Discussion Forum > DIT - Current Initiative, Projects
Hi Mark H
Re the too many tasks to fit in issue, yes I agree, a Master List is helpful although there is always the additional time you need to flick back n forth. I used to have one and pick from it and put it on the day's list, but if that task is not completed then I used to schedule it forward to another day/s rather than putting it back on the Master if that makes sense. So your Master list should whittle down with a) time - as you get used to doing more you will have less of a backlog (I am not talking about CI here) - and b) paying close attention to MF's comments re pruning your commitments. I don't use a Master now, just my day to day list but if life became too much again, I would.
However that brings me neatly to the issue of Projects ! I don't write down all my project actions, I kind of know where to go and what to do when i open the file, and if its a massive project I can keep a running list in the project file itself. MF talks about verbs here - I totally get that. That also keeps your main To Do clearer. If I wrote it all down on my main list I would DROWN. As in: D..R..O..W...N. I find this works well with small Projects and complicated Projects.
Continuous Projects I do not schedule at a particular time. Why ? My diary is largely the real appointments or real plans and I can get a bit anxious looking at my watch and thinking I need to leave in 40m etc.. its just easier for me not to schedule a non time specific thing in the first place. I dont add it to the daily task list either as I usually view those as "closing the office/day" type tasks, but I try to do it post lunch so there is something fresh to start after lunch, when a lot of the processing of morning tasks are complete, but if I take lunch later etc then it doesn't matter. So I suppose its kind of setting a rough time frame, but not set against that time as a specific appointment. Does that make sense ?
I use minute settings for flow for tasks that I cannot afford to complete time wise in one sitting, if they will take some days. Then they tick over. Listing it as a 20m task helps me to know its not a true one off.
I cannot comment on Simple Scanning / FVP as DIT works so well for me that I haven't dared investigate further unless you tell me I am totally missing out of course! Then I will, MH !
Re the too many tasks to fit in issue, yes I agree, a Master List is helpful although there is always the additional time you need to flick back n forth. I used to have one and pick from it and put it on the day's list, but if that task is not completed then I used to schedule it forward to another day/s rather than putting it back on the Master if that makes sense. So your Master list should whittle down with a) time - as you get used to doing more you will have less of a backlog (I am not talking about CI here) - and b) paying close attention to MF's comments re pruning your commitments. I don't use a Master now, just my day to day list but if life became too much again, I would.
However that brings me neatly to the issue of Projects ! I don't write down all my project actions, I kind of know where to go and what to do when i open the file, and if its a massive project I can keep a running list in the project file itself. MF talks about verbs here - I totally get that. That also keeps your main To Do clearer. If I wrote it all down on my main list I would DROWN. As in: D..R..O..W...N. I find this works well with small Projects and complicated Projects.
Continuous Projects I do not schedule at a particular time. Why ? My diary is largely the real appointments or real plans and I can get a bit anxious looking at my watch and thinking I need to leave in 40m etc.. its just easier for me not to schedule a non time specific thing in the first place. I dont add it to the daily task list either as I usually view those as "closing the office/day" type tasks, but I try to do it post lunch so there is something fresh to start after lunch, when a lot of the processing of morning tasks are complete, but if I take lunch later etc then it doesn't matter. So I suppose its kind of setting a rough time frame, but not set against that time as a specific appointment. Does that make sense ?
I use minute settings for flow for tasks that I cannot afford to complete time wise in one sitting, if they will take some days. Then they tick over. Listing it as a 20m task helps me to know its not a true one off.
I cannot comment on Simple Scanning / FVP as DIT works so well for me that I haven't dared investigate further unless you tell me I am totally missing out of course! Then I will, MH !
January 27, 2022 at 18:12 |
Mrs Move Forward
Mrs Move Forward
Mark H.:
When I hear the words "Master List", I know the whole thing will not work. These are much better named as "Stuff I am Behind With List" or also "Once upon a pipe dream…"
<<<
but always had more work than I could do in a day.
<<<
That's the beauty of DIT: it shows you how much of a big mouth you are.
We've all been there.
Now, when we are not able to finish our day-list for more than three consecutive days, we ought to conduct the audit procedure.
The goal here is to assess which of the three reasons for non-completion applies:
1. too much work,
2. you are working too slowly,
3. you are working too inefficiently.
I comment on them in reverse order below.
The typical way of working inefficiently is by violating Mark's principle of "little and often." There are some professions, notable programmers, who believe that they absolutely have to violate this principle in order to do their work. (They are wrong, specially programmers.)
If you didn't touch a given task today, chances are high you are introducing inefficiencies into your work. The longer you leave a task rotting the more time it takes to get into the flow the next time you are working on it. That's a big waste of brain cycles.
Working too slowly, that is working speed is primarily a function of creativity, unless you are seriously physically inhibited.
The fastest way to increase creativity is to let your ego go and work better together with others. Quick, who is your favourite Beatle? You can't really take away any of the four, can't you? The music would loose it's genius quickly.
Working too slowly is also often the result of uncertainty in the realm of values and principles and such. What is important in that particular project? In your organization? For you personally? Think of Steve Jobs: prior to the iPhone there was no phone with only one button. Jobs knew very well what was important to him.
Finally our biggie: too much work.
Here the CI mechanism of DIT comes into play. By introducing one project one after another, you make sure that everything that is already on the list is well-oiled and can be dealt with quickly an efficiently.
A lot of the feeling of having too much work probably stems from having INTRODUCED too much work in one go. Now you end up with a bunch of projects that are taking some rump-up time, are not clear-cut yet, all the stuff that should happen in the CI-phase is now on the list PLUS the duty to work on all of it every day. This simply cannot work.
Okay, but what about deadlines?
Yeah, what about Dilbert's pointy hairy boss?
I can't tell without a concrete example.
My experience is, that I can point out the solution when given a concrete example. DIT usually works.
When I hear the words "Master List", I know the whole thing will not work. These are much better named as "Stuff I am Behind With List" or also "Once upon a pipe dream…"
<<<
but always had more work than I could do in a day.
<<<
That's the beauty of DIT: it shows you how much of a big mouth you are.
We've all been there.
Now, when we are not able to finish our day-list for more than three consecutive days, we ought to conduct the audit procedure.
The goal here is to assess which of the three reasons for non-completion applies:
1. too much work,
2. you are working too slowly,
3. you are working too inefficiently.
I comment on them in reverse order below.
The typical way of working inefficiently is by violating Mark's principle of "little and often." There are some professions, notable programmers, who believe that they absolutely have to violate this principle in order to do their work. (They are wrong, specially programmers.)
If you didn't touch a given task today, chances are high you are introducing inefficiencies into your work. The longer you leave a task rotting the more time it takes to get into the flow the next time you are working on it. That's a big waste of brain cycles.
Working too slowly, that is working speed is primarily a function of creativity, unless you are seriously physically inhibited.
The fastest way to increase creativity is to let your ego go and work better together with others. Quick, who is your favourite Beatle? You can't really take away any of the four, can't you? The music would loose it's genius quickly.
Working too slowly is also often the result of uncertainty in the realm of values and principles and such. What is important in that particular project? In your organization? For you personally? Think of Steve Jobs: prior to the iPhone there was no phone with only one button. Jobs knew very well what was important to him.
Finally our biggie: too much work.
Here the CI mechanism of DIT comes into play. By introducing one project one after another, you make sure that everything that is already on the list is well-oiled and can be dealt with quickly an efficiently.
A lot of the feeling of having too much work probably stems from having INTRODUCED too much work in one go. Now you end up with a bunch of projects that are taking some rump-up time, are not clear-cut yet, all the stuff that should happen in the CI-phase is now on the list PLUS the duty to work on all of it every day. This simply cannot work.
Okay, but what about deadlines?
Yeah, what about Dilbert's pointy hairy boss?
I can't tell without a concrete example.
My experience is, that I can point out the solution when given a concrete example. DIT usually works.
January 29, 2022 at 15:14 |
Christopher
Christopher
The Projects are categorized:
Continuous Projects - schedule at the same time, and repeat
Projects with a Deadline - work on these in the order of the deadline
Projects without a Deadline - queue these, and select one as the Current Initiative to be done first thing daily for 30 minutes.
I have been working with a long list using Simple Scanning. I will sometimes use some version of No-List FVP, for a work session - which I find satisfying. However, there doesn't seem to be enough structure, and I thought about implementing AF4R, and started to categorize my items. However, it doesn't take into account deadlines. Perhaps these need to be written into a calendar(?).
I bought the book DIT, but always had more work than I could do in a day. However, I have thought that the long list could be a Master List, and I could select from it, and put it on the DIT list.
Anyone have thoughts about integrating DIT with any of these?