MyLifeOrganized: folders vs contexts
Many use this application to organize their affairs. I will share my experience of its use in GTD .
Started using MLO 5 years ago. Another Windows Mobile was alive. During this time, I understood some things that I hope will be useful to other amateurs and time management professionals. I will cite not only the final conclusions, but also the way I came to them. This will allow readers not only to better understand the causes, but also to find “their own way”.
Let me remind you that in the GTD approach there is such a thing as “Inbox” - a conditional basket, into which all the cases fall, until they find their place in the ordered ToDo lists.
At first, I did everything in a canonical way, i.e. From time to time I sorted out the basket and put the tasks on the lists. The lists were organized into beautiful hierarchical structures such as personal affairs, work, etc. In each of these branches there were corresponding folders, subfolders, etc. Everything looked at first glance, beautiful and orderly. Like this:
')
Some articles about MLO are limited to the fact that they show everyone the names of the folders in which the cases are arranged.
However, here, as you can guess, there should be a “BUT”. The more various tasks and projects * appeared in different states (current, suspended, planned), the more strained it was to move tasks from the “Inbox” to the appropriate folders and branches. Sometimes the necessary branches still had to be remembered, searched or browsed in the tree. The reluctance to do this led to the fact that tasks in the Inbox accumulated and did not understand where necessary. And that brings to naught almost all the benefits of GTD.
The initial idea to simplify this process was not to throw tasks into the Inbox, but immediately create them in the desired branch of the tree.
Those. instead of two actions: 1) throw the task into the Inbox, 2) Place it in a tree with the desired description, only one remains - the second. This solved the problem of the overflowing “Incoming”, but quite quickly I discovered that it impedes the quick entry of tasks. As a result of this approach, I experienced subconscious resistance to fixing all the tasks, because still needed to search for the necessary branches. This, again, is contrary to the principles of GTD, because tasks do not fall into the system, but accumulate in the head. The conclusion suggests itself: the problem is in the task room itself in the tree. This, from my point of view, requires too many “memories,” clicks and button presses.
In folders, among other things, lies another trouble:
Suppose you made the folder "Personal Affairs" and "Work." Judging by other articles, many start with these folders. Imagine that you are going to add the task “To read such a book” or “To complete such and such training”. Which folder should you put this task in? On the one hand - it is necessary for work. On the other hand, it develops you personally. And if, as a result, you become better at doing your job, it can also have a positive effect on your personal income. So it turns out you do it for work or for yourself? Then can be attached to the place? Home is everything we do at home, and the Office is everything we do there? And if you read the above book at home, then at work, then in transport on the way? No matter how you divide your life into parts, it turns out that there are cases that relate to several parts at once, because our life is whole. The fields of activity existing in it have interrelations.
For these reasons, I almost gave up folders in favor of contexts **. Contexts do not require searching for a place in the tree where to place the task, they are assigned instantly and allow you to assign any business to several categories at the same time. The hierarchy remained only for projects, and task templates.
So, what I came to:
A question may arise: How can you work with the “Inbox” folder, if there are all tasks in one heap that are not arranged in folders? Yes, we are accustomed to lay everything in subfolders and do it even when it is not necessary and too much time is spent on it. The answer is simple: you don’t have to work with the Inbox folder at all. Do not look at her. Instead, customize the tabs with the kinds of tasks that you really need. I use the following types: Actions by contexts (with additional settings), goals and calendar. In addition, there are separate tabs for some projects and contexts.
Examples of some contexts that I use:
To process the basket, go to the “Actions by contexts” view and open the “Context: (no)” branch. There are all the raw tasks there, i.e. those for which you have not yet defined the context. As contexts are assigned, tasks disappear from there and instantly appear in the appropriate sections.
Despite the fact that I use a specific application, perhaps the principles and examples set out will help users of other GTD tools and push them into useful thoughts.
Notes:
* A project in the GTD paradigm is considered to be any task with subtasks.
** Technically, contexts are tags.
Started using MLO 5 years ago. Another Windows Mobile was alive. During this time, I understood some things that I hope will be useful to other amateurs and time management professionals. I will cite not only the final conclusions, but also the way I came to them. This will allow readers not only to better understand the causes, but also to find “their own way”.
Let me remind you that in the GTD approach there is such a thing as “Inbox” - a conditional basket, into which all the cases fall, until they find their place in the ordered ToDo lists.
At first, I did everything in a canonical way, i.e. From time to time I sorted out the basket and put the tasks on the lists. The lists were organized into beautiful hierarchical structures such as personal affairs, work, etc. In each of these branches there were corresponding folders, subfolders, etc. Everything looked at first glance, beautiful and orderly. Like this:
')
Some articles about MLO are limited to the fact that they show everyone the names of the folders in which the cases are arranged.
However, here, as you can guess, there should be a “BUT”. The more various tasks and projects * appeared in different states (current, suspended, planned), the more strained it was to move tasks from the “Inbox” to the appropriate folders and branches. Sometimes the necessary branches still had to be remembered, searched or browsed in the tree. The reluctance to do this led to the fact that tasks in the Inbox accumulated and did not understand where necessary. And that brings to naught almost all the benefits of GTD.
The initial idea to simplify this process was not to throw tasks into the Inbox, but immediately create them in the desired branch of the tree.
Those. instead of two actions: 1) throw the task into the Inbox, 2) Place it in a tree with the desired description, only one remains - the second. This solved the problem of the overflowing “Incoming”, but quite quickly I discovered that it impedes the quick entry of tasks. As a result of this approach, I experienced subconscious resistance to fixing all the tasks, because still needed to search for the necessary branches. This, again, is contrary to the principles of GTD, because tasks do not fall into the system, but accumulate in the head. The conclusion suggests itself: the problem is in the task room itself in the tree. This, from my point of view, requires too many “memories,” clicks and button presses.
In folders, among other things, lies another trouble:
Suppose you made the folder "Personal Affairs" and "Work." Judging by other articles, many start with these folders. Imagine that you are going to add the task “To read such a book” or “To complete such and such training”. Which folder should you put this task in? On the one hand - it is necessary for work. On the other hand, it develops you personally. And if, as a result, you become better at doing your job, it can also have a positive effect on your personal income. So it turns out you do it for work or for yourself? Then can be attached to the place? Home is everything we do at home, and the Office is everything we do there? And if you read the above book at home, then at work, then in transport on the way? No matter how you divide your life into parts, it turns out that there are cases that relate to several parts at once, because our life is whole. The fields of activity existing in it have interrelations.
For these reasons, I almost gave up folders in favor of contexts **. Contexts do not require searching for a place in the tree where to place the task, they are assigned instantly and allow you to assign any business to several categories at the same time. The hierarchy remained only for projects, and task templates.
So, what I came to:
- All tasks fall into the Inbox and remain there without subsequent transfer to any folders.
- An indication that the task in the basket has been processed is the contexts assigned to it.
- Projects have an nesting maximum of 2 levels.
A question may arise: How can you work with the “Inbox” folder, if there are all tasks in one heap that are not arranged in folders? Yes, we are accustomed to lay everything in subfolders and do it even when it is not necessary and too much time is spent on it. The answer is simple: you don’t have to work with the Inbox folder at all. Do not look at her. Instead, customize the tabs with the kinds of tasks that you really need. I use the following types: Actions by contexts (with additional settings), goals and calendar. In addition, there are separate tabs for some projects and contexts.
Examples of some contexts that I use:
To process the basket, go to the “Actions by contexts” view and open the “Context: (no)” branch. There are all the raw tasks there, i.e. those for which you have not yet defined the context. As contexts are assigned, tasks disappear from there and instantly appear in the appropriate sections.
Despite the fact that I use a specific application, perhaps the principles and examples set out will help users of other GTD tools and push them into useful thoughts.
Notes:
* A project in the GTD paradigm is considered to be any task with subtasks.
** Technically, contexts are tags.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/245851/
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