Get Everything Done

I have been using AF for about three weeks now, and have settled on a paper list for now.

I was wondering where people keep their other lists - like shopping lists, process list (eg weekly review process, what to pack for trip etc) project lists and agendas. I used to keep all this stuff as separate lists within Things, which synced to my phone. I still do, and that is the main reason I still use an electronic task manager, which is also a good list manager.

What do other people do with all this stuff? The thought of adding extra pages to my Notebook seems a bit clunky.

You can keep them in the same place you do now, if that's working for you. Then the task entry in AF can just say something like "get groceries -- see list".

I keep some lists in the back of my AF notebook, some in Outlook, some in project folders on my hard drive, some in project folders in my filing cabinet, and some on the refrigerator where the whole family can see them. AF has the flexibility to work with all of them.

DrCris

Seraphim's advice is the best advice - just keep your other lists where you are used to keeping them. I keep mine within MS OneNote - can't use the refrigerator door as it's not magnetic! (well I guess I could use tape ......) :-)

I use the AF notebook from the back for active lists. (Errands, shopping, things to order next time from Amazon, things to coordinate with my wife, etc.) They first go onto the AF list then I periodically copy them to lists in the back so I'll see them together but I'll also have the prompt from AF.

Inactive lists (packing for vacation, account numbers, etc. are on the computer in files) My project plans are there as well for when I do a review.

My rule is to have what I need to do NOW right in my pocket. I can look the other stuff up later.

"My rule is to have what I need to do NOW right in my pocket" - Good point Mike! My AF notebook wouldn't fit into a pocket but I think it would be useful for me to place a reminder somewhere to print my shopping list before I go shopping!

LOL ;-) That's why I love the 3" x 5" format. Sometimes I wish I could use a different format ... much like when I worked at a desk most of the time. I love the larger formats. But every time I drool over something larger, I ask myself where I'll carry it. Then I'm into something ELSE to lug around. No, if I can jam it in my pocket, then I'll have it. And that is why I love cargo pants. I love those big flap pockets on the legs. My notebooks live so comfortably there ;-)

I remember the "Sidetracked Sisters" having a Number One Rule: No clothes without pockets ... EVER! Sometimes one has to sacrifice fashion for efficiency. So I'll look like a doofus with my cargo pants but I'll always be able to whip out a pen and pad. Just last night my wife was on the phone and knocking over the pencil holder and grabbing for a scrap of something to write on. I slowly ... every so slowly, just to make the point ;-) took my pen and pad out of my pocket and said: "Dictate!" LOL ;-) I really love it when I can do that. She is so much more efficient than I am so I love the times when I'm more prepared ;-)

I am going to start making lists, which I didn't do much of before the last week. I'll keep them within my AF book though. My first list was "fun things to do with my son".

The reason why I wanted to start this list was because I found that I would get to a page and it would have something like "take Marc to Chuck E Cheese" - well, it's Wednesday night at 7 p.m. and Chuck E Cheese is a 45 minute drive away - not going to happen. The mind was willing, but the body's weak. :-) These things almost need to be scheduled. I had quite a number of these outings scattered throughout my pages. What I decided to do was to enter "fun thing with Marc" on my AF list - when I come to it, I can go to my list and see I have lots of fun things to do with him that aren't weather dependent - like skiing, or that can be done at home - like making a puzzle or baking - are active or inactive - so there's a wide variety there. So I don't have to pass over it.
I'm going to make a check mark beside each item as we do it, just to ensure that we do a greater variety of things together - not just watch movies or play laser tag. I think they're more likely to get done with this method. Trying to schedule this time in with him just wasn't happening often enough.

For things to buy/do when I'm out and about on the weekends, I go through my AF list where I have all the items listed and pull off the errands and "to buy" items on a post-it note/small paper - I don't need to keep these pages, so just throw them away after.

For phone calls, I write the numbers and pertinent data to refer to on a post-it note before I leave the office and make the calls on my way home.

I have a permanent "camping checklist" that I keep when we go camping in the summer. Re-stocking with staples, plugging in, checking tires, fluid/water levels etc. That stays in the camper.

I usually make a list before we go anywhere on the weekend which I keep on the left side page of my AF list. I tend to be an extremely light packer though. I should be more conscientious with this, as I have done the "forgot underwear" booboo.

I have a rough timeline of my house renovation project on one of my AF pages with estimated times and costs to complete.

Hi Jacqueline

If you ever wanted an example of how we are conditioned by our environment .........

"things to do with him that aren't weather dependent - like skiing" LOL :-)

Re Lists :- When I enter an "other list" task into AF I enter it as "add xyz to abc list" The adding to the list is the actioning of the task, the maintaining of the lists can be whatever system suits you.

Shopping lists: on my iPhone as that's always with me. These are personal and work-related lists as I manage a studio classroom and always have supplies to procure. I have a grocery, etc list and other lists by vendor (both on-line and bricks-and-mortar).

Lists of books to read, movies to watch, music to buy: as notes in Together. (Mac).

Lists of procedures I can't remember otherwise (don't laugh!): as notes in a Scrivener document called "Workflow". This includes draining and refilling the hot tub (shows you where my priorities are), a checklist for managing two iTunes libraries and syncing two iPods and backing up my music; a checklist for weekly website updates; reminders about where obscure household tools or refills are and the model numbers for re-ordering, and on and on.

Mark,

Obviously you've never had your wife ask you: "What do you mean you forgot to bring the X for the Y so I could Z?" LOL ;-) No, I learn by experience and I never for get the X for the Y a second time because it is on a list. As to panic ensuing from not knowing were the list is ... not a problem ... it is in my OneNot document under "Trips" -> Packing Lists.

I also don't have to revisit how many of what I need to take because I have worked out how many things I need to take based on if I can do laundry or not. It can be really painful to try to work that out in the midst of "Honey, where is the P for the Q so I can R on the trip this time?" LOL ;-)

Maybe it is just that my trips tend to vary a bit. Some are driving trips so I don't have to pack light and tight. Others involve flying so I just can't take all the P, Q, X, Y stuff. If I fly I don't take laundry detergent, for example (I can buy it there) but I would if I were driving (why waste money?)

All strategies born of (sometimes) painful experience.

I agree with Mike. I used to let me packing list grow in the week before I went. Since having kids, that no longer works. Mainly because the punishment for forgetting something is usually much more severe or annoying, than when it just affected me.

Also, I use packing lists to keep track of things I want to take "next time I go to the farm/inlaws", both of which are semi-regular trips. I find these sort of lists have improved my packing performance, and stress levels greatly.

Where to keep the extra lists? For me that was simple since I used to organize certain information on index cards. For those I have a nice wooden card box siiting on my desk and a holder with empty cards on the side. Thus, whenever a list needs to be made i will grab one of the cards, title it and file it afterwards in alphabetical order.

No rule without exception: if the list "belongs" to an existing or new project with a corresponding folder it will go in there. Same applies for long lists that will not fit on an index card. They just go into a file folder and then into the cabinet next to my desk.

All this is easy to use and quick to find again.

Great question.

My "home" lists are all over the place at the moment, ever since I LOST MY PDA (the horror, the horror...).

I'm toying with the idea of growing future lists in the back of my current AF Moleskine, along with general notes and thoughts. Possibly with a date index - I've got into the habit of dating EVERYTHING I write on paper.

To Liz:
What do you use for lists on your iPhone? I haven't been happy with any of the software I've tried.

This thread gave me an idea. I have some lists scattered in different places, and I would like to be able to find them more easily.

I don't want to permanently dedicate any pages in my AF book to lists, but it would be nice to have them there.

So I labeled a durable sticky-tab with "Lists," and stuck it on a page in the middle of the book. Then I put my lists, written on 4x6 Post-it notes, on the page marked by the tab (and succeeding pages).

This is great! When I get to that page in the AF book, I can simply move the tab to a blank section of the book.

Some of my lists are directly related to AF, so it's handy to have them right there. For instance, I have a list of things to put into AF periodically, so they don't get out of control while I'm not looking. I have a notation on the calendar to go through this list on Sunday evenings.

Sarah,

Curiousity killed the cat, and has me in its grips.... What kinds of items are on your review on sunday evenin list... ?

I'm always in travel. I am at home for 5 to 8 days a month (usially weekends)
So I need to keep all me list always with me.
I tried paper diary, but it became too huge and unconvinient.
The only suitable tiil I see is PDA. But I have a problem here. I have a lot of reccuring tasks and tasks which I am able to do only after some other tasks are done.

Do anyone know a software for Windows Mobile to manage hierarchical task supporting task dependances and stationery? The only one I know is MLO but it doesn't have calendar view.

Mary,

I certainly don't want any dead cats! :-)

Sunday evening is the closest I ever come to doing a "weekly review." My Sunday evening list of things to make sure I put on the Autofocus list inlcudes things that might get out of control if they escape my attention, or that I might just need to be reminded to do.
Scoop the cat litter,
recharch my Ipod & my running GPS,
check my student email account (which I don't use regularly),
work on some reports that need to be kept up to date,
print out my food diary for the following week,
program the Tivo to record shows for the following week

There are more, but that gives you an idea. The list is growing.

Many of these things need to be done more than once a week (ask my cats!), and I often do them without being reminded, but it helps to get them on the AF list at least once a week. They are all things I have been known to neglect.

~Sarah J

Sarah J - I love your idea for using the large stickies for your lists. I'm going to try that.

Thanks! for the glimpse... Its weird, but hearing what tools other people use, how other people do their lists and seeing images (like Mark's AF video amd the Flickr site pix ) really help me understand and think of more and more powerful ways to use the tools i have. Thank you for taking your time to share.
ms

I keep my lists in OneNote which fits in with my AF use of OneNote. Any lists that I need to check regularly I put as a task in AF - which reminds me that I forgot to add task "print shopping list" before I went shopping today so forgot to pick up any recycling bags for my printer cartridges which means that I can't action my "recycle printer cartridges" task - sigh .....

SarahJ, I have a number of those once a week tasks. My main list is long enough that I just enter them again when I have finished them.

I have things like
"Feed fish"
"Change rabbit litter"
"Water plants"
"Remove lint from dryer"
"Delete 5 RSS subscriptions"

Most of these tasks get done at other times as well, but I know they will at least get done when I need to dismiss a page. My plants have actually never been happier.

I probably mentioned it elsewhere, but I keep my lists in two places now ... I have a copy in OneNote and I have a copy in the back of the AF book. I hate that, but I don't access OneNote daily and I do want to be able to look at those lists at any time. FWIW, the lists I keep (which I call my "every" lists) are:

Every Day (things that get done every day at a certain time)
Every Week (things that get done on a particular day of every week)
Every Month (things that get done on a particular day of every month)
Every Year (things that get done at a particular time of every year)

That last is more complicated than the others. It contains things that are done in March, others done on a particular date (like birthday reminders), and even things that are not done every year (like renew driver's license or passport). Those last just have the year of next renewal added to the notation, thus: "XX/XX Renew Passport (2015)"

I try to not let it become too much of a tickler list, IOW, I don't put transient items on it, such as ""Call Joe on Tuesday" ... those go on a separate tickler list or I'd lose my mind managing my "every lists" ;-)

I really don't have any non specific lists of things to do periodically. IOW, if it needs to be done every week, I have it assigned to a particular day rather than just floating about to be done SOME day each week. I'm not sure that I could manage it that way ... I'd probably end up doing it at the end of one week and the beginning of the next, which would kind of defeat the purpose of doing it weekly ;-)