Get Everything Done

I recently had a realization about "little and often". Some things do just fine with a small daily dose of time and attention. Clearing my email is like that. But other kinds of tasks really require a larger dose. For example, clearing out a nasty backlog, or starting up a new initiative. Ten or fifteen minutes a day just isn't enough to make any real progress.

But whenever I mix all these kinds of tasks together in one list, it causes problems. It is so easy for the smallest tasks to dominate the mindset -- I find myself always going for those small tasks. They are easy to finish, give me a quick dopamine hit, and create the illusion I am making progress.

But after awhile, I realize I am not making progress on the larger items. So I try to focus on those for awhile. But then I find myself neglecting the day-to-day routine things, and eventually they start to demand my attention.

So I would oscillate between two "little and often" paradigms -- each with its own definition of "little" and "often". The short-term, 15-minute tasks, versus the long-term, 1- or 2-hour tasks. It's often hard to get into a good flow when I mix these up on the same list.

I was struggling like this with two large personal initiatives recently. I kept neglecting them. It was like having two giant trucks pulling hazardous loads, sharing the highway with normal commuter traffic. It completely messes up the flow, to say the least. :)

Then I realized that this is just another instance of the standard flow problem in any kind of logistical operation. If the things flowing through the system have too much variability (in size, complexity, etc.), it will degrade the flow for everything. WIP goes up. Multitasking goes up. Complexity goes up. Stuff gets broken or forgotten or neglected. Etc. Can lead to overwhelm and frustration.

That was clearly happening with me, with these two large personal initiatives. But it turned out to be fairly easy to fix. I'm using RTM as my main system; I have one RTM notebook for work (which has been going just fine), and another for personal (which was getting clogged up by the two large initiatives sitting on my Unfinished list). I solved it by simply spinning out those large tasks to a separate "personal initiatives" notebook, and now I dedicate an hour or two in the early morning before work to focus only on that notebook.

This has really improved things a lot. It's kind of like DIT's "current initiative" idea. But now I think I have a new insight into WHY the current initiative concept is so effective.

Now I am getting much better engagement, flow, and traction on those big initiatives. And my ordinary day-to-day stuff is also going much better.

I've been looking for other ways to apply this insight -- the concept that variability threatens good flow. Any thoughts?

#RTM

Margaret --
<< there may be another way to do the Personal Initiatives, perhaps by making it a separate section of the process, sitting along with New, Recurring and Unfinished. I'll need to have a think about that. >>

Yes, I think there could be many ways to apply this principle. Let us know what you come up with!

Brent --
<< I'm reminded that music uses long notes and short notes to create a satisfying rhythm. My epiphany from what you posted is that I am just trying to find a good working rhythm and separating things as you have done gives me some good ideas to explore. Thanks! >>

I love that analogy. Yes, it does feel to me that the initiatives and the regular "unfinished" list have a different rhythm. One of the things I love about RTM is that, by gently separating these things into their own areas, it's much easier to diagnose and fix whatever is going wrong. When it's all mixed together, the rhythm is so unclear and chaotic that the clarity is lost. Once the clarity and rhythm are established, the different areas seem much more harmonious and balanced.

Alan --
Yes, exactly!

How is RTM working out for you? Does it integrate well with the system that you have been using so successfully for the last couple of years?