Discussion Forum > When to do the deferred tasks within RAF?
Christopher:
<< Do I re-enter them to the list? >>
Yes, unless they are genuinely specific to that day.
<< Do I have a daily recurring task "clear calendar"? >>
No, unless they are genuinely specific to that day.
<< Do I just work on them first thing in the morning? >>
No, you just work on them like any other task on your list, unless they are genuinely specific to the day in which case you might want to do them as a batch.
<< It is better to do them before doing the "DDD - round" or afterwards? >>
If they are genuinely specific to the day and you elect to do them as a batch, then you would probably want to do them before you started work on the list at all. Otherwise just treat them like any other task on the list.
<< What technique do I use to make sure I work on those tasks today? >>
Just do them.
<< Do I re-enter them to the list? >>
Yes, unless they are genuinely specific to that day.
<< Do I have a daily recurring task "clear calendar"? >>
No, unless they are genuinely specific to that day.
<< Do I just work on them first thing in the morning? >>
No, you just work on them like any other task on your list, unless they are genuinely specific to the day in which case you might want to do them as a batch.
<< It is better to do them before doing the "DDD - round" or afterwards? >>
If they are genuinely specific to the day and you elect to do them as a batch, then you would probably want to do them before you started work on the list at all. Otherwise just treat them like any other task on the list.
<< What technique do I use to make sure I work on those tasks today? >>
Just do them.
August 6, 2017 at 19:28 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
A hack I'm employing for things I want to do but no particular time or day: I have my notebook and whenever I defer such a task, I write it on a new blank page.
Eventually I will fill up a page normally and the next page magically has 1 new task to pick up. It nicely spaces out all these fuzzy tasks so I don't have many of them at once. Consequently, some of these have been deferred quite some time into the future. Out of consideration for a while.
This is not treated as a rule, just a handy way of placing this deferment.
Eventually I will fill up a page normally and the next page magically has 1 new task to pick up. It nicely spaces out all these fuzzy tasks so I don't have many of them at once. Consequently, some of these have been deferred quite some time into the future. Out of consideration for a while.
This is not treated as a rule, just a handy way of placing this deferment.
August 7, 2017 at 2:09 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu:
I did something very similar. But instead of only writing one task per page I would write each day's deferred tasks one per page regardless of whether there were any deferred tasks on the pages from previous days. That way I got a bit of overlap, but the tasks didn't stretch too far into the future.
I did something very similar. But instead of only writing one task per page I would write each day's deferred tasks one per page regardless of whether there were any deferred tasks on the pages from previous days. That way I got a bit of overlap, but the tasks didn't stretch too far into the future.
August 7, 2017 at 12:38 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
So far I'm amazed that I haven't had to defer very much at all. I defer to a tickler file instead of a calendar. The future-pages hack seems pretty good, but could lead to a heavy feeling if there are a lot of items stacking up. There's something about having to take a task out of the system, and then put it back in, that feels different and, in my case, makes me more likely to just delete it instead of deferring.
I wonder if, by training myself with the various 'no-list' techniques (SMEMA, 5T, etc.) over the last couple years, I now trust that a lot of important but not critical tasks will come to mind naturally, so it's not imperative to keep them on the list or defer to a later date. For example, I just deleted "file papers" and "back up personal email archives" - two home tasks that I cannot do now at work. In the past, I would've certainly deferred them. But I know I will think about these again soon - the stack of papers to file is right there on my desk, and the un-backed-up email folders are right there in the sidebar when I check or zero my Inbox.
I wonder if, by training myself with the various 'no-list' techniques (SMEMA, 5T, etc.) over the last couple years, I now trust that a lot of important but not critical tasks will come to mind naturally, so it's not imperative to keep them on the list or defer to a later date. For example, I just deleted "file papers" and "back up personal email archives" - two home tasks that I cannot do now at work. In the past, I would've certainly deferred them. But I know I will think about these again soon - the stack of papers to file is right there on my desk, and the un-backed-up email folders are right there in the sidebar when I check or zero my Inbox.
August 8, 2017 at 16:59 |
ubi
ubi
Mark, thank you for that clarification! Much appreciated.
August 9, 2017 at 14:16 |
Christopher
Christopher
Do I re-enter them to the list?
Do I have a daily recurring task "clear calendar"?
Do I just work on them first thing in the morning?
It is better to do them before dong the "DDD - round" or afterwards?
What technique do I use to make sure I work on those tasks today?