Get Everything Done

Hi Mark,

So what is your advice on where to start first thing in the morning on one's DWM list? Do you start with the one month page from today, which has the most recent entries? Or do you start at the one week page?

Maybe a silly question, but how are you working the system in testing?

-David

I start where I left off from the day before.

Hi Avrum,

Fair enough, but where do you start initially? I will continue where I left off as with AF4, but the rules were to start with the beginning of the closed list. What about DWM?

-David

Does it matter? You are going to process one after the next. No matter where you start you'll wind up going through all tasks.

Maybe that's something that Mark's looking for feedback? Maybe I'm misunderstanding your question, on the first day of DWM, there's only 2 pages with items (today+7 and today+30). Wouldn't the very first pass just start on which page you just wrote a task?

It can't possibly matter; just start. You only start "initially" once.

I agree -- it may not matter overall. But, AF4 had specific instructions on where to start. That is all I am asking Mark about. I obviously can decide on my own -- and again it may not matter at all -- but was wondering if Mark had a suggestion for the system. As for me, I am going to start at the bottom of the list of the most recent entry and work backwards through the list....or maybe decide the next day to start at whatever is closest to the current day.

-David

At the end of the day I mark the next task and I start there the next day.

I asked in the rules post comments whether to start from the beginning or from where you where, Mark answered it probably wouldn't matter that much. Recently he voiced the idea of having a "current initiative", to always start with a previously chosen task and then continue normally.

Mark's answer to my question: http://www.markforster.net/blog/2010/2/1/dit2-af5-who-cares-what-its-called-this-is-what-im-working-o.html?currentPage=2#comment7180192

Mark suggests a form of "current initiative" for DWM: http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/1006802#item1008206

Andreas: That's a neat way to start and carry on, and thanks for the links.

I remember from the DIT days that the Current Initiative was a real procrastination buster, whichever way you tackled it. Either you just touch a dreaded task, and that takes away the monsters lurking in the closet, after which it was easier to handle it. Or you are so motivated to get the monkey off your back that it is nearly finished at one sitting.

I look forward to incorporating it in DWM, but for now, I'll just wait for Mark's formal instructions. I'm in no hurry right now, the flow is quite nice at the moment.