Discussion Forum > UTMS(I) "Refine Line" tweak
How about having a project notebook for anything that can't easily be done in one go? The project notebook would have a rough list of tasks, thoughts, ideas, and so on.
Ideally you'd then reserve some 'quality time' each day to work on the dissertation, then just use the list for the simple little 'filler tasks' that none the less may need doing each day. :-)
Ideally you'd then reserve some 'quality time' each day to work on the dissertation, then just use the list for the simple little 'filler tasks' that none the less may need doing each day. :-)
September 9, 2013 at 13:35 |
smileypete
smileypete
But I, and I assume many who love the global capture function of these lists, throw things in there line "Apply to grad school" and "Visit friend in California sometime" which will kill the old list.
So here's a very small tweak that might help.
1) Go through the list that exists and edit/ensure each item is well-defined, completable, etc. and on the scale you want. (Do you want to count this is done after 50 pages or 500?) You'll only have to do this once.
2) Put a star at the end of the new list / a line if you have a digital list / a context in Omnifocus. This New items are entered after this "refine line", into a list that functions like a GTD unprocessed inbox.
3) No items after this line can be actioned on, unless very urgent. Normally, you...
4) Periodically refine these items and shift the star/line down. You have to process the line down, FIFO.
5) When the old list is finished, make sure the "star" is at the bottom of the new list, and the new list can safely become the old list without risk of undoable tasks getting stuck up there.
In theory, this refining/processing could always be done at entry, but this reduces the barrier to getting things out of your head without the stress of having big/fuzzy tasks sit on your list.
This could really be applied to FV/AF variants, but it's most important if you're using a system that insists on completion like UTMS or even AF43T. With FV/most AFs you can redefine and refine tasks when you work on them a bit and cross them off.
One "variant" I have been using of UTMS, which works because I'm using a digital system (Workflowy), is this:
Put a second line at the end of the new list (which is actually movable because the system is digital, you could use some sort of start that you can erase if on paper).