How to handle routines?

assdfd513213

Registered
For example
- eat vitamins
- drink protein supplements
- (daily habit)
- exercise 1.5 hours

How are you dealing with items that don't big matter much even if you don't complete them?
But actually it should do on specific date...
How do you handle those?
 

TesTeq

Registered
For example
- eat vitamins
- drink protein supplements
- (daily habit)
- exercise 1.5 hours

How are you dealing with items that don't big matter much even if you don't complete them?
But actually it should do on specific date...
How do you handle those?
I agree with @GTDengineer. If it doesn't matter don't do it. Life's too short.
 

Gardener

Registered
For example
- eat vitamins
- drink protein supplements
- (daily habit)
- exercise 1.5 hours

How are you dealing with items that don't big matter much even if you don't complete them?
But actually it should do on specific date...
How do you handle those?

It doesn't matter if you NEVER complete them? In that case, I agree, why bother?

If you mean that one or two failures don't matter, that's different. To me, that means that you want a habit-building strategy, but it doesn't need to be too strict, because the stakes aren't huge.

Possible habit-building strategies:

- A daily checklist. I would have this separate from your main GTD lists, because I think it's likely to introduce clutter to those lists.

- A physical/visual reminder. You could get one of those weekly pill sorters, fill it with vitamins once a week, and keep it by your toothbrush to remind you to take the vitamin when you brush your teeth. The sorter tells your sleepy mind whether you've already taken today's, and whether you've forgotten earlier days.

Of course, this means you have to remember to fill it once a week, which may require another habit-building strategy. Or, since it's just once a week, maybe you do put it in your GTD lists, since that reduces the clutter.

For that matter, you could buy four pill sorters and fill them every four weeks, further reducing the reminder clutter--though now the extra sorters make physical clutter.

You could craft a similar visual reminder for the protein supplements.

- A scheduled habit. The exercise could be blocked off at a specific time on your calendar. Just as you have lunch at a particular time every day, you exercise at a specific time. I would only use the calendar for things that take up a significant time, not one-minute things like taking vitamins.
 

Cpu_Modern

Registered
I have something like this in the Tickler File facility of my system:
butterfliesandletters-1024x1024.jpg
One sheet for each routine. Once done, I mark the respective boxes, ad notes etc

Then I re-tickle towards the day I want to do that routine again.
 

mcogilvie

Registered
My personal experience is that some things, like taking vitamins, quickly become habits, and do not need to be tracked or tickled. On the other hand, I do need a daily reminder to process email, because it’s too easy to forget during a busy day.
 

Oogiem

Registered
How are you dealing with items that don't big matter much even if you don't complete them?
But actually it should do on specific date...
How do you handle those?
I have them as projects until they are habits that are set in my mind. So until they are firmly set I keep them as projects with both start and due dates to try to nudge me into the formation of the habit.
 
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