Easily Structure Your Day
I am trying to move away from a two-step process:
1 - capture all tasks (RTM is great for this)
2 - complete tasks (I am not great at this)
to a more formal three-step process:
1 - capture all tasks
2 - structure tasks
3 - complete tasks
I tried only using priorities for step #2 but I keep getting side tracked. I need something a little bit more sophisticated - not a full fledged GTD system, just something that's a little bit more structured.
So here is my solution:
I created the tags 1 to 9. These are the only numerical tags in my system. Every morning I look at today's tasks (sorted according to priorities and grouped according to lists) and deceide which tasks to tackle next. Assigned the numerical tags - I never used all nine available, I typically assign 1,2,3.
I then have two smart lists with the following search criteria:
due:today AND status:incomplete AND (tag:1 OR tag:2 OR tag:3 OR tag:4 OR tag:5 OR tag:6 OR tag:7 OR tag:8 OR tag:9) called "! today"
and
due:tomorrow AND status:incomplete AND (tag:1 OR tag:2 OR tag:3 OR tag:4 OR tag:5 OR tag:6 OR tag:7 OR tag:8 OR tag:9) called "! tomorrow"
Both lists are then (advanced) sorted according to tags (ascending) and priority (descending) and grouped by priority.
Ideally I end each day opening my normal tomorrow list and assigning, say, 1-3. Realistically I do this with the normal today list the first thing in the morning.
So whenever the ! today list is empty, I look at all tasks due today and reassign 1 to whatever number I am comfortable looking ahead to.
1 - capture all tasks (RTM is great for this)
2 - complete tasks (I am not great at this)
to a more formal three-step process:
1 - capture all tasks
2 - structure tasks
3 - complete tasks
I tried only using priorities for step #2 but I keep getting side tracked. I need something a little bit more sophisticated - not a full fledged GTD system, just something that's a little bit more structured.
So here is my solution:
I created the tags 1 to 9. These are the only numerical tags in my system. Every morning I look at today's tasks (sorted according to priorities and grouped according to lists) and deceide which tasks to tackle next. Assigned the numerical tags - I never used all nine available, I typically assign 1,2,3.
I then have two smart lists with the following search criteria:
due:today AND status:incomplete AND (tag:1 OR tag:2 OR tag:3 OR tag:4 OR tag:5 OR tag:6 OR tag:7 OR tag:8 OR tag:9) called "! today"
and
due:tomorrow AND status:incomplete AND (tag:1 OR tag:2 OR tag:3 OR tag:4 OR tag:5 OR tag:6 OR tag:7 OR tag:8 OR tag:9) called "! tomorrow"
Both lists are then (advanced) sorted according to tags (ascending) and priority (descending) and grouped by priority.
Ideally I end each day opening my normal tomorrow list and assigning, say, 1-3. Realistically I do this with the normal today list the first thing in the morning.
So whenever the ! today list is empty, I look at all tasks due today and reassign 1 to whatever number I am comfortable looking ahead to.
emily (Remember The Milk) says:
Hi dembo,
Thanks for sharing! You're a Tips & Tricks Tuesday winner, and we've added a free year of Pro to your Remember The Milk account. :)
Thanks for sharing! You're a Tips & Tricks Tuesday winner, and we've added a free year of Pro to your Remember The Milk account. :)
leo.torres says:
Thank you!
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