Discussion Forum > Integrating DIT's core mechanism with project management
Hi Christopher
DIT allows a project queque. You can modify DIT to suit your own needs. I've been doing my weekly version of DIT since 2007. I love having a Current Initiative but I also keep a couple few project progressing forward as well. I do that for mainly two reasons. Some projects need rest time for your mind to process what you've learned and/or progress so far. Problem Solving and Creative projects usually require time to assimilate and forward think it's progress. It also accommodates experimentation and failures/start overs.
Also, I love the mental hum of having at least two (usually more) projects moving forward. I can tap into that energy to get the mundane stuff out of the way also. Of course, if you don't abhor boredom as much as I do, you can stick with one project. Personally, I love the stimulation of challenges even when I fail. *blush*
Because I'm prone (addicted?) to stimulation, the commitment vs interest helps to keep me in check.
The bundling process of daily checklists, I've also modified. I pluck MITs from my flexible weekly DIT to a daily list. As per DIT, my MITs are non-negotiable. Where I also deviate from daily DIT, is fretting completing all that stuff every day. I set up fake deadlines to make sure the important stuff is current. I'm more concerned with moving my projects forward and meeting my responsibilities ......and....enjoying my life than worrying about inbox zero/transferring them to next actions. Each day, I process calls, paper and digital communications totally against every gurus advice. I ONLY DO THE ONES THAT CAN"T WAIT and leave the others in the inbox. When my MITs are done, I can go back and process them or not.....They will be actioned or deleted in a timely manner but not every day. If my time is better spent elsewhere, I don't mind letting them sit. (BTW, no social emails go into my inbox. It's a mix of actions and information and other means of getting me to part with my cash.) Eh, I don't care if I ignore the investment broker's email. He'll call me if it's important enough. I've trained everybody not to depend on me answering email, and not to bother calling me unless it's worth my time. I'll email and/or call if it trumps my chosen MITs. Those are non-negotiable unless I get sent to the hospital or I'm affected by a natural disaster. LOL!
Bottom line, my MIT's rule but I also allow flexibility in case things change....or...I just change my mind toward better than I originally planned.
My modified version of DIT has improved my effectiveness exponentially and it's allowed me more flexibility and freedom to simply enjoy life more. Can't beat that! DIT is my Rosetta Stone of engineering and enjoying my life. If DIT fits your style of thinking and acting, you can either use it out of the box or modify it better benefit from it and keep it easy to implement. My modifications suit me. Actually it's a weekly version DIT/GTD hybrid.
DIT allows a project queque. You can modify DIT to suit your own needs. I've been doing my weekly version of DIT since 2007. I love having a Current Initiative but I also keep a couple few project progressing forward as well. I do that for mainly two reasons. Some projects need rest time for your mind to process what you've learned and/or progress so far. Problem Solving and Creative projects usually require time to assimilate and forward think it's progress. It also accommodates experimentation and failures/start overs.
Also, I love the mental hum of having at least two (usually more) projects moving forward. I can tap into that energy to get the mundane stuff out of the way also. Of course, if you don't abhor boredom as much as I do, you can stick with one project. Personally, I love the stimulation of challenges even when I fail. *blush*
Because I'm prone (addicted?) to stimulation, the commitment vs interest helps to keep me in check.
The bundling process of daily checklists, I've also modified. I pluck MITs from my flexible weekly DIT to a daily list. As per DIT, my MITs are non-negotiable. Where I also deviate from daily DIT, is fretting completing all that stuff every day. I set up fake deadlines to make sure the important stuff is current. I'm more concerned with moving my projects forward and meeting my responsibilities ......and....enjoying my life than worrying about inbox zero/transferring them to next actions. Each day, I process calls, paper and digital communications totally against every gurus advice. I ONLY DO THE ONES THAT CAN"T WAIT and leave the others in the inbox. When my MITs are done, I can go back and process them or not.....They will be actioned or deleted in a timely manner but not every day. If my time is better spent elsewhere, I don't mind letting them sit. (BTW, no social emails go into my inbox. It's a mix of actions and information and other means of getting me to part with my cash.) Eh, I don't care if I ignore the investment broker's email. He'll call me if it's important enough. I've trained everybody not to depend on me answering email, and not to bother calling me unless it's worth my time. I'll email and/or call if it trumps my chosen MITs. Those are non-negotiable unless I get sent to the hospital or I'm affected by a natural disaster. LOL!
Bottom line, my MIT's rule but I also allow flexibility in case things change....or...I just change my mind toward better than I originally planned.
My modified version of DIT has improved my effectiveness exponentially and it's allowed me more flexibility and freedom to simply enjoy life more. Can't beat that! DIT is my Rosetta Stone of engineering and enjoying my life. If DIT fits your style of thinking and acting, you can either use it out of the box or modify it better benefit from it and keep it easy to implement. My modifications suit me. Actually it's a weekly version DIT/GTD hybrid.
July 17, 2013 at 6:09 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
The trick is to only commit to specific results you can reasonably achieve in a day. With DIT, consider a commitment to be "I will have xyz completely DONE on [date], or I may consider myself in default of a commitment to myself."
EG: Sure you're committed to consulting your friend, but this is too lofty and vague a commitment for DIT. In DIT, a commitment would be "Email to friend written on [topic]" which you would drop in the Tomorrow Will Do list. If you don't intend to write an email tomorrow, then don't put it in DIT.
You can keep a list of these overarching "commitments" (GTD calls this the Project List) outside of DIT and just have the task "Project List Reviewed" somewhere in your DIT lists. This way you commit to reviewing the Project List daily, and IF IT STRIKES YOUR FANCY, you could spin off an "Email to friend written" task for your DIT Will Do list.
EG: Sure you're committed to "Working Outside", but this is waaaay too vague and lofty for DIT. Think it through, define "Outside Work" and decide what result you can reasonably expect yourself to achieve tomorrow (factoring in weather forecasts, and the items you already have on the calendar / in DIT) - then write THAT on DIT's tomorrow list. If "Working Outside" is really "Flowerbeds Mulched and Planted, Garden Tilled and Planted, Yard Seeded and Fertilized, and Tree Stump Removed" then decide that tomorrow you can commit to Mulching the Flowerbeds, and that's it. Write "Flowerbeds Mulched" on DIT's tomorrow list and let the rest wait.
I know that may seem like you're only making a tiny bit of progress in one day, but hey, little and often right? I am finding that one of the chief advantages of DIT, is that it prompts you to develop the discipline necessary to not overcommit yourself. In GTD I would have put a next action on my context lists for each of those outdoor tasks (total of 4 next actions). Tomorrow would come, and I'd only get to action one of those 4 projects (I'd do the NA on the list, then continue working that particular project from NA to NA). With the others still lingering untouched on my lists, I would close the day feeling like I've attended to 1 out of 4 things I'd committed to. Therefore, I'd feel like a 75% failure. With DIT, I commit only to that one result I feel I can reasonably achieve tomorrow. Then tomorrow, I have a good chance of hitting that mark, and I close the day feeling like a 100% success! In other words - if all your DIT tasks are scoped appropriately such that you can reasonably achieve them tomorrow, and you take care not to over-plan tomorrow, then you can still earn your points! Is that "stacking the deck" so that you can easily earn your points? You bet it is. When you earn your points, you don't earn them just for following through on a commitment, but also for thinking critically and making a good commitment to begin with. This enforces that habit of actually doing what you've committed to, and committing to what you can actually do. This habit is critical in time management, self management, and building solid relationships in life.
One more note: If it rains tomorrow and I can't do the mulching like I committed to DIT style, then it will just become a backlog item. I'll leave it on the list for that day and try again the next day. Will this throw things off? Yes. But with that in my backlog, I will scope incoming tasks appropriately (ie: smaller) to allow myself the room to catch my backlog up. That way I can remain honest with myself about the commitments I make to myself, and still keep the commitments I make to myself. And really, a little rain would mess up my groove no matter what system I had been using.
General Tips:
-- Every task you write on DIT should meet the following two criteria: 1) It must describe the desired result, such that the successful completion of the task is evident, 2) It must be of sufficiently small scope that you can reasonably believe that you will actually be able to reach that successful completion on the day it is written (bearing in mind all other commitments already on that day)
EG: Sure you're committed to consulting your friend, but this is too lofty and vague a commitment for DIT. In DIT, a commitment would be "Email to friend written on [topic]" which you would drop in the Tomorrow Will Do list. If you don't intend to write an email tomorrow, then don't put it in DIT.
You can keep a list of these overarching "commitments" (GTD calls this the Project List) outside of DIT and just have the task "Project List Reviewed" somewhere in your DIT lists. This way you commit to reviewing the Project List daily, and IF IT STRIKES YOUR FANCY, you could spin off an "Email to friend written" task for your DIT Will Do list.
EG: Sure you're committed to "Working Outside", but this is waaaay too vague and lofty for DIT. Think it through, define "Outside Work" and decide what result you can reasonably expect yourself to achieve tomorrow (factoring in weather forecasts, and the items you already have on the calendar / in DIT) - then write THAT on DIT's tomorrow list. If "Working Outside" is really "Flowerbeds Mulched and Planted, Garden Tilled and Planted, Yard Seeded and Fertilized, and Tree Stump Removed" then decide that tomorrow you can commit to Mulching the Flowerbeds, and that's it. Write "Flowerbeds Mulched" on DIT's tomorrow list and let the rest wait.
I know that may seem like you're only making a tiny bit of progress in one day, but hey, little and often right? I am finding that one of the chief advantages of DIT, is that it prompts you to develop the discipline necessary to not overcommit yourself. In GTD I would have put a next action on my context lists for each of those outdoor tasks (total of 4 next actions). Tomorrow would come, and I'd only get to action one of those 4 projects (I'd do the NA on the list, then continue working that particular project from NA to NA). With the others still lingering untouched on my lists, I would close the day feeling like I've attended to 1 out of 4 things I'd committed to. Therefore, I'd feel like a 75% failure. With DIT, I commit only to that one result I feel I can reasonably achieve tomorrow. Then tomorrow, I have a good chance of hitting that mark, and I close the day feeling like a 100% success! In other words - if all your DIT tasks are scoped appropriately such that you can reasonably achieve them tomorrow, and you take care not to over-plan tomorrow, then you can still earn your points! Is that "stacking the deck" so that you can easily earn your points? You bet it is. When you earn your points, you don't earn them just for following through on a commitment, but also for thinking critically and making a good commitment to begin with. This enforces that habit of actually doing what you've committed to, and committing to what you can actually do. This habit is critical in time management, self management, and building solid relationships in life.
One more note: If it rains tomorrow and I can't do the mulching like I committed to DIT style, then it will just become a backlog item. I'll leave it on the list for that day and try again the next day. Will this throw things off? Yes. But with that in my backlog, I will scope incoming tasks appropriately (ie: smaller) to allow myself the room to catch my backlog up. That way I can remain honest with myself about the commitments I make to myself, and still keep the commitments I make to myself. And really, a little rain would mess up my groove no matter what system I had been using.
General Tips:
-- Every task you write on DIT should meet the following two criteria: 1) It must describe the desired result, such that the successful completion of the task is evident, 2) It must be of sufficiently small scope that you can reasonably believe that you will actually be able to reach that successful completion on the day it is written (bearing in mind all other commitments already on that day)
October 9, 2013 at 21:30 |
Miracle
Miracle
If it's raining, another option is to work on a different task -- one that you are fairly sure will be on tomorrow's list. That way you're still getting a full day's work done, and you'll have more room tomorrow for the garden.
October 9, 2013 at 21:58 |
Cricket
Cricket
(BTW, I think the problem arises because my thinking about these things is still too much ingrained in the GTD way.)
For the most part I am working with strict DIT organizational projects. It works well and I gain confidence for saying "no" to me and others daily. However, I also have some things, GTD would call them projects and in the discussions around DIT I saw them frequently referred to as commitments.
They are not continual projects but they "drop off" some tasks into the tomorrow list once in a while. Like a GTD project would do. DIT seems to teach to either have them as future CIs if feasible or ditch them altogether and thus keeping the lists "clean". But this cannot be done everytime! I think the work that goes in per day may have to be the same as that which goes out per day, HOWEVER the total amount of committed to work is or can be greater than the amount of work one can do per day. This results in lots of project plans, if it goes well, or additional backlogs in the case of fail. This is where I DO NOT UNDERSTAND DIT!
I want to give two examples for such projects.
I am committed (ha!) to help a fellow out by consulting him via email. So, while the commitment stands all the time, only once in a while I feel the need to write to him. In GTD this would be either a @waiting for or a @email task and that's that. But with DIT?
The other example is a physically very taxing organizational project outdoors. I cannot work on it everyday, lest I wreck havoc literally! I have to take a day off in turn. Also weather conditions may play a role and make it impossible to work on a given day. Little and often is not possible, well it sort of is, but it has to be some, because the equipment requires a certain amount of set up and clearance afterwards.
So I could have this as "work outdoors?" on my Tasks list and decide each day on the fly. But if I decide to do so, I would have to ditch half of the other tasks, if I want to get my points for that day. (Which is a valuable goal to me :-))
So, what to do?