Get Everything Done

Hi,
I'm a newbie here and am starting to work with DWM. I have a question about how a DWM list works together with a calender. From my perspective there are three different kind of tasks.
1) One off tasks - things to be done that are not tied to a specific date (i.e. Get gutters fixed). These tasks fit into DWM very nicely. Tasks like these may have a hard deadlines but I gather that DWM is intrinsically set up so that tasks with deadlines or higher priority bubble up to to the earlier part of the list (Day or Week).
2) Routines - things to be done on a daily basis (i.e. "Nightly Routine" (brush teeth, lay out clothes for the morning), weekly basis (i.e. "Weekly session to review and pay bills"), or some other recurring basis. Does it make sense to put these into a DWM list? Wouldn't these just add noise to my list? A calendar seems to make more sense to me (especially for the non-daily stuff).
3) Appointments - things that are scheduled for a specific date (i.e Dentist Appt.). I'm assuming these should be on my calendar only.

Thanks for listening.

I personally put types 1 and 2 (especially the weekly/monthly/whatever kind) on my list. Unless it REALLY MATTERS what day of the week you do the bills on, this works just fine. I only put daily routines on when I'm in the process of establishing them or have let them slip.

Type 3 definitely are calendar appointments rather than DWM entries although things like prepping for meetings do go on my DWM list.

Hi Ephi - and welcome!

<<<Tasks like these may have a hard deadlines but I gather that DWM is intrinsically set up so that tasks with deadlines or higher priority bubble up to to the earlier part of the list (Day or Week).>>>

Yes, that's right.

Many of us find it helpful to write the deadline with the task. E.g., "Work on presentation (due 9/7)". It's a helpful reminder.


<<<Routines - Does it make sense to put these into a DWM list? Wouldn't these just add noise to my list?>>>

It depends.

For tasks that require regular, sustained effort, such as learning a musical instrument, Mark Forster has always recommended blocking out a regular time on your calendar for that.

For daily tasks that are part of your regular daily routine, and only make sense at a certain point in the sequence of your routine, like brushing your teeth or laying out your clothes for the next day, you are right, this doesn't go into DWM.

For me personally, whenever I am going through a transition and my daily routine is changing (for example, at the beginning of end of the school year), sometimes I find it helpful to block out the bits of time on my calendar when those routines occur, and to write them out, step by step. This helps me optimize the routine. But as soon as the new routine becomes habit, I usually remove it from my calendar.

For tasks that occur daily, weekly, or irregularly, and don't need to be done at a specific time, like paying your bills, checking your email, taking out the trash, etc., I always put these on my DWM list. One trick I have recently learned is this: When you finish this kind of task, re-enter it at Today+30, NOT at the usual Today+7 re-entry point. That way, these recurring "administrivia" tasks will tend to be lower down on your list. For other kinds of project work, the re-entry point should remain at Today+7, as per the standard DWM rules. This way, your top project tasks will be in the "hot zone" (the first seven days), but your administrivia will enter the hot zone only if you've been neglecting them for several weeks. This helps keep the administrivia from cluttering the DWM list.

On the other hand, if a weekly task really DOES need to be done at a specific timeslot of the week, such as 3 PM every Friday, then I'd put it on my calendar.


<<<3) Appointments>>>

Yes, those should go on your calendar only. But if there is work to be done in connection with the appointment, like filling out the paperwork before going to see a new dentist, then I'd enter that on DWM. Example: "Fill out dentist paperwork (due for appt 9/14)".



Hope that helps!

Re item 3):

- if it's not a recurring task, e.g. birthday etc. I would put it in DMW so that you can see the workload you have on that specific day - your intuition will guide you and you'll realise what is important for you ;) keeping in mind that, if I do recall it correctly, Mark does suggest that you use a (paper based) calendar as your capturing and handling tool :)

- I use DWM with Outlook's tasks list at work and it works like a charm. The calendar is used for my team mates for scheduling appointments only ...

That's where I've been sticking! "Important things bubble to the top." I keep thinking of that as top of the list, but things that are low-urgency gets written at the _top_ of the +30 day. They also get mixed up with other things that get written on +30. When that day becomes +7 the next batch of entries is probably more urgent than what went on it 3 weeks ago.

Instead of "bubble to the top of the page", they bubble to the top of your awareness.

I need to think about the implications of that.