Too Darn Many Todo's

[Anonymous]

Well, I hit the 200 mark on todos today and I have to admit I'm getting a little reluctant to look at it sometimes - reminds me of how many things I havent done yet!

Any of you out there with a couple hundred todo's that have tricks for keeping the list real? It can tend to get a bit amorphous for me now. I'm not putting silly stuff there either.

I'm all ears - or, eyes...

DM

[andmor]

DM:

I had a huge list when I did my initial mind dump and in the early enthusiastic days of "writing everything down". After studying the workflow diagram several times - actually it was something in the Barnes & Noble free course that caused the "ah-ha!" - I twigged to the essential that Inbox - Processing - Organizing are 3 distinct hard-edged activities. This significantly reduced the number of items that made their way into the Next Actions list. Also Meg Gott's Coaches' Corner article on using the Someday/Maybe list was very helpful.

I abandoned filtering the Next Actions list with due dates/priorities to facilitate the Review - Do selections, and now I keep each Context list short enough that I can make the selections easily. I try to keep each Context list to one Palm screen (7 - 9 items) and anything less urgent / important in each Context goes into Someday/Maybe. I find that very few items now get lifted out of Someday/Maybe - but I don't care because they weren't so important to begin with. Putting them there feels much better than having them clog up my Next Action list.

Hope this helps.

Andrew

[Bryan]

Ya know...this is one I'd like to hear from the experts on (Jason, someone?). DA's advice in the book is crystal clear: identify *all* (emphasis in the original) moving parts of the project for action. In my world, that can easily run the score up. (Last job, I was the contracts manager for 19 matrixed project teams, each negotiating multi-million dollar international contracts with different countries...oh yeah, and with no prior experience in any of them, I ran all personnel, HR, and MIS for the global organization, too. That ran the score up ** considerably** on the old next action list...) :wink:

Now, having whined a bit, here's my suggestion:

Redefine your projects to be smaller! I have a proposal due soon, but I just took a hit on it in that some key assumptions got changed for me :roll: So, my *new* project is not "Finish Proposal", but now is "Revise Proposal Topic", which has fewer possible NAs. After I finish this project, the next one would then be "Write Proposal".

I actually had this revelation today. "Write/Finish Proposal" as the single project just opens the moving parts floodgates too wide. It's a fairly major proposal requiring periodic buy-in from several diverse organizations around the country, so there's lots of potentially simultaneous moving parts. Now, I've started subdividing my projects and putting all subprojects but the one I'm focusing on now into someday/maybe.

This ends up not being too different conceptually (just semantically!) from prior advice, but the compulsive part of me likes that *all* moving parts for all my active projects are in the todo list in my Palm, rather than judgmentally picking which NAs to include from a larger list of potentially moving parts. :D

Cheers!

[Anonymous]

I am in the early stages of GTD so I am casting a big net of many unfinished projects, whims, and responsibilities, but I have over 300 actions and 50 plus projects listed. Sometimes I spend an hour or two crossing off, making notes, determining contexts but there are days I can't bear to look at my lists! Some of each list are time-specific routines (recurring series of actions required at known specific intervals such as morning and night, every Monday, first Thursday), some have more flexibility as to time but need to be set in motion within a range of times, and choice of when has an impact. Just how much time is reasonable to spend reviewing lists in the intial stages? I use pencil and paper in a half-size three ring binder.

[csweningsen]

I like Andrew's response of limiting the in-sight Next Actions. The question is how to do it, but be confident that the ones that are not in sight are not lost.

I could imagine that what is wanted here is some differentiation in the Someday / Maybe, in conjunction with the Weekly Review. For me the Someday / Maybe has had a lot of "Maybe" to it; stuff I really might and can just drop. But in my work there is a lot of "have to, but not now." So I could see a division in Someday / Maybe, of identified Actions Waiting (or some such title), that would move into Next Actions in a Weekly Review.

I've just taken Andrew's advice and had a look at Meg Gott's article on the S/M (!) list -- and there it seems this list is for Projects, not NA's. So perhaps the differentiation I'm suggesting, is S/M-NA's, and S/M-Projects?

In Meg's example, a project was moved from Someday / Maybe, into Projects, when it became active. So this negates my suggestion above. And I'm thinking again of Andrew's "limit the size of the Context lists," and considering that NA's can live in the thousands in Projects, then be pulled out into Contexts only in Weekly Review. So that the Context need not even be identified til then, and so the Action is identified and kept related to the Project, but the "ToDo's" are manageable ...

In suggesting this I am thinking of software and linking / filtering activities; perhaps actions (even by the hundreds!) identified and stored in Project folders / lists / outline levels; then Contexts identfied in Weekly Review, with actual ToDo's coming out of for instance filtered / linked Context views...

>Now, I've started subdividing my projects and putting all subprojects but the one I'm focusing on now into someday/maybe.<

Along with their NA's?

Bryan, how do you implement your suggestion to keep the projects small (which I think is a great idea) -- in relation to Someday /Maybe? For me, there is a set of projects that could be "set aside" this week, but they need a whole different kind of ongoing review than a whole other set of projects that would be in Someday / Maybe... maybe I'm trying to "Oversignify" here, and you just open up the projects that need the close review, and skip over the others?

In any case it seems that the Weekly Review is the key -- along with the Reliable Parking Spot with a reviewable Stake in the Ground.

--Christian

[Anonymous]

I think the someday maybe list can be used effectively for both NA's and projects. I've found the best practice is to review the entire someday maybe list weekly and then move items off of it as needed.

Since someday maybe lists can get long and review time can get shortened ; ) and there's not always time to review the SM list weekly, one thing I experimented with that might help (but I gave up on it ) was creating a NTW-biz and NTW-pers categories (NOT THIS WEEK)

I used it to shorten the list of active NA's when I found an item that I knew really was actionable --but there was no way it was going to get touched this week --I moved it there and then all I needed to do was review those two lists weekly instead of the SM list.

in the end I found it easier to review the SM list weekly to make sure I was staying current with my SM's and not letting it become some sort of dark closet I hadn't been in for months : ) "Who knows what might be in there? " etc.

hope that helps.

Paul

[Anonymous]

With respect to Someday/Maybe for "I need to, but not now" items, I've really tried to follow the advice of storing these in my project support files. Now, for me, this required the creation of project support files in the first place, which I used to avoid.

I use my labeller and create a physical folder labelled with the Project title, and file that in a current file area (one of my desk drawers) which is separate from my general reference filing or my firm's filing area. The Project is also listed on my Project list category on the PDA. From there, any thoughts that I have about future action that are either dependent on some other action happening first, or that I simply am not ready to move on yet, get either jotted down on a sheet of paper in the physical Project folder and/or as an attached note to the Project entry on the PDA. (For some small projects, a physical file is unnecessary, and I only track it on the PDA).

These are then reviewed at each Weekly review (which I try to always do at the office so I have access to the physical folders).

As I'm writing this out, it occurs to me the the physical project support folder and the attached note on the PDA serve as "in-buckets" for each project, which are then processed at least once a week.

[Bryan]

>>Bryan, how do you implement your suggestion to keep the projects small (which I think is a great idea) -- in relation to Someday /Maybe? For me, there is a set of projects that could be "set aside" this week, but they need a whole different kind of ongoing review than a whole other set of projects that would be in Someday / Maybe... maybe I'm trying to "Oversignify" here, and you just open up the projects that need the close review, and skip over the others? In any case it seems that the Weekly Review is the key -- along with the Reliable Parking Spot with a reviewable Stake in the Ground.

Hi, Christian,

The short answer is "yes". That's exactly what I do. It's kinda intuitive, but I let my bandwidth be a guideline. "Study World History" doesn't fit in the bandwidth right now, so I just skip right by; other items (e.g., those subprojects related to my life-at-stake proposal project) get more attention, even though they're still on the someday/maybe list.

The weekly review really is the key (interestingly, it is in Covey's model and the old Geodex model, too).

HTH,
Bryan

[Sflwrgirl]

You know, for me, one of the big things was looking through my action list and asking myself, "can I really just do this now?" I created a Pending category for things that are really the "next action," but that I can't do yet. I've committed to doing them (so to me, they aren't Someday/Maybe because they will be done, and in the near future -- usually a couple weeks, which isn't Someday to me), and I'm not really waiting on anyone, just for time to pass. For me, that's enough to shrink my list down to things that I really can do now, and so I don't loose things. If you use a paper-based system, a tickler could do the job, but I like having these things handy on a list.

(I should point out now that I use a Palm -- not because it's all that important for the process, but just because it may help make sense of my explanations.)

I also use priorities -- but not in a firm sense. I review my list each day and pop things up to the top that I'd really like to get to, or that will remind me to work on a particular category. All my Waiting for, pending, and Someday / Maybe items get a 4 or 5 so that they don't bother me. Generally, I find that something in most categories ends up somewhere near the top. That way, I look at all my items, find one to do, do it, and also look at the other actions in that category. Most of the time, things don't fall through the cracks, and I don't really have to look at a lot of items at a time.

Hope it helps! (Feel free to ask questions!)
--Sara

[Jason Womack]

Ya know...this is one I'd like to hear from the experts on (Jason, someone?). DA's advice in the book is crystal clear: identify *all* (emphasis in the original) moving parts of the project for action. In my world, that can easily run the score up. (Last job, I was the contracts manager for 19 matrixed project teams, each negotiating multi-million dollar international contracts with different countries...oh yeah, and with no prior experience in any of them, I ran all personnel, HR, and MIS for the global organization, too. That ran the score up ** considerably** on the old next action list...) :wink:

The short answer is:

You create, promote and/or allow all that "stuff" to do.


Sorry for an answer that might sound glib, but you have as many actions as you have. You might want to park some of them on Someday/Maybe if there's truly no way you'll have the time or energy to get to some of them for a while. And , the system we recommend does not deteriorate with speed and volume, so it'll handle most effectively as many as you have.

You'll just have to review a larger volume to feel confident about your choice of what to do. And there's also the potential issue of overcommitting, in terms of what you think you can actually get done and/or how your job has been defined. But you'll only know that when you have the whole inventory complete, in front of you, and accessible regularly. The Weekly Review should be giving you a higher-altitude point of view on all this, and until that's a regular habit, I wouldn't trust anyone's judgement about how effective their system is.

[Anonymous]

I have more than 400 someday/maybe projects ( many of those fall in the category: have to, but not now) and a very dynamic working setup. Priorities can change abruptly depending on what comes to the inbox everyday.
I think it's important to keep the TODOS list short, otherwise I begin to avoid looking at it.
I keep in the todos list next actions for those projects that are really active, usually only the very next action. When it's done I ask myself: and now, what's the next step? and that's the next action for that project. I put it on the list immediately. I do not wait for the weekly review to do this.
Many times the next action takes less than 2 minutes, so I do it immediately, and the NEXT next action is waiting for somebody's reply , and then is goes to the WF list and I move to another project.
The active projects list tends to be very short too, so I can keep focused. A project can move from the SM list to the active list because of some new fact that happens, and I do it immediately, define a next action and put it on the list.
I keep files for the projects where I collect notes, ideas, and a rough list of actions , but the next action if defined only when the project has to move.
If a project becomes dormant ( it happens quite often when priorities change), the actions of that project are cancelled from the todos list.
If it becomes active again, I review the project file, define a new next action and put it in the list.
I think one of the strongest tools of the GTD system is the next action concept. In the beggining it was very difficult for me to decide on the next action, but as I practice, every day it is easier.

[Bryan]

Thanks, Jason! Given the spectrum of advice, I though it might be helpful to get your observations (a.k.a., the schoolhouse answer) given your broader experience. (Jason's comment follows)

Jason said:
"The short answer is: You create, promote and/or allow all that "stuff" to do.

Sorry for an answer that might sound glib, but you have as many actions as you have. You might want to park some of them on Someday/Maybe if there's truly no way you'll have the time or energy to get to some of them for a while. And , the system we recommend does not deteriorate with speed and volume, so it'll handle most effectively as many as you have. "

[Kudzu2u]

Thanks Jason for weighing in. I noticed something in the author's previous post that perhaps went unnoticed. In my understanding, only active projects need NA's. 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.

HTH,
- in Canada

[Anonymous]

Theres no simple, easy way to manage this many todos...

[Anonymous]

Kudzu

I have lots of todos that arent attached to active (or inactive) projects....

[tom.miller]

I also have a healthy list of to-dos and somewhere around 80 projects. What confuses me with some of the above posts is how you can have 50 projects and 300 or 400 NAs. If you keep your NAs to what is truly the Next Action for a project, you may have 75 -100 NAs for 50 projects (assuming some parallel NAs and some NAs not associated with a project). I suspect that some are putting all steps of a project in their list rather than just the Next Action. These project steps really belong in the project support file.

[Kudzu2u]

Dear DM,
Do I understand you correctly? You have over 200 ToDos. Many of them are not NA's for Projects, but rather they are items that can be done in one step (so they are not projects). You are truly planning to get each of these non-Project NA's done in the next seven days, before your next weekly review. So therefore they do not belong in a holding tank of some kind, or on your someday/maybe list?

[Anonymous]

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.

?

[Sflwrgirl]

OK, I'll throw another question at you: How well are you using the 2 - minute rule?

Now, your list could very easily be totally different from mine, but I find that lots of my not-connected-to-projects actions are really less than 2 minutes. This will sound really silly, but it took me a while to figure out how long 2 minutes really is. I suggest that you start timing your tasks, just to get an idea of how long they really take. Maybe you find out that your tasks take a lot longer than you thought, and that you simply can't devote that much time to some of these things, and you really just need to let some go (at least for a little while.) And you might find out that many of them take a lot less time than your brain imagined them to take.

Are a lot of these actions of one particular type or another? (Lots of calls, perhaps?) Could you block out some time to just run through those calls (or whatever) and get some of them done?

And finally, are you absolutely, positively sure that these really are the next actions on some non-project thing? Are you sure that you really aren't holding on to something else associated with these actions that you need to get out of your head and written down SOMEWHERE that you trust?

--Sara

[Bryan]

Having just reread GTD for the 3rd or 4th time, and referring to Jason's previous post, I don't think the GTD police would bust any of us for how we customize the system. :) Legalism is always an ugly thing. :( Do what helps you get things done!

That said, I'm pretty sure the "Hoyle" solution is that *every* next action (defined as an action that has no predecessor; you *could* do it right now if time stopped on everything else in your life) goes in the next action list. This allows you to capitalize on the various planning constraints--context, time available, energy, priority--and I'll add possible synergies, e.g., if you don't have all your errands on your list b/c you didn't think you'd get to them all, you can't capitalize on the chance to combine some trips you otherwise might.

Now, I think I also recall from previously in the thread Jason both acknowledging that lists can get fairly large and reinforcing the obvious that if you *know* you won't get to it this week then you won't get to it, and that NA can go to Somewhere/Maybe or just stay in project support or whatever.

Re: # of NAs: Many of us in project-driven global organizations aren't lacking for large projects (defined technically, not in GTD terms) that generate many simultaneously executable NAs...hitting 200 is a cinch. :(

--Bryan

[pd_workman]

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.

?

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

[Anonymous]

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....

[Anonymous]

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,

[Anonymous]

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....

[Anonymous]

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

[pd_workman]

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...

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

[Jason Womack]

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.



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

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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"

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.