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Linked next actions?

Say I have a small project like replacing the tires of my car which could look like this in a mission statement...

Mission (should you choose to accept it) : replace tires

Steps :
* Check what type of tires I need
* Call friend about contact he knows
* Call dealers to get some comparision prices
* Call handyman to do the job

Breaking this down to actions:
* Check what type of tires I need
- Check manual (@Home)
* Call friend about contact he knows
- Get number (@Work)
- Call friend (@ToCall)
- Call contact (@ToCall)
* Call dealers to get some comparision prices
- Get numbers (@Work)
- Call dealers (@ToCall)
* Call handyman to do the job
- Get number (@Home)
- Call handyman (@ToCall)

Several of these I can begin with at once, the collecting information parts as get number, get tire type etc. But I can't call anyone until I got their numbers. But still all this work can be done in a day if I just pass the diffrent containers during the day.

So should I add all these things to my contextlists even if they are not do-able right now? Or should I keep the undo-able things and add them at the daily review for the next day? Such a thing can drag a little project like this for days.

How do you keep track of these things? I mainly use paperbased contextlists but any idea is welcome :)

TedPavlic's picture

Put every action on its...

Put every action on its respective context list. That really should be where all actions "live" anyway. (you shouldn't take the time to rewrite actions on project lists) If you are using a paper-based system, number each line of these context lists. This gives you an easy way to refer to one action from another. This way you can "link" actions together so you can see what action follows after this one. This will come in handy shortly.

Clearly your project has multiple "subprojects." Mark each action that is at the top of each of those subprojects as a "next action." If you are using a paper based system, then you could either use a highlighter to highlight a next action or use some removable device, like paperclips or those centimeter wide sticky notes meant to mark pages. Stick one of these markers on each of the next actions to draw your attention to them and show you what's holding things up.

When you finish a next action, move your next action reminder to the next action on the "subproject." If you have numbered each of your actions, then at the end of this action you should have placed some reference to the number of the action to follow after this action. Move your "next action" marker (your paperclip/post-it sliver/etc.) to that next action.

This should provide a nice paper-based way to implement "linked" actions that you only have to write IN ONE PLACE.

Waiting for the daily review to update your context list is a bad idea. It will become too tempting to keep too many things in your head. Not only will you forget important details, but you'll stress yourself too much thinking about what needs to happen tomorrow after you do the things you're supposed to do today. Put all of that stuff on paper. Your mental "RAM" is only for executing the current instruction. Save all the rest of those instructions to "disk."

 
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