Sensemaking is the ability or attempt to make sense of an ambiguous situation. I see Tinderbox as a tool for ‘sensemaking’, i.e.: Much of this book emphasises the use of Tinderbox notes to discover what we are actually thinking or to affect our future frame of mind.
In the companion book to the software, _ The Tinderbox Way_, the author (who is also the developer of the software) Mark Bernstein says: …a personal content assistant that helps you visualise, analyse, and share your notes, plans, and ideas. The Eastgate Systems web site describes Tinderbox as: This is where Tinderbox by Eastgate Systems steps in for me. I’ve struggled to use task management tools to generate that kind of clarity. What is implied by any task management tool is that you are clear about what you want to do. This tool helps me organise my tasks into projects and my projects into folders (which represent Areas of Focus). Most task management tools are built around the concept of organising tasks. The obvious choice of tool is a task manager. In the earliest incarnations of GTD, these systems were paper-based.Īlthough paper still works, many people (including me) have adopted electronic tools. The implication being you need to store the ‘not finished’ stuff in some external system. Your brain is for having ideas, not holding them Task management toolsĪnother important part of GTD (and what is often attractive to novices with it) is the choice and configuration of tools. If you have a nagging doubt about your career, knowing what to do with that idea may take months to conclude what that means to you and what steps you may need to take. For the higher horizons, clarification is often not immediately forthcoming, and you will need to apply additional thought. In the case of getting bread on the way home, the answer is clear. Clarification is about answering the question ‘what do I do with this?’ Part of the process of GTD is to Clarify what each item of ‘work’ means. In the space of a few moments, you may remember you need to get bread on the way home (Ground), and you may also return to a nagging feeling about a career change (Horizons 2 through 5). the stuff that’s important to you might arrive at any of those horizons. Joining a running club will then involve several tasks at the Ground level (research, signing up, etc.) What could you do to progress your Physical Health? You might create a project to join a running club (Horizon 1). For example, consider the Area of Focus’ Physical Health’ (Horizon 2). Moving down through the horizons is about clarifying and specifying what progress means.
Why are you doing that task? It furthers some project in Horizon 1.At the level of Ground you’re doing a task.Moving through the horizons means asking ‘why’: The whole ‘what is my life about?’ question.Īs you consider your work * each step up through the horizons adds context to the layer below. How are those Areas of focus going to evolve? These two are about looking forward and understanding where you want your life to be over the middle-term. Horizon 3: One- to two-year goals and objectives and Horizon 4: Three- to five-year vision.For example, you might define ‘My House’ as an Area of Focus.
Projects sit within some domain that you need to manage in your life. Horizon 2: Areas of focus and accountability.Tasks sit in Projects, and this is the set of Projects you have committed to finishing. These are the tasks you are currently focussed on right now The Horizons of Focus describe six ‘perspectives’ on your’ work’. One of the less-appreciated aspects of the methodology is Horizons of Focus. GTD has helped me maintain an understanding of the work I need (or want) to do. I have used David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology for nearly two decades.