Survey: how many total lists do you have?

JohnV474 · Jan 10, 2011

Random survey question:

How many total lists do you have? I'm curious.

My own answer: around 160... approximately 50% Someday-Maybe, 30% reference, 20% Next Action/Projects

I don't have any "lists of lists" that David Allen says he has... but if I did I could probably save time digging through my Someday-Maybe!

What about you?

TesTeq · Jan 10, 2011

80 Someday/Maybe lists?

JohnV474;85184 said:
How many total lists do you have? I'm curious.

My own answer: around 160... approximately 50% Someday-Maybe, 30% reference, 20% Next Action/Projects

80 Someday/Maybe lists?

I can think of:

Someday/Maybe work projects
Someday/Maybe home/family projects
Someday/Maybe community projects
Someday/Maybe hobby projects
Someday/Maybe music/creative projects
Someday/Maybe sport/fitness projects
Someday/Maybe investment/financial projects
Someday/Maybe "to read"
Someday/Maybe "to watch"
Someday/Maybe "to listen"
Someday/Maybe "to buy"

...and that's all :!:

JohnV474 · Jan 10, 2011

Someday-Maybe

My dreams must be much more detailed than yours. ;-)

i do have about 80 Someday-Maybe lists, though many of them could be re-cast as Reference folders... everything from "Business technologies to try" to "Funny t-shirts" to "Inventions"...

All based on things that I may want to do, but that I have no commitment to ever doing.

I could chuck the ideas into a folder, but they are, after all, potential actions.

Myriam · Jan 11, 2011

items or lists?

JohnV474;85184 said:
Random survey question:

How many total lists do you have? I'm curious.

My own answer: around 160... approximately 50% Someday-Maybe, 30% reference, 20% Next Action/Projects

I don't have any "lists of lists" that David Allen says he has... but if I did I could probably save time digging through my Someday-Maybe!

What about you?

I suppose you mean items on your lists, and not actually lists? Or do you actually have 80 lists with several someday/maybe items on them????

Myriam

Oogiem · Jan 11, 2011

JohnV474;85184 said:
How many total lists do you have?

Not sure I understand the question really.

I have 22 contexts or lists that are active and contain next actions. I have 1 context that is waiting for for stuff I am waiting for someone else to do or for something to come.

If you're asking about projects then I have 133 active projects and 494 on-hold or someday/maybe projects.

Total actions including ones in the on-hold projects are just over 1300 right now.

pxt · Jan 11, 2011

JohnV474;85187 said:
My dreams must be much more detailed than yours. ;-)

i do have about 80 Someday-Maybe lists,

...

, but they are, after all, potential actions.

I wonder how you handle these during review ?

JohnV474 · Jan 13, 2011

clarification

Myriam;85188 said:
I suppose you mean items on your lists, and not actually lists? Or do you actually have 80 lists with several someday/maybe items on them????

Myriam

Yes, I have around that many Someday/Maybe lists, and each lists contains multiple items.

-JV

JohnV474 · Jan 13, 2011

clarification 2

Oogiem;85199 said:
Not sure I understand the question really.

I have 22 contexts or lists that are active and contain next actions. I have 1 context that is waiting for for stuff I am waiting for someone else to do or for something to come.

If you're asking about projects then I have 133 active projects and 494 on-hold or someday/maybe projects.

Total actions including ones in the on-hold projects are just over 1300 right now.

If I read your reply right, then the answer I meant would have been around 25... 22 NA lists plus your Waiting list, Project list, and (I think) a Someday/Maybe list.

I heard David Allen refer to having "lists of lists" and checklists for all sorts of things, like Daily Review, Weekly Review, Travel checklist, etc., and so I was curious how many others had.

Thanks for the reply
-JV

JohnV474 · Jan 13, 2011

review

pxt;85201 said:
I wonder how you handle these during review ?

Good question.

It is because of review that I have so many lists. When all of the contents were in one "Someday/Maybe" list, I had to read through the whole thing in order to review. By breaking down the Someday/Maybe actions into appropriate categories, I can review most of them simply by looking at the titles.

Let me illustrate:

SDMB--T-shirts to make (I have an interest in screenprinting, but right now is not where I want to focus. I don't want to lose any good jokes or ideas for shirts that I may want to make, so I capture them, but leave them on the list.)
SDMB-Movies to share with Karen (not going to be seeing her soon, but want to keep the list for family reunions, etc.)
SDMB-Business technology to implement (review this for new gadgets, computer stuff, etc.)
SDMB-Road trips to take with Mark (I'll see him this weekend, so here are some regional places I've wanted to show him, so I will review this one)
SDMB-Dream cars/car projects (not in the market--skip)
SDMB-Dream house (everything I have ever wanted in a dream house--but, I'm not building or buying right now, so I skip)
SDMB-Vocab/Quotes to implement (if someone says something in an eloquent way or I find a new word, I write it down... this list has thousands of entries over the last 16 years, but I just skim parts of the list to remind me of words or phrases... helps me speak and write good.

)
..... etc.

The subcategories let me skim to the SDMB items that I am more likely to be interested in these days... "SDMB-shifts in diet to try to see how they affect energy/weight", for example, after all those holiday treats.

Hope this explains.
-JV

Myriam · Jan 13, 2011

not all SDMB items

JohnV474;85262 said:
Good question.

Let me illustrate:

SDMB--T-shirts to make (I have an interest in screenprinting, but right now is not where I want to focus. I don't want to lose any good jokes or ideas for shirts that I may want to make, so I capture them, but leave them on the list.)
SDMB-Movies to share with Karen (not going to be seeing her soon, but want to keep the list for family reunions, etc.)
SDMB-Business technology to implement (review this for new gadgets, computer stuff, etc.)
SDMB-Road trips to take with Mark (I'll see him this weekend, so here are some regional places I've wanted to show him, so I will review this one)
SDMB-Dream cars/car projects (not in the market--skip)
SDMB-Dream house (everything I have ever wanted in a dream house--but, I'm not building or buying right now, so I skip)
SDMB-Vocab/Quotes to implement (if someone says something in an eloquent way or I find a new word, I write it down... this list has thousands of entries over the last 16 years, but I just skim parts of the list to remind me of words or phrases... helps me speak and write good. )
..... etc.

-JV

Ok, I see now what you mean. But I wouldn't call them all lists, rather SDMB-contexts or SDMB-projects... then again what's in a name

What I would do is this: to take your first example (make T-shirts). I would specify in my SDMB-list "make T-shirt" as an item and then keep a list of ideas in a reference folder called "T-shirt making". During weekly review all I have to look at is "Make T-shirt". if I don't want to do that next week, I go to the next item. If it's something I might do next week, then I might define a NA "choose T-shirt to make". But the actual list of ideas would be reference material (or project material), but would not show up on my SDMB-list.

Same goes for "movies to share". That's just reference material. Share movies with Karen is not even a SDMB-item, since it's not in your hands to decide. It's rather a WF-item. WF "Karen to be in town to share a movie". And then the list of movies to share is again reference material.

Myriam

Oogiem · Jan 14, 2011

Reference or Project Support

JohnV474;85262 said:
SDMB--T-shirts to make (I have an interest in screenprinting, but right now is not where I want to focus. I don't want to lose any good jokes or ideas for shirts that I may want to make, so I capture them, but leave them on the list.)
SDMB-Movies to share with Karen (not going to be seeing her soon, but want to keep the list for family reunions, etc.)
SDMB-Business technology to implement (review this for new gadgets, computer stuff, etc.)
SDMB-Road trips to take with Mark (I'll see him this weekend, so here are some regional places I've wanted to show him, so I will review this one)
SDMB-Dream cars/car projects (not in the market--skip)
SDMB-Dream house (everything I have ever wanted in a dream house--but, I'm not building or buying right now, so I skip)
SDMB-Vocab/Quotes to implement

I see now, those aren't really lists in the sense I use the word when talking about GTD but are instead reference material, I have folders both paper and electronic with things like that but they are reference or project support material for projects that are on hold or in someday/maybe for me.

My examples would be a project of knit another lace scarf and in it I have a note that I have lace scarf patterns located in the paper folder Knitting Patterns - Scarf that contains paper knitting patterns for scarves & in my computer reference system a similar folder with all the PDF scarf knitting patterns.

Other lists like books to read or movies to see are also project support material. For example my husband and I are reading all the Terry Pratchett books. So when we finish the last one I go to my reference of book reading order and pick out which one is the next in the series in order and get it. So the list is in support of an active project but is also sort of a someday in that we don't buy all the books at once.

pxt · Jan 15, 2011

Myriam;85264 said:
Ok, I see now what you mean. But I wouldn't call them all lists, rather SDMB-contexts or SDMB-projects... then again what's in a name

What I would do is this: to take your first example (make T-shirts). I would specify in my SDMB-list "make T-shirt" as an item and then keep a list of ideas in a reference folder called "T-shirt making". During weekly review all I have to look at is "Make T-shirt". if I don't want to do that next week, I go to the next item. If it's something I might do next week, then I might define a NA "choose T-shirt to make". But the actual list of ideas would be reference material (or project material), but would not show up on my SDMB-list.

Same goes for "movies to share". That's just reference material. Share movies with Karen is not even a SDMB-item, since it's not in your hands to decide. It's rather a WF-item. WF "Karen to be in town to share a movie". And then the list of movies to share is again reference material.

Myriam

Yes, I agree with you, many of these may be reference items. Looking at the organising diagram in the Getting Organised chapter of M.I.A.W., they look like 'specialised reference'. Then, when a new movie idea has been collected and clarified, then it can be added to the relevant speciality reference list during organisation. I keep a map of that diagram handy just for this purpose, with my own specialised reference items listed on it.

Then, the SD/MB item is to share a movie with Karen, if it is done adhoc, or as a calendar item if it is done regularly.

An example from my own reference is a list called Costing. As I process information coming in through my collectors, I may add a regular expense to the list. Someday, maybe, I'll review my spending to see what I am wasting money on.

Tom.9 · Jan 16, 2011

someday vs. reference

Some of you stated that much of the "someday/maybe"-things are to be treated like reference.
This could apply also on some of my lists.

But this leads to the question: Where to store reference material in the best way?
I saw there is an existing thread
http://www.davidco.com/forum/showth...-for-a-reference-material-Any-recommendations

but I still not know exactly where to put all the reference material.
For now, I create new "notes" in Outlook, but it becomes more difficult to keep an overwiew.

Oogiem · Jan 16, 2011

Tom.9;85296 said:
Where to store reference material in the best way?

In a place and location where you can find it when you need it and that is accessible when you want to review it.

As that thread indicates for me the electronic references are in DEVONThink if fairly small or in a file structure that might contain Open Office documents, spreadsheets, PDFs etc. that is indexed by DT.

Paper ones are in my general purpose reference files.

mcogilvie · Jan 16, 2011

I'm not really sure how to count lists, because an electronic list tool is just a database, and one can slice and dice the entries in a number of ways. I have 12 contexts, and the largest is Someday/Maybe with 117 entries. The total number of entries is 244, and the largest actionable list has 25 entries. One of my Someday/Maybe's is "Weed Someday/Maybe List" which I will make active fairly soon. For me, long lists and large numbers of lists are not helpful. I also keep checklists, project support material, and reference material in other tools so my next actions and project tool is kept clean.

RobinGB · Feb 2, 2011

The way I organize my lists

I think of lists very separately from Projects or Actions. Projects are things that I want to get done and that I need to plan actions for. I use Omnifocus for my laptop (MacBook Pro) and I also have it on my iPod Touch. Projects and actions that I enter in here are what I look at when I do my weekly review.

Lists are things that I want to have if I need to refer to, but they aren't part of my 'to do.' I keep various lists in a folder on my computer titled 'Info.' In this folder I have a series of Word doc files that are lists and info. that I may need to access quickly. For example I have a 'Books to Check out,' 'Movies I'd like to get on Netflix,' 'Places to Go,' 'Wines I like/like to try,' 'Car Maintenance Record' (that's an Excel file), 'Things I Get to Buy,' etc. I keep as alias of this folder in my dock so I can access it quickly. I also have a copy of every file on my ipod touch that syncs up with an app called "Docs to Go." So let's say I'm at the bookstore and see a buy I want to check out at the library. I pull out my iPod Touch (you could easily use a paper system like Franklin-Covey or even a notepad for your lists) and enter the name of the book. Later when I'm at the library I pull out my ipod Touch and look at my 'Books to Check Out' list. As an added benefit because I have the list on both my ipod Touch and computer I can also add to this list when I'm on Amazon and see a book I may want to check out at the library.

Now, here are two examples where something becomes a task/action and not part of a list. Let's say I'm at the bookstore and see a book that I want to buy on Amazon. I pull out my ipod touch, open my Omnifocus app and enter the task 'Buy So-and-so book on Amazon.' My context is 'online' and I give it a due date that should correspond to when I'm going to be online or when I need it. The second example is I see a book at the library that I want to buy at the bookstore. I pull out my iPod Touch. If I'm SURE it's at the bookstore then in Omnifocus I enter 'Errand' for context and 'Buy So-and-so book at Borders.' What if I want to check prices on Amazon or see if Borders.com has it or want to call Borders before I go? Then, because this may be several tasks/actions then it's becomes a project that I'll need to enter in Omnifocus and break down into actions. Or, if I don't think I need that sophistication I can list it as a task/action with the context 'Online' and 'Research So-and-so book online' and when I complete that task/action I'll know to add another action depending on what I learn from my research.

That's how I break down my actions and lists. The reason I think it's important to keep them separate is because lists shouldn't need to be reviewed as a regular action. Too many current projects and tasks/actions can be overwhelming and make life stressful--thus defeating the purpose of GTD. Just my input on what works for me.

Sievert · Feb 2, 2011

My Lists

I have a someday/maybe mind map on iThoughts on my iPhone.
I have a projects list which contains work and personal projects.
I have a commitments list - keeps track of (non project) commitments to others.
I have a body of NA's tagged to projects on a todo database on my iPhone.
That's it in terms of actual lists.

SGTM · Feb 3, 2011

I have two lists, Business and Personal. The business list is in a hard back notebook which I have been experimenting with and the personal is a single sheet of paper.

I tend to use very simple systems and I discovered that by following a couple of simple rules I got most of the efficiency I was going to get and the rest was not worth the effort. The rules that work for me are. Write in one place and maintain a simple A - Z filing system. I found that most of the time lost for me was hunting for things and this system reduces this problem. It also gives me peace of mind knowing that at work for instance as long as I am reviewing my book, I am seeing all of my commitments I need to deal with. The book is a combination of notes, NAs, waiting for and projects. The filing system obviously is a GTD idea and has been tremendously helpful.

Cpu_Modern · Feb 4, 2011

I have an outline with 8 @contexts and 2 higher-level lists. The number of contexts changes from time to time. Additionally I have 2 folders in my Email that should count as actions-list. I don't have SdMb etc anymore, I do journals instead.

Cpu_Modern · Feb 4, 2011

Tom.9;85296 said:
For now, I create new "notes" in Outlook, but it becomes more difficult to keep an overwiew.

You don't need an overview. You need a fast and absolutely hassle-free way to retrieve ('find') a document. For instance, if you want to add an item to your 'things I want to cook'-list, the retrieval has to be fast. There is no need to know what other material you have stored.

The second needed part, aside from fast findability, is a process to weed trough all the material one by one and decide if you want to keep it further. DA talks about this briefly in GTD an refers to a once-a-year 'dumpster day'.