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Invariably, I will not feel good having just opened a folder or touched a project. I will want to have done something tangible: finished the first draft, called Person X to talk about Project Y, written 5 ideas about Z, etc.
I will allow work on these three daily accomplishments to override my FV list order. I view the FV list as things I do in my "discretionary" time. My three goals for the day, however, are not discretionary--they are mandatory--hence they trump everything else.
I got this idea from the posts about JD Meier's Agile Results. It has been working quite well for me. FV keeps me on top of all of my commitments. The three daily accomplishments keeps me from "churning," or being very active without doing much that is meaningful.
FV is for discretionary time. If I am in risk of not accomplishing my three goals, then I declare that I have no discretionary time. I leave FV and focus on my goals.
you can try to search this site for "3-Task"
http://markforster.squarespace.com/display/Search?moduleId=1292867&searchQuery=3-Task
This is doable using only the FV algorithm but it requires a level of self-mastery that I lack.
At the start of the day you review your list. If you do not see three very important things that you want to accomplish for today already on the list, you add the ones you need to the bottom, as the FV rules state.
If you want, you can put some kind of mark before or after the three special tasks, e.g. an exclamation mark at the end of the task description. This is not required.
Now, you work your list as per the FV rules. You make sure that you get your three important accomplishments accomplished.
If I were to do this, I would want to make my lists short, so that if I don't complete the accomplishment in my first work session, I would have another 1 or 2 work sessions before the end of the day.
I think this is a great way to work. It has the advantage of all of Mark's recent systems in that it uses the attractiveness of some tasks to motivate me to work through other tasks I find more averse.
If I am highly motivated to get my Big Three done, the system will get me to do a lot of other things as well.
As I am writing this, I am thinking that maybe I could ease into this system. On Monday, at work, I will do this for One Accomplishment. If I can pull it off for a few days, I will gradually work myself up to the Big Three.
Anyway, I was prompted to look at FV & 3T after reading this "6 Simple Rituals" http://www.fastcompany.com/3003586/6-simple-rituals-reach-your-potential-every-day . Specifically, ritual #2 ...
Define your top 3. Every morning Mike asks himself, “What are the top three most important tasks that I will complete today?” He prioritizes his day accordingly and doesn’t sleep until the Top 3 are complete. What’s your "Top 3" today?
I define my top 3 each and every day. That includes weekends. I only use FV when I am at work, which does not include weekends.
It just is not an issue for me whether I have to leave my FV system to do my top 3. Sometimes, I get the top 3 done in the course of doing my FV list normally. Other times, I leave the list to do them.
I view the top 3 like an appointment on my calendar. They are not discretionary. I don't have to wait until they come up on the list.
I actually have two lists.
List 1 are my MIT's
List 2 is my Autofocus list.
List 1 always has exactly 12 tasks and are organized as:
-3mit's for the mid year (June 30th)
-3 mit's for this month (last day of the month)
-3 mit's for this week (last day is Sunday)
-3 mit's for today. (by midnight)
List 2 has all other things and is treated in af fashion.
I MUST complete items as required on list 1 and once those are under control, I could work on List 2 just enough so the items on it do not grow in priority or unnecessarily get stale. I do not end the day under no circumstances unless my days 3mits are complete, so I get them done asap.
Each month I create 3 mit's that will get me closer to achieving my mid year mits.
Each week I create 3 mit's that will get me closer to achieving my months mits.
Each day I create 3 mit's that will get me closer to achieving my weeks mits.
I got this idea from an iphone app called "Most Important Tasks" by MySoft Productivity.
The balance between list 1 and 2 keeps me focused on the important things and aware of things that need to get done later. I find it very helpful to focus on creating achievable mit's routinely and obeying the self given deadlines. I also find it relaxing to routinely (morning time) skim my autofocus list to keep stress at a minimum.
Timer has a few moments left -- off to check that iphone app.