Decisions on Doing

J

jepraetorian

0
Hello all,

This is an aspect of the 5th stage of workflow management, Doing, that I am having rationalizing.

David allen wants us to "choose the action that will gives us the most satisfaction and reaps the most benefits RIGHT NOW". However, there are some long term goals that on the runway level are accomplished by actions that seem extremely insignificant compared to other tasks.

Some personal examples:

1. Reading my book is more beneficial to me thn the act of brushing my teeth. But if I keep thinking this, I will have ruined my teeth!

2. Every workout session seems painful and meaningless in terms of progress, as compared to the progress I could get from other actions. But if I keep thinking this, I will never get into the shape I want!

So what are your takes on this situation? Thanks!

Best Regards,
Wei
 
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jepraetorian;86270 said:
David allen wants us to "choose the action that will gives us the most satisfaction and reaps the most benefits RIGHT NOW". However, there are some long term goals that on the runway level are accomplished by actions that seem extremely insignificant compared to other tasks.

Some personal examples:

1. Reading my book is more beneficial to me thn the act of brushing my teeth. But if I keep thinking this, I will have ruined my teeth!

2. Every workout session seems painful and meaningless in terms of progress, as compared to the progress I could get from other actions. But if I keep thinking this, I will never get into the shape I want!

So what are your takes on this situation? Thanks!i
Click to expand...

Regular Weekly Reviews help us build intuition to incorporate long term goals into our day-to-day decisions.
 
jepraetorian;86270 said:
Hello all,

This is an aspect of the 5th stage of workflow management, Doing, that I am having rationalizing.

David allen wants us to "choose the action that will gives us the most satisfaction and reaps the most benefits RIGHT NOW". However, there are some long term goals that on the runway level are accomplished by actions that seem extremely insignificant compared to other tasks.

Some personal examples:

1. Reading my book is more beneficial to me thn the act of brushing my teeth. But if I keep thinking this, I will have ruined my teeth!

2. Every workout session seems painful and meaningless in terms of progress, as compared to the progress I could get from other actions. But if I keep thinking this, I will never get into the shape I want!

So what are your takes on this situation? Thanks!

Best Regards,
Wei
Click to expand...

Excellent point. To me this is where the daily planning/shedule comes into play - unless you block out bigger picture things like gym time through out the week chances are you'll skip over it if on a next actions list.
 
jepraetorian;86270 said:
So what are your takes on this situation?
Click to expand...

I think thats looking at it too closely. if you have both those next actions on your list, and you get them done during the week, then you don't need to worry about your long term goals - you're already moving towards them. As long as you have the project list with everything you need on it, and you keep all those projects ticking over, you're fine. In 5 years time it wont matter whether you brushed your teeth first then read your book, or vice versa, as long as both got done.
 
What I do is block time daily for all meaningful goals I have.

I have time for work from 8 till 17. Within that there's time for contexts:

@Calls from 10 to 11
@Computer from 15 till 16
Processing from 16 till 17
etc

I have time for sports from 20 till 20.30.

I have time for family from 20.30 till 21.30.

etc.
 
Hmm, not sure thats a great idea. Firstly how can you know you'll be able to do them in those times - call Bob, 'Bobs out til this afternoon'? Turn on the computer, boss walks in, 'time for a chat'? And so on.

Secondly if I told my wife "Darling, I've allocated you 8.30 - 9.30" -- slap.
 
Plus what about interruptions?

Not to mention the interruptions that happen.

Like this am, got up look outside, things look ok, go get coffee and breakfast and take a better look...

Whoops, All the adult rams are out of their pen! Grab warm clothes, boots and head out to corral the wayward boys and repair the fence they opened up. My plans for this morning shot all to heck by circumstances beyond my control.
 
I'm an office worker. No time scheduled for calls? Ok. Boss jumps in for a chat. Collegue calls. Coffee. Day ends, no progress on my projects, only theirs...
 
jepraetorian;86270 said:
1. Reading my book is more beneficial to me thn the act of brushing my teeth. But if I keep thinking this, I will have ruined my teeth!

2. Every workout session seems painful and meaningless in terms of progress, as compared to the progress I could get from other actions. But if I keep thinking this, I will never get into the shape I want!
Click to expand...

I think this depends on your values. I value health and fitness, so I would place brushing teeth higher than reading my book, and exercise high on my list too.
I think maybe you have not an issue with doing, but your horizons of focus. You need to be clear on what your long term goals are and how the runway actions relate to them.
When DA says 'right now' I don't think he means the benefits will be realised right now, he means look at the options for doing right now and weigh up what gives the most benefit - use your horizons of focus to assess this, your goals, mission, vision etc.
 
Thanks!

Thank you everyone for your replies! I guess yes, I do have a problem with my long-term goals... I've always wanted a hot body but here I am sitting on my fat a** doing everything else other than that.

I will think of how to incorporate my Higher Horizons of Focus in order to link them up with my Runway actions! Thanks!
 
You say your health (horizon of focus) is more important then your self-development (horizon of focus). In the long run it would mean you would be spending more time working out then reading. And you'd become more fit then clever. Is it really wise to prioritize the areas of focus? What's more important: your baby or your mom? Both are very important and deserve their own time.

So schedule time for your Horizons of Focus and prioritize the Projects or Tasks within those blocks of time.
 
Decisions on Doing

HI

The following is a list of healthy ways one can take better control on their life.

1. Improve your self-confidence. Believing in yourself is an important aspect on making decisions as you are able to feel confident that you are making the appropriate decisions.
2. Analyze the situation you are dealing with so that you can make a decision.
3. Know what you want to accomplish and what steps need to be taken to get things done.
4. Do not worry so much about the end results as the most important thing is that you tried your best.
5. Avoid over thinking or rationalizing not doing things as it will keep you from even giving it a try.
6. After making a decision try acting out on it as soon as you can to avoid changing your mind or doubting yourself.
7. Avoid leaving what can be done today for tomorrow as it might not ever come.
8. Do not be afraid to make a quick decision as it does not necessarily mean it is irresponsible or will not work out. When you know what you want there should never be any doubts.
9. Consider all alternatives before making a final decisions to assure you are doing the best thing possible for your situation.
10. Avoid letting others make decisions for you as this can be crippling and keep you from being comfortable enough to make your own decisions. It is alright if you want to take others opinions into consideration.
11. Avoid the blame game or guilt trip with yourself. Once you have made a decision, stick by it because you feel you made the right choice. This can also impact your ability to make decisions in the future.
12. Try to always be realistic about the situation that you are presented with even if it means recognizing your faults.
13. Ask for opinions from people you can trust as this can help you make a decision you are not sure about.
14. Think before acting out on a decision. Remember to only act on a decision that has been finalized.
15. If necessary, brainstorm so that you can evaluate the situation and decide.
 
Carrot & stick..

how about "I'll brush my teeth" and then I'll let myself read a chapter of my book or for fitness...what can I do daily to make a fun routine...so that it's a part of my day I look forward to...rather than drudgery...which makes me want to sit down and read my book........
 
using horizons to decide ?

Actually, I mainly use the criteria model for my decisions (context, time, energy, priority).

Any tactical hints how I could get into the habit to use the horizons (50.000 ft....) more often as criteria?
 
Unlikely that you can use 50,000 horizon when 'down in the weeds'. Using context, time, energy, priority is a good idea.

Weekly review helps ensure that you maintain a connection to higher levels and tune your intuitive choice of the 'best' thing to do. This also allows you to prune your actions so someday/maybes are not cluttering your action lists. You may find that some of your projects need to be deferred or cancelled to support more 'important' projects (saying no to yourself or others can be supported by understanding your horizons of focus).
 
Tom.9;86590 said:
Any tactical hints how I could get into the habit to use the horizons (50.000 ft....) more often as criteria?
Click to expand...

I don't think you can easily use the higher horizons in determining what to do. But you can use it to even decide which projects to have on your plate. At weekly review time one of the things I ask myself about both active projects and someday/maybe projects is whether they even support my higher life goals. If not then I figure out how to get them moved to someone else if they have to be done or just delete them if they are not critical.
 
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