Wednesday
Mar252020
Ten Tasks
Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 19:21 I don’t know that I’ve ever described this method - if I have, I can’t find it.
After long experience with “long list” systems I’ve found this one to be the best of the lot.
It goes like this:
- Write out your initial list. Keep it quite short at this stage, but more than ten tasks. Keep adding tasks.
- Count the first ten. Draw a line in the margin to show where they end.
- Circulate round the first ten actioning all those that stand out.
- When no more stand out, count the next ten and draw a line to show where they end.
- Circulate round the ten tasks as in 2.
- Keep doing this until you reach the end of the list. Delete the old markers.
- Go back to the beginning and count ten active tasks.
- Carry on as in 3-6 above
This is a bit like AF1 except that there is a constant initial page length of ten tasks.
Questions?
Reader Comments (29)
Hope you’re keeping healthy in these interesting times.
I’m too far into a long list system to start with a “quite short” one. I could start a new one I suppose but how important is it to start with a shortish one as opposed to switching systems from an existing (rather long!) one?
The reason I put the bit about only a few tasks in is that Ten Tasks takes some time to work through the list on the first pass, I find that it speeds up once one's "turned the corner". So it's best if you have quite a short list at that stage,
But it won't be the end of the world if you use it for your existing list.
How does one deal with urgent tasks not in the current ten? Would it just be a common sense rule applied?
In AF1, you'd start every day at the end of the list so that you had an opportunity to work on the most recently added items.
Also, I think the rule "if it needs doing now, do it now" would undoubtedly apply to urgent items that needed to be done right away (America)/straightaway (England).
If it needs doing now, do it now. That applies to all time management systems.
But with "Ten Tasks" I've found that after one's got through the list once, one moves pretty fast through it anyway.
Do actioned items where there is still work to be done remain in the current block until the block is 'done' (i.e. remain in circulation) or are they immediately moved to the end of the whole list as in your other systems?
<< been going pretty well with simple scanning. >>
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
You cross them out and re-enter them at the end of the list, exactly as in Simple Scanning. So every time you go through the list you get a different set of tasks in each block of 10.
I just write a long dash in the margin: -------
And then to delete it I just scribble over it: -x-x-x-
<< This seems the same as simple scanning to me >>
No, it's not. Read the instructions again carefully, concentrating particularly on the words "circulate round" which are to be found in rules 3 and 5.
<< right away (America)/straightaway (England) >>
As an Englishman I use both "right away" and "straight away" without feeling that that either is an Americanism.
Am I right that if you don’t have an even 10 at the end of the list, you just work with what you’ve got and don’t complete the 10 by circling back to the top?
How do you keep track of the top of the list of 10 once you’ve already made a pass or more through the list and there are numerous redundant crossed out top markings?
How many passes do you tend to make in one work day?
Have you done any experimentation to determine that 10 is the optimal bucket size for you?
I wasn't very clear but I meant that it devolves into Simple Scanning in the case where none or only one of the items in the bucket stands out, which is a common case for me near the beginning of my list since higher-priority items cluster at the end.
In "10 Reasons Why Simple Scanning is the Best of All Possible Systems" (I guess no longer accurate for you?) you noted that simple scanning embraces intuition, which is actually my favorite part of it. This system constrains intuition with methodology, although in a way that shouldn't be too burdensome. I also like that simple scanning gets you to review whole list more often, but you could always do in addition to working through the bucket.
<< Am I right that if you don’t have an even 10 at the end of the list, you just work with what you’ve got and don’t complete the 10 by circling back to the top? >>
I just circulate round the bit at the end as if it had ten tasks in it. Sometimes it gets more than 10 tasks in it before I've finished working on it, but I don't bother to re-count. Doesn't ever seem to cause a problem.
<< How do you keep track of the top of the list of 10...? >>
If you look at Rule 6 you'll see that I don't delete the old markers until I reach the end of the list and am about to go back to the beginning. That means that you always have a top marker still in place.
<< I wasn't very clear but I meant that it devolves into Simple Scanning in the case where none or only one of the items in the bucket stands out. >>
It is only the same as Simple Scanning if none of the items in the bucket stand out. If one or more items stand out the bucket would get a second scan.
The basic difference between this and Simple Scanning is that more tasks get actioned during each pass through the list, which means that you don't get to the end of the list as quickly. It's a trade-off between speed and thoroughness.
Though, as I've said, it seems to move pretty fast once one has gone through the list once.
I love a good system, glad to see something to chew on during my indefinite stay indoors. Why 10? Is it 7+- 2 like a phone number? Magic/intuition/experience? Because you said so? :D
I used this select tasks for many "Pomodoro"s yesterday and today. Original AF was the first system of yours which I tried out, and TT harks back to some of the early insights I gained with AF.
There some details which seem to be implicit in your instructions, but I thought they were worth clarifying explicitly. I take it that 1) if I scan a decade and no task stands out, I simply move on to the next 2) I should include a "weed list" item, as in many other long-list systems.
Glad you are still experimenting with all these ideas,
V
<< Why 10? >>
Because I said so.
<< I take it that 1) if I scan a decade and no task stands out, I simply move on to the next 2) I should include a "weed list" item, as in many other long-list systems. >>
1) Correct.
2) Yes, that's one way of doing it. Personally I just delete tasks which are no longer viable when I come across them,
<< What do you do with urgent tasks? >>
Use the "If it needs doing now, do it now" rule which applies to all time management systems.
Though I've found that once one has got through the list once it becomes pretty fast.
I think this is your first mention of Ten Tasks Mark.