Comments on: The feeling of never-ending lists https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists David Allen's GTD® Methodology Sat, 26 Jul 2014 00:02:31 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 By: Tony https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3498 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 00:42:16 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3498 @Ted – I feel for ya, and your dad. I’m sure he had the best of intentions of bringing his kids up to be productive and responsible, but the way he chose actually got in the way of you using a basic tool.

@Pedro – I have a similar feeling about my lists. My own negative reaction to facing my lists comes from the fact that there is TOO MUCH ON IT. I look at the first half a dozen items on my “at work” list and I immediately get a tightness in my stomach, because I know for a fact that several of those will be done later than people expect of me. The obvious answer is saying “no” more often – not entirely sure how to do that when there is nobody else to do stuff that the business clearly NEEDS to get done.

]]> By: Ted Allen https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3497 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:25:27 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3497 I can understand the concern / oppression of never ending lists.
My father was a real list maker. He died a couple of years ago at 82 and had 8 lists in his pocket.
For his children, his lists created a heavy burden that has lasted for years. Every morning when he left for work he left a list on the kitchen table of work for us to complete (we lived on a farm which was his hobby). The lists could not be completed in the day 90% of the time. There wasn’t any reward for finishing tasks except to get more things to do.
The result was an incentive to procrastinate and a lifelong struggle with lists.
Finally, I’m beginning to be able to look at task lists as something other than complete evil, but it’s taken 50 years before I could feel comfortable being able to say, I’m not going to do that.

]]> By: Mark Jantzen https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3496 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:49:11 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3496 It’s true that GTD cannot overcome a situation where you are physically overcommitted.

That’s a conversation at a higher horizon.

While I’m nowhere near an expert I’ve got a pretty complete system and there’s no requirement to stare at it 24/7.

Couple of keys that might help – make sure you use Someday/Maybe a lot. I’m constantly moving things back and forth between actionable (next actions/projects) and Someday/Maybe. I’m constantly asking myself if I’ve made an agreement to do something. If not then off to S/M.

Also make sure your projects are things you can actually mark off as “done”. If not those are Areas of Focus that you don’t want to “blend” with projects.

And, of course, the Weekly Review. A cliche that is really true!

]]> By: Tom https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3495 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:48:36 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3495 I struggled mightily with this attitude for a while when I started GTD (and still do at times.) I keep a context of “Reminders” on my NA list so I’ll see them often. At that time I wrote, and still use this one:

What GTD Is and Means

My GTD System, if truly complete in an ideal sense, defines my Life!!

It lays out a process – living my life – not an end point to be achieved.

It portrays the decisions I’ve made (up front) about what I am going to DO (with my life), not the things I have to get DONE.

It isn’t possible to “complete” the lists in their entirety if they represent my life.

]]> By: Jim https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3494 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:30:42 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3494 If your lists are too long, deactivate a few projects. Under GTD, goals are achieved in parallel. Being in the driving seat, you can deactivate a project, be happy with it and know the effect on your life. Later on, check the “future” projects list and reactivate it again.

Got some pressing projects ? You have urgent tax affairs, a trip to arrange and some urgent meetings ? Fine. Deactivate that project to double glaze your windows. Come back to it in 6 months or a year. As David said, “park the outcomes and actions in the appropriate places that you trust will be reviewed at the right time… and you’re free”. Easy.

]]> By: Raymond Li https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3493 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:31:46 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3493 @Ben: How can we be ready for anything when we’re glued to the “radar screen?” We can’t. Like Cheryl, I’ve found being glued to my lists means I’m probably procrastinating or there’s something I need to capture/clarify. Maybe there’s too much detail on the “radar screen.” Capturing just enough so you know what to do next to move a project forward might keep your lists easier to manage and ready for anything.

]]> By: Jeff https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3492 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:19:31 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3492 The freedom begins when you can have the list and focus your attention. That’s why it’s called getting things don and not “getting it all done right now”. The list require a perspective that most of us never take the time to develop.

]]> By: virens https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3491 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:31:14 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3491 For me this question just does not exist: you always have some projects until you are alive, as David has said.

The biggest advantage of the GTD methodology is that it allows you to ‘intelligently procrastinate’ and don’t feel guilty. For instance, I had a project in my list for which I procrastinated – hmmm, I just put it into Someday/Maybe – for a year. And it was pretty OK not to do it. I just say to my internal voice – not today. Yes, I know that I need to do it, but it OK not to do it. Same as today – I have finally done one of the necessary (but boring) project just because felt not well (“low battery”). Looking on my project list in Deferred and Someday, I saw it – oh, that’s a good time to do. I done it and felt great :-)

For me, that’s ”ready for anything” state – you can turn even your bad day into a good one. If I’m not in a creative mood (I’m a researcher), I just do the tasks from my list that do not require a high creativity (proofread a paper, write a documentation, or answer a bunch of emails). The thing is that you _know_ what you _can_ do, and hence can choose not to do it on this particular day.

]]> By: Alan https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3490 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 08:34:42 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3490 It’s just a fact of life that your list will always be never ending. I think the whole point of GTD is to back on track quicker when you get derailed.

]]> By: Cheryl https://gettingthingsdone.com/2011/07/the-feeling-of-never-ending-lists/#comment-3489 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:58:08 +0000 http://www.gtdtimes.com/2011/07/05/#comment-3489 Ben, you’re making up a rule to your disadvantage. For me, keeping lists sets me free to ignore those lists for minutes or weeks at a time. I know of no implicit requirement to hunch. In fact, when I’m in a hunch, it’s a sure sign I’m not ready for anything.

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