I do similar to Dwight. When I'm waiting for someone else to do something to progress a task, I set the context to "@Waiting", put the person's name at the top of my Note (with a ? tag - eg ?James, ?Sarah, etc) and reset the start date to the first day I can start chasing them for it. As my active actions should only be the ones with which I can actively do something, my filters mean that all my post-dated or @Waiting tasks get removed from the list and don't stress me until I next have to do something with them.
The ?Sarah tagged name in the task notes is so that I can filter for all the things I'm @Waiting for from that person, so I can check status / progress or remind them next time I call them. On Monday, 13 December 2021 at 14:12:41 UTC Dwight wrote: > I work off of a custom view of today's active tasks. If I am getting it > right, the first task in the list is the next thing I should work on. If I > encounter a task in that list that I am not willing to do at this time, I > consider the question: what would have to change to make it ready for > action? "Tact" as you describe it sounds like the enabling factor is the > passage of time. Maybe it would be rude to nag someone today for something > I asked for only yesterday. So, when would it not be rude? Maybe three > weeks. Ok, so I set a start date in three weeks and the task drops off the > Today view. > > Maybe the task can't start until something happens, like receiving > delivery of a tool. I set the context to waiting and put something in the > note about what I am waiting for. Then I consider, if this never happens, > how long will I wait before following up. That goes in the due date. My > daily view excludes anything that has a waiting context. But there is a > task that comes up once every few days called check waiting. When that > comes up I click the tab that's locked to my check waiting view. Anything > with a waiting context is listed, sorted by due date. The first few are > usually red because due date has passed. I deal with each of them right > away. If the thing I'm waiting for has happened, i take off the waiting > context and the task moves back into the mainstream of my task management. > Other ways a task can be out of today's list is by having a closed context > (for example the weekend context is closed weekdays) or by giving the task > a dependency on another task, creating an uncompleted subtask representing > the thing that will make this task actionable. Or if I have ten pieces of > writing to do and I can only get to one at a time, create a folder, set the > complete subtasks in order flag and dump all the writing tasks in. You will > have one writing task on your daily view. If the task that shows up is not > the one you want to work on today, that means that the tasks in the folder > are in the wrong order. Sort them. The one you placed first will be on your > list, when you complete it the next one will pop up > > On December 13, 2021 06:13:32 John Tomson <johntom...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> The problem I have is many tasks continue to sit in the active actions >> section for a long period of time. The tasks that stay around are tasks >> where I’m waiting for someone on an ongoing project (not a full handoff, >> typically something less ‘email’ orienated and more ‘whatsapp’ back and >> forth communication or I already ‘followed up’ in the last day, or the task >> I want to postpone due to tact (I don’t want to be pushy), or its something >> I want a staff to do, but I don’t want to overload them by dumping my >> entire to do list onto them at one time. All of the above are good reasons >> to delay a task, however they could also be described as procrastination. >> Being bullheaded and less concerned about tact would possibly be more >> productive. >> >> Is there some methodical GTD mindset where if its on the next action, you >> don’t procrastinate, you just do it? Ive read that in the GTD overviews, >> is that really feasible? Or should I be using the next review option >> more. Are my active actions not really active? *I imagine many of you >> have tasks siting in your list that sit there forever. *Whats the GTD >> mindset that will help make progress. >> >> I’m bothered because I finish lots of tasks and feel good, but some tasks >> sit in my action lists forever, and it’s a time drag/mental downer that >> these tasks never go away. >> >> I’m looking for feedback concerning the use of MLO, or possibly outside >> the box/gtd/task management feedback. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MyLifeOrganized" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to mylifeorganiz...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mylifeorganized/633f9e55-752f-4466-a686-2a3e83b6edebn%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mylifeorganized/633f9e55-752f-4466-a686-2a3e83b6edebn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MyLifeOrganized" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mylifeorganized+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mylifeorganized/71169807-ef58-4492-ac1b-41d4b6e9e214n%40googlegroups.com.
