DA's palm setup

[corrallingyourstuff]

As per David Allen's palm setup, he puts his Someday/Maybe list on his To-Do list. I'm just wondering how it's different from his other Memo Lists such as Maybe Get, Next Time In, Ideas???, etc.? Aren't those someday/maybe also? What's the distinction? I'm thinking DA's someday/maybe list would be more like deferred projects instead of someday/maybe.

Also, why would it be better to put the someday/maybe list in To-Do's along side the projects list? Why not put it on Memo along with other someday/maybe's?

 

[Andre Kibbe]

A lot of things that are technically Someday/Maybes fall into categories that are more easily managed on separate lists. I have over 80 books I want to read. Combining those with my generic Someday/Maybe items would just clutter the main list, so I keep them in a list called "Books." The couple of books that I have a more imminent urge to read get migrated to Someday/Maybe, so that I know what I'm going to read next as soon as I finish my current book.

The same principle applies to any frequently used product or activity category. You can have lists for DVDs, travel destinations, articles to write, and so on.

 

[graphicdetails]

I have my S/M list under my Tasks on my Palm as well. The reason is simple. When I'm ready to make something an active project, it's as easy as moving the inactive project under the S/M list over to the active projects list just switching the category.

If they were under Memos, I would have to copy and paste into the Task list.

That's my reasoning.

 

[corrallingyourstuff]

I have my S/M list under my Tasks on my Palm as well. The reason is simple. When I'm ready to make something an active project, it's as easy as moving the inactive project under the S/M list over to the active projects list just switching the category.

If they were under Memos, I would have to copy and paste into the Task list.

That's my reasoning.

Good idea.

 

[Oogiem]

I have my S/M list under my Tasks on my Palm as well. The reason is simple. When I'm ready to make something an active project, it's as easy as moving the inactive project under the S/M list over to the active projects list just switching the category.

If they were under Memos, I would have to copy and paste into the Task list.

How many items are on your S/M list? How many active projects do you have at one time?

I'm curious because I can't see fitting all my S/M stuff into Tasks window without hitting limits. But I also have many hundreds of projects on my S/M list, something like 600+ or so, I've never really counted.

Each week has over a hundred Next Actions also in Tasks.

 

[corrallingyourstuff]

How many items are on your S/M list? How many active projects do you have at one time?

I'm curious because I can't see fitting all my S/M stuff into Tasks window without hitting limits. But I also have many hundreds of projects on my S/M list, something like 600+ or so, I've never really counted.

Each week has over a hundred Next Actions also in Tasks.

I haven't gotten a Palm yet, so I'm curious. What do you mean by hitting limits? Is there a maximum number of text in an entry? Does this apply only to Tasks or also to Memo?

Having 600+ projects, I would recommend you break them into logical categories, e.g. S/M business ideas, S/M product ideas, S/M subjects to learn, etc. It'll be easier to handle IMO. I'm just not sure if it'd be better to put S/M on Tasks in this case, because you might max out the 15 categories.

 

[dschaffner]

I'm curious because I can't see fitting all my S/M stuff into Tasks window without hitting limits. But I also have many hundreds of projects on my S/M list, something like 600+ or so, I've never really counted.

I'm not sure what the palm memo limits are but I have bumped up against them from time to time.

One solution would be to have a someday/maybe task called "great great books". When you review that item during your weekly review, that would be a trigger to look at a printed list, or an electronic list on your PC (not palm).

Another solution would be to split the list into:

Great books to read next month
Great books to read next year
Great books to read the year after next

etc. so that each list is small enough to fit the palm limits.

- Don

 

[graphicdetails]

I don't know how many S/M items I have on my list, but it is no where near 600. I could never think of 600 things that I needed/wanted to do! If one sits on my S/M list too long, I think long and hard if I am really thinking I'll ever do it. If not, it gets removed and I usually never think of it again.

For me, S/M is a dumping ground of sorts, but even the dumping ground has to get cleaned up every once in awhile during the review.

 

[Oogiem]

I haven't gotten a Palm yet, so I'm curious. What do you mean by hitting limits? Is there a maximum number of text in an entry? Does this apply only to Tasks or also to Memo?.

Yes there are maximums for the number of characters you use to describe a category, max of the number of characters in a single entry, max that will display on your calendar no matter the format, max that will display in the Tasks lists and so on. I have hit nearly all of them at one time or another.

The 15 category limit is especially hard to handle if you have a lot of items to track and want them logically grouped.

 

[Oogiem]

I don't know how many S/M items I have on my list, but it is no where near 600. I could never think of 600 things that I needed/wanted to do!

giggling :-D well I just did a major review of my S/M list and I can only find one single item on it that I may not actually ever be able to do. That is climb a particular mountain. I may not make it because my hips may not tolerate the preparation to be able to make the mountain top. It's a 12-15 mile hike and while no technical climbing is required it is a rough hike.

Everything else on the list is something that I really truly want to do/start within my lifetime. Some won't be completed in my lifetime and many will take years to finish but I really have culled down to the things I think I can actually do and want to do.

 

[Oogiem]

A lot of things that are technically Someday/Maybes fall into categories that are more easily managed on separate lists. I have over 80 books I want to read. Combining those with my generic Someday/Maybe items would just clutter the main list

Agreed but my huge S/M list does not include details about things like that. I too have books to read, DVD's to watch etc lists but those are single items on the S/M list not individual ones. Similarly many repeating tasks are actually checklists keyed by either date or weather condition but there are still hundreds of separate projects that are on my S/M list.