Discussion Forum > Pyramid Scheme
I like this system. It is much akin to the time-boxing system Mark puts forth in GED. Except, instead of doing time-boxing dashes, you roll the dice and work a bit on the selected task.
Maybe you could do the weighting by having the sub-lists reflect the state of the area via task selection? Also, if a choosen area is calm, you can just work less on them.
What I am trying to say is, that the weighting only happens via the pyramid, if you work on each selected task the same amount with the same intensity every time.
Maybe you could do the weighting by having the sub-lists reflect the state of the area via task selection? Also, if a choosen area is calm, you can just work less on them.
What I am trying to say is, that the weighting only happens via the pyramid, if you work on each selected task the same amount with the same intensity every time.
August 15, 2016 at 11:42 |
Christopher
Christopher
Pyramid Scheme could be used for time-boxing, but time-boxing hasn't worked for me since the kids arrived. I don't respect the timer.
I find a tiny bit of weighting sometimes helps, but any more backfires. It builds up resistance and guilt. "You really should give that one three stars. Better still, you really should just do it now."
Instead, I do as you suggest. If an area is calm and I land on it, I do less before rolling again. That has the effect of increasing time for everything else.
Even though the idea behind the name is that each item expands as you go deeper, in the shape of a pyramid, I rarely need to roll more than one layer. Once I choose an area, I know what to work on within that area, and there's little resistance. If I can't decide, then I create a list on the fly and roll. (There is one area, though, that I keep a formal list and records, so all sub-areas get fairly equal attention.)
Mechanics:
I now have a chart, areas down the side, days across the top. Small star = extra weight; used rarely. Small tick = worked on it once today. Big checkmark = worked on it enough for the day. Big X = not a candidate for the day. This combines a diary of which areas got attention with the list of candidates.
If I do end up on something that's inappropriate for now (but might be appropriate after lunch, so should stay on the list) I'll just roll again. That's often easier than evaluating each candidate for suitability before each roll.
I find a tiny bit of weighting sometimes helps, but any more backfires. It builds up resistance and guilt. "You really should give that one three stars. Better still, you really should just do it now."
Instead, I do as you suggest. If an area is calm and I land on it, I do less before rolling again. That has the effect of increasing time for everything else.
Even though the idea behind the name is that each item expands as you go deeper, in the shape of a pyramid, I rarely need to roll more than one layer. Once I choose an area, I know what to work on within that area, and there's little resistance. If I can't decide, then I create a list on the fly and roll. (There is one area, though, that I keep a formal list and records, so all sub-areas get fairly equal attention.)
Mechanics:
I now have a chart, areas down the side, days across the top. Small star = extra weight; used rarely. Small tick = worked on it once today. Big checkmark = worked on it enough for the day. Big X = not a candidate for the day. This combines a diary of which areas got attention with the list of candidates.
If I do end up on something that's inappropriate for now (but might be appropriate after lunch, so should stay on the list) I'll just roll again. That's often easier than evaluating each candidate for suitability before each roll.
August 16, 2016 at 0:46 |
Cricket
Cricket
Your chart reminds me of this old video were Brent shows how he highlights his weekly GTD projects in either yellow or orange.
https://vimeo.com/1063956
(It is at –5:20 in the video.)
>> If I do end up on something that's inappropriate for now (but might be appropriate after lunch, so should stay on the list) I'll just roll again. <<
That is like what Mark said on FV: if you can't do the current task for these sort of reasons, just strike it through and re-enter it at the end of the list. Seems just to be the logical way to deal with, cough, "contexts".
https://vimeo.com/1063956
(It is at –5:20 in the video.)
>> If I do end up on something that's inappropriate for now (but might be appropriate after lunch, so should stay on the list) I'll just roll again. <<
That is like what Mark said on FV: if you can't do the current task for these sort of reasons, just strike it through and re-enter it at the end of the list. Seems just to be the logical way to deal with, cough, "contexts".
August 16, 2016 at 18:03 |
Christopher
Christopher
I don't bother striking and re-entering. Unlike FV, with this method it doesn't matter where it's written. I'll cycle around again.
Contexts sometimes make my life easier, such as an errand list or phone calls that have to be made before 5.
For me, though, contexts are a common exception rather than the rule. Most tasks can be done pretty much any time, so assigning contexts to everything is a waste of time.
I don't even fret about which part of the pyramid to put something in. If in doubt, decide at random or put in both, then move on and actually accomplish something.
Contexts sometimes make my life easier, such as an errand list or phone calls that have to be made before 5.
For me, though, contexts are a common exception rather than the rule. Most tasks can be done pretty much any time, so assigning contexts to everything is a waste of time.
I don't even fret about which part of the pyramid to put something in. If in doubt, decide at random or put in both, then move on and actually accomplish something.
August 16, 2016 at 19:44 |
Cricket
Cricket
Reason: My big todo list has many lines for some areas and very few for others, thus increasing the odds of the former being chosen and decreasing the odds for the latter.
List your life areas and big projects. About 10 works well.
Pick one at random. Do something in that area.
(One of those areas, for me, is "Pick something off the big ugly list.")
If it's not obvious which thing to do in that area or you're resisting what you think you should do, make a list for that area and roll. You can do sub-sub-sub-lists if you really want to, but that's probably procrastinating.
Weighting. If an area needs more-frequent attention, or you've done enough on it for now, weight it so it's more/less likely to be chosen. Keep it simple and fluid. I'm going to double the weight for things that are worrying me (count twice), and decrease the weight (to zero) for things I've already done today. If I hit an area with extremely high resistance, move on. It's better to do something else useful than stall. Often, during the time spent doing something else will let me get used to doing something in the resisted area, or how to break it down better.
After 5 hours, they system is working well. One roll gave me an area with an obvious task. One gave me email backlog, which I made good progress on. One gave me my favourite video game (which didn't interest me then, so I rolled again.) One gave me "boards and forums".