House Chores (Separate List or At Home List)

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Joshua

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Do you have a separate list for chores or does that just make things more complicated instead of including them in your At Home List?

I use Asana to manage my GTD system. I use My Tasks for a complete list of open loops and projects. My next actions are captured in subtasks. I use tags for Next Actions, At Home, Waiting For, Phone, At Computer, etc...

Right now I have a Chore List in My Tasks, but I'm thinking about eliminating this list and just tagging each chore with the At Home tag and then making them recurring tasks to recur x amount of days each time I mark them complete. The Chore List is not really a project, and it seems to be complicating the flow of my system.

I know there are many ways to handle these types of things, but I'm looking for some insight from someone with more experience with GTD. I've only been using the methodology for about 4 months.
 
It depends on the particular chore, it isn't really relevant that it's a chore. Some I do have on the @home list, others I do have in the Tickler.
 
Joshua said:
Do you have a separate list for chores or does that just make things more complicated instead of including them in your At Home List?

I use Asana to manage my GTD system. I use My Tasks for a complete list of open loops and projects. My next actions are captured in subtasks. I use tags for Next Actions, At Home, Waiting For, Phone, At Computer, etc...

Right now I have a Chore List in My Tasks, but I'm thinking about eliminating this list and just tagging each chore with the At Home tag and then making them recurring tasks to recur x amount of days each time I mark them complete. The Chore List is not really a project, and it seems to be complicating the flow of my system.

I know there are many ways to handle these types of things, but I'm looking for some insight from someone with more experience with GTD. I've only been using the methodology for about 4 months.
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In GTD terms, I would say that each of your chores is an action that needs a context, and if you can only do a chore at home, then @home is the context, wherever you list chores. I use Omnifocus to track projects and actions, and it would allow me to have a Chores list and have recurring actions within that, so not mutually exclusive. I sympathise with you wanting a separate list for chores, and even tried putting mine on a separate app (Home Routines) - quite nice, and even gave me a little gold star each time I completed a chore! But I decided to keep chores in Omnifocus, so that I only had to look in one app for everything. On a separate tack, a GTD tool you might find useful is checklists. For instance you could have a recurring action to do house cleaning and a checklist covering all the things this entails. Some of my chores appear in checklists for morning and evening routines, but that's another story.
 
I heard somewhere David Allen say that you don't need to track things that the universe reminds you of. Most chores fall into that category for me. I'll see that something is dirty or out of place and I'll just fix it: doing work as it shows up.

Exceptions for me are:
  • taking the bins out for collection which is on my calendar.
  • if guests are coming round I'll block some time to clean and tidy everything.
If it's just to keep things ticking over then cultivating the habits of doing things as I see them, and leaving things in a better state than I found them works for me.
 
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cfoley said:
you don't need to track things that the universe reminds you of. Most chores fall into that category for me
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This is funny and true! When the universe (or my wife) reminds me to do a chore, I still have to schedule it. SO, why not make yourself a list of chores that have to be done at regular intervals and schedule them in a @ list?
- @ Saturday (weekly house clean, weekly car maintenance, update financial records)
@ every other Saturday.
@ first Saturday of the month
 
If the universe reminds me at the wrong time then yes, it goes on a list.

Some examples:

Brushing my teeth: It's a habit. Not on a list.
Buying a new toothbrush. It's just not on my radar. I'll happily go 1 year with a worn out brush. It SHOULD be in my ticklers.

Feeding the cats: Another daily habit (but also the cats remind me). Not on a list.
Buying cat food. I get reminded at the wrong time. It's on a list.

Hoovering the carpet: I will be reminded at home, with the carpet and hoover handy. Not on a list.
Washing the shower screen. For some reason I am blind to this. It's on a list.

Putting rubbish in the bin. Another habit. Not on a list.
Taking the bins out: time sensitive. It's on a list.

If any of this stuff is on my mind when I am doing something else then I'll capture it. But if it's not got my attention, then why would I spend time capturing, processing and reviewing it?
 
John Ismyname said:
This is funny and true! When the universe (or my wife) reminds me to do a chore, I still have to schedule it. SO, why not make yourself a list of chores that have to be done at regular intervals and schedule them in a @ list?
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If the wife asks, and you say you'll do it than you have a commitment. In that case, I would track that if I didn't do it immediately.

The list of chores could be a good approach to keep on top of things. If it works for you then great. Personally, I would try to turn most of that list into habits so that I wouldn't need the list.
 
TickTick just added their habit tracker and I was THRILLED to be able to add, "wash dishes" to it. It's just a helpful nudge to do something I might otherwise procrastinate on! For bigger chores, like a house clean (I usually just freshen up before company comes) I have checklists stashed away so I can refresh myself on all the steps.
 
cfoley said:
Personally, I would try to turn most of that list into habits so that I wouldn't need the list.
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I can do habits daily maybe every other day but if something less frequent than that , I need a check list triggered by a reminder system. For household chores, the most effective way is to pic a day and time and knock them all off in one go.
 
Of course, I have a list of household chores; without this, I would forget many details I need to do in the house and in general in real life. In fact, I advise everyone to read the diy chore chart article because it can help you do your business much faster and more efficiently. Also, many probably have children, and they will not listen to you if they just talk about what they should do around the house. Still, I made a diy magnetic chart from the Internet guide and wrote everything children should do around the house.
 
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Joshua said:
Do you have a separate list for chores or does that just make things more complicated instead of including them in your At Home List?

I use Asana to manage my GTD system. I use My Tasks for a complete list of open loops and projects. My next actions are captured in subtasks. I use tags for Next Actions, At Home, Waiting For, Phone, At Computer, etc...

Right now I have a Chore List in My Tasks, but I'm thinking about eliminating this list and just tagging each chore with the At Home tag and then making them recurring tasks to recur x amount of days each time I mark them complete. The Chore List is not really a project, and it seems to be complicating the flow of my system.

I know there are many ways to handle these types of things, but I'm looking for some insight from someone with more experience with GTD. I've only been using the methodology for about 4 months House Cleaning Raleigh.
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How you can get your household chores done. My LO always needs me around. It becomes difficult even to cook. Any tips please.
 
samuelethan said:
How you can get your household chores done. My LO always needs me around. It becomes difficult even to cook. Any tips please.
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Ruthless prioritization. I mean that literally, because we named our daughter Ruth. Seriously, have you tried contexts like @home-withLO, @home-sleepingLO? You can also simplify what you do, and be really explicit about next actions so you can do more when you’re brain dead. There is also the well-known time-money-quality trade off. Paying attention to your own sleep, exercise and nutrition will help as well.
 
I use a combo of my Bullet Journal dailies and a weekly / fortnightly / monthly habit tracker. Basically checklists, because otherwise I forget things and can't remember when I last cleaned something! Anything over the normal day to day gets added to NAs.
 
samuelethan said:
How you can get your household chores done. My LO always needs me around. It becomes difficult even to cook. Any tips please.
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@samuelethan,

Keep as few 'Things' as possible for . . . Clean what is already Clean . . . Empty Things/Systems Empty [Hamper, Sink, Trash, etc. ] . . . Full Things/Systems Full . . . especially when it comes to living !


Clothes, Domestic-Cleaning, Errands, Exercise/Fitness, Hygiene, Nutrition, etc. looks like this:

Morning Ritual Habit/Routine/Sequence/System (30 Minutes max):

Capture Blood-Pressure, Weight . . . Empty Dish-Strainer . . . Push Coffee Start . . . Egg on Lowest Heat while . . . Wash Kitchen Floor . . . Wash Bathroom Floor . . . Shower . . . Wash clothes if necessary ['always' "While/Routine embedded" 'never' stand-alone NA] . . . Breakfast/Supplements Waiting. . . .

Then out the door for 30-60 Minute Morning Meditation/Rosary Walk includes Cardio, Social Interaction(s), Errands [Supermarket, Library [Books, Printing, Photocopying, Scanning], etc. provides Books-&-Groceries for "Bar-Bell Bags for Bone/Joint fitness"], Wash-&-Cut Dinner-Prep . . . done . . . all clear . . . get on with the day . . . all good . . . on this end . . . self-service is the best service . . . no experience is the best experience

NB: To help avoid colds, etc. "Water-Duties" are at end of the sequence during inclement weather

Ps. Getting things done 'While. . . ." is like getting things done without extra Time-&-Energy . . . it's like getting things done for 'free'. . . .

Lots of "Feet-&-Hand logistical optimization" can play a big role in ""while doing" as initially developed/learned from past Food-&-Beverage / Hospitality experience . . . has become a very handy quality-of-life enhancing skill

As such . . . the sooner you get your six to twelve month McDonald's, Starbucks', etc. billion-dollar training done the better?

As you see GTD fit. . . .
 
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Joshua said:
Do you have a separate list for chores or does that just make things more complicated instead of including them in your At Home List?

I use Asana to manage my GTD system. I use My Tasks for a complete list of open loops and projects. My next actions are captured in subtasks. I use tags for Next Actions, At Home, Waiting For, Phone, At Computer, etc...

Right now I have a Chore List in My Tasks, but I'm thinking about eliminating this list and just tagging each chore with the At Home tag and then making them recurring tasks to recur x amount of days each time I mark them complete. The Chore List is not really a project, and it seems to be complicating the flow of my system.

I know there are many ways to handle these types of things, but I'm looking for some insight from someone with more experience with GTD. I've only been using the methodology for about 4 months.
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In Todoist, I share a project with my partner called 'Casa' (which translates to 'Home'). Within this main project, I have sub-projects that cover various areas of the house plot such as the garden, garage, main building and …

Each chore is entered as a Todoist task with a specific, unique label, but not named 'NA' to avoid cluttering my standard GTD 'NA' list. By configuring the project view and sorting to my preference, I get a clear visual of potential next actions I can tackle when I'm in the mood.

Additionally, my partner knows to add new tasks under this shared structure whenever she needs something done (into her mobile Todoist app).
 
Rostane said:
I would create a sub-list @home + which room, for exemple.
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I prefix items on my @home list with the room where they are to be done to remind myself where I need to be to do the task. I have an explicit @Office for my home office and when I find myself doing a lot in one room, I'll create a @Laundry for instance, when I was doing cabinetry work there. It's gone now, but I still prefix tasks for that room with Laundry Room:

mcogilvie said:
You can also simplify what you do, and be really explicit about next actions so you can do more when you’re brain dead.
Click to expand...
This really works for me. I have to have my next actions to be a real physical description of an action with adjectives and adverbs sometimes to break the logjam. My weekly review methodology guide weekly review card has a post it note on it with this quote: "Real Meeting with a Real Assistant. Delegate everything to my assistant. I am very clear what they need to do with specific tasks to accomplish and I can review with them the following week." My assistant happens to be the future me. I want him to be as informed as he can be because I have no idea what kind of day he will be having ;-)

mcogilvie said:
Paying attention to your own sleep, exercise and nutrition will help as well.
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By doing this, I have made the single largest increase in my ability to focus, decide and do things. It takes years of unrelenting work and focus but the payoff keeps snowballing.

Clayton

Perfect your beingness by going slowly through the routine of your life until you have it mastered. Do the ordinary things that make up your life. Learn to do those things to the point of mastery. You’ll find great satisfaction in them. Conduct your life from a place of quiet, calm loving. ...
- John Roger
 
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