My colleague recently noticed me updating my todo list.

“Have you really included walk the dog on your list?” he asked. “Even if you did forget, wouldn’t the dog remind you?”

The dog would remind, but that’s no reason for omitting the task.

I’ve followed GTD for years. One of the most useful bits of advice it gives is to capture everything, and I learned a long time ago this means EVERYTHING.

Yes, I wouldn’t forget to walk the dog, but walking the dog will take an hour of my time and this is time I can’t use for something else. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to use the time for anything else. I like walking. I like walking the dog. This is something I want to do.

It’s important to write everything down so I know how much time I have for things I want to do and things I have to do. That way I ensure I do both.

I wrote in some detail about my GTD process years ago. I’ve recently removed those posts from my website as part of the ongoing reorganisation.

The reason for removing the post is that Todoist explained it all far better than I did. If you’ve never seen GTD before I strongly suggest you follow this link. It might just change your life.

Speaking of Todoist, I’m planning a new section to discuss my current writing tools and how they’re evolving. Watch this space.