FV and FVP Forum > FV Thoughts
moises,
<<I used to think it was best to touch everything once.
...
I want to be a touch it once guy, but I know that I do much better with little and often.
...
But what I have found is that different items have different paces and timeframes. ... Touch it once forces me to make decisions the same way for things that are very different. Little and often permits me to treat each item individually.>>
That is very well said. I still feel drawn to touch everything just once and still regret it every time I succumb.
<<I used to think it was best to touch everything once.
...
I want to be a touch it once guy, but I know that I do much better with little and often.
...
But what I have found is that different items have different paces and timeframes. ... Touch it once forces me to make decisions the same way for things that are very different. Little and often permits me to treat each item individually.>>
That is very well said. I still feel drawn to touch everything just once and still regret it every time I succumb.
July 20, 2012 at 16:38 |
Bernie
Bernie
Yes, "touch it once" tends to create time sinks. I just pulled myself out of one of those today.... Thanks for the reminder!
A quick and easy way to bring your list back to life again is to declare a backlog and start over -- or a partial backlog, say with anything on your list older than 2 weeks, and start over with only the fresh stuff. You can then process your backlogged material however you want, pulling it back into your FV list a bit at a time, or deleting it in large swaths.
A quick and easy way to bring your list back to life again is to declare a backlog and start over -- or a partial backlog, say with anything on your list older than 2 weeks, and start over with only the fresh stuff. You can then process your backlogged material however you want, pulling it back into your FV list a bit at a time, or deleting it in large swaths.
July 22, 2012 at 22:08 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Moises said:
<< Then stuff got crazy and items got stale. Once I allowed that to happen, the system really went downhill. I am now clawing my way back to having everything current, which I define as nothing older than 1 week. >>
How many tasks would that 1 week typically be? I've been targetting one month as my current horizon, but I have some 3 months old stuff. Perhaps I should declare a backlog as Seraphim suggest.
<< Then stuff got crazy and items got stale. Once I allowed that to happen, the system really went downhill. I am now clawing my way back to having everything current, which I define as nothing older than 1 week. >>
How many tasks would that 1 week typically be? I've been targetting one month as my current horizon, but I have some 3 months old stuff. Perhaps I should declare a backlog as Seraphim suggest.
July 23, 2012 at 3:57 |
sabre23t
sabre23t
I have 60 items today. I will be current at the end of today (that is, everything will be inside the 7-day window) if I action 6 items.
I seem to have an order of magnitude less stuff than Seraphim. That, in part, is why I did not declare a backlog. I just bore down and slogged through.
Most of my stuff gets re-added after I action it. The items are either recurring, or they are projects.
I seem to have an order of magnitude less stuff than Seraphim. That, in part, is why I did not declare a backlog. I just bore down and slogged through.
Most of my stuff gets re-added after I action it. The items are either recurring, or they are projects.
July 23, 2012 at 14:03 |
moises
moises
Mmm ... Getting my list down to 60 would take some work. For now I've just backlogged all tasks older than 2months and cut my FV list from 250+ to 120+. Then, I'll be working/slogging through the list to get it into one month current window (no task older than 30 days).
We'll see how that trimmer FV list works. I hope I won't need to backlog trim it again. Anyway, in EN Windows it is easy to backlog trim. Select oldest task, shift select 2month old task, right click move notes (tasks) to FV Backlog. :-)
We'll see how that trimmer FV list works. I hope I won't need to backlog trim it again. Anyway, in EN Windows it is easy to backlog trim. Select oldest task, shift select 2month old task, right click move notes (tasks) to FV Backlog. :-)
August 2, 2012 at 5:48 |
sabre23t
sabre23t
One thing about backlogs..... they seem to work best when they are "Closed Lists". If you keep adding to it, it starts to add a feeling of panic and "falling further and further behind". If it is a "Closed List", then it is a definable monster, and it can only get smaller.
So, instead of adding more material to the existing backlog, maybe you could delete or archive the old backlog somewhere where you will never see it again, and start a new backlog.
As Mark writes in DIT, the main thing to do when you are declaring a backlog, is to make sure your system can handle your ongoing current workload. Declaring a backlog should be a rare occurrence that is triggered by some specific cause.
Example 1: I am trying a new TM system -- I will declare a backlog on all outstanding tasks, and use the new TM system for current and new work only, with one of my tasks being to clear the backlog.
Example 2: I just had two weeks of training and meetings, and now my list feels old and irrelevant. Declare a backlog and start over with an empty list to keep things fresh.
If you need to keep declaring new backlogs, without anything really triggering them, that means your TM system isn't working -- it can't keep up with your current workload. Maybe you have a defective TM system, or maybe you have too many commitments, or maybe both.
So, instead of adding more material to the existing backlog, maybe you could delete or archive the old backlog somewhere where you will never see it again, and start a new backlog.
As Mark writes in DIT, the main thing to do when you are declaring a backlog, is to make sure your system can handle your ongoing current workload. Declaring a backlog should be a rare occurrence that is triggered by some specific cause.
Example 1: I am trying a new TM system -- I will declare a backlog on all outstanding tasks, and use the new TM system for current and new work only, with one of my tasks being to clear the backlog.
Example 2: I just had two weeks of training and meetings, and now my list feels old and irrelevant. Declare a backlog and start over with an empty list to keep things fresh.
If you need to keep declaring new backlogs, without anything really triggering them, that means your TM system isn't working -- it can't keep up with your current workload. Maybe you have a defective TM system, or maybe you have too many commitments, or maybe both.
August 2, 2012 at 19:28 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
<< Maybe you have a defective TM system, or maybe you have too many commitments, or maybe both. >>
Maybe you're not *doing* FV enough in your discretionary times.
Maybe you're not *doing* FV enough in your discretionary times.
August 4, 2012 at 18:17 |
sabre23t
sabre23t
If you have to declare a backlog too often, it might be your way of deferring things indefinitely or a form of Someday/Maybe list or even dismissal without actually dismissing. You're admitting that all the things on the list are less important and less urgent than things on the new list. You're admitting that you may never get around to them, especially if you declare backlogs so often that the aggregate size grows.
August 10, 2012 at 2:07 |
Cricket
Cricket
I was also experiencing a build-up of older tasks. The result was increasing time spent creating chains. I started experimenting with a system which so far is working for me. At the start of a month, I dismiss all items older than one month. My premise is that they haven’t been actioned because they are not really important or because I have been procrastinating. On my FV list is an item called “DISMISSED”. In working dismissed items, I either delete them, move them to a “Someday/on day” notebook or return them to FV.
Further to the above, I segment my FV list based on age. I call the segments “Super-Light (SL)”, Light (L), “Medium (M) and Heavy (H)”. “SL” represents tasks created or updated today, “L” is earlier this week, “M” is last week” and “H” is older i.e. up to one calendar month ago. I work through each segment in isolation until I have no more chain’s which I want to do now. I find that a significant number of tasks arriving in “SL” get actioned on the same day. Furthermore, I am applying “little & often” more frequently. Tasks not getting done or moving through the list generally don’t justify action & wither & die a natural death.
Further to the above, I segment my FV list based on age. I call the segments “Super-Light (SL)”, Light (L), “Medium (M) and Heavy (H)”. “SL” represents tasks created or updated today, “L” is earlier this week, “M” is last week” and “H” is older i.e. up to one calendar month ago. I work through each segment in isolation until I have no more chain’s which I want to do now. I find that a significant number of tasks arriving in “SL” get actioned on the same day. Furthermore, I am applying “little & often” more frequently. Tasks not getting done or moving through the list generally don’t justify action & wither & die a natural death.
August 10, 2012 at 5:49 |
Geoff
Geoff
I shall attempt to restate what Geoff wrote. He has divided his FV list into 4 lists: stuff added today, stuff added this week, last week, and stuff from earlier this month. (in practice I guess there are dates on each page and the above categories are determined dynamically.)
He runs FV on each of these 4 in sequence, but one list at a time.
Stuff older than 1mo is considered dismissed. That list is only visited when the DIAMISSED task is selected from the active FV List. From there things may be reactivated or deleted.
He runs FV on each of these 4 in sequence, but one list at a time.
Stuff older than 1mo is considered dismissed. That list is only visited when the DIAMISSED task is selected from the active FV List. From there things may be reactivated or deleted.
August 10, 2012 at 13:40 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Would there be any value in processing the older segments/lists according to AF rules instead of FV rules?
August 10, 2012 at 17:31 |
smileypete
smileypete
Alan:
Your summary was helpful. Thanks!
Geoff:
What are you writing to track the age and segmentation of your tasks? Perhaps you could demonstrate by typing up a quick sample of tasks for us?
Your summary was helpful. Thanks!
Geoff:
What are you writing to track the age and segmentation of your tasks? Perhaps you could demonstrate by typing up a quick sample of tasks for us?
August 10, 2012 at 23:35 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Geoff:
If you're using a digital method with automatically-tracked dates, how would you work your system on paper?
If you're using a digital method with automatically-tracked dates, how would you work your system on paper?
August 10, 2012 at 23:52 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
I'm just using FV per the rules. A few months ago I started keeping some stats. Generally I find that it takes two months to complete a page (29 lines). That's been a pretty steady pace. While the question is the same, the situation certainly drives what gets picked. Time critical things seem to be done on time (a refreshing change). But that means that some projects linger longer than they would have in the past although the most important get the attention they deserve.
All in all, FV has been a great success for me.
All in all, FV has been a great success for me.
August 11, 2012 at 3:37 |
MartyH
MartyH
Alan, thanks for the succinct summary.
Michael B. I am using Evernote, which enables me to see when tasks were created and updated. On paper I would record the date when a new day is started (e.g. in left hand margin). Nothing more is required. The segments (lists) are determined by the appropriate date. In Evernote, one has the option of using tags, but they are not necessary, just a bonus.
Michael B. I am using Evernote, which enables me to see when tasks were created and updated. On paper I would record the date when a new day is started (e.g. in left hand margin). Nothing more is required. The segments (lists) are determined by the appropriate date. In Evernote, one has the option of using tags, but they are not necessary, just a bonus.
August 11, 2012 at 19:48 |
Geoff
Geoff
At this point, I just go down my list and select items to do. Usually, I am not asking the "what do I want to do before x?" question for each item. In part, the question has been internalized. But what has been internalized even more is just the knowledge that I am creating a list of things I am committing to do in reverse order. So, the implicit question is more like, "Do I want this item in my next chain?" Note, it is "implicit" because I never actually ask that question. But my mind knows what I am doing. And what I am doing is making a reverse list of things to do next.
For my first two months of FV, I was very good at making sure that items rarely got older than one week without being actioned. Remember, "actioned" could mean writing a sentence about the item in the body of an EN note.
Then stuff got crazy and items got stale. Once I allowed that to happen, the system really went downhill. I am now clawing my way back to having everything current, which I define as nothing older than 1 week.
This 1-week rule was a habit I developed from DWM. I have found it essential for staying on top of things. This 1-week rule forces me to engage in little and often. I don't want to do little and often, so I need to be forced. Once I am forced, I am glad I was forced.
The key for me really is to use those tiny bits of time--those seconds and minutes--to think about, write about, and do tasks for ongoing projects.
I used to think it was best to touch everything once. If you google "touch it once" you will find all sorts of time-management gurus endorsing it. Little and often is the antipode of touch it once.
I want to be a touch it once guy, but I know that I do much better with little and often. I want to be the decisive executive who just rifles down his list making instant, decisive, rapid-fire judgements for each item. I want to be rid of that list and not have it hanging over me.
But what I have found is that different items have different paces and timeframes. Sometimes I need to let an idea roll around for weeks and months, reconsidering it from many angles, before, finally, moving forward on it or abandoning it. Touch it once forces me to make decisions the same way for things that are very different. Little and often permits me to treat each item individually.
So, FV works for me by (1) not asking "the question" but just making a list of things to do in reverse order, and (2) putting things that are older than one week on the list.