The Get it Right Keep It Right (GIRKIR) system is still working extremely well for me, but I’ve been taking the opportunity of the Lenten Challenge to try out a few variations. Some of you may have already tried these or others and I’d be interested to know how you’ve got on with them.
Entry by doing
This means that when you reach the end of the list you write in a new task and immediately take action on it. This method of entry forms the basis of some “no list” systems. I tried it out with GIRKIR to see whether it would make the system quicker in dealing with urgent tasks.
The answer was that yes, it did - a bit. But it was not enough to outweigh the fact that I am more reluctant to enter a difficult task if I have to do it at once, rather than have a bit of a lead-up time.
So on balance the existing rule (enter when you reach the end of the list and go back to the beginning without doing it) wins.
Using the Question
By “the Question” I mean “What am I resisting not doing?”. The rules leave it open whether you use the Question or not. I found that using the Question produces a better result, especially in the form “What am I resisting not doing now?”
How long a list?
I haven’t pushed this to the extreme yet, but I have found that every time I start a new list my work goes backwards and it takes time to re-establish everything.
The maximum length of list I’ve reached so far is a bit more than forty tasks. This is fewer than I would normally have on a long list, but every task and project on it was completely up-to-date, and I was able to move very fast through the list while still keeping it up-to-date.
So my advice is to keep a list going as long as you can, and employ vigorous weeding to keep it manageable.
The exception to this if you are away for some time and work has built up in the meantime. That would be the right time to start a fresh list in order to get everything under control again.
How many tasks to enter in one go?
The rules say you should only enter one task at a time, but I did some experimenting to see if it was possible to enter more. The answer is yes and no.
Yes, because entering three or four minor tasks together won’t really make much difference.
No, because I found myself unable to resist the temptation to enter more and more and larger and larger tasks together until the system collapsed under the weight of all the new work it was being asked to digest all at once.
So, I recommend sticking strictly to one task entry per pass as per the rules. Otherwise you will quickly find yourself back with a Simple Scanning list in all but name.
Using A Pre-Entry List
As you go through the process of adding one task to the list per pass you will become aware that you have a queue of tasks to add to the list. What makes better sense than to write these tasks down so you don’t forget to enter them?
Don’t!
If you do, you will end up with a list that is longer than your GIRKIR list and expanding rapidly.
My advice is don’t think about future tasks for entry at all. Just use The Question to identify the next task.