CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
Getting Things Done; Managing Tasks
Lists Should be Outlines

0504 -
0504 -    ..
0505 - Summary/Objective
0506 -
050601 - Follow up ref SDS 14 0000. ref SDS 12 0000.
050602 -
050603 - Rod's record on Covey 921205, ref SDS 1 0001.
050605 -  ..
050606 - The 7 Habits are principles for living life. The materials do very
050607 - little to address the mechanics of the tim / task management system
050608 - that Franklin / Covey developed and market. Since the 7 Habits do not
050609 - address the mechanics of time management, there is nothing in them
050610 - that cannot be done using SDS.
050612 -  ..
050613 - Covey addresses the practical ways to implement sound management
050614 - practices in "First Things First", and Hyram Smith addresses the
050615 - system in "What Matters Most".
050616 -
050617 -    1.  Determine your values and the principles on which they are
050618 -        based. Develop these into a Mission Statement that can be used
050619 -        to guide your decisions.
050621 -         ..
050622 -        There are a small number of values for each individual. Values
050623 -        are taken to be timeless and change relatively slowly once
050624 -        they have been discovered.
050626 -         ..
050627 -        Values can be handled using the SI as suggested by Rod,
050628 -        031104, ref SDS 13 RY6J.
050630 -         ..
050631 -        By dedicating a single subject for the discussion of values
050632 -        itself, SI searches can locate any of:
050633 -
050634 -           •  Discussion of values -- the few record that define values
050635 -              and mission statements.
050636 -
050637 -           •  Records linked to individual values.
050639 -               ..
050640 -           •  All records linked to any values.
050642 -         ..
050643 -    2.  Determine the major roles that are active in your life.
050644 -
050645 -        Roles also are a short, relatively static list, so the SI can
050646 -        be used for them in the same way as values.
050648 -         ..
050649 -    3.  Establish goals based on your values, using your roles as a
050650 -        guide. What Covey calls goals, Allen calls projects --
050651 -        "anything that needs to be done that requires more than 1 step
050652 -        to complete".
050654 -         ..
050655 -        Creating goals records and linking them to values is easy
050656 -        enough to do with standard SDS techniques.
050658 -         ..
050659 -        Plan the steps necessary to achieve those goals and assign a
050660 -        target date to each step.
050662 -         ..
050663 -        Planning the goal / project can be done in a single record,
050664 -        which makes sense. Trying to keep ready access to the elements
050665 -        of the projects gets to be a bit more difficult.
050667 -         ..
050668 -        The number of projects varies over time. Allen estimates that
050669 -        most people have 100 - 300 projects, at least initially. As
050670 -        projects are completed, they become inactive.
050671 -
050672 -           031115 Apparently I either heard wrong or there are
050673 -           disparate values. An article from the web site has the
050674 -           number of projects at 30 - 100. This is more nearly
050675 -           manageable.
050677 -         ..
050678 -        Some projects belong on a "Someday, Maybe" list according to
050679 -        Allen. This list gets reviewed weekly so that projects can
050680 -        move to it or from it as desired.
050682 -         ..
050683 -        Allen suggests that only the next action that can be done on
050684 -        any project is important. Covey wants every project step
050685 -        assigned a target date.
050687 -         ..
050688 -        This brings up the question of how to manage projects so that
050689 -        we can easily handle the active projects and at least the next
050690 -        action on each.
050691 -
050692 -            [On 031203 addressed this further, ref SDS 15 PF6M]
050694 -               ..
050695 -           •  Each project definition record could have an Action
050696 -              Item, either for the project or for the Next Action.
050697 -              This would put all the projects in the SAA record.  With
050698 -              several hundred projects possible, this could get
050699 -              difficult to manage. The magnitude is the same if each
050700 -              Next Action is represented by an individual SDS record.
050702 -               ..
050703 -              If each step is scheduled, there are going to be a lot
050704 -              of items on the schedule for future dates. As these pile
050705 -              up, they will have to be moved constantly, creating a
050706 -              real mess. I think this is a problem that the Franklin /
050707 -              Covey system runs into until the user gets to the point
050708 -              that the amount scheduled for any day gets, mostly,
050709 -              addressed that day.
050711 -               ..
050712 -           •  There may be some way to use the SI for management. It
050713 -              is clear that the projects themselves will need subjects
050714 -              to allow finding all the related records.
050716 -               ..
050717 -              What is not clear is how to handle project status. Is
050718 -              there an easy way to locate all active projects (not
050719 -              those that are complete, or those planned but not
050720 -              started) without getting all of the work records for all
050721 -              of the projects.
050723 -               ..
050724 -              The same sort of entry in the SI as used for values
050725 -              could work. Perhaps a subject for each status, as that
050726 -              will be a small number. This would call for changing the
050727 -              subject in the project definition as the project changed
050728 -              status.
050730 -         ..
050731 -    4.  Plan the week as the smallest interval of time that allows for
050732 -        achieving balance. Review your Mission Statement, and your
050733 -        goals before you begin.
050735 -         ..
050736 -        Since the values and Mission Statement are in the SAA, they
050737 -        are easy to get to. Values can be addressed from a master
050738 -        values record or from the SI.
050740 -         ..
050741 -        Regular meetings or tasks can be created from Diary records if
050742 -        not already done.
050744 -         ..
050745 -    5.  Take into account items that are already scheduled from
050746 -        earlier.
050748 -         ..
050749 -        Since these will already be on the schedule for the week, this
050750 -        is easy to do.
050752 -         ..
050753 -    6.  For each role, decide what is the most important thing that you
050754 -        can accomplish this week in that role and place it in the
050755 -        schedule. This addresses Covey's Habit 3 "Put First Things
050756 -        First".
050758 -         ..
050759 -        This requires reviewing the projects by role and what can be
050760 -        done this week to further some of them. It is not clear how to
050761 -        get projects by role easily.
050763 -         ..
050764 -    7.  Review your Master Task list of undated tasks and schedule any
050765 -        of them that seem appropriate.
050767 -         ..
050768 -        Currently the SDS schedule or the SAA record are the closest
050769 -        thing we have to a list of undated tasks. Not clear how best
050770 -        to deal with this.
050772 -         ..
050773 -    8.  Assign priorities. These are the major importances, A, B, and
050774 -        C.
050776 -         ..
050777 -        The priority could be added to the title. Allen disagrees that
050778 -        the prioritizing steps are all that important. He contends
050779 -        that if the context is correct, assigning priorities on the
050780 -        fly is intuitive.
050782 -         ..
050783 -    9.  Each day, assign sequence within the categories. The result is
050784 -        a full analysis of the relative importances of everything you
050785 -        want to do today. Pick a reasonable sized list.
050787 -         ..
050788 -        It it possible to reorganize the day's schedule according to
050789 -        the category and sequence. The sequence could be added to the
050790 -        category in the title. This gets a bit messy.
050792 -         ..
050793 -   10.  Work on the tasks. Complete them, delegate them, forward them
050794 -        to another day. By the end of the day, every task should have
050795 -        been dealt with in some way.
050797 -         ..
050798 -        All operations on tasks as represented by individual records
050799 -        are possible whether supported by automation or not.
050801 -         ..
050802 -        Items can be completed and marked so in the Diary record. Work
050803 -        records are linked to earlier work and to the project plan.
050804 -        The project plan links to the work records.
050806 -         ..
050807 -        If a task needs to be rescheduled, it can simply be moved and
050808 -        the category in the title adjusted.
050810 -         ..
050811 -        If a tasks recors regularly, the current record can be used to
050812 -        create the next occurrence. This works ofr appointments, which
050813 -        have time associated with them, and for tasks, which have only
050814 -        a day associated with them.
050816 -         ..
050817 -        If a task needs to be done some period of time after it is
050818 -        completed, the current record can be used to schedule the next
050819 -        one.
050821 -         ..
050822 -   11.  Handle interruptions by evaluating where they fit in the
050823 -        priorities. If you have to interrupt a task, mark it as In
050824 -        Process so that you have an immediate cue as to what you were
050825 -        doing prior to the interruption.
050827 -         ..
050828 -        This is not a mechanical issue. Marking the working record can
050829 -        be as easy as entering an action item for the SAA.
050831 -         ..
050832 -   12.  Handle each incoming item only once to decide what to do with
050833 -        it and allow the system to keep you from losing it.
050835 -         ..
050836 -        This advice is universal, and is not really dependent on the
050837 -        system used to hold those things that cannot be completed at
050838 -        once.
050840 -         ..
050841 -   13.  At the end of the day, every task assigned during the day
050842 -        should have been:
050843 -
050844 -           •  Completed
050845 -
050846 -           •  Deleted as not needing to be done
050848 -               ..
050849 -           •  Assigned to someone else, along with the responsibility.
050851 -               ..
050852 -           •  Delegated to someone else to do, while you retain the
050853 -              responsibility for its completion.
050855 -               ..
050856 -           •  Rescheduled for another day.
050858 -               ..
050859 -           •  Moved to the Master Task List (undated tasks).
050861 -               ..
050862 -           •  The project can be moved to the "Someday, Maybe" list.
050864 -         ..
050865 -        None of this requires mechanical support. It simply needs to
050866 -        be checked during daily planning or review.
050868 -  ..
050869 - David Allen goes beyond this with a workflow process to decide exactly
050870 - how to deal with each incoming item. Allen adds the notion of Context
050871 - as where you need to be to accomplish the work, and the idea of the
050872 - Next Action on any project (a multi-step task).
050874 -  ..
050875 - Allen says that prioritizing in advance doesn't survive the first
050876 - interruption and that once all the tasks that can be done where you
050877 - are are in front of you, picking the most important task is trivial.
050878 - Covey would claim that it isn't the result of the prioritizing that is
050879 - important, but that the act of prioritizing that requires you to
050880 - consider the importance of every task in terms of your Mission
050881 - Statement, your goals, and your values is vital.
050883 -  ..
050884 - Covey and others claim that it is necessary to assign target dates to
050885 - all goals in order to accomplish them. Allen wouldn't be in violent
050886 - disagreement, but he believes that so long as you always know the
050887 - next action for any project and review them weekly, you won't lose
050888 - sight of what you need to be doing.
050890 -  ..
050891 - I dislike the idea of assigning dates to all the steps of a goal as
050892 - well. I think it tends to gather a whole lot of things that you can't
050893 - get to, and leads to discouragement.
050894 -
050895 -
050897 -  ..
050898 - Tasks by context
050899 -
050900 - Allen defines a task context as where you have to be, and what you
050901 - have to have in order to work on the task. His point is that there is
050902 - no reason to concern yourself at any given moment with things that
050903 - you can't do at the moment. If you need to send an email, knowing
050904 - that in the grocery store is counterproductive.
050906 -  ..
050907 - Since SDS was intended to be used as the entire, single context,
050908 - this was never addressed.
050910 -  ..
050911 - As with roles, it is not clear how to get tasks by context. This
050912 - becomes more of an issue the more closely the system comes to being
050913 - fully integrated and captures all the things that need reminders and
050914 - planning in order to get done.
050916 -  ..
050917 - The standard interface in a PDA provides 15 editable categories on
050918 - every list. The items can be restircted to a single category by
050919 - selecting it. It is possible to show all the categories at once.  This
050920 - proves to very handy in practice. This is the reason outlines are even
050921 - better than lists as discussed on 030506, ref SDS 8 0001.
050923 -  ..
050924 - Note that this is little more than a limited keyword approach, and
050925 - cannot be used as the only mechanism for classification. The SI is
050926 - essential. There are times, however, when a limited additional
050927 - classification can be of value.
050928 -
050930 -  ..
050931 - A mobile component to the system
050932 -
050933 - Cove, Smith, and Allen all agree that a system has to have a mobile
050934 - component in order to be complete.
050935 -
050936 - With modern technology in the form of PDAs, they are a possibility,
050937 - particular for things like phone numbers, and lists of actions that
050938 - need to be done away from the office.
050940 -  ..
050941 - All are agreed that paper needs to be part of the mobile element
050942 - since taking notes on a PDA is prohibitive in terms of time and
050943 - energy.
050945 -  ..
050946 - Allen and Smith disagree on the use for paper. Allen treats paper as
050947 - a capture device which then gets fed into his single in-basket for
050948 - processing. Smith thinks this is a double entry situation and simply
050949 - takes note on the pages of his planner. Reading more on Allen and his
050950 - approach to meeting notes, he suggests:
050951 -
050952 -    A common bad habit I have come across with managers and executives
050953 -    in recent years is the accumulation of unprocessed meeting notes.
050954 -    It is almost heartbreaking to see so much effort goes (sic.) into
050955 -    the creation of meetings and the capturing of what goes on, and the
050956 -    stress created and value lost from irresponsible management of the
050957 -    results. At least 80% of the professionals I work with have pockets
050958 -    of unporcessed meeting notes nested away in spiral notebooks,
050959 -    folders, drawers, and piles of papers.
050961 -     ..
050962 -    Process meeting notes by (1) determining actions required, and (2)
050963 -    transmitting and storing useful information.
050965 -     ..
050966 -    Systematically review and process your notes.
050968 -  ..
050969 - The SDS orientation is clearly closer to Allen.
050971 -  ..
050972 - Here, too, SDS shows its heritage. Rod takes his full SDS system on a
050973 - laptop with him, Gary synchronizes the systems at home and at work.
050974 - The result is that there is only a single SDS system for each.
050976 -  ..
050977 - Rod uses printouts of the prior meeting record as a base fr notes for
050978 - the current meeting. Gary uses a planner pad for notes. Both sets of
050979 - notes get entered into SDS as time and opportunity permit.
050981 -  ..
050982 - Given that, and a the occasional printed phone list, there hasn't
050983 - been a need for any sort of mobile component to SDS.
050984 -
050985 -    {Note that printing is broken to the extent that HP codes are no
050986 -    longer sufficiently general, and the system hasn't been
050987 -    maintained. We could use an improved system. Converts records to
050988 -    HTML and prints that, but it is a kludge.
050989 -
050990 -
050992 -  ..
050993 - Reference system
050994 -
050995 - Covey and Smith do not address the need for storing reference
050996 - information. Apparently they leave that issue to the standard
050997 - document filing and retrieval systems run by secretaries or
050998 - assistants, and computer storage managed by whatever means.
051000 -  ..
051001 - Allen recognizes the need, but claims that a single alphabetical paper
051002 - filing system using standard folders and labels printed by a Brothers
051003 - PTouch labeller or similar machine is enough. This system in in
051004 - addition to the various action lists that Allen maintains.
051006 -  ..
051007 - SDS provides several mechanisms for dealing with electronic files:
051008 -
051009 -    •  Convert the file to text and incorporate it into the Document
051010 -       Log system.
051011 -
051012 -    •  Incorporate small files directly into SDS records.
051014 -        ..
051015 -    •  The SI links to disk directories and can be used to access
051016 -       external files based on SI entries.
051018 -  ..
051019 - SDS exhibits what we have called the "two worlds" problem -- in order
051020 - to work with a file within SDS, it needs to be converted to text, and
051021 - anchors need to be supplied to support linking. External file formats
051022 - do not support the ability to link from any point to any other point,
051023 - and this is needed in order to do anything serious about knowledge
051024 - management.
051025 -
051026 -
051028 -  ..
051029 - Covey recommends a Journal
051030 -
051031 - Follow up ref SDS 14 SE4H.
051032 -
051033 - Covey does recommend a Journal, but is only distantly related to a
051034 - Diary as Rod suggests, ref SDS 1 0R31. For Covey, a Journal is a tool
051035 - of introspection. He does understand some aspects of understanding
051036 - through writing, but mostly he recommends a Journal for Sharpening the
051037 - Saw, ref SDS 1 1121.
051039 -        ..
051040 -    •  Thinking clearly about principles and values. Without writing,
051041 -       these are generally ill-defined and poorly thought out.
051043 -        ..
051044 -    •  Capturing things that worked well and things that didn't so
051045 -       that it is possible to recognize patterns upon review.
051047 -        ..
051048 -    •  To reflect your changing ideas and ways of thinking as a way of
051049 -       noting personal progress.
051051 -  ..
051052 - These uses for a Journal don't place any additional requirements on
051053 - SDS. Using Diary records dates the entries, and using the SI properly
051054 - categorizes them for later retrieval. The results of the writing and
051055 - analysis find their way into other reocrds in the system.
051057 -  ..
051058 - All of this is easily handled using SDS.
051059 -
051060 -
051062 -  ..
051063 - Computers Have Failed Managers
051064 -
051065 - Follow up ref SDS 14 RQ5N.
051066 -
051067 - Rod notes that computers do not support management activities,
051068 - ref SDS 1 5883, and he is correct on all counts. We have been over
051069 - this endlessly. Essentially, software developers have no concept of
051070 - augmenting human intelligence. Some applications help greatly in some
051071 - areas, but augmenting intelligence isn't among them.
051073 -  ..
051074 - A cynic would say that attempting to augment intelligence is
051075 - extremely difficult because there is so little intelligence around to
051076 - study. Cynical, but not far from the mark.
051077 -
051078 -
051080 -  ..
051081 - An integrated system
051082 -
051083 - Follow up ref SDS 14 OR8F.
051084 -
051085 - Rod notes that POIMS is the idea of integrating "personal" with
051086 - "organizational" management, to improve both, ref SDS 1 9503.  Covey
051087 - heartily endorses this. In his emphasis on balance, Covey insists that
051088 - all aspects of life have to be examined and given their place.  From
051089 - the perspective of a system, Covey promotes a single system for
051090 - managing life. He uses roles as an organizing aid, but doesn't treat
051091 - them as separate in any way. Covey wants us to see life as a single
051092 - coordinated, principle centered whole.
051094 -  ..
051095 - Rod's efforts toward a fully integrated time and information system,
051096 - ref SDS 1 JR52 are in direct alignment with the management systems
051097 - that Franklin / Covey produces.
051099 -  ..
051100 - Franklin / Covey have simply never conceived of the extent to which
051101 - such integration is possible. Their systems integrate several
051102 - elements, as noted on 031103, ref SDS 12 4K6O. However, what they mean
051103 - by notes and by links are trivial by comparison with what SDS manages.
051104 - For them, notes are small pieces of information needed to carry out a
051105 - task -- directions to the meeting, things to bring to the meeting,
051106 - etc. They rely on the traditional information processing technology
051107 - for documents for managing the work related information. They don't
051108 - even really address how to go about it other than superficially.
051110 -  ..
051111 - Their systems, do, however, do a good job of managing the things that
051112 - they attempt. There are features in their software that SDS could use
051113 - to its benefit as we evolve our capabilities.
051114 -
051115 -    •  Projects based on roles and tied to values. This is not a
051116 -       problem as it has only to do with how projects are conceived,
051117 -       not how they are tracked.
051119 -        ..
051120 -    •  Plan the project starting with the end in mind. The planning is
051121 -       not an issue either. SDS allows project to be planned in any
051122 -       way one might like.
051124 -        ..
051125 -    •  Manage the steps in the projects. In principle, not an issue,
051126 -       except that the number of projects rapidly becomes unwieldy, if
051127 -       Allen's estimates of active projects are realistic, and I don't
051128 -       doubt that they are.
051130 -        ..
051131 -    •  Review projects by roles. Review tasks by context of work
051132 -       performed. These are essentially 2-level searches, which SDS
051133 -       doesn't support directly.
051134 -
051135 -
051136 -
051137 -
051138 -
051139 -
051140 -
051141 -
0512 -