That's what I mean when I say "ruthless prioritization". I use a bullet journal and transfer tasks on the to-do-list daily. So by the third day, most tasks just fall off or join the "should do someday"-list (which is ignored forever).Alphaville wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:17 amsince you already recognize what’s important, his criticism doesn’t apply to you. i just like that article hahaha. maybe because i have overly long to-do lists that sometimes create mental clutter and need to remember that maybe i don’t need to do some of the pointless stuff just because “it’s on a list.”
ERE Adventuring
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
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Re: ERE Adventuring
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Alphaville
- Posts: 3611
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
- Location: Quarantined
Re: ERE Adventuring
ah! i’ve seen these bullet journals and i used to think they were wasteful decorative bullshit for the instagram set, and dismissed them without further inspection, but now you make them sound like a potent weapon in the war against mental clutter and phony obligations, and i’m curious.NuncFluens wrote: ↑Fri Sep 25, 2020 1:49 pmThat's what I mean when I say "ruthless prioritization". I use a bullet journal and transfer tasks on the to-do-list daily. So by the third day, most tasks just fall off or join the "should do someday"-list (which is ignored forever).
would your mind sharing how it works for you? i mean in your own process, i.e., what role does it have in your life?
i can find the general outlines & marketing articles all over the intertubes, so i’m not asking you to waste energy on the intro and definitions, but if you wouldn’t mind telling, what is your cost of engaging in this process and what’s the payoff for you?
i use gtd, but gtd can get out of hand...
no rush if you don’t have time or energy to explain, just if/when you feel like it, and just the essentials, like, “this is the value of it.” meanwhile i’ll go do a little research of my own... maybe i had dismissed these too soon.
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
- Location: Bavaria, Germany
Re: ERE Adventuring
Okay, here's the bullet journal method as I do it: I use a dotted book in A5 format and basically treat every page as a day. After bigger planning sessions I will note down longer term goals on the next blank page and use one of the 2 integrated bookmarks of the book to keep track of where that page is. Normally, you'd note down the page number on the first page of the book, which becomes "the index", but my current book doesn't have page numbers :/
Every morning I sit down and write down the current date and my daily tasks, like my morning warmup routine, taking my pills, etc. because otherwise I would just forget about those. Writing these down every single day also helps my habit building. If I have a few meetings that day, I will add a very crude timeline for the day (or not). This way I can just open the page and know whether my meeting was at 9AM or 10AM.
Then I look at yesterdays page and check everything that I completed off with an "X". If there are follow up tasks to the completed one, I'll note them down on todays page. Then I'll evaluate every item I didn't do for whether I really want to write it down on todays page again. If so, I do that and mark it with an ">" on yesterdays page. If I might want to do it later, I'll add it to the longer term goals (if it wasn't there already) and mark it with an "<". This is more for posterity, as I very seldomly check past pages. If I don't want to do it all or the chance to do it has passed, I'll cross it out and forget about it.
Next, I'll revisit my longer term goals and think about if I want to add a part of those goals to my daily to-do-list. Once that is done I have my page for today. During the day, I'll cross things off and reorient myself towards what tasks I should do next. I'll also add incoming tasks to my daily page, or to longer term goals, depending on whether I feel that I have the energy for it today.
A typical page looks like this one right here (no timeline for that day). You'll notice I like to break down tasks if they are made up of distinct portions (like the cooking and baking), and especially after not completing them for a few days in a row. It just helps me to not be overwhelmed by the whole thing all at once. I also don't use any of those fancy things you'll see on instagram, like a weekly planner (it's in my longer term goals), habit trackers (as I like to keep the list short and as mentioned, the daily rewrite helps) or *blergh* colored markers (only when I'm swamped and want to identify Must-Dos for that day). I started out like that but had to pare it down to the essentials as the overhead was just too much.
That's it in a nutshell, I guess. My next book is already bought and will have numbered pages, so I might try "the index" by adding more project-specific pages, etc. But for the last 4 months this has worked really well and completely replaced my task and habit tracking app (Habitica), as it's analog and portable.
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Edit: As an aside, the "inventor" of the bullet journal didn't originally intend for it to be as show-offy as it has become for the insta-crowd. His initial system (as described in his book which I wouldn't buy as it has waaaay too much fluff) was quite austere, although still a bit more complicated and much more akin to a whole productivity system.
Every morning I sit down and write down the current date and my daily tasks, like my morning warmup routine, taking my pills, etc. because otherwise I would just forget about those. Writing these down every single day also helps my habit building. If I have a few meetings that day, I will add a very crude timeline for the day (or not). This way I can just open the page and know whether my meeting was at 9AM or 10AM.
Then I look at yesterdays page and check everything that I completed off with an "X". If there are follow up tasks to the completed one, I'll note them down on todays page. Then I'll evaluate every item I didn't do for whether I really want to write it down on todays page again. If so, I do that and mark it with an ">" on yesterdays page. If I might want to do it later, I'll add it to the longer term goals (if it wasn't there already) and mark it with an "<". This is more for posterity, as I very seldomly check past pages. If I don't want to do it all or the chance to do it has passed, I'll cross it out and forget about it.
Next, I'll revisit my longer term goals and think about if I want to add a part of those goals to my daily to-do-list. Once that is done I have my page for today. During the day, I'll cross things off and reorient myself towards what tasks I should do next. I'll also add incoming tasks to my daily page, or to longer term goals, depending on whether I feel that I have the energy for it today.
A typical page looks like this one right here (no timeline for that day). You'll notice I like to break down tasks if they are made up of distinct portions (like the cooking and baking), and especially after not completing them for a few days in a row. It just helps me to not be overwhelmed by the whole thing all at once. I also don't use any of those fancy things you'll see on instagram, like a weekly planner (it's in my longer term goals), habit trackers (as I like to keep the list short and as mentioned, the daily rewrite helps) or *blergh* colored markers (only when I'm swamped and want to identify Must-Dos for that day). I started out like that but had to pare it down to the essentials as the overhead was just too much.
That's it in a nutshell, I guess. My next book is already bought and will have numbered pages, so I might try "the index" by adding more project-specific pages, etc. But for the last 4 months this has worked really well and completely replaced my task and habit tracking app (Habitica), as it's analog and portable.
---
Edit: As an aside, the "inventor" of the bullet journal didn't originally intend for it to be as show-offy as it has become for the insta-crowd. His initial system (as described in his book which I wouldn't buy as it has waaaay too much fluff) was quite austere, although still a bit more complicated and much more akin to a whole productivity system.
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Alphaville
- Posts: 3611
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
- Location: Quarantined
Re: ERE Adventuring
oh damn that is brilliant. no cartoons or curlicues required. just checkboxes. thanks so much. will look deeper into this....
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
- Location: Bavaria, Germany
Re: ERE Adventuring
Finances:
I saved 50% of my income this month. This sounds low, but I also paid the full flight and the hotel for my next week-long vacation in the Netherlands. I also got my deposit for my old apartment back, which I also saved in full (not included in SR), so it was a pretty good month.
Since I moved in with my fiance, my fixed costs are now also ~200€ less than they were before, which should translate to a ~10% increase in SR in the future. Coupled with the automatic raise I'm du in January this should make it much easier to save even more
Work:
It seems like we're doing this whole strategic reorientation thing. We're adding a new location to the greater network of research facilities which I am a part of and apparently we need the next cool thing to stick out. The next cool thing being the system I've been working on for a year now, which makes me the default head of department (no additional compensation). I've thus been tasked with developing a game plan to set us up as an authority on said system, which on the upside means I get to strategize, which I am looking forward to. On the downside this also involves unending coordination with the most unorganized of superiors and colleagues, endless day-to-day tactical decisions and much more. And oh, that's in addition to my usual responsibilities
Moving:
While visiting my parents this weekend, my fiance took it upon herself to go through all the stuff from my old apartment and all of her stuff, the sum of which I will refer to as "the basement" in the future. She managed to get a great part of it sorted, although I'll have to see to my half on my own now. Which means I'll have weeks of sorting, selling and trashing stuff ahead of me
Fitness:
As I said, I spent the weekend at my parents, which coincided with my diet break. Right away I noticed that I didn't really have any cravings per se and neither did I feel like I can finally eat now. I had a few bigger than normal meals and ate around 2500-3000kcal which, with all my walking about, is about maintenance. When I came home I basically fell back into my now normal diet, and continued eating at a deficit automatically. I still try to look after my energy levels, but right now it feels like that 3 day break was sufficient to put me back into good moods even if I undereat. Weird.
I'm also continuing my training routine, which means nudging my bad knee towards heavier and heavier weights and variations without it hurting all the time. As it stands I can do goblet squats with 15kg right now, which is already a vast improvement over last months bodyweight squats. But it's slow going...
Silliness:
It all started when my fiance raved about christmas decorations in July a year or two ago. I was annoyed since I kinda dislike christmas and asked her if she wouldn't be too, if I put up, say, bodybuilding posters all over the house. She said no, and the idea of a themed month was born. It is thus with great joy that I pronounce Octobre 2020 the "Octarnold Schwarzentober" xD.
The initial plan was to use this month (which is also the start of the off-season) to eat and train like Arnold. This won't work now (thanks, knee), but I'll try to keep close to the initial plan. In addition to training and hanging up posters, we also decided to watch a lot of Schwarzenegger movies which is basically the only part of the Schwarzentober in which my fiance will participate. I know it's very silly, but I'm looking forward to it
I saved 50% of my income this month. This sounds low, but I also paid the full flight and the hotel for my next week-long vacation in the Netherlands. I also got my deposit for my old apartment back, which I also saved in full (not included in SR), so it was a pretty good month.
Since I moved in with my fiance, my fixed costs are now also ~200€ less than they were before, which should translate to a ~10% increase in SR in the future. Coupled with the automatic raise I'm du in January this should make it much easier to save even more
Work:
It seems like we're doing this whole strategic reorientation thing. We're adding a new location to the greater network of research facilities which I am a part of and apparently we need the next cool thing to stick out. The next cool thing being the system I've been working on for a year now, which makes me the default head of department (no additional compensation). I've thus been tasked with developing a game plan to set us up as an authority on said system, which on the upside means I get to strategize, which I am looking forward to. On the downside this also involves unending coordination with the most unorganized of superiors and colleagues, endless day-to-day tactical decisions and much more. And oh, that's in addition to my usual responsibilities
Moving:
While visiting my parents this weekend, my fiance took it upon herself to go through all the stuff from my old apartment and all of her stuff, the sum of which I will refer to as "the basement" in the future. She managed to get a great part of it sorted, although I'll have to see to my half on my own now. Which means I'll have weeks of sorting, selling and trashing stuff ahead of me
Fitness:
As I said, I spent the weekend at my parents, which coincided with my diet break. Right away I noticed that I didn't really have any cravings per se and neither did I feel like I can finally eat now. I had a few bigger than normal meals and ate around 2500-3000kcal which, with all my walking about, is about maintenance. When I came home I basically fell back into my now normal diet, and continued eating at a deficit automatically. I still try to look after my energy levels, but right now it feels like that 3 day break was sufficient to put me back into good moods even if I undereat. Weird.
I'm also continuing my training routine, which means nudging my bad knee towards heavier and heavier weights and variations without it hurting all the time. As it stands I can do goblet squats with 15kg right now, which is already a vast improvement over last months bodyweight squats. But it's slow going...
Silliness:
It all started when my fiance raved about christmas decorations in July a year or two ago. I was annoyed since I kinda dislike christmas and asked her if she wouldn't be too, if I put up, say, bodybuilding posters all over the house. She said no, and the idea of a themed month was born. It is thus with great joy that I pronounce Octobre 2020 the "Octarnold Schwarzentober" xD.
The initial plan was to use this month (which is also the start of the off-season) to eat and train like Arnold. This won't work now (thanks, knee), but I'll try to keep close to the initial plan. In addition to training and hanging up posters, we also decided to watch a lot of Schwarzenegger movies which is basically the only part of the Schwarzentober in which my fiance will participate. I know it's very silly, but I'm looking forward to it
Re: ERE Adventuring
Great update of your journal! Looking forward to save more is a good motivation.
If you do a great job at work, you could/should ask for more benefits.
Have you already read the autobiography of Arnold Schwarzenegger? I liked it a lot back when I read it.
If you do a great job at work, you could/should ask for more benefits.
Have you already read the autobiography of Arnold Schwarzenegger? I liked it a lot back when I read it.
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
- Location: Bavaria, Germany
Re: ERE Adventuring
Thank you! I haven't read the biography yet, but I definitely should.
The problem with work is that I'm in public services (öffentlicher Dienst), so compensation structures are quite rigid. I'm at the top of what I can make without getting a master's degree, so I only get raises for time served anymore. There are of course ways to pay off-the-books bonuses, but last time was so shady and work-intensive on my part that I wouldn't necessarily want to repeat this. Non-monetary compensation is also really great already, so apart from free trips to meetings with project partners (all in Germany) I won't get much more. But very likely I was just over-compensated up until now already :p
Edit/Addendum: I do however get to network and prove my skills to the project partners, though. So maybe if an offer comes up, I'll just take that instead. As it was my job was super-cushy so I didn't want to switch jobs. But if this job continues morphing into any other stressful job I might as well move on.
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Alphaville
- Posts: 3611
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
- Location: Quarantined
Re: ERE Adventuring
i’m not great at ranking since it’s a way to oversimplify but some of my favorite arnie movies:
-the terminator: simple, relentless, better than all the sequels.
-conan the barbarian: glorious!
-total recall. classic!
-pumping iron: great. arnold is número uno.
-twins. danny de vito, haahaaahaaaa!
-killing gunther. absurd & funny.
hated:
-true lies. stupid & racist. ugh!
-various terminators (after 3) that no longer make sense. what were they about?
i haven’t seen many of them, like kindergarten cop, or the running man, but i might some day...
happy schwarzentober!
-the terminator: simple, relentless, better than all the sequels.
-conan the barbarian: glorious!
-total recall. classic!
-pumping iron: great. arnold is número uno.
-twins. danny de vito, haahaaahaaaa!
-killing gunther. absurd & funny.
hated:
-true lies. stupid & racist. ugh!
-various terminators (after 3) that no longer make sense. what were they about?
i haven’t seen many of them, like kindergarten cop, or the running man, but i might some day...
happy schwarzentober!
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
- Location: Bavaria, Germany
Re: ERE Adventuring
You forgot Commando! That movie hast the best punchlines 
But I fear my fiance will push for Twins, Junior and Kindergarten Cop. Which is okay I guess, as there're many sides of Arnold to enjoy :p
But I fear my fiance will push for Twins, Junior and Kindergarten Cop. Which is okay I guess, as there're many sides of Arnold to enjoy :p
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Alphaville
- Posts: 3611
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
- Location: Quarantined
Re: ERE Adventuring
never seen it—will add it to my watchlist. thanks!
Re: ERE Adventuring
Would you recommend working part-time in IT for "öffentlicher Dienst" (German public services), like you do? (question from another German)
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Gilberto de Piento
- Posts: 1950
- Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:23 pm
Re: ERE Adventuring
Don't forget Predator.
Re: ERE Adventuring
Octarnold Schwarzenobegger is a great Idea.
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
- Location: Bavaria, Germany
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
- Location: Bavaria, Germany
Re: ERE Adventuring
You know it's bad news when the doorbell rings on a national holiday. You know it's really bad when they somehow get into the house and start knocking on your door like crazy. Long story short, the second of our three cat has been run over yesterday night
It's even worse this time, since I knew the cat from when was really little and made an effort to like him from the beginning. He was maybe a year old now, which is way too soon. And only 22 days after the first one died I'm too demoralized to come up with an obituary this time, maybe I'm still in shock. My fiance is also taking it way harder than me. It just seems like nothing is going right anymore...
It's even worse this time, since I knew the cat from when was really little and made an effort to like him from the beginning. He was maybe a year old now, which is way too soon. And only 22 days after the first one died
I'm too demoralized to come up with an obituary this time, maybe I'm still in shock. My fiance is also taking it way harder than me. It just seems like nothing is going right anymore...Re: ERE Adventuring
this really really sucks. sorry man
Re: ERE Adventuring
I'm really sorry for your loss. Remember to not be too hard on yourself while grieving.
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Alphaville
- Posts: 3611
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
- Location: Quarantined
Re: ERE Adventuring
fffffffffffffff... gaaaaah! im so sorry
get some rest, take care of yourself...
ooooof, this must be so hard.... be well, the two of you...
get some rest, take care of yourself...
ooooof, this must be so hard.... be well, the two of you...
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NuncFluens
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
- Location: Bavaria, Germany
Re: ERE Adventuring
Thank you, guys. My fiance was hit much harder than me, so I'm in a bit of a supporting role right now. We'll give the cat up for cremation today, so that will suck pretty hard once more. Nevertheless, I try to cope by being productive even if it doesn't feel like progress right now, so there are a few things I want to write about:
The Basement:
We trashed another 3 bags of unusable stuff and started sorting through the remainder. I also put up the first item for sale, which will hopefully motivate me to sell some more stuff. My fiance also planned how the finished basement should look like and it seems that there will be space for a minimal barbell training area, which motivates me even further.
Estimated time for completion is the end of the year, but right now I'm determined to get it done faster than that. This depends a whole lot on how fast the bigger items sell, so I'll have to weigh selling price against ease of sale somehow :/
Fitness:
After my diet break last weekend I naturally fell back into my diet-like eating patterns. I only weighed myself this morning and apparently my scale weight didn't budge at all. I didn't weigh myself all throughout the week though, so this single data point doesn't tell me much right now. It still feels like I am losing body fat though, as my engagement ring fits a bit looser and I can feel the first veins coming in on my forearms. I'll continue with the "diet" as it really doesn't feel like one anyway.
My training is slowly moving in the right direction. Last weeks session has left my knees feel "sore", for lack of a better term. I didn't feel comfortable putting additional strain on them for 4 days, so I only trained again yesterday. I changed up sets and reps to allow for more recovery at the same volume, but had to cut the workout short, as my bad knee acted up there a bit. That seems to have been the right decision as my knee feels completely fine today, in stark contrast to last time. So progress is very slow, but right now it feels sustainable at least.
Wedding:
The plan for our wedding day was to marry in the city and then celebrate with our family on a ferry/boat next summer. This has turned out to be a nightmare to organize, however, so we're playing around with the idea of a relaxed barbecue by the seaside instead. This would also include our closest friends, which merges 2 celebrations into one, at least. As an added benefit, the dude that marries us (google says the word is "registrar") can be paid to come to the seaside to do the ceremony instead of us needing to go to his workplace. This will cost us some extra, but smoothes the whole thing out some more. Overall I like the new plan, but I'd like to let it simmer a bit, as we're obviously very bad at sticking to plans :p
Work:
I had a strategy meeting with a few colleagues last week, as the boss wants our input on the strategic reorientation. It took longer than planned, but only because everyone was very engaged, which is a good thing. I did notice however, that my view was much more strategic ("why" and "what") than that of the other colleagues ("how" and a focus on particular technologies). This made me realize that I really don't care about the shiny new technologies we want to use. Maybe I've done a few too many cycles of new tech to still go starry eyed when something new comes around...
Anway, the boss(es) will meet with us next monday to go through our vision for the future. I suspect our plans will be watered down considerably, as the bosses really risk-averse and probably won't send away potential partners that don't fit the vision. Typing this, I feel very jaded, but my job is still much too good to just toss away. Maybe they'll surprise me and go for it.
The Basement:
We trashed another 3 bags of unusable stuff and started sorting through the remainder. I also put up the first item for sale, which will hopefully motivate me to sell some more stuff. My fiance also planned how the finished basement should look like and it seems that there will be space for a minimal barbell training area, which motivates me even further.
Estimated time for completion is the end of the year, but right now I'm determined to get it done faster than that. This depends a whole lot on how fast the bigger items sell, so I'll have to weigh selling price against ease of sale somehow :/
Fitness:
After my diet break last weekend I naturally fell back into my diet-like eating patterns. I only weighed myself this morning and apparently my scale weight didn't budge at all. I didn't weigh myself all throughout the week though, so this single data point doesn't tell me much right now. It still feels like I am losing body fat though, as my engagement ring fits a bit looser and I can feel the first veins coming in on my forearms. I'll continue with the "diet" as it really doesn't feel like one anyway.
My training is slowly moving in the right direction. Last weeks session has left my knees feel "sore", for lack of a better term. I didn't feel comfortable putting additional strain on them for 4 days, so I only trained again yesterday. I changed up sets and reps to allow for more recovery at the same volume, but had to cut the workout short, as my bad knee acted up there a bit. That seems to have been the right decision as my knee feels completely fine today, in stark contrast to last time. So progress is very slow, but right now it feels sustainable at least.
Wedding:
The plan for our wedding day was to marry in the city and then celebrate with our family on a ferry/boat next summer. This has turned out to be a nightmare to organize, however, so we're playing around with the idea of a relaxed barbecue by the seaside instead. This would also include our closest friends, which merges 2 celebrations into one, at least. As an added benefit, the dude that marries us (google says the word is "registrar") can be paid to come to the seaside to do the ceremony instead of us needing to go to his workplace. This will cost us some extra, but smoothes the whole thing out some more. Overall I like the new plan, but I'd like to let it simmer a bit, as we're obviously very bad at sticking to plans :p
Work:
I had a strategy meeting with a few colleagues last week, as the boss wants our input on the strategic reorientation. It took longer than planned, but only because everyone was very engaged, which is a good thing. I did notice however, that my view was much more strategic ("why" and "what") than that of the other colleagues ("how" and a focus on particular technologies). This made me realize that I really don't care about the shiny new technologies we want to use. Maybe I've done a few too many cycles of new tech to still go starry eyed when something new comes around...
Anway, the boss(es) will meet with us next monday to go through our vision for the future. I suspect our plans will be watered down considerably, as the bosses really risk-averse and probably won't send away potential partners that don't fit the vision. Typing this, I feel very jaded, but my job is still much too good to just toss away. Maybe they'll surprise me and go for it.
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Alphaville
- Posts: 3611
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2019 10:50 am
- Location: Quarantined
Re: ERE Adventuring
hey, just wanted to say, i figured out the bullet journal, and realized that the forecast view of my omnifocus works very much like a minimalist bullet journal, with a list of daily actions due on each day.
but see, i was letting “overdue” things there pile up, instead of moving them forward consciously, and i had actions that had a due date but didn’t actually require one, so the forecast view had turned into a royal mess with a bazillion things in it.
anyway i just finished applying the “bullet” method to the whole long list, which will lets me be more conscious of what i schedule for each day instead of looking at a frustrating blur of (artificially) undone things.
best thing is that this lets me integrate with the gtd process i’m accustomed to, which lets me organize multiple actions into projects, but with added focus for each workday.
so, thanks again for sharing your process. it was most helpful.
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and i hope you’re recovering steadily from the shocks.
but see, i was letting “overdue” things there pile up, instead of moving them forward consciously, and i had actions that had a due date but didn’t actually require one, so the forecast view had turned into a royal mess with a bazillion things in it.
anyway i just finished applying the “bullet” method to the whole long list, which will lets me be more conscious of what i schedule for each day instead of looking at a frustrating blur of (artificially) undone things.
best thing is that this lets me integrate with the gtd process i’m accustomed to, which lets me organize multiple actions into projects, but with added focus for each workday.
so, thanks again for sharing your process. it was most helpful.
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and i hope you’re recovering steadily from the shocks.