John, I look at the problem from what I think is the GTD (Getting Things Done) approach; I suggest reading thru the book and seeing if the approach is right for you, or if there are things you can take away from it.
The software is great for implementing the GTD system, but the software doesn't do the all the work for you. GTD gives you a systematic approach to organizing ideas and tasks, then MLO helps you implement the system. I have hundreds of things in the MLO software, but with a GTD approach I put them in different categories. Some I don't need to think about until a specific date in the future; a start date takes care of keeping them off the list until I need to see them. And many of them are not yet active tasks, meaning something I'm actively working on and expect to complete. For example of the 2 situations, take something like "paint the garage door". In the 1st category, I need to paint in this spring when rains stop; I put a start date of late April and a due date sometime in May. I don't see it again until I'm ready to do something about it. Maybe it just needs to be done "someday". In GTD you set up a set of stuff that goes under a "Someday/Maybe"list that you regularly review. You read it regularly (I have someday lists I review weekly, others monthly) and one day you read it and realize you need to get it done this month; now it moves from the someday list to an active item. What I've found to be the advantage of this approach is that it lets me focus on what I'm really planning to get done. I have a system that gives me assurance I won't forget things I want to do eventually or that I'll start working on sometime in the future, but doesn't clutter the view by showing me everything. What I've found, and what others I've talked to using GTD have found, is that initially you set up the system and still have dozens of things in the "active" category. Gradually the realization sinks in that they're not really all active; sure you'd LIKE to be getting them all done, but realistically you're simply not capable of doing them all. More and more shift into someday categories as your experience allows you to refine your estimates of what you really can get done. Your judgement as you review your someday lists then comes into play; while it would be nice to get them all done, you are forced to prioritize and schedule the things you really want/need to accomplish. The upshot of the GTD approach is you end up with a limited list of the stuff you're really working on now; the thinking about priorities has already been done and now you look thru the list of current actions and pick the one that is most appropriate for your time available, energy level, etc. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MyLifeOrganized" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/myLifeOrganized?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
