An ideal analog notation for managing GTD lists ought to embody the following design precepts:

1. Succinct Notation

A notation should be succinct enough that it not command a premium on the real-estate of your planning system.

2. Ease of entry into trusted system

A notation should enable the user to quickly jot down the pertinent details of an item and come back later to annotate the entry.

3. State Transition Model

A notation should have a supporting state transition model with visual cues.

4. Upstream and Downstream traceability

I’m slowly weaning myself off Outlook as I develop a GTD trusted system in the Analog domain. The Levenger Circa system investment is really paying off: I purchased a set of dividers and when they arrived I installed them in my folio. These are heavy duty plastic dividers that have a solid heft to them. Five to a pack. If you are using small Levenger or Rollabind rings you will find that the thickness of the dividers does take up some of the space you’d normally use for paper. I also bought a few lined Levenger notepads. These have a margin on the left hand side. I’m developing a notation to clearly identify the state of an item on my lists using that margin. It is in the early prototyping stage. When it is ready for primetime I’ll share it with the loyal readers of speakhead.com.