Get Everything Done

Hello Mark,

Just a couple of things after a quick read through:

<When you've done as much work as you want to do on New Tasks for the time being, deal with the "Recurring" page and then the "Unfinished" page in the same way - except that there is no line dividing these pages. Once you have done all the tasks you want to do on the Unfinished page, return to the Old Tasks. You must do at least one task (hopefully more), otherwise all remaining Old Tasks are dismissed. Please note that only Old Tasks are liable to be dismissed. New Tasks and the tasks in Columns 2 and 3 are not dismissed.>

Are not the 'Columns' actually the Recurring and Unfinished Pages?

I haven't yet tried this new approach and may not do so until I've been running my DWM2 notebook for a bit and read other reactions/feedback. I wonder if the three page types might not get mixed up and 'interfere' with the processing in that one will be paging through other page types looking for the next location of the type one is working on.

Maybe a notebook with moveable pages would be more suitable so that the New (with its Old tasks), Unfinished and Recurring tasks remain with each other.

Mark, Alan and the rest:

<A big difference is that you never dismiss Unfinished tasks or Recurring tasks. This surprises me. Where then is the push to clear Unfinished tasks?>

This issue seems to highlight, to me at any rate, that ONLY tasks NEVER started can be dismissed, and that Mark is right to emphasise that being 'Unfinished' is the spur. However, sometimes one has to realise that one particular task/project is past its sell-by date and diminishing returns on effort may have set in.

If so, what stops one from dismissing an Unfinished Task? I cannot see any limitation, sometimes that's how life is.

Recurring tasks: by their very nature, each incidence of each task must be completed before it can be re-entered as a 'new' task, so I see no need for dismissal, unless again the usefulness of the task is past its sell-by date.

I think we are seeing the emergence of the (sometimes) subtle difference between a recurring task and an unfinished task. It's the latter that bugs me!

This must be one of the 'fastest' new threads in the Forum!

<<Mark wrote:
<At the end of today I have 9 Old, 6 New, 32 Recurring and 3 Unfinished. I can see from those figures immediately that I have far too many recurring tasks, and if I cut them right back I would finish all my work in no time at all!>>

<Mark, I'd be interested to know what your recurring tasks consist of. Most of mine are things that I feel I wouldn't want to, or be able to, cut back on, such as laundry, housework, check e-mail, do paperwork, phone family and friends, meals+clear.>

I do not think 32 x Recurring is too many, much of everyday stuff is little tasks. Margaret's post has six in a one line example.

The key, I think, and Seraphim and others have mentioned this, is to find a way of batching and/or processing such Recurring tasks. Wasn't it nuntym who several weeks ago brought in the concept of these tasks as being of a maintenance type and need to be processed in a certain way for efficiency's sake?

One problem is that consolidating such tasks under one or a few headings leads to the danger of some individual tasks not being done. I've got a personality, and now a matching ag,e that lends itself to forgetting things, which is one reason I've coped better since AF arrived nearly two years ago.

I combat this deficiency of my own with extensive checklists, especially for work travel where arriving at a foreign destination with something missing can be a right burden. Not having a spare power unit for my notebook computer is not a problem in Durban or Damascus, but it is in Solwezi or Mkuu-Rombo.

I've been tackling these 'maintenance' recurring tasks by entering each relevant one into lists called:

- First thing morning: eg turn heating system on, check overnight email, schedule for the day,AF/DWM list, take garbage downstairs when leaving, medication.
- Work stuff: these are items to be packed into my work bag (backpack or briefcase) or to carry/have about my person.
- Mid-Morning: Check email (I turn off automatic sending/receiving to minimise distractions), reviewAF/DWM, make/return calls or messages.
- Break: as above plus a snack and soup.
- Afternoon: as above, plus check errands to do en route back to apartment (all errand items are written in a Moleskine pocket notebook which I always carry with me everywhere, and which serves a capture point if my AF/DWM book isn't with me).
- Arrival apartment: set up computer notebook on desk, review AF/DWM, reduce Inbox to zero, go through new entries in Moleskine pocket book, save new passwords, incremental backup etc.

I also have a Weekly and a Monthly Maintenance list with additional tasks to the daily stuff, such as a weekly full backup, review medication stock, monthly battery swap/recharge, clean IT kit etc.

These maintenance tasks are all in a ListPro file which is available on my smartphone (WM 6.5, no iPhone for me, yet). I am able to tick off the applicable ones, then clear the tick boxes for the next day when I'm done.

And yes, sometimes I might forget to use the list, so I may still enter a forgotten task into my AF/DWM list. Some days a task item might not be applicable, but it's still on the list if does need to be ticked, eg green box medication ok?

Works for me.

Mark,

Oops, I forgot to mention that the maintenance tasks referred to in my previous posting do not appear anywhere in my AF/DWM list. They reside in Listpro and are triggered by an Outlook alarm at the appropriate time. I use Outlook for hard schedule appointments and regular recurring tasks.

I just have to have these checklists because although I've tried to make them habits, sometimes I forget the basic stuff when I leave the apartment or office, eg passport (advisable to carry it here in Damascus, or at least a colour copy of the main page and current visa - note to self: scan passport, print copies, carry in wallet/work bag), even my watch or phone now and again.

Of course, little reminders not in Listpro DO appear on AF/DWM, eg "Put new camera in work bag before end of day".

BTW, you need to correct that 'Columns' error in the Lifehacker copy as well, just in case.

Alan:

Thanks for that neat appraisal, makes a lot of sense.

Out of interest, will you be revamping your OneNote system for work? I can see re-jigging within OneNote is so easy.

I still prefer to keep work and non-work lists separate, however, it may be feasible for some to have two columns on each page, one for Work, the other for Personal, but still subject to the AF4R rules. Another approach could be Personal on LH pages, Work on RH pages.

I would also try to keep the New/Old Tasks, Unfinished/in progress, and Recurring is separate parts of any paper system as well.

Hi Erik,

I know what you mean!

To be fair, it was GTD that got me interested again in task management, but I just could not handle the system/concept 'overhead'.

That said, I do sometimes use contexts to decide where and when I can do certain tasks.

The best example occurred last year when I was working in rural Zambia for a month and the broadband access via the mobile phone network was awful. This meant I could not file my UK VAT (sales/purchase tax) quarterly return online until I was in Johannesburg airport en route home where the access was great and I could catch up plus do a lot of email processing.

That was back in the early days of AutoFocus and I recall tagging some tasks 'JNB' = Johannesburg International Airport code.