Get Everything Done

I mentioned this system this system already in another thread, and I realized I have been using the same system for the past month or so with minor variations on selecting the root task (see below) for personal and home tasks. It has worked well for me so far, so I decided I'll just place it here and see whatever people think of it.

The system is just one list, but the processing of the list has two parts, the dismissal process and the decision process. The two are almost independent of each other in practice to the point that one can be substituted for another if one wants to play with the rules. I will describe how each is done if one is using pen and paper.


A. Dismissal Process
1. Close the list every day with a line and the date two weeks in advance.

2. Dismiss all unactioned tasks that are older than two weeks.


As I noted in another thread, just following this dismissal rule gives you already a robust task management system, so much so that I called it the "core" rule. Because of the time-based dismissal, there is much freedom one can have in processing the list. You can pick one task or more per run, use randomization or "standing out" or FV, and it will not affect the core rule.

Why two weeks? I found that two weeks is the "sweet spot" where I will not be be feeling guilty nor flustered in dismissing tasks even if I had not picked up my list for a few days; on the other hand, there is reduced resistance in acting on relatively old tasks due to the feeling of ample time for said tasks to "stew" in my mind without feeling them too old to be relevant anymore


B. Decision Process
1. Pick a "root" task. You can use any way you want to do it, be it randomization, or "standing out", or oldest task, or most urgent task, or voodoo, or whatever, just pick one.

2. Scan the list for other tasks in context with the root task using the algorithm below. Alternatively, you can skip steps 2 and 3.
a. Scan for and mark the tasks that answer the question, "What can help me do the root task?" If needed, you can write new tasks to the end of the list and mark them. If you were able to mark such tasks go to step 3, if not go to step b below.
b. Scan for and mark the tasks that answer the question, "What else can I do with the root task?" If needed, you can write new tasks to the end of the list and mark them. If you were able to mark such tasks go to step 3, if not go to step 4.

3. Optional step: you can number the marked tasks in the order you want to do them if it will help you.

4. Do the marked task or tasks. You can add additional marked tasks anytime.

5. Once all tasks are done, go back to step 1. Alternatively, you can leave one marked task and make it your "root" task, then go to step 2.


The algorithm questions "What can help me do the root task?" and "What else can I do with the root task?" are the "heart" of the decision process. I found that it is exactly these questions, more than the picking of the "root" task, that have helped me stick to this system for more than a month now and made it work so well for me.

"What can help me do the root task?" is for the hard tasks, those important tasks that give me the most resistance, as well as tasks that are part of a project. Most commonly, those tasks are just the breaking down of the root task into smaller steps (for hard tasks) or the additional tasks of a project, but oftentimes, as long as I have my heart and mind open, the tasks that can help me can be quite surprising. As a real-life example, this whole post is an in-context task of a root task that has been given me quite a resistance. Just the sheer looking forward to starting this thread in Mark Forster's forum has given me the drive to finish that root task.

"What else can I do with the root task?" are for those tasks that are quite easy and/or routine but have some down time that I can use to do something else. As a frequent example, after I have loaded up the washing machine I have some time to putter around my apartment with some in-context tasks before the laundry's done, then load the drier which then gives me some more time to putter around. Another frequent example is other errands that I can add to an errand root task.

I hope people can see why I have mentioned in Mark Foster's latest blog post that I am already satisfied with my own task management system. It can already deliver for me many of what Mark's Perfect System promises to give: a “universal capture” system, equally suitable for pen and paper or electronic means, can deal with any size list, can deal with urgent tasks, deals effectively with resistance, can brainstorm straight onto the list, can provide the "optimum path" through tasks. It has also proven to be able to handle simple projects.

I just simply love it.

@Don R:

"I've never used any of the time-based dismissal rules before."

I've had a love-hate relationship with time-based dismissal rules over the years. I loved DWM and DWM2 because of the freedom one can have in processing the list, since how you process the list does not affect how tasks are dismissed. On the other hand, I hated how long the systems' dismissal (actually the "deletion" of old unactioned tasks, according to the rules of DWM) took, and in the end DWM just made my list too unwieldy. It took a few years of on and off experimentation that led me to conclude that two weeks is the optimal time for dismissing tasks, at least personally.

"...what would make this task easier."

LOL that is a much better wording of the first algorithm question!

"What do you do with worked-on tasks which are incomplete? Write it at the end of the list, giving it another 2 weeks?"

That is what I do, I've had no problems with using that approach. If you want to focus on unfinished tasks, process the list AF2 style; that is, start scanning for root tasks from the end of the list.

@Leon

I suggest just overlaying DECAF's decision process on your system, if your personalized ABCDE/"Eat That Frog" method works well for you. Use the prioritization matrix of ABCDE to pick your root task, then use DECAF's decision algorithm to pick the other tasks regardless of those tasks' prioritization level.

@Leon:

No I haven't, although I did try using the Decision process on AF4, that was CAF4,

http://markforster.squarespace.com/forum/post/2446303

In the end AF4's dismissal process messed up the decision process. Although, thinking about it now, if I had just used the AF4's dismissal on just the root task and not the whole decision process it might have worked better.

Anyways that is my suggestion: use AF1's dismissal on just choosing the root task, if you want to try it. However, I do not recommend it, unless that is what you have been using on your ABCDE system.

In light of Don R's difficulty as he mentioned in another thread, here's a tip:

If the list has grown large enough to make it hard to keep track of marked items, you can delete them and write them on a separate piece of paper (for example, the back of your notebook), or even at the end of the list as long as they are marked.

In fact...hmm, I think I thought of a way to not only group together marked tasks, but also to reduce rewriting and also to denote unfinished and recurrent items. Let me trial it first

So alright I doubt I can test this, but the solution that I thought, for pen and paper:

• For the tasks chosen, cross them off with a line and rewrite at the end of the list, with an underscore at the beginning of each rewritten task.

• If you want to do those tasks in an order, write the numbers on the underscore. If not, either leave the underscores blank or write "x" on them.

• Once you are done with a task, you can blot out the mark over the underscore if the task is unfinished or recurring, or cross the task off if not.