Too Darn Many Todo's

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Re: NA's

DM said:
Kudzu

This is new to me - the notion that all that should be in my NA lists are those I plan to do in the next 7 days. Or, that NA's should be proportiional to projects. As I wrote earlier - lots of NA's arent even attached to projects.

?
Click to expand...

If you look at the workflow diagram and re-read some of the processing, the only things on your next-action list should be actions that you need to do "as soon as possible". For me, next week or the week after that are not "as soon as possible". If I cannot conceivably get it done this week, I am too overloaded, whatever, it is not on my next action list. (More than likely I have just assigned it a due date of next week or the week after that, at which point I will review it again to see if it should be on my next action list.

Pam
 
NA or what?

PD Workman

If its not on your next action list then its on your Someday/Maybe?

If so, there are still the same number of todo's just in different places? Maybe you're right though. One Someday/Maybe list is easier to manage than a whole bunch of context lists I'm not going to do anything about in the next week or so anyway. Something to think on...

You are prioritizing when you do that. Which we must do at some level. We all have to narrow our focus or we just get overwhelmed with the blob of todos.

Also, I'm still thinking about what Sara said regarding the 2 minute rule. I sometimes feel like I'm inhaling (collecting & processing) without exhaling (doing). No wonder I'm turning blue! :wink:

Interesting discussion....
 
DM
My thinking goes like this: because it is the weekly review that is supposed to keep everything together, and because I know if I do a weekly review I will catch any project that does not have a NA, I only have on my projects list, those things that I call "active" i.e. I am planning to make time for them in the next week. When a project is something I am working on, but know I won't get to it in the next week or so, I put it in a category called "Holding" and it may or may not have an NA attached (this is where the "errands" examply applies in my case, I have a number of things to pick up at the building supply store listed under @errands, but not all things listed are related to "active" projects, some are connected to "holding" projects - this helps my efficiency. When I know something won't be tackled for a quite a while, or I don't plan to put effort into it in the near future, I put it into Someday/Maybe.

It seems to me that the 2 factors that make GTD excellent are the principles of "capture it all" and "review it regularly." This is what allows me to focus on what is at hand, and make good intuitive choices about what to work on. 200 ToDos would not help me focus at all, in fact it would shut me down (and has).

HTH,
 
Holding & Someday Maybe

Kudzu

So, help me understand the distinction between what is "holding" and what is "Someday Maybe". What you say makes sense, but its not covered in the book (GTD). Its a whole aspect of GTD that I think needs to be better explained.

In my opinion, I'm no better off with 200 todos in my head than I am with them on a list if I dont know what to do next....
 
DM:
On "Holding" vs. "Someday/Maybe", this may be a semantic distinction, and I would never presume to judge/criticize how something works (or doesn't) for anyone else, but for me the concept of a "holding" category represents a failure to fully process "stuff".

The ultimate question is: "Is this Actionable or Not?" Something I picked up on the CD of the seminar is the statement that (paraphrasing) if something is a project, by definition it's something you want to have done as soon as possible. If not, it's a someday/maybe.

Something that you want done, but know you won't have a chance to move on this week, is still a project because it has the same hold on us as the projects we are moving on. It is different qualitatively from a someday/maybe item.

I have HUGE NA lists, and for me the rigor of making myself go through this analysis, and avoiding a dumping category such as "holding" has had two significant payoffs:

1. As discussed in the Coaches Corner article, I have realized that there are some "projects" that I am really not committed to completing at all (most of these are personal, not much choice on the work end of this), and giving myself the permission to consign these to Someday/Maybe AFTER making a mature, considered assessment of that fact has really relieved alot of stress; and

2. Keeping all of my projects and NA on "current" lists (as opposed to a "holding" list) allows me to see the totality of my workload and makes it easier to say Yes or No to a new input in the first place. I don't think that assessment would be as easy if I had a pile of "current" projects here, and another pile of "holding" projects there.

Just my .02
 
Re: NA or what?

DM said:
PD Workman

If its not on your next action list then its on your Someday/Maybe?

If so, there are still the same number of todo's just in different places? Maybe you're right though. One Someday/Maybe list is easier to manage than a whole bunch of context lists I'm not going to do anything about in the next week or so anyway. Something to think on...
Click to expand...

For me, someday/maybe lists are for projects, not actions. The actions which are not "next actions" because they are not "as soon as possible" actions are deferred actions, as per the GTD workflow diagram. That means that they are on the calendar for a later date, in the tickler for a later date, or whatever. The easiest way to handle this on the Palm/PC is by changing the due date to when you think you will be able to get to it/must get to it.

Pam
 
Long term projects vs. Someday Maybe

Kudzu2u said:
A project that has been moved onto my S/M list for a week or two does not get any context NA in my view.

So, since my active projects tend to be what I feel I can get done in the next 7-10 days, my NA lists do not become unreasonable.
Click to expand...

Great observation...

Next actions tend to be the "next things to do, that are active." We always encourage people to make a front-end decision about whether or not something is actionable... and, you've got a point: Someday Maybe items don't have next actions. AND, we do have as many to-dos as we have. The critical factor will be the Weekly Review. Once a week to "re-commit" to all of those things you've said you were going to do.

Here's a note from David:

[ps: heres an email that I got from someone who was implementing this process. It might be useful for some of you, just beginning to build in the review as a regular habit... DA]

"I have a suggestion to pass on to those adding the weekly review process to their personal organizational strategy. Be patient and keep trying! My inboxes at home and at work, as well as my other input channels like notes and e-mail, were out of control for so long that Im still going through and cleaning them out to make them manageable - and I took the seminar in early October! Being a single mother who works fulltime I also get more interruptions than I get even small blocks of time to concentrate, but Im not giving up. I know that David does counsel patience, but I can say from personal experience that this is crucial to having success with the process. So remind new weekly reviewers to keep at it, as it may take several tries to get all the way through and then get it the the point where its manageable. Putting these strategies to work for me have helped immensely." - Ginny @ MIT
 
Well, I agree with Kudzu. Long lists of projects or next actions make me confused.

As I see it, there is a difference between "projects I have to do", and
"projects I will be able to do". The "projects I will be able to do" list is much smaller and as a see no sense in defining next actions that I have no hope of doing, ( for the projects I have to do, but will not be able to )
I don't. This makes my next actions list smaller,manageable and focused.

The "projects I will be able to do" are those with higher priority.

m torok
 
Weekly Review

Jason

Appreciate your input. I'm all for weekly reviews - in fact, I've just begun to realize how valuable it really is (I just thought I realized it before).

However, I dont find the weekly review particularly relevant to this discussion. To me, we're talking about decision criteria. If I do a weekly review like clockwork, but make the wrong decisions about what needs doing, I'm digging myself deeper into the "too darn many todos" hole.

I guess the bottom line is that we all need to decide how to prioritize our todo lists, and I'm finding that people have lots of different ways of doing that. I just havent figured out a good method yet.

Looking at 200 (213 now) todos every day and wondering what to do next is not working very well. I cant rely on my "gut instinct"
 
I've been watching this discussion progress with interest. It's great to see how many different ways people manage their lists.

For what it's worth, and in my personal case, I have way to many perpetual projects - so I can't really think in the terms of "what will get done in the next week or two". Several of these are for clients, and several were personal projects. One of the things I did for the new year was clear out some of the personal ones that I really wasn't committed to any more. I created a list called "Not Doing", and moved Projects, Support and NA files (related to each other) into that area. I created that area so that I wouldn't end up with the same, or a similar, idea a few months down the road, and put it into context (even someday/maybe), and bog myself down again. (I have a tough time giving up great ideas).

I'll be clearing out ongoing client projects this year too, but for now I have divided my projects into two lists: "!$Clients", and "!Projects". Client projects are on the Clients list of course (the codes at the front are for Palm category sorting only), so that I can concentrate on those fully when it's time to. My personal and business progression projects go onto the projects list.

I don't use contexts like desk/office/phone/home anymore, so I created one primary Next Action category that I call "!What's Next?". I also have a "!Priority" category that I use for dated and highlighted actions. This idea stems from the folks at Early To Rise, and the highlighting allows me to make sure I'm doing at least *something* towards my goals.

From there I have @Call/Talk - phone, agendas, and paper mail; @WF; @Errands/Buy; @Fun/Family; @Reading; @Ticklers; CopyWriting; Project Support; and Someday/Maybe.

I do tend to have around 200 plus items in the action lists at any given time. I don't think in terms of what can be done this week, or in the next 10-15 days. I have a general "near future" concept that shifts as needed. Errands/Buy for instance, might get something placed on it that I think I'm going to take care of in the next few weeks. Then I discover it has to wait for money, seasonal availability, whatever, so it goes to S/M unless I plan to try and find it online. In which case it stays on the errands list until I do it or get tired of looking at it and decide to put it aside for awhile.

I don't like to have more than 1 or 1 1/2 Palm screens worth of any context list. I think this helps me in the end though, because if the lists get too long I start evaluating how committed I am to something, asking if it fits my priorities/goals, etc. So in the end, this keeps me focused on what's important.

Sorry this is so long but hopefully it gives another useful perspective on the length of the lists :)
Kathy
--
Kathy Burns
http://www.electronicperceptions.com
 
DM

In my understanding, the weekly review is related to proper decision making in the following sense: What the weekly review does is rescue me from the need to make sure I make a "perfect" plan. I can make a front end decision on a)whether or not I want to do this or not (i.e. Project or S/M) and then b)when I can/want to get it done. But, I get to revise my decision every week if I need to, or if I made a poor decision up front. Since this is possible, I do not need to plan much farther than a week in advance in any kind of detail, I just need to determine the "general direction." As long as I am aware of my projects, I can trust my judgement about what needs to be worked on this week, in the same way I can do that on a day to day and moment to moment basis. It is the up front decision coupled with the regular review that helps me make the system work.

HTH
 
DM wrote:

Looking at 200 (213 now) todos every day and wondering what to do next is not working very well. I cant rely on my "gut instinct"

DM,

Many months ago, in this forum , someone suggested a method for weeding out and priorizing a todos list that was out of control, maybe it works for you.

For each todo, ask yourself what will happen if that action is not done :

1) A serious problem.

2) No immediate consequence,

3) Nothing will happen.

Make a todo list with all number 1 actions, and DO IT!
Cross out all or most of your number 3 items.

The remaining list should be renumbered 1,2,3. And so on.

This method is useful for chronic procastinators also.

Hope it helps.
 
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