Discussion Forum > DIT
I agree, a weakness of DIT is a sudden overload with something new.
When I am using DIT, I just skip the whole day. I don't let it fall apart, I just pick up the last "active" day and work that list.
This is akin to taking a day off from work. It's just a "not list" day either way.
I always simplified email. Just do the whole thing in one go today and be done with it. The same with the paper inbox and "official" social media. Just do the whole thing in one go.
For this to work and not act as a total time sink, you have to spin off longer things there as distinct tasks for tomorrow. Otherwise you loose control of the lot.
Another thing is giving the CI a time limit. Have one per week or for so many days. Now, this can subtly pressure the CI in a way that destroys the dynamic of it. But it can be a nice plan to have the list of CIs for the upcoming weeks.
The most important thing IMHO to give the system some more horse power, is to take the first principle serious, which is, having a life vision to works towards.
Create a cool document for your vision, update and review it often.
When I am using DIT, I just skip the whole day. I don't let it fall apart, I just pick up the last "active" day and work that list.
This is akin to taking a day off from work. It's just a "not list" day either way.
I always simplified email. Just do the whole thing in one go today and be done with it. The same with the paper inbox and "official" social media. Just do the whole thing in one go.
For this to work and not act as a total time sink, you have to spin off longer things there as distinct tasks for tomorrow. Otherwise you loose control of the lot.
Another thing is giving the CI a time limit. Have one per week or for so many days. Now, this can subtly pressure the CI in a way that destroys the dynamic of it. But it can be a nice plan to have the list of CIs for the upcoming weeks.
The most important thing IMHO to give the system some more horse power, is to take the first principle serious, which is, having a life vision to works towards.
Create a cool document for your vision, update and review it often.
April 3, 2025 at 21:42 |
Christopher
Christopher
That's all great, Christopher. I love your idea of a day off work sometimes!
Yes you have to be careful with longer things or you do loose control of the lot - that's what I have found just coming to the end of an intensive course with lots of marked assignments. DIT didn't cope very well with that, and the pressures were externally generated so I lost a lot of control over timings and work etc . I had to go with the flow but with a busy family life underneath that's easier said than done.
when I was reading Mark's DIT book, I thought this is all great, but it looks like work methodology not life, so i expanded DIT to include all my non work life admin that needs to get done too. That now works really well.
I suppose the way I have amended it most, brace yourselves all you list scanning people, is that I wanted to ensure that anything on my to do list is not a repeatable task. So I never never write hang out the laundry for example. Those tasks belong in a notebook, not a to do list, but it has taken me a very long time to really feel comfortable with that and to get the balance right for myself. Now my to do list can sometimes look very short which I love but it doesn't mean I am not busy.
Yes I like the idea of a CI time limit - mine is 15 minutes and its measured on my green apple timer so no cheating.
yes the vision thing is vital - if I am not able to get through everything and live my life in balance, then I have too many commitments. This course was one of them, but I was able to accept it because it was time limited. My time for my children was impacted and out of balance.
I don't have a vision for my life in a written document, I never really fared well with vision statements and the like, but I do have a line drawing on my wall of frog strangling the heron's neck that is attempting to eat him, with the phrase Never Ever Give Up! Its funny but deadly serious, and a glance or two at that each day is enough for me. It says to me - keep on track, girl. Keep going.
Yes you have to be careful with longer things or you do loose control of the lot - that's what I have found just coming to the end of an intensive course with lots of marked assignments. DIT didn't cope very well with that, and the pressures were externally generated so I lost a lot of control over timings and work etc . I had to go with the flow but with a busy family life underneath that's easier said than done.
when I was reading Mark's DIT book, I thought this is all great, but it looks like work methodology not life, so i expanded DIT to include all my non work life admin that needs to get done too. That now works really well.
I suppose the way I have amended it most, brace yourselves all you list scanning people, is that I wanted to ensure that anything on my to do list is not a repeatable task. So I never never write hang out the laundry for example. Those tasks belong in a notebook, not a to do list, but it has taken me a very long time to really feel comfortable with that and to get the balance right for myself. Now my to do list can sometimes look very short which I love but it doesn't mean I am not busy.
Yes I like the idea of a CI time limit - mine is 15 minutes and its measured on my green apple timer so no cheating.
yes the vision thing is vital - if I am not able to get through everything and live my life in balance, then I have too many commitments. This course was one of them, but I was able to accept it because it was time limited. My time for my children was impacted and out of balance.
I don't have a vision for my life in a written document, I never really fared well with vision statements and the like, but I do have a line drawing on my wall of frog strangling the heron's neck that is attempting to eat him, with the phrase Never Ever Give Up! Its funny but deadly serious, and a glance or two at that each day is enough for me. It says to me - keep on track, girl. Keep going.
April 4, 2025 at 9:57 |
Samantha
Samantha
Do It Tomorrow was my first introduction to Mark's books and systems. I've often gone back to it. I love actually getting closure at the end of the day -- always feels so good. I love the Closed List principle.
I'm trying a variant, and so far it's been working pretty well. It's closer to DWM than to DIT as written in the book -- but Mark himself said that "DWM *is* DIT" so there you go...
(1) Follow the basic DIT rules -- this is the core.
(2) If any task is neglected for more than a few days (absolute max 7 days), then that is supposed to trigger an audit. The way I implement this is by moving those tasks to a Simple Scanning list.
(3) I have a daily recurring task to scan the Simple Scanning list for anything that stands out to be reactivated.
(4) If anything on the Simple Scanning list has been neglected for >30 days, then it goes to the Dismissed list. I scan that more rarely -- maybe once / month? Mostly just to delete stuff but occasionally to find some old interesting idea that I want to revisit. This keeps the Simple Scanning list relatively short and manageable, rather than continuously growing.
That's it.
So far I really like it. It addresses my main failing with standard DIT -- resisting the audit procedure. It makes that procedure simple and automatic. And that actually makes it easier to focus and get things done -- get through my list on most days, so stuff actually doesn't make it to the audit list (the Simple Scanning or Dismissed lists).
I'm trying a variant, and so far it's been working pretty well. It's closer to DWM than to DIT as written in the book -- but Mark himself said that "DWM *is* DIT" so there you go...
(1) Follow the basic DIT rules -- this is the core.
(2) If any task is neglected for more than a few days (absolute max 7 days), then that is supposed to trigger an audit. The way I implement this is by moving those tasks to a Simple Scanning list.
(3) I have a daily recurring task to scan the Simple Scanning list for anything that stands out to be reactivated.
(4) If anything on the Simple Scanning list has been neglected for >30 days, then it goes to the Dismissed list. I scan that more rarely -- maybe once / month? Mostly just to delete stuff but occasionally to find some old interesting idea that I want to revisit. This keeps the Simple Scanning list relatively short and manageable, rather than continuously growing.
That's it.
So far I really like it. It addresses my main failing with standard DIT -- resisting the audit procedure. It makes that procedure simple and automatic. And that actually makes it easier to focus and get things done -- get through my list on most days, so stuff actually doesn't make it to the audit list (the Simple Scanning or Dismissed lists).
April 12, 2025 at 7:47 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
I use it daily and cannot bring myself to try another system!!
Sometimes it does fall apart when I have something really big on my plate like a marked assignment, but for general run of the mill life, its a godsend. When it falls apart its because I seem to let the massive thing take over, but I always know I can get back to basics when I need to.