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My RTM setup based on Jedi techniques by M. Dorofeev

aviskase says:
Maxim Dorofeev has a very interesting approach, something between MYN and GTD. There is a book, but it's in Russian, so I'll just show how I implemented this approach.

Main goal: no more overload.

--------- Setup #1 --------

Lists:
* Inbox (default) — all unsorted tasks go there (including IFTTT and import by email)
* Tasks — only sorted tasks
* Projects/Goals — very special lists for "head" tasks (I'll explain it later)

Tags:
* _t — tasks for today
* _w — tasks for this week
* _l — tasks for some time later (later than week)
* tags for linking "head" tasks from "Project/Goals" to tasks from "Tasks"
* _ping — my special tag, which means that I should ask a person, what is his/her progress on this task.

Main smart lists:
* Today = (tag:_t OR dueBefore:tom) AND list:Tasks AND NOT (tag:_l OR tag:_w)
* Week = (tag:_w OR startBefore:"7 days of today" OR dueWithin:"7 days of today") AND list:Tasks AND NOT (tag:_t OR tag:_l) AND NOT due:today
* Later = (tag:_l OR startAfter:"6 days of today" OR dueAfter:"6 days of today") AND list:Tasks AND NOT (tag:_t OR tag:_w)

All are sorted by: Start date↑, Due date↑, group by Due date

Auxiliary smart lists:
* Long forgotten = NOT updatedWithin:"2 week of Today" AND (tag:_t OR tag:_w OR tag:_l)
— tasks that weren't updated for some time. I'm still experimenting with it, maybe I'll include something to search for tasks with a start date.
* Lost = list:Tasks AND NOT(list:Today OR list:Week OR list:Later) AND isSubtask:false
— just to be sure that my main smart lists work correctly and nothing is lost
* Completed yesterday = completed:yesterday
* Completed today = completed:today
* Completed this week = completedWithin:"1 week of today"

--------- Setup #2 --------
Because I don't need priorities per se, I switched tags to priorities:
_t = priority 1
_w = priority 2
_l = priority 3

And lists are:
* Today = (priority:1 OR dueBefore:tom) AND list:Tasks
* Week = (priority:2 OR startBefore:"7 days of today" OR dueWithin:"7 days of today") AND list:Tasks AND NOT due:today
* Later = (priority:3 OR startAfter:"6 days of today" OR dueAfter:"6 days of today") AND list:Tasks
* Long forgotten = NOT updatedWithin:"2 week of Today" AND NOT priority:none

--------- Process ---------

0. Create daily review task (repeat: every day). I do it in the evening, and it has several subtasks:
* Rename uncompleted tasks in "Today" (to negate "pesticide" paradox)
* Remember this day — write down to Inbox everything that I forgot to write during the day.
* Look through "Completed Today" (and "Completed yesterday", if it's 3am). Is there anything to do more?
* Process all Inboxes (rtm, email, desk) - 1 tomato
* Look through "Week", maybe something should be moved to "Today"? (remove _w, add _t)
2. During Inbox processing:
* if an item can be divided in several tasks: divide! All tasks should be very easy (rule of thumb: task can be done for maximum 30 min and with brain almost switched off)
* task's name should answer question "what to do" and start with a verb
* include due date only if it's real due date! Start date is better. No dates is even better.
* if there is no due/start date, select one of the tag: _t/_w/_l (or priorities for setup #2). Use _t and _w only if you're sure
* if an item isn't just one/several tasks, but looks like a whole project, do this:
** create a head task with project name in the list "Projects/Goals"
** assign some understandable tag to head task, for example: "article-about-api"
** create tasks in the list "Tasks" using the same tag. Do not overplan! It's better to simple leave comments with your ideas and plans in tasks or head task.
** if you want to view all project's tasks, just search by tag
** when your project is finished (all tasks are done) — don't forget to complete head task
3. Create weekly review task (repeat: every week). For me it's Monday morning:
* Look through "Completed this week", is there anything to do more?
* Look through "Projects/Goals", complete completed projects, add new tasks to "Tasks" if needed
* Look through calendar (next 2 weeks): if there anything "taskable"?
* Look through "Later", maybe something should be moved to "Week"? (remove _l, add _w), or maybe something generates tasks for this week?
* Process all Inboxes (rtm, email, desk) - 1 tomato
4. Try to be realistic with "Today" and "Week" lists. I usually have something like 8 and 20 tasks. If your "Today" lists is empty and sun is still high, grab something from "Week"

--------- Side notes ------

* List "Tasks" is only for real tasks. Meetings go to calendar, notes and similar stuff — to other apps or special lists which aren't reviewed on any regular basis.
* "Project/Goals" can be divided into separate lists. Goals can be tracked exactly as projects (head task + tag)
* I use pomodoro technique, so some tasks include info for minimum or maximum number of tomatoes.
* Some inboxes are toxic, for example 1000+ emails or rss-s. Create separate semi-daily task for going to inbox zero with maximum pomodoro assigned (no overload!)
* To be better at remembering a day during daily review I use trigger list (something similar to http://wiki.43folders.com/index.php/Trigger_List)
Posted at 8:41am on January 4, 2018
johnfoland says:
Cool system, thanks! I especially like the habit of renaming unachieved tasks to avoid becoming immune to them.
Posted 6 years ago
emily (Remember The Milk) says:
Hi aviskase,

Awesome setup! You're this week's Tips & Tricks Tuesday winner, and we've added a free year of Pro to your Remember The Milk account. :) Thanks for sharing!
Posted 6 years ago
aviskase says:
Wow, you're spoiling me =) Thanks!
Posted 5 years ago
jersiaise says:
@aviskase Thank you very much for you tip concerning Maxim Dorofeev! I googled him ("Jedi tasks" sounded so interesting :D ) and watched some videos where he explains his strategy in English. I like his approach, so thank you! :)
Posted 5 years ago
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