Discussion Forum > Dynamic Lists as the core system?
"So I guess my wife with her little scraps of paper and no identifiable time-management system at all was right all along... :-)"
Indeed
Indeed
July 28, 2016 at 1:46 |
Austin
Austin
The last couple days I've been primarily focused on a single project which is pretty complex. In order to not get lost in the complexity, changing requirements, unexpected blockers, dependencies, etc I have using a kind of 2 dimensional, no-list, dynamic list. It is dynamic because it belongs to the one project (mostly). It's no-list because I start a fresh one for the project each day (it would get too messy if I didn't). It's 2 dimensional because here's how it works: I write down what I'm trying to do in circles on a page and then I draw arrows from one circle to another based on the strategic order of what I need to do. (Or is it tactically or both?) I map out the day/project like that as I go. X out the items as they are done. Add items as needed. Cross out links as needed. Items can have multiple dependencies (or they can be a dependency of multiple items.) Items that aren't crossed out are potentially follow up items or starting points for the next day (but on a fresh page). Pictures would be good here. Day 1: http://i.imgur.com/w0UtgOL.jpg (the bottom right is just some chaos where I was trying to figure out how I was going to do something and it wasn't clear). Day 2: http://i.imgur.com/s1Zp4em.jpg (The stickers are to avoid giving away too much specific information in the photo.)
July 29, 2016 at 12:42 |
Don R
Don R
A few more comments and why I posted it in your thread was like you said, it's a dynamic list where I can think through a project, and I just "bang it out" starting from the items which are doable (although there may be several starting points available).
July 29, 2016 at 12:49 |
Don R
Don R
Yes, I see the connection. :-)
My whiteboard usually starts out as a simple list, but once I get into something, it can start to look like one of your pictures. :-)
My whiteboard usually starts out as a simple list, but once I get into something, it can start to look like one of your pictures. :-)
July 29, 2016 at 15:22 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Today I used rectangles instead of circles and it was a lot nicer looking and you can fit more on the page. I think this only really helps for the creative mode that you mentioned. If I were attending to a wider variety of demands, I would need to switch back to one of the other systems.
July 30, 2016 at 1:02 |
Don R
Don R
Don R, thank you for posting the images and description of the process you use. I also do something very similar. Have considered post on this forum, yet was not really sure how to describe or what it is. How not really thought of post image. ( or how to post and keep generic/private )
I most use it when under the most pressure to get something done. Leave for a trip this Friday. Projects due for 3 clients next week.
Very similar yet totally unique - in the moment, adapts as needed, which is what I believe this method is. For example, you said you changed to rectangles instead of circles. Mine might start out as list. Then lists. Put boxes (rectangles) around sections that are important. Color boxes. Lines of connection, lines of direction (arrows). Continually cross out. Little check boxes. (I fill in my check boxes instead of the usual check/tick mark) Even if something is on a list, I might still rewrite the important parts of that list as a new list of only those 4 items. And to enclose could be rectangles, circles, whatever is needed for what?? I believe is to clearly impart to my brain what I need to do now and next. I'm not sure exactly what is going on. Just that sometimes I NEED to use this method.
I've always longed to find a way to use this for other parts of my life that are not panic due Friday. And to broaden method so that have a way of seeing beyond Friday. Such as projects, goals and such across longer arc of time.
I believe it is a digital magic version of this that is my holy grail. Which is likely impossible, as what is so magic about this method is the change adapt to the moment. Maybe mind map, gantt, pert, outline, task, calendar - all rolled into one.
any coders want to start something?
I most use it when under the most pressure to get something done. Leave for a trip this Friday. Projects due for 3 clients next week.
Very similar yet totally unique - in the moment, adapts as needed, which is what I believe this method is. For example, you said you changed to rectangles instead of circles. Mine might start out as list. Then lists. Put boxes (rectangles) around sections that are important. Color boxes. Lines of connection, lines of direction (arrows). Continually cross out. Little check boxes. (I fill in my check boxes instead of the usual check/tick mark) Even if something is on a list, I might still rewrite the important parts of that list as a new list of only those 4 items. And to enclose could be rectangles, circles, whatever is needed for what?? I believe is to clearly impart to my brain what I need to do now and next. I'm not sure exactly what is going on. Just that sometimes I NEED to use this method.
I've always longed to find a way to use this for other parts of my life that are not panic due Friday. And to broaden method so that have a way of seeing beyond Friday. Such as projects, goals and such across longer arc of time.
I believe it is a digital magic version of this that is my holy grail. Which is likely impossible, as what is so magic about this method is the change adapt to the moment. Maybe mind map, gantt, pert, outline, task, calendar - all rolled into one.
any coders want to start something?
July 30, 2016 at 16:28 |
matthewS
matthewS
matthewS,
The thing that gave me the idea is I'm reading "How Life Imitates Chess" by Garry Kasparov. (He didn't suggest the method. It just made me think about strategy and doing things for a good reason.) He talks about the importance of strategy and tactics. What are you trying to do and how are you going to get there? Your life is a result of the choices you make.
I was thinking of taking the items which are not part of the daily (no-list) list and charting out a path towards my largest goals.
I was also thinking of using a program such as "dot" which is an open source program which can create graphs from simple text files and automatically lays them out for you into a graphics file: http://www.tonyballantyne.com/graphs.html
Creating a new link in the graph is as simple as typing "item 1" -> "item 2" and the program figures it out.
The thing that gave me the idea is I'm reading "How Life Imitates Chess" by Garry Kasparov. (He didn't suggest the method. It just made me think about strategy and doing things for a good reason.) He talks about the importance of strategy and tactics. What are you trying to do and how are you going to get there? Your life is a result of the choices you make.
I was thinking of taking the items which are not part of the daily (no-list) list and charting out a path towards my largest goals.
I was also thinking of using a program such as "dot" which is an open source program which can create graphs from simple text files and automatically lays them out for you into a graphics file: http://www.tonyballantyne.com/graphs.html
Creating a new link in the graph is as simple as typing "item 1" -> "item 2" and the program figures it out.
July 31, 2016 at 1:50 |
Don R
Don R
http://markforster.squarespace.com/forum/post/2106746#post2619691
In my response to that post, I wrote about some of the modes of working I find myself in:
- bang-through-the-next-actions
- deep creative work
- get-settled-and-find-the-way-forward
I'm not sure how to deal with ANY of this with SMEMA or 5T or any of the structured no-list systems.
I think my own way of doing no-list is maybe really just a kind of dynamic list. Short lists where I write stuff down that's on my mind and throw away when I am done, typically by end of the day. No particular rules besides that.
If I am just banging through tasks, I don't really need any system. I just bang through them in order. Sometimes I am tempted to use Randomizer, but then I just remind myself that they are ALREADY in random order (more-or-less), depending on how they ended up on whatever list I happened to capture them in. So doing things in sequential order works fine. If I am pressed for time and can't get everything done, a quick FVP prioritization on that short list of next actions is just enough process overhead to get the job done -- and generally takes about 15 seconds. I can do all that straight from my unstructured no-list. Adding rules and structures to that just seems like needless constraint and overhead.
If I am in deep-work creative mode, part of the work is actually figuring out the work. That doesn't lend itself well to writing a specific number of tasks onto a constrained list. I like to be more expansive and write things out and brainstorm. Actually, just starting with my existing unstructured no-list and expanding from there works just great, too. In practice, that's where I start, and just move to my big whiteboard or to a notebook or to my computer without even thinking about it.
If I am in "get-unlost" mode (clean things up, figure things out, find a direction, and get moving), this also tends to be exploratory and expansive. This is always where I start out the day -- What's on my mind? What needs to get done? What's important? I usually start with my checklists, because they really help me get oriented, but sometimes I don't need them -- I already *know* what needs to be done. In practice, this means I just start writing things on my no-rules no-list and see what patterns emerge, and try to find the path forward. If I can't figure it out, I fall back to my checklists. I might spend a day or two like that -- clearing out inboxes, getting caught up, clearing out the little backlogs that always seem to appear, putting out the little fires, figuring out what's important. It's much too exploratory to fit into the 3 slots of SMEMA or 3T, or the 5 slots of 5T, or whatever. But this dynamic-list approach is perfect. And it tends to lead naturally to one of the other two approaches -- either bang-it-out mode, or deep-work creative mode.
In any case, I just start out in my no-rules no-list, and it naturally takes me into these modes, which I can continue working in the same manner. It just all feels very natural, and feels like I am finding the right things to focus on.
So I guess my wife with her little scraps of paper and no identifiable time-management system at all was right all along... :-)