Discussion Forum > The Secret to Successful and Fast Dismissal
When I finish a notebook, I move the dismissed tasks to a separate hibernation list. I don't move all the dismissed tasks, just the ones I struggle with forgetting entirely. It surprised me by being under a page, even after several years. It's easier for me (and therefore faster) to put them in a safe place than admit I'll probably never do them.
December 14, 2018 at 22:48 |
Cricket
Cricket
That's nice in a sense because it gives you an absolute chronological order of everything you dismissed. Sort of a type of mini-journal.
During the AF1 craze somebody pointed out that AF1 gives you a Someday / Maybe list that actually works. Maybe your list of dismissed tasks is the true Someday / Maybe list?
During the AF1 craze somebody pointed out that AF1 gives you a Someday / Maybe list that actually works. Maybe your list of dismissed tasks is the true Someday / Maybe list?
December 15, 2018 at 7:17 |
Christopher
Christopher
It's similar enough to Someday/Maybe that I won't argue it isn't, but Hibernation worked better for me. It's more active, and I had some philosophical objection to Someday/Maybe that I don't remember anymore.
Using a knitting an unfinished sweater as an example, and this is just how the words make me feel, not an official definition:
Dismissing = I won't do it for an unspecified length of time, and it's easy enough to reactivate. Still visible and tempting me to work on it. (Or guilting me, since it's only a few dozen hours from done.)
Someday/maybe = I'll pick it again. Also applies to "Someday/maybe I'll start a sweater."
Hibernation = I run lifelines; reclaim the needles; clearly write out my plans / comments / ideas / ways I'm not following the pattern (or bypass that step and hope that Future Me will forgive Present Me); and put everything I won't use in other projects in a bag in the basement, leaving more room on my active projects basket. Tell my husband to buy a sweater, since this one won't be finished before winter.
I didn't do all that work when I first moved a batch to the Hibernation list, but eventually it got done. Writing it the Hibernation list = a bit more resistance to temptation / defense against guilt. (Yeah, mixed emotions on the project.) Then I got frustrated with the over-full active project basket, added "purge basket" to the active list, and realized that the sweater didn't need to be there.
Next time, I might do it the same way, or I might write "Hibernate sweater" on the active list. I'd probably resist making the choice at all if it meant doing all that work at that time. Also, it's easier for me to consider a bunch of things at once (I don't have time to do all 10, need to cut at least 8) than individually (I still want to do that, and that, and that.)
Using a knitting an unfinished sweater as an example, and this is just how the words make me feel, not an official definition:
Dismissing = I won't do it for an unspecified length of time, and it's easy enough to reactivate. Still visible and tempting me to work on it. (Or guilting me, since it's only a few dozen hours from done.)
Someday/maybe = I'll pick it again. Also applies to "Someday/maybe I'll start a sweater."
Hibernation = I run lifelines; reclaim the needles; clearly write out my plans / comments / ideas / ways I'm not following the pattern (or bypass that step and hope that Future Me will forgive Present Me); and put everything I won't use in other projects in a bag in the basement, leaving more room on my active projects basket. Tell my husband to buy a sweater, since this one won't be finished before winter.
I didn't do all that work when I first moved a batch to the Hibernation list, but eventually it got done. Writing it the Hibernation list = a bit more resistance to temptation / defense against guilt. (Yeah, mixed emotions on the project.) Then I got frustrated with the over-full active project basket, added "purge basket" to the active list, and realized that the sweater didn't need to be there.
Next time, I might do it the same way, or I might write "Hibernate sweater" on the active list. I'd probably resist making the choice at all if it meant doing all that work at that time. Also, it's easier for me to consider a bunch of things at once (I don't have time to do all 10, need to cut at least 8) than individually (I still want to do that, and that, and that.)
December 15, 2018 at 22:39 |
Cricket
Cricket
Here's the secret: If you cross out a task – dismiss it / weed it out – the words on your notebook's page magically disappear because the notebook knows you dismissed that task –– NOT!
You can always re-enter. You can forget that task, but realize, it is still noted down. You can still, always, always hunt it down if you one day find that you dismissed the task wrongly and can't remember what it was.
You still "have" that task!