Sunday
Mar062022
I'm Out (But for a Good Reason)!
Sunday, March 6, 2022 at 12:36 I’ve had to withdraw from the Lenten Challenge, not because the system I was using didn’t work, but because I got the idea for a new system and wanted to try it out.
I’m not going to tell you any more about it because I don’t want to distract anyone from the Challenge. Enough to say that it’s a No List variant, and requires the ability to count up to ten (which, looking at the deletions on my list, I apparently don’t have).
Reader Comments (19)
<< My struggle is remembering what I need to do without having a starting list. >>
This is a common fear with No List, but I think it's more of a fear than an experience.
After all, how do you build up your starting list? If you are like most people you write down everything you can think of and then add to it as you think of further things.
This is much the same as the process you go through with No List. The things which are at the top of your mind are the ones which concern you most, and once you have written your initial list your mind is primed to think of the things which need to go on it next.
Things which you need to remember to add to the list on a specific date, go in your diary/schedule so that you don't forget them.
<< I have a poor working memory >>
You might want to try Vitamin B12 tablets. I can only speak from my personal experience but they greatly improved my ability to access my memory.
The trick is to just get going. Once you worked on 2-3 tasks, your brain is there, at least that's my experience. Also, forgetting tasks is a feature of the No List, it's your intuition rolling eyes on your stories for today.
<<it's your intuition rolling eyes on your stories for today.>>
That's a great line.
:0)
<<When I did no-list, I found handwriting my lists to be a good experience. Handwriting slows my mind down a bit; >>
The closest to the best-of-both-worlds that I've found is an Apple Pencil (2) and iPad mini 6. I tap on the screen, write a task or thought, and go on with my day. At the end of the day, I transcribe the handwritten stuff into text, and import into my diary. I turn that into a daily narrative. The text is searchable, legible and backed up.
I took some time to really think through your advice. I have been using FVP for several weeks now and was feeling a bit bogged down. I took a good look at my list and saw that 1. I had many items that really belonged on a calendar and 2. Tasks were being added faster than I was completing them.
I also went back to your book "Secrets of Productive People" and reread chapter 22 - Throw Stuff Out. I have read that chapter at least 3 times before, but this time it really resonated. My physical clutter is under control, but my backlogs and commitments (mostly generated by me!) are not. I am spending too much time complicating my systems/generating unnecessary work and not just getting the work done.
"The cause of all forms of clutter is the same. The amount of work you are processing is less than the amount of work coming in."
Such a simple concept, but it's hard to really grasp!
Today I switched to the 5 task/no list system and it forced me to complete the tasks that were on my mind that I knew I should be doing. Some of the items I had been procrastinating on were completed in a matter of a few minutes - I was embarrassed how quickly I got through some of them. I spent more time procrastinating than it took to complete them!
Another nice outcome is that I processed incoming work much more quickly because I don't have a holding place to pile up tasks.
And I had B12 vitamins in my cabinet so I started taking those again. It's worth a shot!
It didn't work out anyway - so you're missing nothing!
(That said, last year I dropped out, and ran with a new good idea, so I’m not claiming the high ground here.)
Anyway, I have no idea what you were counting, but if psychology says it’s hard for us to keep more than 7 things in short term memory, suppose you change the system to only count to 7? :-)
<< In light of that objective, how does “having a new idea” constitute a good reason to drop out? >>
No, you're right, it doesn't.
<< suppose you change the system to only count to 7? >>
It was literally to count to 10, not remember 10. So I don't think it would make much difference.
<< Agree with Julie that Pomodoro 25 minutes is too long>>
I don't know if you've read my first book "Get Everything Done", but in it I recommend rotating a number of tasks with the length of burst starting at 5 minutes and rising by 5 minutes each time until the task is complete (or has reached a suitable stopping point for the day). I recommend not going beyond 20 minutes.
A typical rotation might look like this:
Task A: 5, 10, 15, 20
Task B: 5, 10, - -
Task C: 5, 10, 15, 20, 40
Task D: - - - 5, 10,
Task E: - - - 5, 10, 15
and so on.
Breaks are taken at scheduled times.
<< do you mean that I do 5 minutes per task for Round 1; 10 minutes per task for Round 2; etc.? >>
Not quite. Each task progresses individually, so that a round may consist of several different times. If you look at the table in my comment you will see that Round 1 consisted of three tasks at 5 minutes each; Round 2 consisted of the same three tasks at 10 minutes each plus two tasks at 5 minutes each; Round 3 consisted of two tasks at 15 and two tasks at 10, and so on.
<< I don't know if you've read my first book "Get Everything Done", but in it I recommend rotating a number of tasks with the length of burst starting at 5 minutes and rising by 5 minutes each time until the task is complete (or has reached a suitable stopping point for the day). I recommend not going beyond 20 minutes. >>
In the original GED system, the maximum burst length was 40 minutes. So, you would revise this to 20 minutes max if you were re-releasing the book today?
<< In the original GED system, the maximum burst length was 40 minutes. So, you would revise this to 20 minutes max if you were re-releasing the book today? >>
I was quoting from memory - obviously incorrectly!
I think 20 minutes is the longest that I currently do, but the real decider is how long you can maintain concentration. If you can keep concentrated for 40 minutes then by all means use it. If you find you can't stay concentrated for that long, then use 20 minutes as the maximum.