Random David: Waiting For
May 15th, 2007 | by GTD Wannabe |Today’s Random David topic is the “Waiting For” list, p. 149 of Getting Things Done. Sometimes there are open loops that don’t represent actions you need to take, but rather deliverables that you’re waiting for from somebody else. The key is to keep track of these things on a list, so that you can regularly review it, in order to decide whether or not you need to take action.
I think this is a great idea, and wish I had stumbled upon it years ago. There were many times that I would have a pile of files, each one adorned with a sticky note, telling me what I was missing from other people. How much easier it would have been to have a single list at which to look! Of all the things that I’ve learned from GTD, the concept of a Waiting For list has been one of the most powerful. I find it especially useful for keeping track of things like:
- books I’ve lent to people
- IOUs
- expense reimbursements for travel
- mail-in rebates
- maintenance (e.g., returning a product for repair)
- tax receipts for charitable donations made online
- supposed goodies when you start a subscription (turns out I’ve been waiting 54 days for one such goodie!)
I’ve seen a couple of different ways that people organize their Waiting For lists. Some people, like myself, keep a context just for @waiting. Others have a separate list, which is not in itself considered a context. I don’t think that there is much difference between the two approaches. David even says,
You’ll probably find it works best to keep this “Waiting For” list close at hand, in the same system as your own “Next Actions” reminder lists.
Either way, the Waiting For list is a powerful tool. Let me know if you do something funky with yours.
4 Responses to “Random David: Waiting For”
By on May 16, 2007 | Reply
I also used to lose track of all things other people were suppposed to do AND that I cared about getting done. Until stumbling upon GTD and the great concept of a Waiting For list, that is!
After a couple of evolutions in my GTD system, I now use a list manager on my PDA and I use a visual cue to mark certain next actions as Waiting For items. So, no separate context or list for them. I can easily filter my list to display only Waiting For items or not. I always put Waiting For items into 1 of 2 standard GTD contexts: Home or Work. This is enough for me; am I waiting for a “response” in my personal life or in my professional life?
By on May 17, 2007 | Reply
I’ve found the waiting for list made me very nervous! Reviewing it made me feel as if I had a next action to determine but couldn’t. Then I discovered that waiting fors can allmost allways be translated into next actions. For example:
*books lent to people: ask Bill for book (set date to 8 weeks from now).
*IOU’s: ask Bill when he’ll be paying me back. Set reminder for that date
* expense reimbursements: ask for date of reimbursement. Set reminder.
*maintenance: set as errand for specific date.
So many of my waiting fors turned in to reminders (I use actiontastic on a mac). I know it will not work this way for many other people but it gave me more peace of mind.
By on May 17, 2007 | Reply
@gtdfrk: That’s interesting that the WF is basically another dimension on your regular lists. I like the idea; I think it would also translate very well to paper lists.
@oomph: I see what you mean about “friction” when you review the WF list. I look at my lists during the weekly review, and if anything bothers me particularly badly, then I’ll turn it into a next action (e.g., call shop to find out when thingy will be fixed). I don’t do it for every WF, though, just ones that have been getting stale.
By on Jun 3, 2007 | Reply
@Books Lent Out
The most important card for a bibliophile like myself, who loves to share his discoveries!!