genelong;52735 said:
For example, right now on my house list, I have 57 items. Examples:
get new bath mat for bathroom
find longer-life bulbs for hallway
replace bath cabinet
paint renter's room
get new battery for remote phone
find out if house insurance covers renter's belongs
winterize the hot tub
go through storage room, toss old boxes
fix thermometer on kitchen window or buy new
look up water capacity of hot tub
These are not NAs: they're projects, albeit small ones. It helps
a lot to be really stringent about your NAs, so that your NA lists are things that you can do in that context, and without any extra information (except perhaps the relevant A-Z folder if you're working in your office).
An example: "Find longer-life bulbs for hallway" is not an NA. "Find" is more of a final outcome verb, in that it describes what you want as the end result. Some of the things you might have to do include:
- look at the current bulb to find the wattage and manufacturer;
- google "long life bulbs" to find 3 choices;
- check local hardware store to see if it stocks your 3 choices;
and so on. Each of those things are small, completely defined NAs that you can easily add to the appropriate context lists, and they will move your project along by increments.
Another example: "Go through storage room and toss old boxes". I'm in the throes of something like this at the moment, and again this is something that can be broken down. For starters, does "Go through storage room" include decluttering whatever's in there, or is it just the boxes? It doesn't matter either way, although once again that's two projects rather than one NA, but you can break it up by putting something like "Spend 10 minutes in storage room breaking down boxes ready to recycle". Get a timer if you haven't already got one, and batch items as suggested by Merlin Mann of 43 Folders in his wonderful
dash hack.
A third example: "Find out if house insurance covers renter's belongings". The NAs that I can see in this might be:
- Read insurance policy to see if it mentions tenants;
- Get contact phone number from policy;
- Call 555 5555 (always,
always write the number on your list) and ask if house insurance covers renter's belongings.
A good NA should involve only one step, provide you with everything you need to complete it (such as the appropriate phone number or info), and require absolutely no decisions. Think of an NA as a 'no-brainer': something that you can do on autopilot. Be specific, be complete, and as persnickety as you can, and you'll end up with something you can do in a couple of minutes without thinking about it. That's the essence of the NA.
As a final aside note, do you guys in the US use compact fluorescent bulbs like us here in Oz? Because they've got a lifetime about 4 times as long as the incandescent globes, and they use about a quarter of the energy. Worth considering for your hallway.