Discussion Forum > On the Nature of Dabbling
I used to write everything I wanted to do in my AF list under the notion that it was supposed to take everything and then sort things out later. This time around I've decided to not enter any Q4's. They are not urgent nor important and I don't need to consider them.
My equivalent of knitting is chess playing. It can be dabbled but only if I don't worry about improving or even playing well to my current skill level. If there's an event I want to join I can put it on my calendar, but it's not a todo otherwise.
However, it can be added as a Q3 item (urgent, not important) if I feel a strong urge to play. Urgent here might imply in the next few hours but as it's not important it can still be dropped. In this fashion, my list may only ever have a handful of Q3 items and no Q4's, and I must not take them on until I get around to them following my AF rules (they will be New and that comes after Active and Old).
My equivalent of knitting is chess playing. It can be dabbled but only if I don't worry about improving or even playing well to my current skill level. If there's an event I want to join I can put it on my calendar, but it's not a todo otherwise.
However, it can be added as a Q3 item (urgent, not important) if I feel a strong urge to play. Urgent here might imply in the next few hours but as it's not important it can still be dropped. In this fashion, my list may only ever have a handful of Q3 items and no Q4's, and I must not take them on until I get around to them following my AF rules (they will be New and that comes after Active and Old).
October 5, 2013 at 15:45 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Hi Cricket -- Found this nice one-page essay on rules for successful puttering (or pottering, if you will). Basically, it should have little to no immediate importance, and it should be essentially mindless so that its results don't matter.
I spent most of last evening rearranging the metadata in my iTunes collection so that definitely counts!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1335909/?page=1
I spent most of last evening rearranging the metadata in my iTunes collection so that definitely counts!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1335909/?page=1
October 12, 2013 at 18:00 |
Mike Brown
Mike Brown
This project, though, is sneaky. It's the Knitting Masters. It says I can dabble in it. I can sneak in a bit here and a bit there. I can do it when the room is noisy, or when I'm tired, or want to avoid the temptations of the internet.
It lies.
This post is, in part, a way to firmly remind myself why I'm not starting it.
It says I can knit during down time, while watching TV with the family. I do that quite often, but don't have a project on the go at the moment. Each of about 14 swatches (no, I will not open the file to confirm) needs be my best work, following the instructions carefully. The instructions for the swatches and associated questions are inter-linked, so I can't just follow it line-by-line. Most technique names refer to several different techniques, so I need to confirm I'm using the right one for each swatch. Then each swatch needs to be wet-stretched to shape, measured and inspected -- and possibly redone. That's just the knitting part.
(Yes, I'm sort of crazy for wanting to do it, but it's a good challenge and a way to learn all sorts of skills and techniques and tricks.)
So, despite it's attempts to convince me otherwise, I cannot just dabble in this project. Maybe some of the swatches, but not in general. All I'd do is get my hopes up and be drawn from more important projects.
What makes a good candidate for dabbling?
No commitment. Not to time, not to quality. Even you don't care how fast you finish it. finishing a library book before the due date is borderline.
Small units with fixed end points so you will actually stop. A chapter is not a unit, unless the book is very boring. The entire book is the unit. Gardening just before the mosquitoes come out, or before a meeting, would work. Gardening before going inside to pay bills wouldn't. TV counts, unless you have several episodes. Knitting something boring would count, but only if you can avoid "just one more row".
Any thoughts?