Get Everything Done

When I have a long list, I tend to create long chains, that sometimes take a whole day to finish.

This gives me a sense of being obliged to work along a long fixed path and the resistance grows up.

I found useful, in these cases, to consider the original chain as a list for itself and to select on it a new chain, with the usual rules. I go on with new little nested chains until the original chain is over.

This makes the whole process more dynamic and the resistance loosen down.

I'm not sure I follow exactly what these nested chains are. Could you explain in more detail or perhaps provide an example?

Regarding the tendency to make a long chain, I find that it typically means I am not being careful enough to answer the right question with a strong since of "now."

Suppose you have the following list:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

Yuo select the following chain:

*1
2
3
*4
*5
6
7
*8
9
*10
*11
12
13
*14
*15

If the chain is very long (which obviously is not in this simple example) I use the chain itself as a list and I select a new chain on it (double asterisk):

**1
2
3
*4
*5
6
7
*8
9
**10
*11
12
13
*14
**15

and now I execute 15, 10 and 1. Than I select again new items on the first chain:

<del>**1</del>
2
3
**4
*5
6
7
*8
9
<del>**10</del>
**11
12
13
*14
<del>**15</del>

and now I execute 11 and 4.

When all items of the first chain are over, you start again the process.
Again I've to say that this approach could make sense when you have to face a long list from which it is easy to generate long chains.

Nick,

It is certainly creative, but I think it shows that you were not answering the right question when you made the first chain. For instance, you dotted 10 after 8, which should mean you wanted to do 10 before 8, but in your first nested chain you decided that you did not want to do 10 before 8. This suggests that when you selected the first chain, you were thinking something like, "What all would I like to do in the next chain?" not "What do I want to do BEFORE I do X?" with a strong sense of "now," not "today" or "in general." The right question leads to much shorter lists.

Austin, I'll ponder on your suggestion of answering to the right question.
Thanks