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Feedback welcome: My current RTM setup

scoinva says:
Setup Lists

Inbox - This list is setup by default. It is used for both Work and Personal. It's important to have both fun activities and work items in this list. It will make more sense later.
Books To Read - This list could be anything really but the importance is the ability to set a date to priority 1 tasks.
Drop Off - This list is to quickly kill off tasks you know you'll never actually.
Gift Ideas - This list is to capture all the moments you're walking around a store and think that would be perfect for someone. It makes birthday and holiday shopping much easier.
Goals - This list is to capture you long term and short term career and personal goals. Try and set goal due dates and a priority.
Habits - This list is for your re-occurring tasks that you want to become a habit such as Exercise, Date Night, Call Your Mother, Lunch, Housework, and Birthdays. Another use is to list of self improvement reminders habits.
Ideas - This list is to get random ideas out of your head like good ideas get rich ideas, predictions, or basically anything. These are items that are not tasks but definitely have a rating or due date.
Sent - Not sure what this list is for. :)

Why keep work and home tasks in the SAME folder? If you're only looking at works and don't see fun tasks your mind will rebel against the system. Your system will also be much faster.

Setup SmartLists

Action Priorities = (list:Habits and priority:1) or (list:Habits and priority:2) or (list:Inbox and priority:1) or (list:Inbox and priority:2)
Action Deadlines = dueBefore:today OR dueWithin:"1 day of today"
Review Not Tagged = [isTagged:false]
Review Not Important = [list:Inbox and priority:none and due:never]
Review Due Dates = [list:Inbox and priority:3 and due:never]
Review Postponed = [Postponed > 3]
Review Stall = [oldest 15 tasks by last post postponed date] future version

Errands = tag:@errands and NOT priority:none
Predictions = tag:@prediction

Setup the 'Action Priorities' as your default list.

Rules for adding tasks

Use verbs, To WHAT, doing what e.g. Update XYZ document with information
Tasks should not take more than a day
Try to assign a due date to tasks that have a level 1 or 2 priority
Tip: DO include plenty of creative tasks such as "Think about...", "Investigate..."; "Discuss..."; "Review..." #AutoFocusTM

Stay in the Action tasks lists throughout the day. Look a the WHOLE list and work on what stands out for you. If you force yourself to work on the top item you'll end up resisting your own system.

Review Process

Frequency: Every Monday and Friday and FULL Review Weekly

Perform review in the order listed below. Scan the list quickly and focus on the tasks that stand out. Allow your mind to jump around versus taking a forced march down the page. Skip the part of the review that feel forced and move on. The main objective of the review processes is to ensure tasks bubble up so you'll then feel you will then trust your system.

Review Not Tagged

Review Questions and Action:
1.) Does the task name follow the rules?
2.) Does the task have the right priority assignment. 1 - Urgent, 2 - Important, 3 - Good task, 0 - Not Important \ Someday
3.) Should this task have a due date?
4.) Assign correct list: Inbox, Habits, Ideas, Gift Idea
5.) Assign tags. Resist the temptation to assign more than one tag!!! The goal is to make this a quick process. Don't assign status tags like someday, waiting, next, and so on. It will make more sense later.

Acceptable tags: @errands, .projects, .selfimprovement, .moneymakers, .perdiction,
DO NOT use status tags such as: -waiting, -next, -someday

Tip: Use shortcut keys. It will allow you to move much quick down the list. For instance press 2 if it's an important task.

Review Not Important

Review Questions and Action:
1.) Completed tasks? = Mark as Completed
2.) Good task? = Set to Priority 3
3.) Stupid tasks? = Delete
4.) Dead task? = Move to "Drop It" list

Review Due Dates

Review Questions and Action:
1.) Should this have a due date? = set a realistic due date, if it's a work due date set it for 5PM
2.) Should this be a priority 2 item (is this important or critical?)
3.) Should this be a habit?

If there is time Allowing...

Review Postponed

Review Questions and Action:
1.) Should this be made into a project? = Add a task to brainstorm the task into smaller tasks that are no more than 3 hours.
2.) Has the task been postponed more than 10 times? = Move it to the Drop It list
3.) Want this task to not show up here? = Duplicate the task and delete the old one. Reconsider task.
4.) Does anything look odd?

Don't feel you have to have everything off this list.
TIP: Write the task down in the center of a piece of paper and put a circle it. Then brainstorm: "Who does what by when?" Write down anything that comes into your head.

Review Other Lists

Review Questions and Action:
1.) What the priority set correctly?
2.) Should any thing be added?

Review Tag Cloud

Review Questions and Action:
1.) Do any tags look odd?

Conclusions

Don't be afraid to set due dates. That's what the Postpone button is for. If you find yourself Postponing more than twice you know it's time to make it a project and break down the task into smaller 1 to 3 hour parts. A project task should ever have a due date beyond a week. Don't think you HAVE to get your list down to 0. You want some tasks to stay list so your mind can think about those thing throughout the night. You may wake up the next day and decide to take a new approach.

This only covers RTM. I also recommend using an electronic Habit Calendar. A notepad application on a mobile phone works great!
Posted at 12:12am on April 4, 2009
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