Extending the conversation about many Next Actions

In a previous post, I referred to The Big Project which makes me really uncomfortable about doing all the other little things that keep coming in. Mike Sale has some excellent remarks on that topic and I would like to extend the conversation a bit about this subject. Because it is true. Even the Biggest of Biggest Projects start with a small, controllable Next Action. Isolating can be a good option, but the Project is suffering from “progressive insight” meaning we face new challenges as we go along. New user scenario’s, changed features, uncertainties about new features. These should have been faced before we started but right now, we are facing this and nothing can change that. Ofcourse it is a good lesson for a next project. So what does this have to do with isolating? I can isolate like hell, but when I plug in again, there are changes in the (voice) mail and people on my desk asking for assistance because of changing point-of-views. You might say this is a projectmanagement-problem which cannot be solved by GTD and I agree. This has more to do with the way Projectmanagement was handled and I am the first to admit that. But with that as a given, I am looking how I can make the best of it with the techniques at hand. “Breakdown” might be a good alternative and I will try that out coming days. Corie also has an excellent remark about making a little list. But if you read the above, you will find that this list can be of no use just one hour after the start of the day ;-) I do feel Katherine also touched a nerve. I am not familiar with Covey’s techniques but heard a lot about it. I will look into this some more in the future I sure hope to find the time to read some pages in David’s book again. I think it will get me kickstarted again. Did you have similar experiences? Please let me know and tell me how you faced them. Maybe they will help me!