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There are scores and scores of tips out there on how to implement GTD with a Moleskine, ranging from pretty strict implementations to stripped-down versions of GTD. After nearly a year of using GTD in my Moleskines (I’m on number four), I’m finally comfortable enough with my method to consider it relatively static. Read on for an outline of my system.

First, let me put out the general disclaimer: I’m not a strict David Allen fundamentalist. I absolutely am convinced that GTD is the coolest, most sensible productivity system that I’ve ever found…but my face isn’t buried in the proverbial punchbowl. That is to say that my system includes the occasional loose interpretation. Overall, I think you’ll find my method to be somewhere between the hyalineskies method and the PigPog PDA.

The basics

I carry my Moleskine with me everywhere I go. I’m a fan of the squared notebooks, but I’ve used the blank and lined varieties just as well. My writing style is well-suited for the smaller line spacing on the squared books, and I prefer some guidance for alignment (my writing tended to stray off at angles without lines).

99% of my writing is done with a Pilot Precise V5, extra fine point pen. I’ve become a huge fan of the extra fine point; this pen writes and feels like a good gel, but it doesn’t bleed. After experimenting with a variety of gel pens, this is the absolute best for me. They can be bought purchased in boxes of 12 if you look hard enough. As a backup, I carry a trusty Fisher Bullet Space Pen in my pocket, at all times. While I’m not a huge fan of the large ballpoint that the Space Pens have, this little guy has saved my ass more than once. You completely forget it’s there…and it’s almost indestructible.

What else you’ll need..

I love these little plastic paper clips, though I suppose you could use any kind of clip you’d like. We’ll be using the clips to identify what page our list is on, so I really like the way these clips are thin and easily removed while still giving you something to grab. I visited three Staples stores, and two Office Depots before finally caving and buying them online.

Get some of those little colored circle stickers. They make great tabs, and you can keep an extra sheet in your hidden pocket. You can find these just about anywhere – I even saw them in the grocery store this weekend.

3×5 cards whose lines are running across the card in portrait mode are nice. Really, it doesn’t matter what type – so long as you’ve got a few in your Moleskine at all times.

The method…finally

Alright, now that we’ve got everything. Let’s go.

I break the notebook up into three sections: Next Actions, Someday/Maybe, Inbox – and in that order. I give myself about 50 pages of inbox, 20 pages of someday/maybe, and the rest for next actions. Mark each of these sections with a little colored circle by folding it over the edge of the page and allowing about 1/8″ to stick out past the page edge, then stick the rest of the circles in your secret pocket; when your tabs get worn off in your pocket, you’ll have more to repair/replace them.

Next actions are pretty self-explanatory…until you start using them in a book whose pages can’t be re-ordered. Here’s where the clips come in. I routinely use six (6) next action lists: @Home, @Mac, @Errands, @Office, @People/Calls, @Meeting. I also throw the Waiting For list in this bundle. I take a different colored clip for each action list, and place it on the edge of the first page of that list. This is important…so let me take a second here.

We don’t want to worry about how many items we’re going to have in our action lists, and we subsequently don’t want to have to guess how many pages each list needs. Nope, instead, when we run out of room on the page we’re on, we find the next open page and continue the list there. For example, my first open page of @Office items is on page 82 – so page 82 has an orange clip on its edge; if you flip to page 87, you’ll find more @Office items…but I won’t move that clip until everything on 82 has been completed.

Get it? The clips are there to help you find your lists more quickly, and cut down on some of the page flipping that comes with Moleskine/GTD use.

Tip: I put clips for non-work lists (i.e. @Home, @Errands, @Mac) on the TOP of the page, and work-related clips on the RIGHT of the page. This makes things yet a little faster for me – especially since I don’t pay any attention to the color of the clips.

“What the hell is the @People/Calls list?” I’ve written about the @People/Calls list before, so read up on it there; it’s basically a way of streamlining the often interchangeable activity of speaking face-to-face and calling.

The projects list hasn’t left the building…but it’s not going in your Moleskine. It’s going on one of those nifty 3×5 cards that you’ve stuck in your secret pocket. That’s not to say that you can’t dedicate a section to Projects with one of your circle stickers (I did for six months or more), but I find the 3×5 card method superior. By putting your projects on a 3×5 card, you accomplish two things: it can move throughout your book, always being within a page or two of your current action list, and it’s always within a page or two of your current action list. Seriously, though, I’ve found that having the projects list visible without having to flip pages is hugely helpful during weekly reviews, and when generating next actions on the fly. Besides, the cards fit so nicely between the pages of the Moleskine, you almost forget it’s there.

Take credit for your page completions by crossing the whole damned page out. It feels good…really.

I’m sure there are some gaps that I can help fill in here, so I’ll keep an eye on the comments. In the meantime, ta ta.