So you’ve subscribed to the theory of Moleskine dominance and plopped down $10 for a pocket notebook. Well done.

Now that you have your new $10 notebook, and you’re reading about ways to turn it into your GTD launchpad, you have this conversation with yourself:

What should I write in here? I just spent $10 on this notebook – I’m not going to waste the space on things that don’t count.

I have heard this particular concern from countless Moleskine converts. Because the books are so nice (yes, I love the silky paper and the magic secret pocket, too), there’s a natural tendency to try and protect them from the random musings of our brains.

Stop that! Stop it RIGHT NOW!

You heard me, folks. The Moleskine notebook is awesome. It’s beautiful. It’s $10. But above all else: it’s for you to write in – whatever that may yield.

The reason that we spend $10 on nice notebooks is that they entice us to write. Do so, and do so with reckless abandon. After all, you spend  more than $10 on lunch. Fill that puppy up, and get that melon empty.

If you’re anything like me, there are elements of the GTD system that just don’t stick.

Process everything...even additional trays

These are the pesky-but-vital procedural details that the DA throws into his books, seminars and site material that you understand but don’t necessarily implement.

[Note: if you read that intro and said “Huh? What things are you talking about?”, then your name is probably David Allen, and I thank you for visiting this site.]

One such thing for me is the inbox. In theory, the inbox (or inboxes) is supposed to serve as the central gathering spot for everything that’s coming into your life. Process-wise, the inbox is spot number two: things come in, you stick them in the inbox, and start processing.

Except I find myself cheating the inbox more often than not…and I’m betting you GTD ninjas know exactly what I’m talking about.

Here’s an example scenario:

You’re in your usual 2:30 meeting, and the boss says “Jim, I would like you to throw together some slides on that Frammus Valve pitch we’ve been talking about. We’re going to show it to Mr. Holinks on Friday when he’s onsite, so I’d like to review them with you tomorrow morning.”

If you’ve been doing GTD for a while, chances are good that your training kicks in, and you flip to your Projects list. [Entry: Built Frammus Valve pitch for boss] Now that you’ve properly identified the multi-action project, placed it in your Projects list, your brain starts planning.

You flip to your @Office list. [Entry: Located company Power Point template on server.]

The project has been captured, and you’ve identified your first action…all without actually touching your inbox. Well done.

So what’s wrong with that approach? Nothing, I say…except that it’s not the process.

Here’s another scenario, with a slightly different twist:

Jenny walks into your office while you’re in the middle of an email to the marketing crew. “Hey, Jose,can you have a look at that report I sent you? I think it’s ready for you to submit it, so if it’s good to go, just send it off.”

Your ninja styles kick in immediately, and you flip to your @Office list: [Entry: Reviewed Jenny's report.] In the speed and elegance of your system, you’ve just turned an input into a single action when it probably should have been a project. Consider that once you’ve reviewed Jenny’s report, you might have comments for her to incorporate; you’ll need to give her the comments, you’ll probably wait for her response, you’ll review again, and you’ll submit. None of that shows up in the landscape currently.

In order to prevent slip ups like the one above, and to try and really underscore the importance of capture in our lives, I’m proposing the 10 Day Inbox Challenge. For ten days, focus on overusing your inbox. Take a step backward in your ninja processing, and insist that all new inputs flow through your inbox (be it at home, work, whatever). Make yourself physically tear of sheets of paper and stick them in the box. I have a strong suspicion that your results will be like mine: enlightening.

By allowing yourself to capture without thinking, you free yourself up to capture things more easily, more fluidly, and more ubiquitously. Not only is streamlined capture a huge benefit when it comes to inputs, but it’s essential to allowing your process to really work. It’s the inbox processing process that ensures you capture Jenny’s report as a project – not as a standalone action.

Try the 10 Day Inbox Challenge. Force yourself to inbox everything for ten days. I’m going to do it again, starting today, and can’t wait to hear from those of you who have tried the same.

The Someday/Maybe List

There is way too much drama surrounding the someday/maybe list these days. Think I’m kidding? Check this out.

I’ve actually encountered resistance to the someday/maybe list quite a bit in the last few years, and it’s not coming from me. Rather, people (I’m talking to you!) seem to consider the someday/maybe to be another one of their @action lists: in need of serious attention.

Hey, Mr. WrongGuy, you’re wrong! Leave that list alone!

The someday/maybe list is your permanent, ongoing, leave-your-number-on-the-nightstand, get out of jail free card. It’s a holding pen for all the things that just might carve out a piece of your life…maybe, someday.

The DA talks about the someday/maybe list fairly extensively, and rightfully so. You’ve probably heard his garage metaphor. If not, let me paraphrase.

If you want to clean your garage but keep putting it off, every time you walk by that garage it yells at you: “Hey, you’re supposed to be cleaning me!”

This is a problem, because your garage owns a piece of your melon. You’re not committed to cleaning your garage, but it’d be awfully nice to find a 4mm socket when you need one. Of course, that could be months from now…so the garage can hang tight for a while.

That is, of course, so long as you tell your brain that the garage effort can wait! Your head understands that you might want to clean out that garage, and is tracking that potential action item. That’s not good. Putting a “cleaned the garage” item on your someday/maybe list tells your brain: “Relax. It’s on a list, and if I find myself with extra time (and have already stuck needles in my eyes), I’ll clean the garage.”

You review the someday/maybe list during your weekly review, conclude that cleaning the garage is not mission-critical this week, and pass it right up. It’s still in your system, and it’s right where it belongs: at the bottom, with its priority.

Folks, don’t get obsessed with clearing that someday/maybe list. It exists as a way for you to capture those things that have even the slightest bit of interest for you. In fact, that’s a key point: only when something has lost appeal should it drop off your someday/maybe list (unless, of course, you just did it).

This list is your freebie. Let it collect dust. Drop in and say hello once a week, then mosey on past it. You’ve got better things to do than worry about things at the bottom of your priority list.