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Mobile analogue or hybrid organisational and time-management system
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Posted by Dr Andus
Feb 22, 2018 at 12:05 AM
Hugh wrote:
>One analogue tool I’ve used is to be found here:
>https://davidseah.com/node/the-emergent-task-planner/ - though I sense
>that this might be too fussy for some.
This is quite interesting, actually. I sort of came up with something similar just using my notebook.
Having experimented with using a notebook for time blocking and post-it notes to represent tasks, I have narrowed down the nature of the problem I have been having.
Firstly, the lack of strict time blocking was certainly a problem. The key issue was that I was using Google Calendar to block time, and it’s just all too easy to extend the time for the current task when I’m overrunning and move the upcoming tasks further down the timeline, which then results in tasks rolling over the next day and starting to accumulate and cause pressure.
Basically the strength of digital media is its greatest weakness, i.e. its easy and infinite expandability.
The other problem was the lack of the physical representation of tasks. This prevented me from focusing on one thing at a time, as I was always looking at huge, ever-expanding digital lists of todos.
So what I’m thinking now is that every major task that takes longer than an hour to do (especially longer projects) needs to be represented by its own index card. Then I can just focus on “destroying” that card by getting the task done, and not move on to the next task until then.
Shuffling the cards allows for prioritisation. I can also use the cards for working out the problem or tracking the time it took to complete, etc.
I’m just realising that there are two conflicting demands here: the need to follow strict time blocking, and the need to focus on one thing at a time, until it gets done.
I guess this tension refers to two different activities: those that others want me to do (which is not my priority, other then getting them done as quickly as possible or delegating them or ignoring them), and those that I want to do, my long-term reading and writing projects, where focusing on one thing at a time is beneficial.
I’ll try this out and report back. Thanks everyone for all the great advice and links. I’m still working my way through it all.
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Feb 22, 2018 at 06:11 AM
Dr Andus wrote:
>I’m just realising that there are two conflicting demands here: the need
>to follow strict time blocking, and the need to focus on one thing at a
>time, until it gets done.
Some additional points from my own (often negative) experience:
1. A critical factor is one’s ability to realistically estimate the time that ‘one thing’ will take to get done. This will determine the synergy or conflict of the two demands.
2. Focusing on one thing at a time until it gets done assumes one has the discipline—and helpful work environment—to bypass interruptions.
3. Breaks are not always an inconvenience. For more complex work they offer the mind space to see things from different angles. I’ve found that ‘sleeping over’ key decisions is critical to reaching a satisfactory result.
On that last point, I very much appreciate Neil Fiore’s concept of the Unschedule, i.e. blocking time off one’s calendar for non work-related activities, from real-life social interaction to washing the dishes.
Posted by Luhmann
Feb 22, 2018 at 07:24 AM
If this is the issue it seems that the Pomodoro technique would be the best solution. Some task managers have one built in. Check out TickTick.
https://guide.ticktick.com/pomotimer.html
Posted by Franz Grieser
Feb 22, 2018 at 08:17 AM
Great thread.
I do use the Pomodoro method (20 minute sprints) for tasks I do not like, and a method called 50-20-50 (=50 minutes work, 20 minutes break away from the computer, 50 minutes work) for writing.
But I do begin to understand the charm of physical or analogue cards. As Dr. Andus said “digital tasks” tend to - kind of - stretch. Physical cards have a fixed size (OK, you could cut a piece off or stick another card to the one that represents a task). And only a limited number of fixed-size cards fits in one’s calendar.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Feb 22, 2018 at 10:46 AM
Interesting. Funnily enough, the new reMarkable tablet has just fallen in price from its previously eye-watering EUR 700 or so to a still eye-watering but slightly more reasonable EUR 499 (including tablet, marker/stylus, and replacement tips for latter).
The reMarkable would appear to have significant potential as a kind of hybrid digital/analog approach - it comes with 50 built-in templates (and will soon allow users to create their own, or so they promise), and I would imagine you could draw your own bullet-point-style templates in any case, or import them as PDF files. Combined with a competent handwriting recognition app (they’re still working on their own app), it would represent a potentially impressive bridge between two very disparate worlds.
Of course one could go with Wacom’s Bamboo Slate approach; although the latter’s Inkspace software has come in for some heavy criticism, there appear to be plenty of users who are perfectly happy with what it does. But the reMarkable tablet is remarkably cool…
More on reMarkable here: http://www.remarkable.com; more on Wacom Bamboo Slate here: https://www.wacom.com/en-gb/products/smartpads/bamboo-slate