Some Suggested Improvements to NQ-FVP

The two main problems with NQ-FVP are 1) it tends to be rather inflexible, and 2) it concentrates too much on the end of the list where the new and re-entered tasks congregate, to the exclusion of the beginning of the list where the older and unstarted tasks congregate.

I am experimenting with a couple of small changes to the rules which improve both these aspects. These are:

1) When you’ve done a task (and re-entered it if necessary) you can go directly to the previous dotted task if you wish, without having to scan to the end of the list.

2) You are limited to two dotted tasks per scan. This does not include the root task at the beginning of the list. Note that this is two dotted tasks per scan, not two dotted tasks on the list. You can do a scan with two dots, do one of the tasks and then do another two-dot scan, and so on.

My three or four hours’ experience so far is that this gets rid of the lengthy scanning process and removes most of the frustration of being stuck at one end of the list with a whole load of tasks between you and the work you know you should be doing.

If anyone wants to try this out at the same time as me, I’d welcome your experiences and comments.

Comments

[Nenad Ristic]

In one of your previous posts, you mentioned a rule whereby the first task is treated differently, and once you get to it, you can either deffer it, delete it or do it.

I have been using that, and it helps somewhat with preventing old tasks at the top of the list.

I have also been using the do previous task rule, as well as doing a dotted task if it feels ready without having to scan the rest of the list.

I will experiment with two tasks per scan rule.

[Aaron Hsu]

Hrm, I'm kind of curious about these changes. I like them intuitively, and it's tempting to give them a try!

[Mark Forster]

Nenad Ristic:

<< In one of your previous posts, you mentioned a rule whereby the first task is treated differently, and once you get to it, you can either deffer it, delete it or do it. >>

I don't remember saying this in the context of NQ-FVP. But it is a standard rule in Real AutoFocus (RAF), though in that case there may be a number of tasks DDD'd at the same time.

[Margaret1]

Mark, if it's not too much trouble, could you give a step-by-step example of carrying out the two-dot scan in your point 2? I can't get my head round the difference between two dots per scan and two dots on the list. Thanks.

[vegheadjones]

+1 with Margaret1 :) I'm not sure I understand the two dot amendment.

Your first amendment (optional moving up one task) reminds me of The Bounce, which these days is my second favorite of your system (Randomizer is on top for me).

[Will]

Margaret,

You start with a list.

You dot the first task.

You go through and dot up to two tasks, so you have 1-3 dotted tasks

You do the last dotted task, so you have 0-2 dotted tasks.

If 0, you dot the first open task and repeat.

If 1-2, you scan from the bottom dotted task and add 0-2 dots, so you have a total of 1-4 dotted tasks.

And so on.

Mark,

Is this right?

[Ed Z]

I think I like these amendments to the rules. I never could get into FV nor its variants because, as Mark Forster noted, I often stay so long at the end of the list that when I get to the older dotted tasks I don't feel "wanting" to do them anymore.

@vegheadjones, @Will, and @Margaret1: I am pretty sure what Mark Forster meant is that you can dot only 2 tasks per scan.

Let's say you've crossed out the task you've just done and you go to the next dotted task. However, you don't want to do the task just yet, so you scan down and dot tasks that you want to do more than the last dotted one. "Limited to two tasks per scan" then means that you can only dot two more tasks from the last one, and the second task you've dotted has to be done next. Therefore there could be more than two dotted tasks present in the list, but only two tasks that can be dotted after the last one.

[Will]

Thanks, Ed.

That's what I was trying to illustrate.