[omnibob]

Originally Posted by curt.clifton

I [...] look at tomorrow's ticklers

Great, but how you define your ticklers -- with due dates, flags, or by reviewing *all* your available Projects/Actions? The latter is too time consuming for me on a daily basis.

I've used the 'next review' mechanism, but it isn't useful for Single-Action Lists (because all the Actions, which aren't related to each other, are grouped in terms of a review date).

Thanks, Bob

[whpalmer4]

No, ticklers are things that are starting, not necessarily things that are due. Unless Curt has changed his perspective, you can see how he defines it here.

[Toadling]

Originally Posted by pjb

I've used flags for various things at various times, but in the end have abandoned them all; it's just easier.

I think I'm headed in the same direction, but I'm not sure yet. :)

-Dennis

[curt.clifton]

Originally Posted by whpalmer4

No, ticklers are things that are starting, not necessarily things that are due. Unless Curt has changed his perspective, you can see how he defines it here.

Thanks for digging up that link. Indeed, that's still how I manage ticklers. A year in and it still works great for me.

[whpalmer4]

Works great for me, too. I enjoy playing "whack-a-mole" on the new stuff for at least part of each day. It really moved me away from a reactive to a proactive work style, which seems less stressful.

[omnibob]

Curt, thanks for confirming that. I set up a Perspective as you outlined. In order to quickly review tickler items, then it seems I will need to add start dates to anything I want to be aware of on a daily (hopefully) quickish review cycle, is that correct? If so, then it would still seem to not solve the problem I have of looking at way too many things on a daily basis. I.e., it would be similar to how I set a due date for things I want to be reminded of (by showing Due Soon, for example) -- but then I get an increasingly larger list of Actions that I see but am not getting most of done. Using either method, one can toss an Action (or Project) forward some amount of time by re-setting its start or due date, but that, for me, ends up being the trap I had when I put things to do on my calendar, and then just keep forwarding them ahead a day. Kind of a spiral for those of us with large numbers of actions we'd like to keep on our daily radar, but where only a fraction are able to get done. I admire those (apparently like you) who feel they are relatively on top of things, and realize much/most of my problem is trying to stay aware of too many things too often.

One final thought: do you think your tickler method is different than setting a review date cycle, and then sorting by Next Review? The two limitations I've found to review dates, however, is that they work only on Projects, not Actions, and Next Review is not available when in Context mode.

Thanks, Bob

[brianogilvie]

Bob--I won't presume to speak for Curt, but I find ticklers and reviews to be distinct, though both useful.

A tickler is a way of sending something to my future self (I think David Allen describes it in more or less those terms, when talking about the 43-folder tickler file). Setting the tickler date occurs during processing the inbox: I decide that I don't need to think about something until that date, so I'll defer doing it. The tickler perspective reminds me of concrete actions that I've made a tentative commitment to start (or at least to start thinking about) on a given date. It's a kind of heads-up that you're going to need to do something soon.

Reviews, on the other hand, do several things: They help keep your commitments in mind; they help you ensure that you have defined a concrete next action to keep the project going; they are a way to determine whether you are actually making any progress in getting things done (closing your open loops). And, for me, a review process that takes too long is a sign that I need to step back and evaluate my current commitments. That might lead to dropping some projects, putting others on hold, marking still others as needing attention soon (I use flags for that), and renegotiating the start or due date on others. In that case, a project might get a new start date. I usually show remaining actions in my reviews, but I'll sometimes show all actions, so I can see the last time I actually moved something forward on each project (using the Inspector).

So for me, the tickler is a nudge that doesn't require much attention. A review requires being focused and making decisions. Each is useful in its own way, but they're very different.

[LawDaddy]

I agree 100% with Brian, ticklers and reviews are distinct processes. For ticklers, I make an action with a start date at the appropriate time in the future. This is the closest analog to the 43 folders tickler system that I can think of.

One thought re flags: as the iPhone app has a separate bucket on the home screen showing flagged items, I now use flags to make items visible on the phone for quick reference on the go. Previously, I had no use for flags. I know I posted this somewhere else in my upgrading blur over the weekend, but I thought it might be relevant here...

[curt.clifton]

Bob,

Brian and I are in agreement on reviews vs. ticklers. If I find myself kicking start dates forward repeatedly, that's a sure sign that something is wrong. There are usually three possibilities:

• I need to do some planning in my next review to figure out why I'm not working on the action (in which case my new next action is to do some planning on that project, see GTD, ch. 3).
• I am not really committed to the project in question, in which case I need to renegotiate to take it off my plate for now.
• I should just remove the start date on the item. My reviews are the place for me to remember and adjust my active projects. I shouldn't be using my system to nag my future self. The item is started and I'll get to it when I'm in the right context with the right amount of time available and the right energy level.

I hope that doesn't sound too preachy. I don't want to tell anyone how to manage their system. But letting go of date-based task management (for all but truly time-critical tasks) is a continuing challenge for me.

[omnibob]

Curt,

Originally Posted by curt.clifton

I hope that doesn't sound too preachy. I don't want to tell anyone how to manage their system.

No, not all all. I'll try anything useful that can help. GTD requires some basic discipline.

Originally Posted by curt.clifton

But letting go of date-based task management (for all but truly time-critical tasks) is a continuing challenge for me.

That alone is a core element of (good) GTD. Thanks!

Bob