The GTD® Virtual Study Group 016: Using Contexts to Increase Your Focus
Oct 26, 2008
Augusto Pinaud, a productivity practitioner and frequent contributor who masters contexts to boost focus. He explains physical vs virtual contexts, splitting agendas and software-specific lists, batching work to reduce switching, and tricks like different browsers for work/play. Short, targeted lists and hardware-aware contexts keep momentum and make next actions actionable.
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Split Agenda Lists By Person Or Project
- Create multiple agenda lists for different recipients or roles (wife, work, personal) rather than one generic agenda to maintain focus.
- Spin up a new agenda for a new project that floods your agenda with items so other agendas stay actionable.
Separate Anytime Calls From Business Hours Calls
- Separate calls you can make anytime from calls restricted to business hours by creating distinct call contexts like Calls and Calls 8 to 5.
- This prevents wasted attempts (e.g., calling a dealer after 5pm) and reduces re-scheduling churn.
Process Computer Tasks Software By Software
- Break a large computer context into software-specific contexts (Excel, Internet, Outlook) and process all items in one software in a block.
- Working software-by-software reduces context-switching and lets you complete many items quickly.
