Get Everything Done

Having been a Todoist user for two years, and having upgraded to Premium, I think I have found a way to use Todoist for FVP. I have not used FV or any other Mark Forster approach in the two years. However, the anticipation about FVP was addictive, its realisation more so.

Todoist has a built-in scoring system called 'Karma'with various expertise levels. It reports your progress on this every day. I am not gung-ho about achieving the highest levels.

With so many tasks in Todoist (TD), I did not want to try another electronic solution.

What I did do this week, as recommended by Mark, was to use paper and pen with a gradual list, one each for Work and Personal. I then adapted TD using the same list.

The default 'container' in TD is the Inbox: this is good for quick and dirty short tasks without any real connection to anything else.

There is also the ability to create a task within a named Project with or without Sub-Projects, as the same goes for tasks themselves.

Any task or project can be given a due date, it can be repeated in a number of ways.

There are four levels of priority, but this forces a built-in order when listing tasks. The developers do say they are looking at making it possible to have any sorting order that can be defined by the user.

So in order to replicate FVP, I need a view which would enable me to drag and resort a list as I would want it.

The power of TD lies in the Labels. which can be applied to any project or task, see further on below.

Under Projects, I list my work projects in one group and personal in another. Each Project or Sub-Project has tasks (one could even have a project consisting of one task).

I list the various stages and next steps under each project. The ability to do this crucial in any To Do or Task List. it is just so nice having it embedded in TD. Tasks can also have notes attached, maybe useful for recording the various dates when that one task was done.

WHAT I DID:

(1) I created a project called FVP

(2) This is divided into two sub-projects: FVP-Work and FVP-Personal

(3) I scanned the Inbox and its many untouched tasks to see what I thought should be in FVP - Work or - Personal.

(4) I right-click on the body of the text in a task, and select from the drop-down box (ddb), Move To Another Project. If there is a date or priority, I usually remove these first via Edit Task, certainly the priority.

(5) From the next ddb, I select the relevant FVP, Work or Personal. This moves the task out of the Inbox to the FVP list.

(6) I apply the same principles when selecting tasks from a Project. This removes the task from the parent Project, leaving behind the next steps still to be addressed later on. Of course, one can select more than one task from an given Project.

(7) I now have a list of tasks in each of FVP Work and Personal. Note: if I want to do a personal task at the office, I will put it into the Work list.

(8) Now I can select the FVP tasks according to the algorithm. This is where Labels come into their own. There is "Action Chain Work" and "Action Chain Personal"

(9) The first unactioned task on the list is allocated via editing eg Action Chain Work. The words "Action Chain Work" appears in colour below the task text.

(10) I repeat the action when I come to the task that I want to do more than the first selected one, and so until the end of the list or as much I think I can handle.

(11) If I click on the Label, it lists ALL the tasks with that Label. So now I have a view ONLY with the selected tasks. As each gets done, the chain gets shorter. This is the view which is on my screen while working the list.

(12) I I have not completed that task I can just remove the label and it will get sent back to its parent list, FVP-Work or -Personal. Al alternative is to edit the completed tasks, copy the text into a new task in FVP-Work or -Personal, then recreate it at the end of the list. Ticking the checkbox removes the completed task from view after a few seconds.

TD also has a repeating date for tasks, so ticking this off recreates it automatically for the next time/date interval.

The Labels also give one the opportunity to assign a context, eg Office, Home, Out & About (for errands etc so one can group such tasks together). TD is available on many platforms, so I can view my tasks on my notebook computer, tablet or smartphone - the last is usual out and about, I click on that label when Iam "Out & About".

I do not think I have explained it very well, so if enough folk want to 'see' it, I can do a series of screen shots, unless I try my hand at a short video.

Proof of the Pudding: I am still in the early stages, however the TD karma 'graph' has been very high the last two days and I am making progress and getting stuff done.