FV and FVP Forum > New to the site and to FV
Welcome, Kevin.
To make FV sail, here is Mark on how to create naturally shorter chains:
"My own way of looking at the chain is that the first task is due to be done *now*. So the question is basically "I'm due to do X now, but is there anything I want/need to do before I do it?"
Another way of looking at the list is that you do the tasks on it in order, but you are allowed to complete any particularly pressing tasks out of order. They may be pressing because of time constraints or simply because you want to get them done.
Both these ways of looking at the list encourage shorter rather than longer chains."
To make FV sail, here is Mark on how to create naturally shorter chains:
"My own way of looking at the chain is that the first task is due to be done *now*. So the question is basically "I'm due to do X now, but is there anything I want/need to do before I do it?"
Another way of looking at the list is that you do the tasks on it in order, but you are allowed to complete any particularly pressing tasks out of order. They may be pressing because of time constraints or simply because you want to get them done.
Both these ways of looking at the list encourage shorter rather than longer chains."
May 3, 2013 at 9:39 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Welcome Kevin. I also love simplicity and continual review behind running FV, although I incorporated it into my more complicated system and FV is only one part of it.
My little advice: During task preselection, do not forget to delete any tasks from the list which you feel has lost its importance. I did a mistake in the beginning that I forced myself into doing all the tasks in my list. Especially with oldest tasks, there are always some which are overripe and not important any more to be in the list or which in the time proved to be not as important as they seemed when you wrote them down.
My little advice: During task preselection, do not forget to delete any tasks from the list which you feel has lost its importance. I did a mistake in the beginning that I forced myself into doing all the tasks in my list. Especially with oldest tasks, there are always some which are overripe and not important any more to be in the list or which in the time proved to be not as important as they seemed when you wrote them down.
May 3, 2013 at 10:40 |
Daneb
Daneb
Yup. FV + Evernote is awesome. I actually give each task (or checklist) its own note, which (when combined with browser plugins) makes universal capture much easier. I have three notebooks: Inbox (default for all new notes), Chain (where I move things that are in the chain) and Done (where I move things that are done and don't need to get filed elsewhere in Evernote).
May 3, 2013 at 16:35 |
Sarah
Sarah
Thanks Michael and Daneb for those tips, I will use them.
Sarah, that sounds like an efficient setup since you can create new tasks with hotkeys, keep notes on each item as a bonus, and you don't have to cut and paste items to the bottom of a note just drag and drop to a different notebook. So, I think I will be stealing that too :)
Sarah, that sounds like an efficient setup since you can create new tasks with hotkeys, keep notes on each item as a bonus, and you don't have to cut and paste items to the bottom of a note just drag and drop to a different notebook. So, I think I will be stealing that too :)
May 3, 2013 at 20:39 |
Kevin M
Kevin M
Steal away. In case it's not perfectly obvious, you need to sort your entries by date modified for the list order to work. The other thing that I've done that REALLY streamlines my workflow is create shortcuts to the notes I use most often (my morning startup checklist, pre- and post-class checklists, and my shopping list) in the sidebar on the desktop version of the app. I still have to search for them if I'm on a mobile device, but it still makes life a lot easier.
To move repeating tasks back to the end of the list I just click in the body of the task and hit the space bar. Viola, entry modified, it goes to the end of the list.
To move repeating tasks back to the end of the list I just click in the body of the task and hit the space bar. Viola, entry modified, it goes to the end of the list.
May 6, 2013 at 2:53 |
Sarah
Sarah
Sarah, your comments have inspired me to return to using Evernote for FV, especially as I have it on my smartphone and tablet (both Android) now as well as my Windows notebook.
I like the idea of having shortcuts to the 'routines' checklist, I must try that.
Note to newer members: I find tags useful, one can even use one long list, but view and manage the current chain via a 'Chain' tag.
I like the idea of having shortcuts to the 'routines' checklist, I must try that.
Note to newer members: I find tags useful, one can even use one long list, but view and manage the current chain via a 'Chain' tag.
May 6, 2013 at 4:35 |
Roger J
Roger J
* zero setup time - after reading the instructions I wrote a dozen items on a sheet of paper and was up and running - I've been using the system ever since without confusion (list is now at perhaps 80 items)
* simplicity - one list, no distinction between task/project so it's very easy to capture things you need to get done (just write it at the end of the list, whatever it is)
* effective and easy prioritization scheme that a) guarantees everything gets reviewed, b) encourages culling of useless items, and c) guarantees nothing will starve (longer-lived items bubble up to the top)
I'm going to have to resist the urge to tweak the system, since I know I'll just break it. But the one thing I did do was move it to Evernote, which took about 2 minutes. I keep my list in a single note and use Ctrl-Shift-C to create checkboxes beside items in my chain (instead of writing a dot).