Discussion Forum > Transitioning to a New Year
I moved over items from the December notebook that had not yet been actioned into the longer-term notebook (I don't have a name for it yet) and also items from my project plan notebook.
I will have to review this new notebook, and I am not sure how often - daily, weekly, monthly?
I will have to review this new notebook, and I am not sure how often - daily, weekly, monthly?
January 3, 2025 at 21:31 |
Mark H.
Mark H.
I thought I had replied to this, but I guess not. For me, it's all about focus. For me, I don't feel the need to review things unless I have made progress on the things that I decided I would already work on. So, for me, there's not a need to review things that aren't "ready" until some space opens up and I *want* to look into that list and find something that's ready.
This of course depends on making sure that what is on my list or mind for the present is more than enough to keep things running well and move me forward.
This of course depends on making sure that what is on my list or mind for the present is more than enough to keep things running well and move me forward.
January 8, 2025 at 0:47 |
Aaron Hsu
Aaron Hsu
Aaron,
Thanks for your reply. I thought about what you wrote.
I am trying to keep a long list going but place limits on it.
I have doing Simple Scanning for a long time, but the long list gets longer and longer.
So I have been numbering items to limit it.
However, I had last month been putting new items in the back of the notebook. But I am have been used to using the long list as a catch-all list. I am going to try to put all new items on a list for tomorrow, like Do It Tomorrow, and tomorrow all new items get processed, so either they get worked on and stay on the list - or if not, consider whether I am likely to action it in the next 7 days, and if not, delete or write it elsewhere. (So, there is some processing that takes place initially rather than leave it to end when the item gets dismissed.)
And any item that stays longer than 7 days gets automatically taken off the list, and maybe gets written elsewhere, somewhat like DWM.
Regarding focus, I think I could add every day a 30-minute time segment like a Current Initiative, in which I work on only one thing. I tried doing the Current Initiative, in DIT, which were to be Projects With No Deadline, but I had trouble deciding what those were, but be more free in choosing.
Also, as 7 days approach to work more on the items that are older.
These things should keep the long list shorter.
I also keep an appointment book, and weekly spreads of upcoming weeks, and 2025 pocket calendar.
Thanks for your reply. I thought about what you wrote.
I am trying to keep a long list going but place limits on it.
I have doing Simple Scanning for a long time, but the long list gets longer and longer.
So I have been numbering items to limit it.
However, I had last month been putting new items in the back of the notebook. But I am have been used to using the long list as a catch-all list. I am going to try to put all new items on a list for tomorrow, like Do It Tomorrow, and tomorrow all new items get processed, so either they get worked on and stay on the list - or if not, consider whether I am likely to action it in the next 7 days, and if not, delete or write it elsewhere. (So, there is some processing that takes place initially rather than leave it to end when the item gets dismissed.)
And any item that stays longer than 7 days gets automatically taken off the list, and maybe gets written elsewhere, somewhat like DWM.
Regarding focus, I think I could add every day a 30-minute time segment like a Current Initiative, in which I work on only one thing. I tried doing the Current Initiative, in DIT, which were to be Projects With No Deadline, but I had trouble deciding what those were, but be more free in choosing.
Also, as 7 days approach to work more on the items that are older.
These things should keep the long list shorter.
I also keep an appointment book, and weekly spreads of upcoming weeks, and 2025 pocket calendar.
January 9, 2025 at 23:00 |
Mark H.
Mark H.
I have decided to only have items on the Long List that are started/unfinished, and instead of putting New Items on the long list, to keep a separate list of New Items in the back of the notebook, and reviewing them at least daily. If I work on an item in the New list which I do not finish, I must transfer it to the long list, when a number becomes free, meaning that I have removed the item from the long list.
So, the long list is limited to 99 items, and only items that are Started. An item on the list longer than 7 days, automatically gets taken off the list if no further action is taken. (So the item automatically gets dismissed. Here I delete it from the list) Then I decide if I want to transfer the item to another list - which could be a following week, or another notebook of longer term items. But I rewrite only the number on the long list so that it is available for another item to replace it.
When I rewrite an item, if I no longer have work on it today, and put it on a list for tomorrow, so I don't review it again until tomorrow. This limits the number of items left to review today.
I am using things from Autofocus, AF4, DWM, DIT to limit the long list. I have been finding that the Simple Scanning of a long list eventually just makes the list too long to review daily, without some discipline or controls of how much is on the list.
However, it does happen that if I am working on the long list, and I want to capture a new idea, or an item that I know must be done today, and write it on the long list to preserve it, I need to mark it (right now I am using N) to process it later.
This is what I was doing through the month of December. I did have difficulty keeping the long list to only 99 items, and it did expand to 120 or 150. But it is still much shorter than it was before. I am adding another notebook to keep items longer than the current month, so I can write items to that notebook to help keep the long list shorter.
A new item from the New List can get worked on, but if it is not completed, it gets rewritten on the long list. I have been trying to wait until a number becomes free on the long list before working on the New List.
So, the long list is limited to 99 items, and only items that are Started. An item on the list longer than 7 days, automatically gets taken off the list if no further action is taken. (So the item automatically gets dismissed. Here I delete it from the list) Then I decide if I want to transfer the item to another list - which could be a following week, or another notebook of longer term items. But I rewrite only the number on the long list so that it is available for another item to replace it.
When I rewrite an item, if I no longer have work on it today, and put it on a list for tomorrow, so I don't review it again until tomorrow. This limits the number of items left to review today.
I am using things from Autofocus, AF4, DWM, DIT to limit the long list. I have been finding that the Simple Scanning of a long list eventually just makes the list too long to review daily, without some discipline or controls of how much is on the list.
However, it does happen that if I am working on the long list, and I want to capture a new idea, or an item that I know must be done today, and write it on the long list to preserve it, I need to mark it (right now I am using N) to process it later.
This is what I was doing through the month of December. I did have difficulty keeping the long list to only 99 items, and it did expand to 120 or 150. But it is still much shorter than it was before. I am adding another notebook to keep items longer than the current month, so I can write items to that notebook to help keep the long list shorter.
A new item from the New List can get worked on, but if it is not completed, it gets rewritten on the long list. I have been trying to wait until a number becomes free on the long list before working on the New List.
January 11, 2025 at 9:56 |
Mark H.
Mark H.
I have over the holidays been finishing the year, and starting a new one.
I finished a 2024 pocket calendar, and started a new 2025 pocket calendar.
I start a new composition for each month of the year, and I hope to review the months of the previous year. This might take some time. I am not sure if the time is worth it or not.
I am finishing up my December 2024. I have reduced the items down to 25 items, and I hope to cross out all of these out soon.
I started a new January 2025 notebook.
My long list has been a catch-all list for many years, but I am concluding that this clogs up the long list, and last month I tried to only put either current items, or items that are ready to start.
I have been numbering the items to try to limit the number of items on my long list. This has been working out well, but I was still wondering where to store other items.
I have started another composition notebook which I hoping will last more than a month, for longer term items, and for someday/maybe items. These are also items from my long list that have never got actioned, but I am procrastinating on, or know that I will have to do in the future.
Each item go under a heading. The headings are Areas of Focus or responsibility, or projects, like Health, Clothing, Books, Papers. I have been brainstorming what I would like to do in the coming year, and writing them down here. Perhaps this will turn into goals, or evolve into something more organized.
So far in this book I have 23 headings, and 180 items.
In the long list I have 93 items.
In Dec. 2024 notebook I have 25 items.
I hope to achieve a better balance in my life. I notice that one heading has 28 items, most of which I can't get done at once. However, if they were on my long list, I might try to start doing them all.
I am still wondering where to put my project plans. I have been keeping them in the monthly notebook in the back, which has been working for short projects, but not well for longer projects. I had started another small notebook for project plans, but stopped referring to it.
Although having everything on one list sounds good, there is a limit to what one can review in one day. On the other hand, having too many lists complicates things. I notice that others on the forum seem to have several components that they have worked out into a system.