Next List

A ToDoList is good if you're just disorganized. But for chronic procrastinators, the todo list can actually cause further procrastination. As items are added to the list, it makes the problem (or the day, or whatever) seem bigger than it really is, which evokes a sense of dread in the ChronicProcrastinator. Breaking a problem or task into smaller parts is supposed to make the problem look easier because each piece can be broken down further until all of the pieces are manageable. However, now it appears that to finish the task, a long chain of sub-tasks must be completed. The size of the problem appears to have actually increased (what was one medium sized task is now many small tasks). The ChronicProcrastinator is even less motivated than before starting the todo list.

One reason this can happen is when the todo list has been made too detailed (ToDoListIsNotaProjectPlan?). In this case, chunking tasks together would actually help to improve motivation in a ChronicProcrastinator. Surely there must be a balance between breaking-apart and chunking-together.

Therefore,

Focus only on the very next task. If that task seems too big, break it into sub-tasks, and choose one of those sub-tasks as the very next task. If the very next task is too simple, chunk it together with a related task, and make that the very next task. If the task is manageable, do it and cross it off the list. Choose another task as the very next. Keep the list partially prioritized, but don't worry too much about the ordering of low priority tasks. Do not break apart tasks that are further down the list. If a new task needs to be added to the list, quickly guess its priority and add it to the list. Only worry about it if it trumps the 'very next' task.

You get most of the benefits of a ToDoList, with the extra benefit that the list is usually much shorter, and the 'very next' task is always at the top (assuming you can easily sort the list, such as an electronic list). When distracted and trying to refocus, you just quickly glance at the 'very next' task on your NextList, and focus on that to the exclusion of the other items on the list.

In GettingThingsDone, this is called a NextAction list.

I've been trying this recently because I was getting discouraged at the sight of my big todo list, and getting lost in the list when trying to refocus after coming back from lunch or a meeting or whatever. I needed to know, 'What is the very next thing I'm supposed to be working on'. I turned my todo list into a NextList by pulling the next item up to the top, with the header 'NEXT' followed by a couple of blank lines and then the header 'TODO' where all the rest of the tasks remained so I wouldn't forget them. I've started a couple other next lists (for different projects) and now I save them as "Proj1 NEXT.txt" etc. instead of "Proj1 TODO.txt". It really seems to help with task switching.

This is very similar to Scrum's ProductBacklog, though at a smaller scale.

I'm trying another tweak to this idea: Add a 'PLAN' section to the top of the list, even before the NEXT section. The PLAN contains a single short sentence describing at a high level what the current goal is. Its purpose is to give meaning to the NEXT item. So if you're thinking to yourself, "OK, I know I'm doing for next, but why was I doing it again?", the PLAN section should be able to answer that. If you don't need it, don't use it, it adds an extra bit of clutter. I found myself needing it recently, though. Example:

PLAN Fix layout, add styles

NEXT Add styles to data tables

TODO ...

I HaveThisPattern. For the same reason listed above (being overwhelmed by a long to-do list), I use a "three tasks" list. I write down three tasks, then do them (crossing them off one by one), then repeat. I get the gratification of finishing my list several times a day.

I HaveThisPattern. Basically, the chunking process turns an insurmountable mass into a manageable chunk and a slightly smaller insurmountable mass. One is reminded of eating an elephant. -- TomAnderson

Damn. The cdr of my NextList never seems to be nil.... Good idea to use LazyEvaluation then ;)

Beware that you aren't just adding a DisplacementActivity to your NextList.