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Tips for implementing GTD with Entourage, part 1

Entourage, Microsoft’s alternative to Outlook for the Mac, is a great PIM. The 2004 version introduced a feature called “Project Center” that also makes it a great tool for implementing GTD-type organization schemes. I’ve tried out many different organization apps, from web-based tools such as Backpack to KGTD and Apple’s bundled tools (Mail.app, iCal, etc.) However, I always come back to Entourage: its integration of email, calendar, to-dos, contacts, and projects, works very well for me.

There is a great introduction to GTD in Entourage over on Slacker Manager, so I won’t do that here. Over time I’ve developed a few tips and habits that have made me a better user of Entourage, and, as a result, a more productive person. It is these tips that I will share with you here.

Projects and Categories

GTD hinges on effectively managing lists: lists of projects, lists of next actions, etc. Most of the information that resides in Entourage can also be represented as lists: lists of projects, lists of tasks, lists of emails in your inbox, etc. The key to effectively managing these lists is to narrow them down (“focus” them) to fit the task at hand.

In GTD parlance, you want to focus based on two dimensions: context and project. Context is the “where” and “when” of an activity. For example, you can only answer email when you’re at a computer, preferably one that has internet access. The project dimension, on the other hand, is the “what” and “why” of an item. What is is leading towards? What is the desired outcome? Why are you doing this? A project view should include all of the information related to a particular project and nothing else; when you focus on the project dimension you do not want to be distracted by items that don’t contribute to it.

Entourage provides two metadata lists that can help manage these two dimensions: “Categories” and “Projects”. Every item in Entourage—be it an email message, a contact, a task, or an appointment—can be assigned to one or more categories and / or projects. This functionality is very powerful, but it depends on you—the user—being disciplined about tagging items. It’s therefore very important to set up the right category and project lists, and to consistently tag relevant items with both categories and projects. I try to assign a a project to most emails, and a category and project to every task. (Some tasks are one-offs and probably don’t require a project. However, there is no reason why a task shouldn’t have a context.) However, consistent tagging will not happen if it becomes a chore… after all, what you’re trying to do is to be more productive, not to play around with lists all day. One way to make things as easy as possible is to keep your lists—especially your projects list—organized.

Color-code and alphabetize your lists

There are many ways of assigning projects and categories to an item; the fastest for me are the “Categories” and “Projects” dropdowns that appear in most Entourage screens. Although the selection process can be done quite fast, and quickly becomes second nature, I find that efficiency depends on how many items you have on these dropdowns and how they are organized.

My categories list is not too long—it includes the usual contexts such as @phone, @computer, @email, etc.—so selecting the right one is not much of a hassle. I color code these categories so that they are loosely grouped. (For example, all computer-related activities are blue.)

The project list is another matter; it can include quite a few items, many of which have long names. This can make it more difficult to assign a project to every item on the fly. The best solution I’ve found to keeping this list useable is to organize it clearly; I do this by separating and color-coding projects by “class” based on what area of work they are related to. I have three such classes of projects:

• Client projects are any work that I’ve been hired to do for a third party. I color these projects blue, and simply name them after the project.
• Internal projects are projects that are non-paying, but necessary for the functioning of BootStudio. I precede the name of these projects with a plus sign (for example: ”+ bootstudio – Request new land lines”), which makes them all show up first on the list. (The project list is ordered alphabetically.) I also color them orange, which is the BootStudio color.
• Professional development projects are those that I work on even though I won’t get paid for them, but that somehow help me develop professionally. When I edit an article for Boxes and Arrows, or work on a new design for this site, it goes on this list. I precede the names of these projects with an “xxx” to have them show up at the end of the list, and color them green (because they help “renew” me).

The end result is a project list that clearly groups the internal projects first, in a block of orange, followed by client projects, in blue, and professional development projects, in green. This visual grouping helps me narrow down the selection so that I can get to the project I’m looking for much more quickly.

It’s worth noting that colors show up in the Project Center and in the Projects dropdown menu at the top right of every screen, but not in the contextual right click menu that appears on items. Because of this, I don’t use the contextual menu much. However, the alphabetizing trick works in every list, and that helps organize things everywhere.

Next in this series, I will cover tips for using the Project Center for GTD weekly reviews. In the meantime, I welcome your feedback. Do you use Entourage? Are there any tips / techniques you’d like to share with the rest of us?