Quote Originally Posted by TesTeq View Post
What do you mean by 10k, 20k, 30k, 40k and 50k tasks?
I think of it like this: a 10k (Projects) task could be to look at the name of a project or the support material for the project, think up some next actions and add them to appropriate lists. (Thinking in terms of 3 months or less.)

A 20k (Roles, or ongoing Areas of Focus) task could be to look at the name of an area of focus, think about how things are going in that area and whether I want to be putting more time into it, and maybe think up some projects or single actions that support that role and add them to appropriate lists -- maybe just adding the name of a new project to a list of projects. A higher-level 20k task could be to think about what all my Roles are and whether I need to update my written list of Roles to reflect reality, or whether I want to change my Roles (e.g. resign from a position of responsibility or quit being a member of an organization in order to free up my time and energy, or take on a new responsibility or start a new routine, etc.; this includes family decisions such as getting married, having a baby etc. as well as smaller things like starting regular family meetings).

A 30k (Goals) task could be to look at the name or description of a goal, think about how well I'm progressing towards it, and if needed add new projects or single actions that will help achieve that goal onto appropriate lists. (Thinking in terms of about a year.)

A 40k (Vision - 5-year) task could be to look at a mindmap I've previously drawn, visualize what I'd wanted to achieve, think about whether I still want to go in that direction, think about how well I'm managing to get there, and if necessary add goals, projects or single actions to appropriate lists to help me get there. A higher 40k task could be to think up a new vision for my future, looking ahead about 5 years. David Allen in his book talks about having a 40k dinner with one's spouse. Sometimes I go for a walk with the specific intention of thinking things over in long-term perspective.

A 50k (Lifetime Purpose) task could be to visualize myself on my deathbed, telling someone I've had a satisfying life, and then think about what things I'd like to be able to say I've achieved.

I began being able to keep track of the names of the different levels in my mind when I read "Making it All Work" and suddenly realized that most of the levels can also be associated with a length of time -- which is much easier for me to relate to than height in an airplane. I put a chart in the 5th post in this thread: http://www.davidco.com/forum/archive/index.php (/t-12930.html "Defining Goals in Vision" thread which illustrates this. I use the word "Roles", which is from Stephen Covey's book, to mean pretty much the same thing as "Areas of Focus".

When I mention lengths of time I don't mean that you only think about goals once a year. You think about them more often, but when you do think about them, you think with about a 1-year perspective. Well, the length of time can be anything, but if it's less than 3 months you call it a project, if it's longer than that you call it a goal, if it's even longer (about 5 years) you call it a vision, etc.

You might set a goal for a year from now; do stuff towards it each week; re-evaluate it each month and perhaps modify the goal. Or you can follow whatever schedule works for you and for the particular things you want to achieve.

That's how I think of it. I'm working towards implementing it.