Discussion Forum > Next Actions moving to the next day -- should be a top of the list?
Surely the purpose of a closed list is that on average (i.e. on a rolling 3-4 days say) you should be aiming to do ALL the tasks on your list. Therefore it wouldn't matter where they are on the list if you're going to do them all. DIT is a system which at the task level, due to the closed nature of the list, does not need prioritising.
However, if after a few days you're still carrying tasks from one day to the next and haven't caught up, then you will need to carry out an audit to find out why. I imagine from your previous posts that this would be the having too much work reason? In which case the DIT system won't help you to do more work than it is possible to do in a day - one day's in should on average equal one day's out... I guess then the need to prioritise does come back in but then the system for task management is no longer DIT as your 'closed list' has become much more like the traditional 'to do' list which is what DIT is trying to replace.
I think it's a pity that the global workplace that we seem to have become doesn't have a method for everyone involved to raise their hand and admit "I have too much to do and I need to stop doing so much". As a self employed person running my own business I can do that for myself but obviously found it a lot harder when I was employed - probably one of the reasons I escaped to the joys of self employment!
However, if after a few days you're still carrying tasks from one day to the next and haven't caught up, then you will need to carry out an audit to find out why. I imagine from your previous posts that this would be the having too much work reason? In which case the DIT system won't help you to do more work than it is possible to do in a day - one day's in should on average equal one day's out... I guess then the need to prioritise does come back in but then the system for task management is no longer DIT as your 'closed list' has become much more like the traditional 'to do' list which is what DIT is trying to replace.
I think it's a pity that the global workplace that we seem to have become doesn't have a method for everyone involved to raise their hand and admit "I have too much to do and I need to stop doing so much". As a self employed person running my own business I can do that for myself but obviously found it a lot harder when I was employed - probably one of the reasons I escaped to the joys of self employment!
April 14, 2008 at 22:56 |
Hannah
Hannah
David:
Hannah seems to have answered your question as well, if not better, than I could!
The basic principle is that it doesn't matter what order the list is in since you are going to do them all anyway. The only qualification to that answer is that some items might have become urgent through being left for a day or so, so those would naturally need doing first.
Hannah seems to have answered your question as well, if not better, than I could!
The basic principle is that it doesn't matter what order the list is in since you are going to do them all anyway. The only qualification to that answer is that some items might have become urgent through being left for a day or so, so those would naturally need doing first.
April 15, 2008 at 8:29 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Might I suggest that you use a schedule instead of a task list?
It sounds as if you are routinely scheduling more items into the day than you can get done. This is much easier to do with a list than it is with a schedule, because he schedule forces you to take into account the time required to do tasks, plus the time it takes to prepare for them, travel to them, recover from them, plus set time aside for interruptions, goof -off time, naps, meals, etc.
This isn't emphasized much in GTD, but scheduling brings an extra dimension of reality to what you are trying to do that doesn't exist with only a list, or with only a basic schedule of appointments.
It sounds as if you are routinely scheduling more items into the day than you can get done. This is much easier to do with a list than it is with a schedule, because he schedule forces you to take into account the time required to do tasks, plus the time it takes to prepare for them, travel to them, recover from them, plus set time aside for interruptions, goof -off time, naps, meals, etc.
This isn't emphasized much in GTD, but scheduling brings an extra dimension of reality to what you are trying to do that doesn't exist with only a list, or with only a basic schedule of appointments.
April 15, 2008 at 14:13 |
Francis Wade
Francis Wade
My journey to adapting to DIT continues. Like others on here, one issue is that I have many days where I cannot get everything done. I have a closed list, and many new tasks come in, which get put on tomorrow's list. SO let's say that I now have 15 tasks on that list. I work hard today, but cannot get 4-5 things done on today's list, so they automatically move over to tomorrow's list, which has the 15 tasks already. One simple question is: do the tasks that move over from the day before go on top of tomorrow's list or on the bottom? I use Outlook 2007 as my task diary, and I can configure it to do this either way. The default is that tasks that automatically roll over end up at the top of the list. Michael Linenberger's new 2nd edition of his book "Total Workday Control Using Outlook" states that new tasks for the day should be on the top of the list and ones that were at the top yesteday should now move towards the bottom. Of course, he says that one should spend time each morning deciding which tasks should be at the top and underlined as these should be receiving your primary focus. What do you think about this?
Your advice please?
Thanks,
-David