I really don't like my lists...

[M3erlin0]

While I like the ideas of GTD - in day-to-day business I tend to avoid looking at my lists. I just don't look at them...

Honestly speaking I'm a bit afraid of them. It is just no fun looking at hundreds and hundreds of tasks and projects.

I've tried out quite a lot of systems. Starting with a paper-based System (time system) switching to a variety of Mac and iPhone/iPad software (ToDo, Omnifocus, Thinking Rock,...). None of these has ever met my expectations and proved to be useful.

Does anyone have some useful hints that go beyond the mantra of being self disciplined?David Allen mentioned "your system should be fun to work with" - can anyone provide some ideas to get more fun into working with lists?

Best wishes

M3elin0

[CJSullivan]

Some reasons you might not like your lists are that

1. you haven't really captured a visible, doable, physical next action;
2. you haven't taken full advantage of the someday/maybe list(s), so you're mixing up future "maybes" with items you actually have commitment to finishing in the near future;
3. you need to do some thinking about your "upper horizons" - in other words - do you really want to be doing some of the things you've said you'll do right now? How do these things fit into your bigger picture?
4. you've populated your lists with a bunch of "shoulds"

These lists are really there to (a) take the job of reminding/remembering away from your brain, and (b) set you up to win and to move projects forward relatively painlessly. They're not meant to be a yardstick, or a club with which to bash yourself with!

From your post it would seem that #2 is the most likely candidate, and I would also add - having fun with your lists is really about building fun into your life - and also from getting cheap wins! (The kind you get when you do something and then write it down on a list so you can cross it off as "done"!)

[ellobogrande]

At any given moment you can spend your time doing one of three things:

1. Doing defined work
2. Doing work as it shows up
3. Defining work

Many people are uncomfortable doing 1 and 3 so they get wrapped around 2. They figure if they just get busy enough then they can avoid having to think about the tougher and more important issues in their lives. D.A. calls this "getting caught in the busy trap."

There's another reason why the busy trap is so seductive; it's familiar. Without a system for doing 1 and 3 you only have 2 left. Your subconscious may not be used to operating in 1 and 3 so it resists the unfamiliar. It takes time for your subconscious to trust your lists and your system. You can't just expect your subconscious to drop years of conditioning and trust a system that's unproven to your own mind.

My brain didn't trust my system for almost two months; it kept trying to take back the job. Consciously I new that GTD principles work but unconsciously I still had old patterns so deeply ingrained that it was uncomfortable. I made the decision to stick with it regardless of my feelings at the time. Eventually my subconcious accepted that I had found a better system and it started to let go.

I love working from an action list of things that I can knock off rapidly and get some quick wins. In fact, I look forward to Mondays because I do my weekly reviews on Fridays or Sundays. On Monday I have organized lists of defined work, I go on a "mad-assed tear" (as Howard Stern says) and I love it.

In conclusion I'm really just trying to say that maybe your brain just doesn't trust operating with a mind like water yet. Stick with the habits, don't get caught up with the toys (use paper if technology is holding you back), be patient with yourself and decide after three months of dedicated effort if GTD is right for you.

[Oogiem]

While I like the ideas of GTD - in day-to-day business I tend to avoid looking at my lists. I just don't look at them...

Honestly speaking I'm a bit afraid of them. It is just no fun looking at hundreds and hundreds of tasks and projects.

I'm at the upper end of projects and action items from what I've seen around here and I don't have hundreds and hundreds of tasks on my lists, yes, hundreds of projects, but most are sitting on hold, as a someday/maybe project and don't get looked at except at my weekly review.


I'd take a look at each and every project.

Do you have one and ONLY 1 next action available for that project? IOW are your lists clogged with possible or future actions that aren't really next? Yes, I know I and many others will put actions that can be done in any order on your lists but initially I think it's a good starting point to be more strict about only 1 action at a time per project that is active and available. If you are using Omnifocus then set every project to sequential to immediately eliminate all future actions easily.

Then take a look at the projects themselves. Because of the nature of my work I tend to keep as available and active any project that I could possibly work on given the season. For me as a farmer that means I keep any project that I might be able to do or work on during this 3 month period. However, most people with more normal jobs will find it a lot easier to manage if you only have on your lists those projects you are committed to working on during the next week or so. So my second suggestion is to ruthlessly put on hold (again assuming Omnifocus) all projects that you do not plan to actually work on during the next 7-10 days.

Lastly, Do you have a FUL inventory of ALL projects? Including ones that are fun or hobbies or things that are of interest to you or are they all work? I found that I engaged with my lists and enjoyed the whole system a whole lot better once I also started including projects related to my hobbies and interests. A big bonus is that I got more of them finished too. I put a lot of those next actions into a special context "Inside by Myself Hobbies" so that when I am in the mood to do fun stuff I only see the things I have previously defined as fun that I want to accomplish. Current examples for me include "Mark where the buttonholes will go on my rust cardigan sweater" (a knitting project), "Lay out previous month's poultry pictures" (a scrapbook project) and "Write 2000 words on my Camp NaNo Novel" (a writing project).

Once you do those things then see what you are left with.

[mcogilvie]

If you have hundreds of projects and next actions, what are you doing about them now? How were you handling them before you knew gtd existed? How do you feel if you sort them by "must do, want to do, should do, could do, not now?"

[TesTeq]

It is just no fun looking at hundreds and hundreds of tasks and projects.

42 is the answer.

Leave up to 21 Projects (with their Next Actions) and up to 21 standalone Next Actions on your lists. Move everything else to Someday/Maybe.

[M3erlin0]

I found D.A. books quite complete and rich of ideas. However, your answers to my thread are even more impressing. You get lots of suggestions on the internet about self organisation - but your replies show that you guys know, what you are talking about.

These lists are really there to (a) take the job of reminding/remembering away from your brain, and (b) set you up to win and to move projects forward relatively painlessly. They're not meant to be a yardstick, or a club with which to bash yourself with!

CJSullivan, you got the point - I somehow feel like beeing bashed by my list, because it reminds me of what I should be doing... and still - I have my gut-feeling that not everything important is on it...

3. you need to do some thinking about your "upper horizons" - in other words - do you really want to be doing some of the things you've said you'll do right now? How do these things fit into your bigger picture?
4. you've populated your lists with a bunch of "shoulds"

structuring everything according to the "upper horizons" would keep me quite bussy. As an entrepreneur, running a hand full of startups, I tend to come up with "high flying visions" (...upper horizons) which might eventuelly turn out to be illusions just a few month later. Hence, the upper horizon will change a bit... from time to time. the problem is not that many projects and tasks become obsolete. It is more that the whole pyramidal structure of thinking (Altitude thinking) seem inappriate, considering the paste of change at the "upper horizons".

Confused now? I am... Some ideas?

Many people are uncomfortable doing 1 and 3 so they get wrapped around 2. They figure if they just get busy enough then they can avoid having to think about the tougher and more important issues in their lives. D.A. calls this "getting caught in the busy trap."

ellobogrande, this is an interesting point. Yes - I tend to question my list quite often and hence, find myself doing something different then I had planned to do. Still, ignoring the list can - from time to time - be a good idea. I refer to "gut-feeling" at this point, which is nothing else than accumulated experiance. Sometimes you just know what the right thing to do at a particular moment is. And at this time - ignoring whatever is on your list might be a goed decision. The problem is - some times the "gut-feeling" proofs to be wrong. For my part - I really struggle finding a balanced way of intuitive decision making and "sticking to the list".

Thank you all for your comments and ideas

Cheers

M3erlin0

[CJSullivan]

structuring everything according to the "upper horizons" would keep me quite bussy. As an entrepreneur, running a hand full of startups, I tend to come up with "high flying visions" (...upper horizons) which might eventuelly turn out to be illusions just a few month later. Hence, the upper horizon will change a bit... from time to time. the problem is not that many projects and tasks become obsolete. It is more that the whole pyramidal structure of thinking (Altitude thinking) seem inappriate, considering the paste of change at the "upper horizons".

Confused now? I am... Some ideas?

Glad you've found some of this helpful! The upper horizons will definitely change a bit. You know best how frequently to revise that view. Sounds like every 3 months at least might do it for you. You sound like you're in a really creative place in your life right now, with a very quick pace of change. The more you can keep your options open (by using someday/maybe lists and reviewing your goals & projects regularly), the freer I think you'll feel to have high-flying ideas with impunity!

Regular review of all your horizons (goals, projects, next actions, etc.) will be KEY for you. It's the keystone habit of GTD anyway, but my theory is that the faster-paced your life seems, the more crucial regular review becomes. (And, correspondingly, the less time you think you have for it!) But if you do it regularly, you can look at these ideas and initiatives and happily say "Yes, still relevant...no, not right now...no, what on earth was I thinking?!!!"

[ellobogrande]

ellobogrande, this is an interesting point. Yes - I tend to question my list quite often and hence, find myself doing something different then I had planned to do. Still, ignoring the list can - from time to time - be a good idea. I refer to "gut-feeling" at this point, which is nothing else than accumulated experiance. Sometimes you just know what the right thing to do at a particular moment is. And at this time - ignoring whatever is on your list might be a goed decision. The problem is - some times the "gut-feeling" proofs to be wrong. For my part - I really struggle finding a balanced way of intuitive decision making and "sticking to the list".

True, it's not negative to do work as it shows up; it can often be the best thing for you to be doing in the moment. Fires and crises happen (if you're a fireman you plan for it and be ready for it) and unexpected opportunities that require immediate attention often arise. But there's a qualitative difference between doing work as it shows up because it's a good strategic decision rather than doing it out of avoidance of defining work and doing defined work. To make a good strategic decision you have to trust that your current inventory of defined work is complete and that you've weighed that work against work that shows up unexpectedly. That's really the only way trust your gut.

Your gut isn't always going to be correct no matter how GTD black belt you are. That's okay; you can't know or foresee everything all at once. But doing the habits of #1 and #3 will improve your batting average. I'm sure anyone would agree that there's a noticeable difference between being a great baseball player and being in the hall of fame. Most of the players in the hall of fame only have a 10% to 15% higher batting average than average players and they still missed more than half the time!

[Mark Jantzen]

Aside from everything above, I've found three things help me deal with the volume of my lists:

1. Use Someday/Maybe a lot
During my Weekly Reviews I find many things on my next actions list that really belong on Someday/Maybe. They are things that upon reflection I'm really not committed to doing. Maybe I "should" do them but don't have the bandwidth right now. Mixing S/M and next actions just kill my system.

I used to split my lists into S/M and Might Buy. I've expanded to two forms of S/M:

Someday
These are things I could move forward on but just don't have the bandwidth. They are feasible or things relatively short-term or known. E.g. - Spend Discover Cash Back Bonus.

Someday - Future
These are my longer term or fantasy things. E.g. - Qualify for Boston Marathon.

2. Breakup context lists that become large
I like small next action lists. After about 20 I look for natural groupings or ways to split into more natural contexts. For example, I no longer have a "Computer" list. I have things like Mac, Online or Web, Mind Mapping, etc.

3. Make sure the next action is at the right granular level
I think there is an inverse relationship between your aversion to doing something, something that cannot go on S/M, and how granular you should define the next physical, visible action. Some of my next actions are literally, "Open Word re: XYZ Draft" just to get some forward movement.