FV and FVP Forum > FV, Hard Focus, and Project Completion
Hello MHW. You wrote:
<<Is it an effective way to constantly address projects even though your focus isn't as intense on it as it would with a dedicated block?>>
FV can be as intense or un-intense as you want it to be. If Project "Acme Corp" will take three months of study, procurement, reports, letters, meetings, phone calls, and invoicing, FV can easily handle "Make draft agenda for kick-off meeting with Acme."
With or without FV, it is your decision how to handle the project and project documentation. Over-planning or under-planning is not the responsibility of the client or anybody else. If the project has a 100-point checklist based on previous, similar projects, every one of these might be important and some will be prerequisites to others. This checklist can go into the project documentation and 3-5 items at a time can go into FV at a time, for example.
Dedicated blocks: If dedicated blocks are needed for survival of the project, or survival of your company, or both, then FV should be a tool to help you manage these blocks, and in view of the other things that you have on the front burner (including the trivial, but necessary, tasks).
Face it; the tendency is that important things will be buried in a sea of urgent things for many projects. You can use FV to fight this tendency with what you choose to list as an action and act upon, and how detailed (or broad) each action you list in FV is.
FV should tell you what you are resisting and put up a red flag in your mind. I think FV is more suitable for basics like this than anything else I have seen.
You said: <<…(thanks to the "just get the file out" technique) it's fulfilling and gets real things done. As a result, I've been hesitant to try FV, since it seems like it wouldn't support that as well.>>
How about making "just get the file out" a priority in your mind and on your FV list?
I am sure Projects will be a big discussion point soon here on the FV Forum. In the meantime, organise your project to the degree that it needs to be organised, and list on your FV the tasks that have to be accomplished to meet your goals.
If you are spending too much time on routine or trivial tasks such that you don't have any time for these important time blocks, no system is going to solve that for you. However, a good system will help you (as a tool), and serve to point out that fact to you.
<<Is it an effective way to constantly address projects even though your focus isn't as intense on it as it would with a dedicated block?>>
FV can be as intense or un-intense as you want it to be. If Project "Acme Corp" will take three months of study, procurement, reports, letters, meetings, phone calls, and invoicing, FV can easily handle "Make draft agenda for kick-off meeting with Acme."
With or without FV, it is your decision how to handle the project and project documentation. Over-planning or under-planning is not the responsibility of the client or anybody else. If the project has a 100-point checklist based on previous, similar projects, every one of these might be important and some will be prerequisites to others. This checklist can go into the project documentation and 3-5 items at a time can go into FV at a time, for example.
Dedicated blocks: If dedicated blocks are needed for survival of the project, or survival of your company, or both, then FV should be a tool to help you manage these blocks, and in view of the other things that you have on the front burner (including the trivial, but necessary, tasks).
Face it; the tendency is that important things will be buried in a sea of urgent things for many projects. You can use FV to fight this tendency with what you choose to list as an action and act upon, and how detailed (or broad) each action you list in FV is.
FV should tell you what you are resisting and put up a red flag in your mind. I think FV is more suitable for basics like this than anything else I have seen.
You said: <<…(thanks to the "just get the file out" technique) it's fulfilling and gets real things done. As a result, I've been hesitant to try FV, since it seems like it wouldn't support that as well.>>
How about making "just get the file out" a priority in your mind and on your FV list?
I am sure Projects will be a big discussion point soon here on the FV Forum. In the meantime, organise your project to the degree that it needs to be organised, and list on your FV the tasks that have to be accomplished to meet your goals.
If you are spending too much time on routine or trivial tasks such that you don't have any time for these important time blocks, no system is going to solve that for you. However, a good system will help you (as a tool), and serve to point out that fact to you.
March 17, 2012 at 5:45 |
BKK
BKK
I just have to make one more point; a point that took me awhile to grasp:
Even though I stressed above that FV should contain manageable tasks, I wouldn't fret if you come across something like "15-Volume Quality Control Documentation before final invoice to Acme." It doesn't matter how long or complex the task is. You can work on it until it is time to move on to something else - or do nothing at all and re-write it at the bottom. At least the final Q.C. documentation is fresh on your mind, and you might be less inclined to procrastinate on it (and not delay that final invoicing).
Even though I stressed above that FV should contain manageable tasks, I wouldn't fret if you come across something like "15-Volume Quality Control Documentation before final invoice to Acme." It doesn't matter how long or complex the task is. You can work on it until it is time to move on to something else - or do nothing at all and re-write it at the bottom. At least the final Q.C. documentation is fresh on your mind, and you might be less inclined to procrastinate on it (and not delay that final invoicing).
March 17, 2012 at 6:20 |
BKK
BKK
MHW,
<<For those of you who've used FV for a bit now, how much of the important stuff and projects have you actually completed with it?>>
FV has been very effective for me at getting to those important projects that I regularly want to focus on. I don't have any numbers for you, but the reason it works is that I'm able to include these projects in almost any ladder I construct. I think one of my ladders consisted entirely of quick, time-sensitive tasks to finish off before diving into the projects, but then my next ladder contained the projects.
The one thing to watch for is making long ladders. If you want to squeeze these projects in daily, you would want to be sure your ladders will not take more than a day to complete. However, you could also block time for these projects on your schedule and handle them like appointments: pause your ladder when the time comes, add the time block to the bottom of your list and dot it if you want to be really official, and then resume your ladder after the time block is over. I prefer not blocking the time, and so far it has worked to let the projects happen when I come to them on a ladder.
FV has completely solved the problem I had in SuperFocus, in which these projects would be in C2 and had to be worked on in strict synchrony with every page flip. With FV, it is as if C2 and C1 are merged together, and each ladder is something like a page flip (closed list), but I am able to move things out of C2 and then back in again as needed, yet the "what do I want to do before x" keeps me from losing track or abusing the system. It is really perfect!
<<For those of you who've used FV for a bit now, how much of the important stuff and projects have you actually completed with it?>>
FV has been very effective for me at getting to those important projects that I regularly want to focus on. I don't have any numbers for you, but the reason it works is that I'm able to include these projects in almost any ladder I construct. I think one of my ladders consisted entirely of quick, time-sensitive tasks to finish off before diving into the projects, but then my next ladder contained the projects.
The one thing to watch for is making long ladders. If you want to squeeze these projects in daily, you would want to be sure your ladders will not take more than a day to complete. However, you could also block time for these projects on your schedule and handle them like appointments: pause your ladder when the time comes, add the time block to the bottom of your list and dot it if you want to be really official, and then resume your ladder after the time block is over. I prefer not blocking the time, and so far it has worked to let the projects happen when I come to them on a ladder.
FV has completely solved the problem I had in SuperFocus, in which these projects would be in C2 and had to be worked on in strict synchrony with every page flip. With FV, it is as if C2 and C1 are merged together, and each ladder is something like a page flip (closed list), but I am able to move things out of C2 and then back in again as needed, yet the "what do I want to do before x" keeps me from losing track or abusing the system. It is really perfect!
March 17, 2012 at 6:40 |
Bernie
Bernie
Good answers! To say the same thing more succinctly, if your goal for the day is to spend much time on Project X, then FV will tend to feed you the following ladders:
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Each round work Project X as long as you feel like, and the total could easily be 4 hours out of 8, with productive breaks between.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Each round work Project X as long as you feel like, and the total could easily be 4 hours out of 8, with productive breaks between.
March 17, 2012 at 13:57 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Very interesting replies here.
@BKK: My sentence wasn't written like it should be. I didn't mean to ask if FV would support "getting the file out", I meant to ask if it supports a project completion focus overall. "Getting the file out" is my trick to overcome early morning "ehhhhh I don't wanna work" blues, so I've been interested in how FV is structured to seemingly go past that.
@Bernie: Under the system I'm using, I effectively treat the projects like appointments. I'm mainly interested in seeing if FV can address these projects with more flexibility, as I'm not always great at managing three consecutive hours on a project. But if not blocking time has worked for you, that sounds great.
@BKK: My sentence wasn't written like it should be. I didn't mean to ask if FV would support "getting the file out", I meant to ask if it supports a project completion focus overall. "Getting the file out" is my trick to overcome early morning "ehhhhh I don't wanna work" blues, so I've been interested in how FV is structured to seemingly go past that.
@Bernie: Under the system I'm using, I effectively treat the projects like appointments. I'm mainly interested in seeing if FV can address these projects with more flexibility, as I'm not always great at managing three consecutive hours on a project. But if not blocking time has worked for you, that sounds great.
March 17, 2012 at 15:20 |
MHW
MHW
<<To say the same thing more succinctly, if your goal for the day is to spend much time on Project X, then FV will tend to feed you the following ladders:
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
... >>
Well put, Alan. FV is everything I liked about SF, while fixing everything I didn't like. I can even occasionally substitute Project Y or Z for X, proportionately to how much attention they need, which is what I was trying to get at during one of those SF discussions when I babbled about "frequency."
MHW,
FV can let you clear your head for a three-hour project block: knowing you want to focus on a project, let that influence the "want to do before x" of your first preselection chain for the day. You will preselect the oldest unactioned item, followed by all the early-morning must-do's. The must-do's will clear your head, and if you don't want to bother much with that oldest item, then just "get the folder out" if you have to. Now you are ready to make another chain which will feature your big project. If you're lucky, the big project will make it into the first chain, and its place in line will permit working on it for three hours without worry.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
Project X. Random task. Random task. Random task.
... >>
Well put, Alan. FV is everything I liked about SF, while fixing everything I didn't like. I can even occasionally substitute Project Y or Z for X, proportionately to how much attention they need, which is what I was trying to get at during one of those SF discussions when I babbled about "frequency."
MHW,
FV can let you clear your head for a three-hour project block: knowing you want to focus on a project, let that influence the "want to do before x" of your first preselection chain for the day. You will preselect the oldest unactioned item, followed by all the early-morning must-do's. The must-do's will clear your head, and if you don't want to bother much with that oldest item, then just "get the folder out" if you have to. Now you are ready to make another chain which will feature your big project. If you're lucky, the big project will make it into the first chain, and its place in line will permit working on it for three hours without worry.
March 18, 2012 at 5:33 |
Bernie
Bernie
MHW,
This is an interesting thread for me as I too have started doing more Cal Newport style long blocks of single project or even single task work in lieu of previous AF like work styles.
I too am curious to try FV though. I think two questions to ask ourselves are 1) If our current systems are working, do we need to change? and 2) If there are some weaknesses, what specifically would we like to improve?
For me the answer to question 2 is that though I'm getting really good at making substantive progress on big projects, some other smaller tasks get left by the wayside even though I would like to get them done. Second, there are periods in my work where I don't just have one or two clear priorities to focus on but rather have to balance a bunch of stuff, perhaps FV could help I don't know.
I will begin my experiment with it tomorrow and see...
This is an interesting thread for me as I too have started doing more Cal Newport style long blocks of single project or even single task work in lieu of previous AF like work styles.
I too am curious to try FV though. I think two questions to ask ourselves are 1) If our current systems are working, do we need to change? and 2) If there are some weaknesses, what specifically would we like to improve?
For me the answer to question 2 is that though I'm getting really good at making substantive progress on big projects, some other smaller tasks get left by the wayside even though I would like to get them done. Second, there are periods in my work where I don't just have one or two clear priorities to focus on but rather have to balance a bunch of stuff, perhaps FV could help I don't know.
I will begin my experiment with it tomorrow and see...
March 19, 2012 at 6:39 |
OhNiners
OhNiners
That's pretty much how it is for me, OhNiners. So for now I'm experimenting with it for two weeks and seeing how it handles things.
March 19, 2012 at 14:18 |
MHW
MHW
<<Cal Newport style long blocks...>>
Cal Newport is an interesting guy. But I think his observations about himself, and folks with a similar disposition i.e. highly focused, successful in one area, etc, have a lot to do with personality and upbringing.
While I envy the concert pianist... the Bill Gates... the highly focused folk, I'm more of a Swanson meal guy. Or in Barbara Sher parlance... a Scanner.
Cal Newport is an interesting guy. But I think his observations about himself, and folks with a similar disposition i.e. highly focused, successful in one area, etc, have a lot to do with personality and upbringing.
While I envy the concert pianist... the Bill Gates... the highly focused folk, I'm more of a Swanson meal guy. Or in Barbara Sher parlance... a Scanner.
March 19, 2012 at 14:27 |
avrum
avrum
avrum - I like to believe all ideas are helpful in some way. Though I tend to go through different phases, I guess.
March 19, 2012 at 21:20 |
MHW
MHW
I think Cal Newport is spot on in most of his writing especially the fact that most highly successful people are likely not tweaking task management systems, but rather obsessively spending time doing the most high value stuff even if that means a few minor tasks fall through the cracks.
and yet here I am...trying to close the cracks...
So MHW, today was my first day. I made a list. I made a couple of ladders but largely work consisted of a few long sessions on some key tasks (thank goodness) and the usual interruptions and in the end I got through maybe one ladder.
I also used to start each day writing down the top few tasks I wanted to focus on that day. I found this to be really helpful in focusing me on the highest value stuff. I didn't make this initially, but after about midday I craved that short list and made it. Helps me keep a laser focus on the key tasks, perhaps I can continue to do it even while working FV...will just influence my task picking in a positive way.
and yet here I am...trying to close the cracks...
So MHW, today was my first day. I made a list. I made a couple of ladders but largely work consisted of a few long sessions on some key tasks (thank goodness) and the usual interruptions and in the end I got through maybe one ladder.
I also used to start each day writing down the top few tasks I wanted to focus on that day. I found this to be really helpful in focusing me on the highest value stuff. I didn't make this initially, but after about midday I craved that short list and made it. Helps me keep a laser focus on the key tasks, perhaps I can continue to do it even while working FV...will just influence my task picking in a positive way.
March 20, 2012 at 4:24 |
OhNiners
OhNiners
@ OhNiners: it seems that you are applying the "Most Important Task"s of the day technique advised by Leo's Zen To Done. This seems to be a good addition, even though you are writing down the MITs on a separate list for "burst"-tackling.
Thinking about it, why not do a first review of your list at the beginning of the day / end of the previous day and only preselect the MITs and then immediately just strictly follow the FV rules / routine? This would ensure that you definitely will handle the highest value stuff early in the morning with the first preselected list of tasks.
There would be no additional (physical) lists to keep in mind, apart from the fact that you have to remember to compile the high value suff list once a day, whenever it suits you … mind like water ;)
Thinking about it, why not do a first review of your list at the beginning of the day / end of the previous day and only preselect the MITs and then immediately just strictly follow the FV rules / routine? This would ensure that you definitely will handle the highest value stuff early in the morning with the first preselected list of tasks.
There would be no additional (physical) lists to keep in mind, apart from the fact that you have to remember to compile the high value suff list once a day, whenever it suits you … mind like water ;)
March 20, 2012 at 7:39 |
Stefano F. Rausch
Stefano F. Rausch
-Work a fixed amount of time every day. (I go from 9 to 5.)
-Focus on completing projects and results, not simply tasks or time spent.
-Work in blocks of time, focusing hard on a project at a time for 2-3 hours.
It can be tough sometimes, but once I get started (thanks to the "just get the file out" technique) it's fulfilling and gets real things done. As a result, I've been hesitant to try FV, since it seems like it wouldn't support that as well.
For those of you who've used FV for a bit now, how much of the important stuff and projects have you actually completed with it? Is it an effective way to constantly address projects even though your focus isn't as intense on it as it would with a dedicated block?