What to do when most of your actions can be done anywhere

[rangi500]

There are some existing threads which touch on this topic as part of broader issues, but I wanted to start a thread on just this point in particular.

I'm sure many of you are in a similar situation: you can do many of your work NAs anywhere and many of your home NAs anywhere (including work).

Does it still make sense to have @office and @home lists?

Or do you have a list of work-related NAs and a list of personal NAs? If so, do you review both lists when you're choosing an NA? (I've found this difficult)

Any ideas/suggestions very much appreciated!

 

[VictoriaPark]

I suspect that for most people the Home actions which can be done at Work are those which fall in to either the "Calls" or "Errands" categories, both of which can be held as contexts on their own.

Personally I use an "@Work" context for all work actions which are location-independant (i.e. which just need my laptop and/or support files). I then consult this whenever I'm "working", regardless of where I'm doing it.

In the reverse direction - yes, there probably are some actions in my "@Home" context which could be done in the office. However the sticking point in doing so is usually again access to relevant support files, so generally unless it's a simple phone call or an errand it stays on the home list.

 

[rangi500]

Thanks VictoriaPark for your reply.

So when you're in "working" mode, do you review your @work, errands and calls lists when deciding your next NA?

Also, do you mix work/personal items on your calls and errands lists?

 

[VictoriaPark]

Personally I only use "Errands" for things which require me to go somewhere (i.e. shopping, collecting dry cleaning), so usually that gets reviewed just as I'm leaving either work or home.

Other than that, yes, I review both "@Work" and "Calls" when working, along with a few other location-specific contexts I use for being in the office.

I do indeed blend on the "Calls" & "Errands" contexts. In fact I'd say that "Errands" is probably 95%+ personal, but then that's just a reflection on my work and lifestyle I expect.

 

[Tom Shannon]

Does it still make sense to have @office and @home lists?

FWIW These are the contexts with the largest number of items in my system. Also, since I work electronically with categories and tags, I frequently put one item on both lists. I've been using these contexts for a few years and the lists haven't become too unwieldy (yet).

Don't forget to keep items like this as agenda items. Frequently when I have an item which can be done "anywhere" at the office it means that I can do it "anywhere when I see so and so". This can cut lists centered around an "office" context down quite a bit.

Tom S.

 

[mcogilvie]

I'm sure many of you are in a similar situation: you can do many of your work NAs anywhere and many of your home NAs anywhere (including work).

Does it still make sense to have @office and @home lists?

I use all of these: @Home, @HomeOffice, @Work, @Anywhere, @Computer.
@Computer means home and work. I use a list tool that gives me different combined lists for Work, Home (weekday nights), and Weekends.

 

[Borisoff]

I use @Home list for stuff that I can do at home or after 7 pm. For example, speak in private to my wife or call my friend when he's at home. All the rest even personal goes onto @Office list. It doesn't matter how many and what kind of calls to do when at the office if I'm commited to the outcome of each of them and it makes me closer to checking the project off my list.

 

[jknecht]

My approach is very similar to VictoriaPark's. I am a mobile worker; sometimes I work at my corporate office, sometimes at home, sometimes at a client's office. So I mostly use an @Work context.

I also keep an @Office context, but that is strictly for stuff that can only be done when I am physically in the company's office (this includes things like "Give my expense reports to Mr. Expense Approver"). Most of the time, this context list is empty, but it's nice to have a place to stick these location-specific actions.

When I work from home, I review both my @Work and @Home context lists (in addition to @Phone, etc.), because there might be something I can multitask on... like "Throw a load of clothes in the washer" -- I can certainly do that while I wait for that document to print. When I work in the office, I review @Office instead of @Home.

Unlike VictoriaPark, I do keep separate lists for my business and personal projects, calls, and agendas (if I had any business-related errands to run, I would probably keep those separate as well). For me, this approach just makes it easier to keep out the work-related noise during evenings and weekends, but I could probably merge them without causing too much trouble.