FV and FVP Forum > FV with real long list. Do you really go through the whole list
I work to make the list shorter.
August 2, 2012 at 15:07 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
Both. Sometimes I end up with a task in the preselection for which I know that I don't want to do anything before doing that task, so no need to finish scanning to the end of the list. If an urgent task has been added recently I sort of know in the back of my mind that there's something important hanging around near the end of the list, so I keep scanning.
And what Alan says :-).
And what Alan says :-).
August 2, 2012 at 15:42 |
Nicole
Nicole
I had a really long list. When it was in the range of 500 to 700 items, it was slow but manageable. I would do a preselection, which would often include 30+ items, and then work through it. Sometimes I would do one chain per day, sometimes less.
To deal with new tasks that might be urgent, I would often invoke the "reselect from the last preselected task" rule: << If you find that your preselected list is no longer relevant, then scrap the preselection and reselect from the beginning. A shorter way to do this is to reselect only from the last preselected task which you haven't done yet. >>
Once it got past 700 items, it was just impossibly slow. I would never get through the whole preselection, and invoking the above rule became my normal practice.
Once it reached 1500 items, I finally realized that the best way to handle this is to "declare a backlog": take the whole list, file it somewhere, label it "The Backlog", and start over. One item on my new list would be "Clear The Backlog". I would scan the list for urgent items or things I did not want to forget.
Now, whenever my list starts getting longer than 50 or 70 items, I start thinking about declaring a backlog again. FV functions much better when the list is shorter.
Except for declaring the backlog, I would just follow all the rules, as written.
To deal with new tasks that might be urgent, I would often invoke the "reselect from the last preselected task" rule: << If you find that your preselected list is no longer relevant, then scrap the preselection and reselect from the beginning. A shorter way to do this is to reselect only from the last preselected task which you haven't done yet. >>
Once it got past 700 items, it was just impossibly slow. I would never get through the whole preselection, and invoking the above rule became my normal practice.
Once it reached 1500 items, I finally realized that the best way to handle this is to "declare a backlog": take the whole list, file it somewhere, label it "The Backlog", and start over. One item on my new list would be "Clear The Backlog". I would scan the list for urgent items or things I did not want to forget.
Now, whenever my list starts getting longer than 50 or 70 items, I start thinking about declaring a backlog again. FV functions much better when the list is shorter.
Except for declaring the backlog, I would just follow all the rules, as written.
August 2, 2012 at 16:55 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
My list hovers in the 90-100 tasks range and it doesn't take that long (under 5 minutes) to build the chain. I usually work 1.5 - 2 chains/day, and I rarely have to "reselect from the last preselected task."
Which is to say, every person is different in what's "too long" a list.
Which is to say, every person is different in what's "too long" a list.
August 2, 2012 at 21:59 |
Sarah
Sarah
I alternate between processing the whole list and doing the last four pages.
August 2, 2012 at 23:17 |
David C
David C
I also find it helpful to split the world into four: work special, work other, personal special, personal other, and to tasks in the top left, bottom left, top right and bottom right corners of teh page. That has the effect of dividing the large list into four more manageable ones. Here "special" covers two or three initiatives that are pre-agreed as meriting special attention.
August 2, 2012 at 23:24 |
David C
David C
Thanks a lot for sharing the experience, guys.
I guess I'll try starting with a single list with maybe special tags or symbols (in a paper version) for seeing the context easily. And then just try ignoring most of private tasks at work and most of work tasks at home (as if they didn't exist in the list at all). As long as I have just a couple of contexts (work/private) it might be good enough.
I guess I'll try starting with a single list with maybe special tags or symbols (in a paper version) for seeing the context easily. And then just try ignoring most of private tasks at work and most of work tasks at home (as if they didn't exist in the list at all). As long as I have just a couple of contexts (work/private) it might be good enough.
August 3, 2012 at 8:39 |
Artem Marchenko
Artem Marchenko
Do you go through the whole list during the preselection process (thus spending much time on it and maybe getting a long preselected list)?
Do you stop when you find task that you want enough to start right now and skip the rest of list (thus missing possibly urgent-important tasks added lately)?
Anything else?