[kioneo]

This isn't an OF specific question, though my recent testing of OF has brought it to light.

Previouly I kept all my tasks in iCal sorted only by context. This worked OK, but as you can imagine it made the weekly review somewhat difficult as I had no direct way to match up tasks with projects (for which the support material was largely in paper folders). Therefore my weekly review evolved to just making sure I had one next action on my task list per project. Obviously, finishing that task on Tuesday didn't automatically add the next task until I decided to review that project again (possibly not until my next review on Friday). In addition, there were some smaller projects which I never really "planned" but just had listed on my projects list. So when the time came for the review, I had to think about the next action and add it to the task list. I didn't already have the next actions listed for easy reference.

With OF, I now have a way of capturing all the planning for projects large and small. This obviously provides the benefit of having everything in one place to make review easier, and it also adds next actions to my task lists as I complete ones.

But, it has introduced new complexities in how I plan projects (since I didn't really do it much before). I find myself, at least presently, trying to balance how much detail to plan. Too little and I feel like the project just isn't fully hashed out during review time, and too much and I feel like I am wasting time planning.

How do you plan projects? Obviously the big ones require quite a bit, but what about small projects like "Mike's Party" where as a guest I have to buy a gift, pack car, make covered dish, etc. Or how about nebulous projects like "Find a Better Way to Shave" which may include trying out shaving creams, razors, reading online, etc. But in the case of the shaving project, the whole project evolves constantly and it feels forced to set a strict plan together, but without something I feel like it just isn't complete.

Anyway, I'm just curious what level seems to work best for you? While I'm not new to GTD, OF has forced me to go back and relearn some things which I probably have forgotten as a result of my bad habits.

Thanks!