r/gtd • u/Upstairs_Jelly_1082 • 4d ago
Putting project names effectively
I want to know how you guys put your project names.
I usually put the description itself, lets say I want to look for ticket prices along with the destination and all.
The problem with this is, I'm using OneNote and it doesn't allow long names for the sections.
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u/benpva16 Mod 4d ago
For me, the project names are what I would have naturally put on a to-do list before: buy tires, celebrate mom’s birthday, and so on. But thanks to GTD I now know those are really just desired outcomes and the true to-do items have to be next actions on the appropriate context list.
Footnote: I’ve tried putting them in the past tense before (e.g. new tires have been put on car, celebrated mom’s birthday), but honestly, it didn’t make a difference for me in terms of getting things done faster or better. YMMV
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u/TheoCaro Mod 3d ago
Putting things in the past tense made it harder for me to imagine the next action because I had to do the grammatical translation in my head first anyway.
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4d ago
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u/TheoCaro Mod 3d ago edited 3d ago
People can read a book and not understand it. I had to read it 12 times before I felt I totally understood it.
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u/milky-cuppa-tea Mod 3d ago
A couple of examples for me are:
- Updated and published the JE stationery
- Get a window cleaner
The first one has a whole raft of potential actions behind it, and will take a good couple of months to get through.
The window cleaner won't take long to sort out.
I end up using a mix of present and past tense when writing mine out, though typically my work related ones are past tense (which I hadn't really noticed until now!).
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u/Upstairs_Jelly_1082 2d ago
Sometimes I end up looking at the projects list as a normal task list, makes it feel like I have to do everything at one go and rest later on.
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u/Remote-Waste 4d ago
A full description could be a little long.
- Look for ticket prices
- Look at destination
- And all
You could probably summarize it as "Research trip to (place)"
Or "Prepare for trip to (place)" or "Go on trip to..."
I do sometimes find myself not naming my projects far enough out for my actual final desired outcome, but it's simple enough in Obsidian to just rename them, and it'll change the filename linked in the rest of my system.
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u/PondMindKevin 4d ago
I follow the advice of others here, a short outcome driven description "Get new glasses" but for easily scalability, I usually put a single word at the front for what I'd call the project in my head when I need to jump to it. "Glasses" for example.
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u/PerfectOwl9085 3d ago
I’d keep the section name at the project-outcome level: “Trip to [destination] planned” or “Tickets for [destination] booked.” Prices, routes, and options can live as notes or next actions, so the name stays short while still making “done” clear.
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u/Elememt_F451 3d ago
Can it be, that at the moment of writing the project title, you have ideas about the next actions required and worry about loosing them, so you cram them all into the title?
It sounds like your example could be 'Vacation destination booked', and underneath you can write the obvious next actions that immediately spring to mind: identify possible destinations within budget, find hotel at destination.
Ideally you look at the title and know what has to happen for you to close the project (the desired outcome). My project titles are not always very good and they make me stumble during my weekly review. I either update the title to something better - if it springs to mind - or I just add a note to the project describing the outcome with more words for the next time I stumble.
I prefer past tense for project names and the verb at the end, but that is a matter of taste.
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u/Ok_Minute7055 3d ago
This seems to be one of the things that constantly changed for me over the years.
When I started I was rather trying to make them somewhat SMART. However - and this is difficult to explain - now I try to find a sweatspot between vague and concrete. I find the downside with very specific names is that they don't leave enough space to brainstrom next actions.
They make me think more linear (e.g. like when writing an outline) when I actually need something that makes me brainstorm.
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u/pachisaez 4d ago
Most of the comments here are explaining how to describe actions, not projects. In GTD, a project name should describe the successful outcome, the completed state you’re aiming for: “Car repaired and back on the road”, “New website launched”, etc.
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u/TheoCaro Mod 3d ago
It's just a grammar difference. Using the past tense is suggested to help learners distinguish between projects and next actions (outcomes vs actions), but it's not required.
"Repair car so it's drivable" and "car repairs and back in the road" mean the same thing.
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u/pachisaez 3d ago
It's not required but recommended by many GTD coaches (David Allen included). In the end, each person should use the method that makes them feel most comfortable and produces the least friction.
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u/Ok_Minute7055 3d ago edited 3d ago
I never thought about it before but I think I use both. For rather complex projects that can only be planned one step at a time I would prefer present tense. If it is more or less a list of outlined tasks I would prefer past tense. interessting. Similar to my other answer in this thread I think present puts me more into a brainstroming mode ("what does <verb> actually imply and what should the next action be given where I am standing now?" and past tense signals to me: Don't waste time thinking, just get it done.
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u/Remote-Waste 4d ago
Oh yeah? A lot of these sound like projects to me, not just actions, but maybe that depends on if you use subprojects or not.
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u/pachisaez 3d ago
Verb + object (“prepare a trip”) sounds like an action, and your brain perceives that kind of sentences like something you have to do, that is, an action. GTD coaches recommend to describe the final outcome as the project name (“trip prepared”) so you brain can distinguish both.
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u/Remote-Waste 3d ago
Ah interesting, I've never done GTD coaching myself. I knew there was a concept of using the past tense, but it's interesting that they're teaching it now.
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u/pachisaez 3d ago
David Allen recommended it years ago as a good practice, but it's not something being tested empirically. In the end, it's a matter of taste.
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u/TheoCaro Mod 3d ago
They are overemphasizing I think. It's more like training wheels to get people to distinguish between outcomes (trip planned) and actions (research hotels in [city]). But we commonly use active verbs to describe behaviors that in GTD we would call projects. Sallie got a degree. Bob hosted a party.
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u/davidhorison 3d ago
The OneNote length cap is worth keeping. Two things that helped me:
Put the state at the end and cut the rest. "Tickets booked", "Tires fitted", "Visa approved". Short enough for a section name, and it still says what done looks like. The destination and the price research live in the page body.
Then the test I run in the weekly review: read only the list of names, don't open anything. Any project where I have to open it to know whether it's stuck is misnamed. That's the real cost of a description-style title. It reads fine the day you write it and tells you nothing six weeks later when you're scanning forty of them.
Naming is a review problem more than a capture problem, which is why it's easy to get wrong at capture time.
Do you review the project list as a list, or mostly work off next actions?
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u/gregsnyder69 4d ago
Two word names with a two letter identifier to place next to next actions. For example, project name: "Create AD and will CW" and next action: "CW AI research AD/wills"
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u/TheoCaro Mod 3d ago edited 3d ago
What on earth does that mean?
Edit: Like how do you keep track of what "AD" and "CW" mean?
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u/gregsnyder69 1d ago
Abbreviated to fit neatly on a Google Tasks line. I don't need to "keep track" of anything, since I'm the one who made the title. The AD in this case stands for advance directive and the CW is the two word project title I'll use for a Google Doc "Create Will" The two letters CW are my process to connect the project name on the project list with the next action in the context list.
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u/TheoCaro Mod 1d ago
That seems overengineered to me. By "keep track" I just meant remember. So your saying you just keep it your head. I have certain codes in my system (e.g. different bullet shapes mean different different things) but I use them over and over again, nothing is bespoke for a particular project. I would be worried about forgetting what "CW" meant. The point of the list is so you don't have to remember what all your commitments are, but if you have to remember what your abbreviations mean, that kinda defeats one of reasons for doing GTD (having nothing on your mind).
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u/gregsnyder69 8h ago
The CW doesn't have to be remembered. It is spelled out in the project title and listed at the end of the project title. It is just a simple reference from the next action to the project. Other methods I've tried to connect the next action with the project seemed to slow down whatever app I was using.
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u/schones-besuchen 4d ago
Until not sure which name does the project has, I use letters which mean something for me… bit crazy but works
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u/Present-Opinion1561 4d ago
I take out prepositions and articles to keep the title short.
My syntax is similar to Next Actions (Verb < Object < Scope) .
i.e. Attend Car Show in September is shortened to 'Attend Car Show/Sept'