that are due, for example, in three days?\u00a0\u00a0 If I’m processing my Inbox on Monday,\u00a0 and I know the next step to completion is a two hour task, “at Computer” that is due on Thursday, do I make a decision to do it at a specific time, and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,32],"tags":[22,745,69,46,100,109,118,125,477],"class_list":["post-4186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-david-allen","category-productivity-tips","tag-getting-things-done","tag-david-allen","tag-implementing-gtd","tag-implementation","tag-tips-and-tricks","tag-gtd-best-practices","tag-weekly-review","tag-tasks","tag-task-lists","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDavid's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"David Allen offers coaching advice on managing GTD tasks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"David Allen offers coaching advice on managing GTD tasks.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Getting Things Done\u00ae\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-09-15T17:00:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-02-03T22:31:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"GTD Times Staff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gtdtimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gtdtimes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"GTD Times Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"GTD Times Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4\"},\"headline\":\"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-09-15T17:00:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-03T22:31:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/\"},\"wordCount\":301,\"commentCount\":6,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Getting Things Done\",\"David Allen\",\"Implementing GTD\",\"Implementation\",\"Tips and Tricks\",\"GTD Best Practices\",\"Weekly Review\",\"Tasks\",\"Task Lists\"],\"articleSection\":[\"David Allen\",\"Productivity Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/\",\"name\":\"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-09-15T17:00:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-03T22:31:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"David Allen offers coaching advice on managing GTD tasks.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/\",\"name\":\"Getting Things Done\u00ae\",\"description\":\"David Allen's GTD\u00ae Methodology\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Getting Things Done\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png\",\"width\":370,\"height\":338,\"caption\":\"Getting Things Done\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/gtdtimes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gtdtimes\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/2328651\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4\",\"name\":\"GTD Times Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"GTD Times Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/author\/webadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates","description":"David Allen offers coaching advice on managing GTD tasks.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates","og_description":"David Allen offers coaching advice on managing GTD tasks.","og_url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/","og_site_name":"Getting Things Done\u00ae","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/","article_published_time":"2010-09-15T17:00:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-02-03T22:31:06+00:00","author":"GTD Times Staff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gtdtimes","twitter_site":"@gtdtimes","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"GTD Times Staff","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/"},"author":{"name":"GTD Times Staff","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4"},"headline":"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates","datePublished":"2010-09-15T17:00:32+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-03T22:31:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/"},"wordCount":301,"commentCount":6,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Getting Things Done","David Allen","Implementing GTD","Implementation","Tips and Tricks","GTD Best Practices","Weekly Review","Tasks","Task Lists"],"articleSection":["David Allen","Productivity Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/","name":"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-09-15T17:00:32+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-03T22:31:06+00:00","description":"David Allen offers coaching advice on managing GTD tasks.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/2010\/09\/davids-coaching-advice-on-tracking-actions-with-due-dates\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"David's coaching advice on tracking actions with due dates"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/","name":"Getting Things Done\u00ae","description":"David Allen's GTD\u00ae Methodology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#organization","name":"Getting Things Done","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/gtd-logo.png","width":370,"height":338,"caption":"Getting Things Done"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gettingthingsdone\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gtdtimes","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/gtdtimes\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/groups\/2328651\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52d8dfa5db8d4e8792586794625c12a4","name":"GTD Times Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4df22f74cebc078fff6e9f4d8e6e74a980295dec0849d6ab2d6b303ee0c92030?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"GTD Times Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/author\/webadmin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gettingthingsdone.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}