Get it right - and keep it right
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 at 14:01 Here’s a new system which can be used either with or without the New Question. It comes with the warning that I haven’t yet tested it out fully myself.
The nearest of my systems which it resembles is Spinning Plates, but this new system is a bit more flexible.
As the title suggests, the idea is to take one subject in turn, get it up and running and then carry out maintenance to make sure it stays that way.
This is how it works:
- Start with two tasks. They can be any tasks, but it would be best to go for continuing tasks which require regular attention, e.g. email, paper, etc.
- Do some work on the first task, cross out and re-enter.
- Do some work on the second task, cross out and re-enter.
- Repeat this progress until one of the tasks is finished or you don’t want to go further with it for the time being.
- Add another task and, without doing it, start from the first task on the list until you reach the end again.
- Add another task and continue in the same way ad infinitum.
What you are doing is building up a list of everything you want, need, or have to do by adding one task each time you get through the list. Gradually the list will extend to all your work. The slow build-up allows you to get each subject completely under control and then keep it that way.
Points to note:
- Only cross out a task if you have actually done some work on it. Otherwise leave it where it is on the list.
- One-off tasks are deleted when finished.
- Regularly occurring tasks should be left on the list if they are going to re-occur within a day or so.
- There is a presumption that every task should be worked on each time you come to it. However if there is no work to be done or the conditions are not right, this rule can be ignored.
Example
Start the list with two tasks:
Tidy Desk
Do them both and re-enter them (if applicable):
Tidy Desk
Tidy Desk
(Note that you could continue working on each of the two tasks alternately if you wanted to)
Add another task:
Tidy Desk
Tidy Desk
Draft Report
Contine rotating round the list, adding one task each time you go back to the beginning.
You can continue adding new tasks one at a time until the system tells you that you are trying to do too much by getting slower and slower. When it gets too slow to be practical, you can take one or both of the following actions:
- Weed the list of any projects or tasks which you realise are taking up more time than they are worth.
- Start a new list and build it up again gradually.
One last remark: I need a name for this system. I don’t think GIRKIR quite does it for me! Suggestions in the Comments please.
Reader Comments (13)
My name for this system: Right on! For those not up on their 1970's US slang, dictionary.com defines the phrase as: "used as an expression of strong support, approval, or encouragement."
Upon first glance, I find these rules:
* if there is no work to be done or the conditions are not right, this rule can be ignored.
* When it gets too slow to be practical, you can take one or both of the following actions:
rely too much on my subjective judgement, which will likely lead to gaming the system, or resulting in inertia (the very thing I'd want to avoid with a system like this).
Curious to see how this evolves.
<< these rules... rely too much on my subjective judgement >>
They're not intended to be subjective.
"If there is no work to be done" refers to situations like "Get Dressed" when you are already dressed. Or "Tidy Desk" when it's not untidy.
"The conditions are not right" i.e. you don't have to mow the lawn when it's raining or after dark.
"When it gets too slow to be practical". The only reason I haven't defined that further is because the dynamics of different people's work differ too much to be able to lay down a firm rule applicable to all. I think you'll know when it's getting too slow for your specific requirements.
This is definitely one of the things I go for whenever I start a list from scratch, so this system is very interesting to me and I'll be trying it right away. Like you said, it's similar to Spinning Plates, so I do something like that a lot, or a short cycle like 5T, but I like it to keep things on it that need to be kept up, and not removed from the list. So this sounds ideal!
I seem to recall there was another system that let you add one task at a time, but only when you start on it. Ah yes, one of my favorites. May 9, 2016: http://markforster.squarespace.com/blog/2016/5/9/my-current-no-list-system.html and its follow-up: http://markforster.squarespace.com/blog/2016/5/10/a-variation-on-my-current-no-list-system.html
Looks like there are even more similarities with the May 10th additions, except that it's a no-list (start a new list each day).
I'm a bit confused about the re-entering of tasks. In the example you say, about the first two tasks, do them and re-enter (if applicable). But points 2 & 3 of the rules just say to re-enter, without the "if applicable". That difference is enough to confuse this bear of little brain and I'd be grateful if you could clear the confusion up for me.
Thank you.
In different places it says to add a task:
–after you finish one task or you don't want to go further with the current list (steps 4 to 5) OR
–after you reach the end (steps 5 to 6) OR
–each time you go back to the beginning
I don't think you mean that you add a task after each full pass of the list, but I'm not sure.
I do think you mean that you only add a task after you cross off another or you don't want to work on it anymore.
How is "you don't want to go further with it for the time being" different "the conditions aren't right"? Is the the former one of motivation and the latter one of practicality?
Also, why start back at the beginning when you add a task? Why not start right with the task you just added? That way if you add an urgent task that must be done now, you can still write it down, and start on it right away without moving through the rest of your list first.
Very intriguing system. Thanks Mark.
<< But points 2 & 3 of the rules just say to re-enter, without the "if applicable". >>
"If applicable" is understood. If the task is a one-off or you've decided to discontinue it, or you don't want to do again within the next few days, then you wouldn't re-enter.
<< I don't think you mean that you add a task after each full pass of the list, but I'm not sure. >>
That's exactly what I do mean. When you reach the end of the list, you add one task and go back to the beginning.
From there I focus on the two last tasks on my list doing a little work, crossing out, and reentering and so on. Adding another task into the mix is easy to do. I can just add one in or pick from my previously dotted tasks identified in my questioning.
1. You start with the things that are going to be "top of mind" and then more or less try to stay on top of those things.
2. It addresses the issue of the question not matching the system, because this system can work directly with the New Question in the form, "What am I resisting not doing?" which, if that is a powerful form of the question for you, will help keep things focused.
3. It hopefully keeps the things on your list always at a maintenance level, because ideally, if they weren't, you wouldn't be adding things to the end of the list, because it would slow down too much. This means that cycling through the list should always be pretty fast.
4. It helps with the struggle of running a true no list with the question because it lets you offload some of your thinking process onto the paper that is most repetitive, so that you aren't having to go as high energy (mentally) on the question for things repeatedly. If that happens then they would just be on the list already.
5. It optimizes for speed of list, so you should be sensitive to when the list is getting too slow and therefore indicating you are trying to do too much. This should help trigger good points of reflection for pruning and saying no more often.
6. It should help with excessive list growth.
7. It combines the rapidity of a no list concept with the ability to ask the question in a slightly more targeted way while giving you a buffer that essentially acts like a checklist to ensure you're up to date on your current commitments.
At least, that's what it seems like this system is trying to go for to me.
The only part that is slightly confusing is the wording of the adding task parts. If I understand you correctly, adding a task once you work your way through the list is technically optional. So, if I understand it, these instructions are equivalent to yours:
1. Start with two tasks.
2. Cycle through working each task from top to bottom (little and often) unless that task is unactionable.
3. Cross of each item that you do work on.
4. If a crossed off item is still "live", add it to the bottom of the list before proceeding to the next item.
5. When you get to the end of the list, optionally add one more task to the list.
I think the point of confusion in your original element is the fourth step, which says to repeat the cycle until one of the items is "unactionable." This makes it seem like you add something to the list at any point in time where you stop wanting to do work on one of the items in your list, but that could be at any point during the processing of the list. Additionally, it implies that you only add an item to the end of the list after one of the existing items on your list (at least one, maybe more) becomes unactionable. Is that what you intended?
I think I'm going to have to do a rewrite of these instructions. They're obviously causing problems. And it's not helped by the fact that in one or two places I'm not sure what I meant myself!
Do you still cross out and rewrite tasks/projects like this that recur everyday? Or do you just leave them on the list?