ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I'm using a modified kind of bullet journal (which I love), but I'm running into a problem where my task list is running beyond the time I have available each day. I'm happy that I'm managing to get so many of those random "I have to remember to..." thoughts down, but I end up listing so many things I hope to get done today, when in reality, I'll never get them all done in one day. They're all things that need to get done in the next few days, but it seems to be a "my eyes are bigger than my stomach" kind of thing! How do you manage to corral all those free-floating have-to-do items, yet still make yourself a daily to-do list that actually gets done and doesn't bring you down because you only managed to finish five things out of the 20 you listed? And doesn't require you rewriting most of the huge list over and over every few days? Thanks! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 This is where I'm a fan of dry erase boards. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessa516 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 For those random tasks, I keep a running list for the week (as opposed to a daily list). If I have to copy down the task more than two or three times (meaning two or three weeks), then I know I need to assign that task to a specific day to make sure I get it finished. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsRobinson Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Yep, weekly list. I create it at the front of the week before my daily lists start. I can add to it through the week if I need to. During the kids quiet time and when we're about to head out for errands I check the "to do sometime this week" list. I am most likely to check something off that list if I look at it at those specific times. Otherwise the list gets forgotten. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tita Gidge Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) At the beginning of each month I do a two-page spread. The first page is the standard monthly page, with a list numbered 1st to 31st - just like the Bullet Journal website shows. The second page is a giant "To Do At Some Point This Month" page. It's split in half widthwise. The top half is for short-term projects that are likely to get done or are time-sensitive. The bottom half is for longer-term projects or wish list "if I have time I'd like to" items. Edited July 13, 2016 by Tita Gidge 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I write a weekly list on a sticky note and assign some of those tasks to each day as I go along, based on schedules, weather, etc. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 For those random tasks, I keep a running list for the week (as opposed to a daily list). If I have to copy down the task more than two or three times (meaning two or three weeks), then I know I need to assign that task to a specific day to make sure I get it finished. Or assign it to someone else, if at all possible. I realize if I postpone a task too many times, it just isn't that important to me. I either have to find a way to make it important to me or find someone else to do it. Can I hire it out? Or can I give myself a reward of some sort for doing it? If it seems ridiculous to reward myself for something I ought to be able to knock out in a reasonable amount of time, I give myself a peptalk or a tough-love talk and get after it. I just looked at my task list and I'm off to get a few lingering things knocked off it. Which reminds me....sometimes I'll assign one day a week or month to do those things I've been putting off. Deadlines work great for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 My lists don't have a time frame. We have a lot of very long-term goals. They just stay on the list until I get to them. If it's urgent or time sensitive, I mark it as such. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Thanks everyone! The weekly list is pretty much all I could come up with too, but I thought I'd put out feelers for possible better solutions. OK, weekly list it is :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) I hate to say this because you can't hear my tone of voice to tell I'm asking ever so gently...but are you reading the GTD book? It seems if you have that many next actions, they need to be deferred to some type of project list. If I remember correctly a project is anything that can't be done in one step? The Process step is defining actionable things into concrete next steps. I loved! hearing about the next steps - I don't think I ever thought through what a next step and a measurable finish line was for a lot of projects. And I'm with you, I have alot to do and was just this morning wondering how GTD would help me prioritize - and then I remembered, I haven't finished listening/reading the book! I'm still a newbie. Every once in a while I think I'm getting it but I obviously don't. I do remember hearing on the podcast something relevant about what you're asking though... episode 14 - April 26. http://gettingthingsdone.com/podcasts/ He talked alot about the beauty of the Things app - which I just downloaded - in that it helps corral all those things and you prioritize them according to the GTD principles. (Bullet journal could do the same thing I bet, or my Levenger journal - so maybe the Things app is redundant?) The businessman/husband/dad doing this podcast was talking about how he had multiple kids, a huge multi million dollar business, travels, etc and is PRESENT with his family and could even take time from schedule to do the podcast interview and know the other priorities were in place so he could trust the system and not worry over spending a couple hours doing the cast... Hope this helps. I'd love to keep the conversation going. The brain emptying collection procedure was SO very! very! helpful to see all that on paper and know at some point I was going to do something besides think about it. Edited July 13, 2016 by momee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) I hate to say this because you can't hear my tone of voice to tell I'm asking ever so gently...but are you reading the GTD book? It seems if you have that many next actions, they need to be deferred to some type of project list. If I remember correctly a project is anything that can't be done in one step? And I'm with you, I have alot to do and was just this morning wondering how GTD would help me prioritize - and then I remembered, I haven't finished listening/reading the book. I'm still a newbie. Every once in a while I think I'm getting it but I obviously don't. I do remember hearing on the podcast something relevant about what you're asking though... episode 14 - April 26. http://gettingthingsdone.com/podcasts/ that the beauty of the Things app - which I just downloaded - is that it helps corral all those things and you prioritize them according to the GTD principles. (Bullet journal could do the same thing) The businessman/husband/dad doing this podcast was talking about how he had multiple kids, a huge multi million dollar business, travels, etc and is PRESENT with his family and could even take time from schedule to do the podcast interview and know the other priorities were in place so he could trust the system and not worry over spending a couple hours doing the cast... Hope this helps. I'd love to keep the conversation going - I just bought a levenger journal and the Things app and am reading the book (and! did a brain dump which was very! very! helpful to see all that on paper and know at some point I was going to do something besides think about it. You know, it's funny you should ask this :lol: I've actually been thinking about that exact issue and contemplating starting a thread about it to see what others thought, but maybe you can help me figure it out. I think you posted the same link in another thread recently, didn't you? So, listening to that podcast got me listening to the other podcasts in the series, which prompted me to buy (for the third time) the GTD book, this time on Audible. And I'm sort of stuck on the same thing I got stuck on the last two times I tried to read the book, which is what you just mentioned above. The things that are generally on my task lists are all one-time tasks, so I could never figure out how they're supposed to fit into projects lists. For example, here's a sampling of the the items on my "weekly" to-do list right now: Make new holes in sandals Clean out downstairs freezer Order new Target card Return Sacks book to library Clean my side of bedroom Use Staples coupon (Flair pens) Put away party dishes Put registration card in car And so on. These are all things that need to be done in the next few days (though some got slotted for today--the library, the registration card, the Target card). But overwhelmingly, the things floating around in my head are not parts of any kind of project. They're just things that need to be done. Now, I do have some project things, like "Create lesson plans for 8th grade." That definitely requires next actions and many steps. But on a day-to-day basis, this is what my journal looks like. I have a hard time seeing the general clutter around me or remembering small tasks that occur to me randomly, so this is how I've been capturing them when they flash through my brain. Does that make sense? So when I listed to GTD again this time, I think I heard him say that, yes, a lot of your tasks may look like this. I'm going to listen a second time, but I do still worry that I'm missing some part of the plan that would have addressed this. What do you think? If you feel like you have a good grasp on GTD, am I missing something? On a related note, I really need a book or a video series or a blog that shows me exactly what doing the GTD method looks like. For some weird reason, this whole thing just does not mesh with my brain. I have seriously owned some copy of GTD for years, and every time I read it, I think, "Oh, surely it will make more sense this time!" And then every time, I find myself thinking that his way just isn't how I operate, and I can't see how to apply it to my life. Edited July 13, 2016 by ILiveInFlipFlops 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I put everything on my iPhone calendar. When I get them done, I either delete them or I change them to reflect that I did them (only if it's something I'll need to refer to later -- like, "When did I pay that bill?") If I don't get them done, I just slide them over to the next day, or whenever I feel I might be able to fit it in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 My husband recently told me about something called Trello (google Trello). I haven't used it yet though, but I guess you can have tasks and set which ones are done, which ones are in progress, which ones get pushed up for later, etc. You can use it to manage other family member's task lists, etc. It's for business or personal use. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I put some of them as reminders in my Google calendar on my phone, things like calling/emailing people or banking. Google/internet/phone related stuff. I would probably put the library, staples, target and registration stuff that way - they all go together with a portable calendar list on my phone in my mind. The house stuff would go on a whiteboard at home with our weekly cleaning list. Then anyone is free to complete items from the list - or have them assigned ;), it's in my face so I can't forget, it's easy to add to and wiping the items off/seeing the list disappear is satisfying! Anything that doesn't fit in those categories would go in the journal... But I'm still working this all out in my own head too. Bullet journalling is new for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 ToDo Task Manager app on my phone. It allows me to put in one time things, repeated things, etc. Dates and priorities on that date as well, if I'd like. Best app ever! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 This is why I don't use my bullet journal anymore. It just doesn't work for to-do lists for me. I use reminders on Google calendar. The reminders carry over day to day if I don't mark them as completed. I check my phone every morning for my reminders, and throughout the day if necessary. For tasks with multiple steps, I use Todoist, which is more of a project management tool. This pops up on my phone with any items due that day, and/or overdue. I loved the bullet journal at first; I prefer writing things down to typing them into the phone or computer, but it just doesn't work well for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I put everything on the monthly task list, then move items to daily to-do list when I think I can deal with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momee Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Those are all excellent ideas and exactly meet where my mind has been wandering lately so I'm going to spend more time on each suggestion tomorrow. I just wanted to add, don't forget that 2 minute rule. If you can do it in 2 mins, do so :) I always waste, lol, more time figuring out how to plan than actually doing. Classic homeschooler at heart I guess :) best laid plans... but seriously. Those 2 minute tasks could go on a calendar or to do list manager or whiteboard or chore chart. Or you could do them. For me, I'm struggling with having ONE system and using it consistently. Until I can find the sweet spot I'm floundering thinking there's something better out there. I need to pick something and DO IT! so I'm no help to you, sorry. I'm still reading it myself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 I always waste, lol, more time figuring out how to plan than actually doing. Classic homeschooler at heart I guess :) best laid plans... Oh, so much this!!! Here's my beef with the two-minute tasks: Am I the only one who feels like I could fill whole days with two minute tasks? Like, yeah, two minutes is just two minutes, but if I stopped to do every tiny task when I think of it, I'd be getting up constantly, interrupting my work and teaching and planning and... I don't know. DH and I had a great conversation about this tonight, and he helped me think about a few things differently. I still think, for the way I use my bullet journal, a weekly running to-do list will work best. He gave me a few ideas about how to assign tasks to different days in the week even though I only plan the current day, which was a concept that hadn't occurred to me, since I think of my bullet journal as a stream of consciousness, basically! And I listened to a few more GTD podcasts that helped me clarify my thoughts about the mind sweep, weekly review etc. I think part of my problem is that neither the bullet journal nor GTD wholly applies to the way my life operates. I really love certain aspects of both plans, but the purist in me keeps shouting, "That's not how you're supposed to do it!" So I'm constantly tweaking tweaking tweaking. Again, classic homeschooler behavior :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 This is why I don't use my bullet journal anymore. It just doesn't work for to-do lists for me. I use reminders on Google calendar. The reminders carry over day to day if I don't mark them as completed. I check my phone every morning for my reminders, and throughout the day if necessary. For tasks with multiple steps, I use Todoist, which is more of a project management tool. This pops up on my phone with any items due that day, and/or overdue. I loved the bullet journal at first; I prefer writing things down to typing them into the phone or computer, but it just doesn't work well for me. You know, the funny thing is that while I love pen-and-paper stuff, I hate carrying around an extra thing. I tried for years to do everything on my phone, but while my grocery list and my calendar work great digitally, the daily to-do list just never did. I even paid for a bunch of apps, sure each time that I'd found "the key" each time! But it wasn't until I caved and started using pen and paper again that I started to feel more in control of the day to day. I still hate carrying around the extra thing, but I discovered that I can use my GTasks app to capture my fleeting thoughts and transfer them all to my journal later on. So weird, what works for different people! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraBeth475 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I'm using a modified kind of bullet journal (which I love), but I'm running into a problem where my task list is running beyond the time I have available each day. I'm happy that I'm managing to get so many of those random "I have to remember to..." thoughts down, but I end up listing so many things I hope to get done today, when in reality, I'll never get them all done in one day. They're all things that need to get done in the next few days, but it seems to be a "my eyes are bigger than my stomach" kind of thing! How do you manage to corral all those free-floating have-to-do items, yet still make yourself a daily to-do list that actually gets done and doesn't bring you down because you only managed to finish five things out of the 20 you listed? And doesn't require you rewriting most of the huge list over and over every few days? Thanks! Make a big list of everything you want to do that can be it's own page, and then pick a small number to tackle each day? Kind of like a Six List. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 I'm thinking, for the two minute tasks, to just have a running list on the weekly page... So, I have a monthly page, with a place to list projects. Then a current week page with a schedule and a place to list quick tasks so I don't forget them. Although I do use the whiteboard for them if they are cleaning related. Of course gtd says that if it takes longer to write it down then just do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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