[Top][All Lists]
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [O] Overall organization/setup for org mode: Projects and Tasks
From: |
David Rogers |
Subject: |
Re: [O] Overall organization/setup for org mode: Projects and Tasks |
Date: |
Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:40:55 -0700 |
User-agent: |
Gnus/5.110018 (No Gnus v0.18) Emacs/24.0.50 (gnu/linux) |
"Alan E. Davis" <address@hidden> writes:
--0016364d213773a53a04acea4da9 Content-Type: text/plain;
charset=ISO-8859-1
I've been using org-mode for a few years. My agenda is
cluttered with tasks that are weeks and even months past due. I
am "this close" to declaring "orgmode bankruptcy" and starting
from scratch, except my current setup works so well for other
things. Might still do that, but I want to ask for ideas.
Re. "orgmode bankruptcy":
Don't start your list from scratch; this problem will just happen
again.
This is not the fault of any agenda system, and would have
happened anyway. I think the problem likely comes from having a
significant number of tasks that are mis-categorized and/or
mis-judged. There are several possible ways that can happen:
(I'm sure I'm not seeing some of the possibilities here... my main
point is that with these "problem tasks" there's something wrong
with the task itself, not your reminder system; and furthermore
that the defective tasks can probably be repaired or rehabilitated
so that they get done.)
(And clearly, nothing I can say here is unique. It's all been done
and all been said before, in different ways.)
- Tasks that were never worth doing; toss those ones out
immediately.
- Tasks that should never have been yours; either negotiate a way
to get
them to the proper person, or else decide to do them anyway (and
then actually do them!).
- Tasks that were important in the past, but now it's too late
(i.e. you
judge them to be un-salvageable); toss them out too (but make
sure it's REALLY too late before doing so). Failure happens
sometimes, and keeping an item on the agenda after it has failed
isn't helping anyone.
- Tasks that are turning out to be more difficult than they
looked;
break them down into parts to be done one at a time, share them,
or get someone else to do them.
- Just because a task looks/sounds/feels important, doesn't mean
that it
is. "What if I simply decided not to do it?" is always a valid
question.
- Any task that can safely be dropped should be dropped. There
will
always be enough real work to do without inventing more.
The truth is, you have to either do a task or else not do it; and the truth
is, you always have a choice about that.