One of the things that I most appreciate about David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodologies is the “put it in front of the door” trick. If you need to remember to take something to work the next day, put it in front of the door so you can’t possibly miss it on your way out. This is the premise behind the context lists that he recommends.

One of my context lists is called “@Errands”. These are things that I need to do away from the house—typically items to purchase, coupons I have that I need to use, and other types of things that aren’t done either at work or home. Unfortunately, over the two-and-a-half years that I’ve been practicing GTD, I’ve never quite developed the discipline of looking at this list every time I get into my truck. This means that some errands stay open longer than they need to. If I need to go somewhere in particular during my lunch break, I typically add it to my @Work list, so I have to keep seeing it all morning long. I really don’t need to see it until just before lunch, however.

I did look at my @Errands list today. One of the things that I saw was a 4-day old recurring next action to “Put truck in 4×4″. (If you own a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you need to engage the 4-wheel drive at least once a month to keep everything lubricated. I’ve heard too many horror stories about people whose 4-wheel drive no longer works because they only used it a couple times a year when they needed it.) I have this on my @Errands list because I have to be in my truck to do it, so it is very much akin to an errand.

I’m now doing something new for those errands that are more date sensitive. I cut out some 2.5″ x 3/4″ pieces of cardstock and punched a hole near one end. These can be very quickly added to my key ring so that I can’t miss them when I start my truck. If I want, I can tear it off and place it somewhere else inside the truck as a persistent reminder if I need to.

I’ve deleted the recurring next action in my Palm to “put truck in 4×4″, and added 12 of these “Key Tags” that say, “4×4″ to each monthly folder of my tickler file. When I get the tag out of my inbox, I’ll attach it to my key ring, which is always with me, and I will be reminded when I am actually driving my truck. I’ll keep my @Errands list in my Palm for general non-urgent errands, however.

I’ve also added a stack of blank tags to my desk at home and at work. When I have something that I must do before work, during lunch, or after work, the tag will remind me about it. They are quick and easy to fill out and attach.

I’m not providing a printable template for these, because they are basically cut and punch. If you have a spare page of cardstock laying around, give this a try and let me know how it works for you. If you don’t have any cardstock, you can try regular 20# or 24# paper, but I expect that it will tear far too easily. Good luck!