[MLO] Re: Running out of fields! How do you plan today's periods of time? How do you allocate goals to tasks?
Hello John, I use 1, 2, 4, 5a and 6a out of your list. I have a bit more hierarchy than you - Area of Life (four quadrants for me: personal, home, work or community) --> Role --> Goal --> Projects which fit in with the role or goal --> tasks to complete that project. Sometimes, with a big project, I group my tasks into project stages. I also identify my roles and goals with custom flags. I don't use the weekly/monthly/yearly goal fields. I set start date and due date and I bump my start date if I want to defer something. I try not to use any of the other fields, such as importance or urgency. I'm trying to minimise the time I spend on MLO and maximise the time I actually spend doing the tasks. I do use hashtag and other tag characters in front of key words: + to identify a project, ? to identify a person I need to speak with, && to identify a keyword as one of my roles. Hashtags are really good for filtering and searching. Now to your questions: a) A task or project is aligned to a particular role or goal when it's under that role or goal in my outline hierarchy. This helps me to watch progress towards a goal and to prioritise work which helps to achieve my goals. b) Yes, your list of contexts looks long and complex, so I imagine it takes up more time than you'd like, in order to maintain it. I can see how that makes it difficult to sort through the list and use it to prioritise your tasks and decide on the next step. In my case, only using contexts for GTD-style purposes, I only have a small number of contexts and it's quick to use those to group a few more tasks to when I'm in the relevant context (@calls, @errand, @office, @home...). My recommendation would be to remove the contexts which don't help you to decide what to do next and go for a simpler, lower-maintenance task management approach. I don't have the perfect system and what I do might not suit you, so really I should just wish you good luck with coming up with a system optimised to your needs. Stéphane On Wednesday, 21 February 2018 10:23:14 UTC, John . Smith wrote: > > > > Hello > > How do you allocate tasks to specific goals to tasks? > How do you plan today's periods of time? > > i.e. For any given day, how do you plan which Contexts you are going to do > in which order? > > > [I apologise in advance that this is so long. Partly I am trying to get my > own thoughts clear! > I've marked it up to make it easier to skim-read. ] > > *BACKGROUND* > > For any task like to know, some or all of the following: > > 1. What *Area of Life* it's in >==> this I do through which MLO *Folder *I've put it in. > > 2. (If it's part of a larger project) what* major project *it's part of > ===> this I do by > a) using a hierarchy > b) using the MLO *Projects* field in the parent task > > 3) "*Priority*" - what is the real-world Importance & real-world Urgency > ==> I use the MLO *Importance *field, but because I find it too hard to > enter both values for all tasks > Importance means importance, except if it's importance is "max" in which > case it means must be done urgently, irrespective of importance! > > 4) "*Do today*" status > ==> I use the MLO *Star* field to flag up at the start of each day what I > want to take on today. > > 5). Different types of "contexts" > > A) What "*where context*" > i.e. Physically where must this be done > ==> Use of MLO *Contexts* field (e.g. @PC, @Office(paperwork), @Home, > @Errands...) > > B) What "*mood context*" > ==> I *also* use the MLO *Contexts* for this (e.g. @Calls, @DeepThought, > @LowEnergy ...) > > C) What "*task size*" > This helps me pluck any quick wins - low hanging task > ==> I *also* use the MLO *Contexts* for this ( @Quickies..) > > D) What "*time of day context*" > I only use this occasionally, but it can be important. > Normally tasks get done at the correct time of day depending on their Area > of Life > But sometimes a work task must be done during the evening > And sometimes a person task MUST be done during working hours > ==> I *also* use the MLO *Contexts* for this too (e.g. @Evenings, > @WorkingHours...) > > E) What resistance history? > For tasks that have been around too long, I also want to flag up "Frogs" - > harder/high resistance stuff (witness by the fact that I have put them > off). I like to start the day with tackling one of these tasks. > This ALSO goes into the MLO *Contexts* field (e.g.@Frog) > > > 6) What "Executable Status" (when would I like see again & execute) > ==> > a) Partly I kick into the future (change MLO *Start Date* field) so task > disappears of Active view [GTD "Tickler" file] > b) Partly I also use the MLO *Context *field too [@Soon/Later, > @SomedayMaybe, @Bonus ] > > > *GATHERING MY THOUGHTS* > > So I am now using the MLO *Contexts* field for SIX different types of > thing: > > A) What "Where context" ==> (e.g. @PC, @Office(paperwork), > @Home, @Errands...) > B) What "Mood context"
RE: [MLO] Running out of fields! How do you plan today's periods of time? How do you allocate goals to tasks?
Hi. Once in awhile I experiment with an idea that most of the time I DON’T like: I create contexts called 0800, 0900, 1000, 1100, and so on. Each represents time. Each has hours set to, for example 10:00-17:00. Then I assign tasks to each so the day is more balanced. In other words, at 0800 a bunch of tasks become active. Then an hour later another bunch starts. It doesn’t matter what the start dates are for each task, since they won’t be visible until its context becomes active. I do this so I don’t start the day with 100 tasks staring at me. Again, most of the time I DON’T use this idea, though it has merits in my opinion. HTH From: mylifeorganized@googlegroups.com [mailto:mylifeorganized@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John . Smith Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2018 05:23 To: MyLifeOrganized Subject: [MLO] Running out of fields! How do you plan today's periods of time? How do you allocate goals to tasks? Hello How do you allocate tasks to specific goals to tasks? How do you plan today's periods of time? i.e. For any given day, how do you plan which Contexts you are going to do in which order? [I apologise in advance that this is so long. Partly I am trying to get my own thoughts clear! I've marked it up to make it easier to skim-read. ] BACKGROUND For any task like to know, some or all of the following: 1. What Area of Life it's in ==> this I do through which MLO Folder I've put it in. 2. (If it's part of a larger project) what major project it's part of ===> this I do by a) using a hierarchy b) using the MLO Projects field in the parent task 3) "Priority" - what is the real-world Importance & real-world Urgency ==> I use the MLO Importance field, but because I find it too hard to enter both values for all tasks Importance means importance, except if it's importance is "max" in which case it means must be done urgently, irrespective of importance! 4) "Do today" status ==> I use the MLO Star field to flag up at the start of each day what I want to take on today. 5). Different types of "contexts" A) What "where context" i.e. Physically where must this be done ==> Use of MLO Contexts field (e.g. @PC, @Office(paperwork), @Home, @Errands...) B) What "mood context" ==> I *also* use the MLO Contexts for this (e.g. @Calls, @DeepThought, @LowEnergy ...) C) What "task size" This helps me pluck any quick wins - low hanging task ==> I *also* use the MLO Contexts for this ( @Quickies..) D) What "time of day context" I only use this occasionally, but it can be important. Normally tasks get done at the correct time of day depending on their Area of Life But sometimes a work task must be done during the evening And sometimes a person task MUST be done during working hours ==> I *also* use the MLO Contexts for this too (e.g. @Evenings, @WorkingHours...) E) What resistance history? For tasks that have been around too long, I also want to flag up "Frogs" - harder/high resistance stuff (witness by the fact that I have put them off). I like to start the day with tackling one of these tasks. This ALSO goes into the MLO Contexts field (e.g.@Frog) 6) What "Executable Status" (when would I like see again & execute) ==> a) Partly I kick into the future (change MLO Start Date field) so task disappears of Active view [GTD "Tickler" file] b) Partly I also use the MLO Context field too [@Soon/Later, @SomedayMaybe, @Bonus ] GATHERING MY THOUGHTS So I am now using the MLO Contexts field for SIX different types of thing: A) What "Where context" ==> (e.g. @PC, @Office(paperwork), @Home, @Errands...) B) What "Mood context"==> (e.g. @Calls, @DeepThought, @LowEnergy ...) C) What "Size" is the task ==> (e.g. @Quickies ) D) What "Time of day context" ==> (e.g. @Evenings, @WorkingHours... ) E) What "Executable Status"==> (e.g. @Soon/Later, @SomedayMaybe, @Bonus ) F) What "resistance history" ==> (e.g. @Frog ) But I'm now running out of fields!! a) How does one track which personal GOAL any task is part of? [Explanation: I do find by using task management software it's all too easy to keep yourself busy executing lots of tasks... but it's not clear WHY you are doing stuff. In fact it's very easy to do all the wrong stuff.] ==> So I am really going to allocate Goals using the MLO Context field, as well as for the other SIX things listed above? b) How (the heck) does one plan which Contexts I'm doing to do today and in which order... ...And hopefully tie in which task area part of those Context? J -- 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 post to this
[MLO] Running out of fields! How do you plan today's periods of time? How do you allocate goals to tasks?
Hello How do you allocate tasks to specific goals to tasks? How do you plan today's periods of time? i.e. For any given day, how do you plan which Contexts you are going to do in which order? [I apologise in advance that this is so long. Partly I am trying to get my own thoughts clear! I've marked it up to make it easier to skim-read. ] *BACKGROUND* For any task like to know, some or all of the following: 1. What *Area of Life* it's in ==> this I do through which MLO *Folder *I've put it in. 2. (If it's part of a larger project) what* major project *it's part of ===> this I do by a) using a hierarchy b) using the MLO *Projects* field in the parent task 3) "*Priority*" - what is the real-world Importance & real-world Urgency ==> I use the MLO *Importance *field, but because I find it too hard to enter both values for all tasks Importance means importance, except if it's importance is "max" in which case it means must be done urgently, irrespective of importance! 4) "*Do today*" status ==> I use the MLO *Star* field to flag up at the start of each day what I want to take on today. 5). Different types of "contexts" A) What "*where context*" i.e. Physically where must this be done ==> Use of MLO *Contexts* field (e.g. @PC, @Office(paperwork), @Home, @Errands...) B) What "*mood context*" ==> I *also* use the MLO *Contexts* for this (e.g. @Calls, @DeepThought, @LowEnergy ...) C) What "*task size*" This helps me pluck any quick wins - low hanging task ==> I *also* use the MLO *Contexts* for this ( @Quickies..) D) What "*time of day context*" I only use this occasionally, but it can be important. Normally tasks get done at the correct time of day depending on their Area of Life But sometimes a work task must be done during the evening And sometimes a person task MUST be done during working hours ==> I *also* use the MLO *Contexts* for this too (e.g. @Evenings, @WorkingHours...) E) What resistance history? For tasks that have been around too long, I also want to flag up "Frogs" - harder/high resistance stuff (witness by the fact that I have put them off). I like to start the day with tackling one of these tasks. This ALSO goes into the MLO *Contexts* field (e.g.@Frog) 6) What "Executable Status" (when would I like see again & execute) ==> a) Partly I kick into the future (change MLO *Start Date* field) so task disappears of Active view [GTD "Tickler" file] b) Partly I also use the MLO *Context *field too [@Soon/Later, @SomedayMaybe, @Bonus ] *GATHERING MY THOUGHTS* So I am now using the MLO *Contexts* field for SIX different types of thing: A) What "Where context" ==> (e.g. @PC, @Office(paperwork), @Home, @Errands...) B) What "Mood context"==> (e.g. @Calls, @DeepThought, @LowEnergy ...) C) What "Size" is the task ==> (e.g. @Quickies ) D) What "Time of day context" ==> (e.g. @Evenings, @WorkingHours... ) E) What "Executable Status"==> (e.g. @Soon/Later, @SomedayMaybe, @Bonus ) F) What "resistance history" ==> (e.g. @Frog ) But I'm now running out of fields!! a) How does one track which personal GOAL any task is part of? [Explanation: I do find by using task management software it's all too easy to keep yourself busy executing lots of tasks... but it's not clear WHY you are doing stuff. In fact it's very easy to do all the wrong stuff.] ==> So I am really going to allocate Goals using the MLO *Context* field, as well as for the other SIX things listed above? b) How (the heck) does one plan which Contexts I'm doing to do today and in which order... ...And hopefully tie in which task area part of those Context? J -- 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 post to this group, send email to mylifeorganized@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/mylifeorganized. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/mylifeorganized/a39c89a4-6028-4312-85e1-ca6557f49cb8%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
