FV and FVP Forum > Scenario - home/work list combined
Linda:
Any of the above would be my answer. But wouldn't it be simpler to keep two lists? If you need to work at home you can just use the Work list for as long as you want to work, and then switch to the Home list. You could even put "Work" as a task on the Home list and vice versa.
Any of the above would be my answer. But wouldn't it be simpler to keep two lists? If you need to work at home you can just use the Work list for as long as you want to work, and then switch to the Home list. You could even put "Work" as a task on the Home list and vice versa.
March 20, 2012 at 9:04 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Linda, in previous incarnations, some forum members kept separate lists, some in columns (or LH page = Home, RH = Work), others in front vs back of notebook, and a few did stalactites/stalagmites ie one list started at the top down, the other from the bottom up until they banged noses.
March 20, 2012 at 9:24 |
Roger J
Roger J
I have used every variation of two lists before - writing in different parts of the book, on facing pages and the stalactite/stalagmite methods but I found that I ended up writing things on the wrong list or tended to ignore the Work list altogether when I was at home so I wanted to see all my tasks together. I don't like the idea of carrying two notebooks either.
I could, of course, write a task 'Check Work list' and put it on my Home list as you suggest, Mark.
I don't know why I struggle so much with this aspect of time management. FV has been working wonderfully for me in every other way. I think it has a Zen-like simplicity which makes it so appealing. When I read the initial instructions, I had to re-read them three times to make sure I wasn't missing something!
I could, of course, write a task 'Check Work list' and put it on my Home list as you suggest, Mark.
I don't know why I struggle so much with this aspect of time management. FV has been working wonderfully for me in every other way. I think it has a Zen-like simplicity which makes it so appealing. When I read the initial instructions, I had to re-read them three times to make sure I wasn't missing something!
March 20, 2012 at 9:41 |
Linda
Linda
I'm in the same situation as Linda. Often work at home. Some houres in the morning or some hours in the evening or the whole day. I'm very happy with FV, but it is a problem how to handle work and home tasks. I tend to forget home tasks. Forget to plan dinner, put on the laundry...
I came to the same conclusion: One list is better than two because I need to be reminded about the home task, if not, the tasks are easily forgotten.
In the case above I think all three options are good. I tried not to use different colour pens myself, but maybe thats something to try.
I guess I would use b) delete the dots on the home-based tasks to de-select them.
And then I would plan to make smaller preselected lists next time :-)
I came to the same conclusion: One list is better than two because I need to be reminded about the home task, if not, the tasks are easily forgotten.
In the case above I think all three options are good. I tried not to use different colour pens myself, but maybe thats something to try.
I guess I would use b) delete the dots on the home-based tasks to de-select them.
And then I would plan to make smaller preselected lists next time :-)
March 20, 2012 at 10:15 |
tobba
tobba
I am also working a lot from home nowadays. What I found very important for me, is to mentally split my work and home time/tasks/projects, not only on paper but also in my day schedule. So I have two lists and I follow the schedule - e.g. between 9-12 and 14-18 I am doing only my work tasks (with exception of home task urgencies, of course) - not looking into "home" task list. When this "working time" finishes, I am going to my second list to do my home tasks and - if I want to, optionally - I can also look to my work list whether there is something which I would like to do even in my "free" time.
March 20, 2012 at 10:47 |
Daneb
Daneb
Linda:
<< tended to ignore the Work list altogether when I was at home >>
That might not necessarily be a bad thing!
Personally I have always thought that the best solution is to have a list for each location, e.g. Home and Office. If there is some work that you need to do at home, then put it on the Home list. You can also put personal items on the Office list if you have to do them during the day (e.g. call the bank, lunchtime shopping)
<< tended to ignore the Work list altogether when I was at home >>
That might not necessarily be a bad thing!
Personally I have always thought that the best solution is to have a list for each location, e.g. Home and Office. If there is some work that you need to do at home, then put it on the Home list. You can also put personal items on the Office list if you have to do them during the day (e.g. call the bank, lunchtime shopping)
March 20, 2012 at 10:49 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Linda, I am in the same situation as you. I now keep one list per location, as Mark suggested, and I am very very happy with it.
I used to be adamantly opposed to separate my one list -- I feared I would not be able to work from wherever I needed that day. I decided to try two lists, one per location, both with mixes of personal and work tasks. It has been brilliant. That is why I suggest you to try it for a couple of weeks and see if it works for you.
I used to be adamantly opposed to separate my one list -- I feared I would not be able to work from wherever I needed that day. I decided to try two lists, one per location, both with mixes of personal and work tasks. It has been brilliant. That is why I suggest you to try it for a couple of weeks and see if it works for you.
March 20, 2012 at 14:45 |
Natalia
Natalia
NB: I always carry a small diary with me to and from work. When there is a task I *must* remember and I am not at the right location, I just add it to today's date. I always look at my diary when I arrive at home or work, so that covers any forgetfulness issues.
March 20, 2012 at 14:49 |
Natalia
Natalia
I have kept separate personal and work lists in AF and my "AutoDIT" for a long time. But it gets messy sometimes. For example, I like to check this forum when at work, but also when at home, and when I write the task, I always write "Check FV forum mm/dd hh:mm" with the datestamp representing the latest post the last time I visited. There are many phone calls that are for personal projects, but I can make those calls only when I'm at work during the day. Trying to keep track of which things are where can be a problem. There are ways to mitigate the problem, but it's still a problem.
With FV, it seemed natural to try to combine the personal and work lists into one list. I'm not sure why -- maybe the preselection process helps keep it focused on the right kind of tasks in the right context.
So, to answer Linda's original post, I do (a): Cross out the item and move it to the end of the list. For me it is the simplest solution, and I haven't seen a downside yet.
With FV, it seemed natural to try to combine the personal and work lists into one list. I'm not sure why -- maybe the preselection process helps keep it focused on the right kind of tasks in the right context.
So, to answer Linda's original post, I do (a): Cross out the item and move it to the end of the list. For me it is the simplest solution, and I haven't seen a downside yet.
March 20, 2012 at 21:41 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Seraphim:
"I haven't seen a downside yet".
Except perhaps for this?
"I put a dot next to A. Then I scan for "what do I want to do before A?" Let's say A is a major work-related task that I've been resisting. OK, my mind is now thinking about "work" and "I don't want to do this, almost anything else would be better to do first". So I find myself preselecting B. Now I scan for "what do I want to do before B?" Let's say B is a personal phone call, but I'm on work time, so I really should be avoiding personal items."
"I haven't seen a downside yet".
Except perhaps for this?
"I put a dot next to A. Then I scan for "what do I want to do before A?" Let's say A is a major work-related task that I've been resisting. OK, my mind is now thinking about "work" and "I don't want to do this, almost anything else would be better to do first". So I find myself preselecting B. Now I scan for "what do I want to do before B?" Let's say B is a personal phone call, but I'm on work time, so I really should be avoiding personal items."
March 20, 2012 at 23:17 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
There are always tradeoffs LOL!
March 21, 2012 at 1:12 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Could you initially use different colour pens to make dots? Blue dots for Work, Red for Home.
In that way, you can leave the red dots and start a different colour (= blue) preselected list at work. And when you are back home again, you can continue on with red dot items.
In that way, you can leave the red dots and start a different colour (= blue) preselected list at work. And when you are back home again, you can continue on with red dot items.
April 19, 2012 at 11:49 |
paivi
paivi
Like Natalia, I have a pocket notebook I use to transfer items between lists and as a capture tool. I always have it with me.
I need to be in my office for 99% of the stuff on my work list and some of it can be sensitive enough that I don't want to carry it outside of our workspaces. So this works well for me.
Now if I could just do a better job of opening the list at home, my honey-do list would be much shorter! Every time I just get it out, I make good progress easily. Don't know why it so hard. Lazy? Working too hard at work? Too many distractions?
I need to be in my office for 99% of the stuff on my work list and some of it can be sensitive enough that I don't want to carry it outside of our workspaces. So this works well for me.
Now if I could just do a better job of opening the list at home, my honey-do list would be much shorter! Every time I just get it out, I make good progress easily. Don't know why it so hard. Lazy? Working too hard at work? Too many distractions?
April 19, 2012 at 13:33 |
MartyH
MartyH
Two techniques that combine to solve this issue, for those using paper:
1. Pencil & eraser. When a task (or the remaining chain) goes out of context, just erase the dot(s) without moving anything. This is consistent with the FV instructions.
2. Ignore out-of-context tasks during preselection. I think this is a somewhat-important modification to the FV instructions, especially as it relates to the root task. If my big-scary-neglected first task is something I can only do at Work, but I'm starting a new chain at Home, I can (and would be tempted to) cross it out and put it at the end, delaying the day of reckoning, which seems like a flaw. If I just ignore it for now, it keeps its proper place as the next forced root task when I'm in the right place to handle it.
1. Pencil & eraser. When a task (or the remaining chain) goes out of context, just erase the dot(s) without moving anything. This is consistent with the FV instructions.
2. Ignore out-of-context tasks during preselection. I think this is a somewhat-important modification to the FV instructions, especially as it relates to the root task. If my big-scary-neglected first task is something I can only do at Work, but I'm starting a new chain at Home, I can (and would be tempted to) cross it out and put it at the end, delaying the day of reckoning, which seems like a flaw. If I just ignore it for now, it keeps its proper place as the next forced root task when I'm in the right place to handle it.
April 19, 2012 at 14:36 |
ubi
ubi
I'm with Ubi on this one. That first-unactioned spot is important. Many times, I want to do something simply because it has that spot, but wouldn't want to otherwise. If I move it simply because I can't do it right now, it hangs around until it reaches first-unactioned again.
Only things you can do in this chain are candidates for pre-selection, unless you want to do something badly enough to drive home to do it.
The danger is that if you don't finish your work chain, then go home and erase everything you can only do at work, rinse and repeat, you never work up chain to that first-unactioned work item. This is part of my drive to clear out that first item rather than declare a chain out-of-date and build a new one.
Pencil doesn't glide right these days, but in theory I prefer it, at least for pre-selection. (Strange -- at school I could only think clearly if I used pencil).
Only things you can do in this chain are candidates for pre-selection, unless you want to do something badly enough to drive home to do it.
The danger is that if you don't finish your work chain, then go home and erase everything you can only do at work, rinse and repeat, you never work up chain to that first-unactioned work item. This is part of my drive to clear out that first item rather than declare a chain out-of-date and build a new one.
Pencil doesn't glide right these days, but in theory I prefer it, at least for pre-selection. (Strange -- at school I could only think clearly if I used pencil).
April 19, 2012 at 15:51 |
Cricket
Cricket
I select a chain of tasks to do at home before heading out. Having started, I realise I won't finish those tasks before I leave so some will still be dotted when I get to work.
I then want to select a new chain of tasks to be done at work. Do I:
a. cross out the home-based tasks I didn't finish and move them to the end of the list?
b. delete the dots on the home-based tasks to de-select them?
c. dot the new chain of work-based tasks in a different colour pen to distinguish them from home tasks?
The same thing happens when I get home - what do I do with uncompleted work tasks?
Anyone else found a good solution for this scenario?