Simplified GTD Notebook Hack - The Weekly View

When I first developed my GTD notebook hack (if you’re not familiar with my system you should check it out), I needed a daily to do list. I was an IC (individual contributor) and was managing multiple projects myself. I took notes in almost every meeting because I almost always had tasks from that meeting. I went through a notebook in about six to eight weeks. I used to go through a lot of notebooks. 

As I’ve progressed in my career, managing larger and larger teams, I don’t have as many projects where I’m directly responsible for the deliverable. Instead of multiple tasks I need to get done daily, I have a few big items I need to get done weekly (in addition to providing input and clearing obstacles for my team). My tasks carry over multiple weeks or even months. I also don’t take as many notes in meetings as I’m usually giving feedback to others, and I don’t walk away with as many assigned tasks. 

To accommodate for this, I adjusted my previous notebook hack by combining my weekly and daily pages.

Priorities is where I track next steps on my various projects. Other Things is where I capture all those unplanned tasks I end up doing. I especially find value in Return and Report, where I reflect on the week and what went well and what didn’t.  

I still use my trip-colored flags to denote the different pages and action items, and I still take notes the same way (just not as many). Now instead of going through a notebook every six to eight weeks, a single notebook lasts me six to eight months.

Hope you found this useful. If you have any thoughts or questions, hit the AMA link (as seen in the sidebar) and ask away.