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Miles are going to increase for August as run day gets closer. My average pace is currently too slow for a 2:30 finish, but I'm hoping it will improve as things cool down.

I've used weekly schedules before with mixed results. I'd like to see if using one for August improves how much I get done.

This didn't work out so well for July, but I need to try again if I want to make any kind of impact on my other goals list.

At this point I'm pretty comfortable with what I should be writing about. I need to actually get it done.

I started reading "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and I'd like to finish it this month.

I'd like to have the following figured out before I run:

1. What to eat in the days leading up to the event
2. What to eat pre and post run
3. What to drink before/during/after

I've tried a couple of sports drinks in the last few weeks, but some of them contain more sugar than a can of soda which seems a bit too much to me. A lot of people have recommended coconut water - I'm not keen on the taste, but I think it could be used as a base instead of water and sugar.

During processing, any task that will take less than two minutes should be done there and then.

This is still one of my favourite things from GTD. It stops small tasks from ending up on a list and either being done too late or not at all.

It's particularly useful during weekly reviews. I usually complete half a dozen tasks during the review process alone. These tasks can range from "Email X about Project Y" to "File away letters from the bank".

Beeminder has been my friend here. I have a goal set up to make sure I complete a review every week, and I haven't derailed since I started it. I can't pretend I look forward to weekly reviews, but I'm not putting them off the way I used to.

The weekly review tool on FacileThings has also been a huge time saver. I had my own checklist for weekly reviews, but sometimes I wouldn't give items the time they really needed. The FacileThings review shows everything I need, when I need it.

I've been taking the GTD approach to projects - i.e. if a task requires more than one action to complete, it's a project. It takes some getting used to, but it keeps project actions fairly manageable. Even though projects can end up being quite small, it's satisfying to get them organized and completed.

At the moment I have 48 active projects and have completed 24. I'm still working on getting some external projects into my system.

The biggest success by far is that I'm actually getting stuff done. There have been a number of small small projects I've wanted to complete for ages and just haven't got around to. Having them in a system where I can see and review them has stopped them from getting lost in my daily routine.

I've completed over 250 tasks since starting with FacileThings in April, which includes a vacation in June.

I use tags to limit my tasks by area (e.g. work, personal and free-software), but location-based contexts (e.g. office or store) aren't really worth it for me. The only real time I use contexts is a whiteboard on the door for "things I need from the grocery store".

I really like how GTD simplifies projects to a "next action" level, but some things just don't fit into that kind of system.

For example:

I'm currently working on a large software project that is going to take over a year to complete. It needs to be split into milestones and tasks. Some tasks will depend on others and parts may need to be delegated as time goes on.

A pure GTD approach doesn't really cover everything that I need to manage.

Sometimes it feels like I just have an enormous list of stuff to get done and it can be a little overwhelming.

I think an additional "is this really something I want to do?" question during processing would be helpful here. It can always go on the "someday/maybe" list if I'm not 100% sure.

It's easy for some items to get stuck. There are a couple of items on my list that have been there for over a month, but they're not really important or urgent enough to work on Right Now.

I'd like to find a better way to balance getting new stuff done vs keeping the list short.

There are still some external tasks I'm not tracking using my system. Some work tasks aren't tracked, and I have a couple of large projects that aren't on my projects list.

So far the best solution I've found is to treat the project plan as a project in itself and use a separate methodology to create it. It can then be put into my GTD system as reference material and stored on the list of projects. Tasks can be taken from the plan and put onto my next actions list if/when appropriate.

It's still not perfect, but I think it overcomes the issue with trying to fit all projects into the GTD mold.

My work tasks come in via email, a ticketing system, instant messages and occasionally phone calls. But some of it is still slipping through the cracks.

I think because tasks that come in need to be converted before they go into my system, and I don't really like spending time doing that when work needs doing. This is especially true of tasks that are urgent.

I need to tighten this process up, so I need to get into the habit of treating my email inbox as an actual inbox and processing it accordingly.

Daily reviews might be needed to really keep me on track. I'm not planning on anything too serious, probably just a quick process of my inbox and a check of my next actions to make sure nothing important got forgotten.

I'd like to start planning out my day in advance and schedule time to work on specific projects. I'd also like to schedule time each day to work on cleaning up smaller tasks on my next actions list.

The training for my half marathon starts on July 15th. I should be running a total of 35.5 miles between July 7th and August 8th according to the training plan.

Cross-training will be bodyweight exercises and swimming.

I have three posts left to write.

It's hard to plan which one to work on without knowing how much energy and free time I'll have during the month. Most of them are at various stages of "done-ness", but I really, really don't want to finish the year with a bunch of half-finished projects on my plate.

I read "Hacking Life" on vacation and quite enjoyed it. As with my other goals, I need to make time to actually do them instead of just thinking about them.

I already record these using org-mode (when I actually do them), but I'd like a way to view progress over time.

I'll be in the UK on vacation for most of June. My only goal is to relax and spend time with family and friends.

The last few weeks I've been playing around with developing software for the Atari ST. The ST was the first computer I ever properly programmed, and it's been fun to go back to making things in the same way I did as a teenager.

For May I'd like to release a small game. And this time I mean small.

I played three games of soccer in a week and it took me another week to recover. I'd like find a diet that will give me the energy to train, but will make my recovery times a little shorter.

I haven't touched this project for the last few months, which isn't an effective strategy for getting it done. I want to have a complete chapter list planned out in time for my next GHD review.

Doesn't have to be for this site, but I want to keep the habit going.

It's nearly halfway through the year and there are still goals that don't have any kind of plan. By June I want to have a rough roadmap planned for each goal. They don't all have to be planned in minute detail, but I want to at least have an idea of how much effort is going to be involved in completing them all.