Post AbwPQCFTri1j2ImI6a by fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe
(DIR) More posts by fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe
(DIR) Post #Abw4XWsNTQ6y05cvSq by debcha@mastodon.social
2023-11-18T15:45:30Z
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For the nth year in a row, I was on the kickoff panel for a workshop at MIT for women/NB PhD students and postdocs planning to go into academia.It’s on work-life balance, and I think they keep inviting me back because I say things like, “Every to-do list is, ultimately, about death.”Quoting my friend @clive’s wonderful piece about the allure, shame, and hidden truths of time-management and to-do list apps:https://www.wired.com/story/to-do-apps-failed-productivity-tools/
(DIR) Post #Abw4XXrhnPAT4IJu3U by clive@saturation.social
2023-11-18T15:53:41Z
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@debcha Aha, thank you! I really had fun writing that one
(DIR) Post #AbwGAmD5UjjiLcENWK by lkanies@hachyderm.io
2023-11-18T17:51:59Z
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@debcha @clive I’ve always been surprised by the people who think writing stuff down in to-do lists is for helping you get them done.No. Duh. It’s so you can stop thinking about it.
(DIR) Post #AbwGAnN3BBIdwntqgi by clive@saturation.social
2023-11-18T18:04:05Z
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@lkanies @debcha Yep yepThat was a part of the mind-like-water clarity that David Allen kept chasing with Getting Things Done
(DIR) Post #AbwGGuAknteumQ3sdk by markhurst@mastodon.social
2023-11-18T17:32:04Z
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@debcha @clive I particularly like that one :)
(DIR) Post #AbwGGv2zYF2nUdRCBE by clive@saturation.social
2023-11-18T18:04:23Z
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@markhurst @debcha bien sur 😅
(DIR) Post #AbwHgk7Av8iL4OGv9k by debcha@mastodon.social
2023-11-18T18:20:59Z
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@lkanies @clive Keeping a to-do list operates in the same way as setting a timer for eg five minutes before the end of a call—It’s externalizing cognitive load so I can concentrate more fully on what I’m doing, while I’m doing it.
(DIR) Post #AbwKeEIWXnDDft4cEK by clive@saturation.social
2023-11-18T18:51:53Z
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@debcha @lkanies Yes yes
(DIR) Post #AbwOHRpcSXFunywhrk by lkanies@hachyderm.io
2023-11-18T19:34:06Z
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@clive @debcha yeah. And so many people who read that book seem to have taken the opposite conclusion, that writing it down was about doing it (vs freeing you to do something more important)
(DIR) Post #AbwPQARSaCQ9QsMpV2 by fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe
2023-11-18T18:25:29Z
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@lkanies I write things down on a list so I'll remember them. Usually once I've written a list I don't need it anymore but the act of writing it is a memory and organizational device (but it's also useful to have the list to double check I've done what I need to do). @debcha @clive
(DIR) Post #AbwPQBNb62vQLBZG7M by mph@social.lol
2023-11-18T19:31:50Z
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@fifilamoura @lkanies @debcha @clive Yup. Whenever staring at a list-making tool I'm about to abandon I find myself feeling very clear on everything in it, including, often, the moment that thing stopped mattering for something from a predictable list of reasons (timed out, priorities changed, that was a bad thing to want to do, etc.) I have come to not care that I bounce around between tools and try to encourage people who do to forgive themselves. They were sold a bill of goods.
(DIR) Post #AbwPQCFTri1j2ImI6a by fifilamoura@eldritch.cafe
2023-11-18T19:39:20Z
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@mph I'm pretty sure you have to write it out on paper for it to stick mentally, at least I do! Virtual lists are easy for me to forget but I can usually remember what's on a hand written list even if I forget the list at home. I don't actually find online/digital tools as helpful but that may just be a bias of habit and age (well, apart from your basic calendar/agenda for keeping track of future events and to use for scheduling, I do prefer that than to using a paper agenda). @lkanies @debcha @clive
(DIR) Post #AbwPQDBcNYWzwbyiiu by mph@social.lol
2023-11-18T19:43:23Z
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@fifilamoura Oh, generally agreed. I'm very "legal pad or paper notebook" these days. "Tool" covers a lot of ground for me, including 'daily list on a pad that carries over at the end of the day' to 'multiple abandoned BuJos.' But sometimes I want to try some new digital tool out for whatever reason. I just separate "some aspirational state of productivity" from "curious about the way this tool thinks abou the world." @lkanies @debcha @clive
(DIR) Post #AbwPQDrnqiH83RiPTc by clive@saturation.social
2023-11-18T19:45:35Z
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@mph @fifilamoura @lkanies @debcha I use a digital to-do app, but in moments of overwhelmedness I bounce to paperIt definitely stills the mind
(DIR) Post #AbyPOCYE9tzvi8VzY8 by GeekAndDad@mastodon.social
2023-11-18T20:32:13Z
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@debcha @clive Indeed great.I made a lot of progress when I added a list to Reminders app named “Probably Never” to allow moving items off of my “Today,” “Tomorrow,” or “Stuff to do” lists without the psychological angst associated with deleting the item entirely.When the system is working*, generally only the things I plan to accomplish in a day get put on “Today” and new items go onto “Tomorrow” or “Stuff to do” lists.*which it mostly did until year-long medical issues.
(DIR) Post #AbyPODdw6A9t68C45Q by debcha@mastodon.social
2023-11-18T21:05:32Z
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@GeekAndDad @clive You raise a great point—my own time management approaches work great for me, with minimal angst. But I suspect that reflects, more than the tools themselves, that I have agency, responsibility, and capacity (ie generally healthy) in my own life. If any of those were to change substantively, I suspect my relationship to my to-do list, calendar, etc. would become a lot more stressful.
(DIR) Post #AbyPOEU2yPqHhkZgJM by GeekAndDad@mastodon.social
2023-11-18T21:27:25Z
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@debcha @clive Could be. I just didn’t have the (emotional | mental | time) bandwidth for the end of day practice of sweeping Today items and deciding which remain in Today to roll over, which things from Tomorrow are moving to Today, and which are moving to Stuff to Do or Probably Never.” My ultimate to do item became “endure and survive another day.” (1/2)
(DIR) Post #AbyPOFJnrzF6IGn0z2 by clive@saturation.social
2023-11-19T18:55:22Z
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@GeekAndDad @debcha Yeah, I don't have the bandwidth for that sort of daily-review thing ... and I like Deb have a high level of autonomy over my daily rhythms of work; I'm just ... lazy!
(DIR) Post #AbyPOGQZkIFnjYxwB6 by GeekAndDad@mastodon.social
2023-11-18T21:30:25Z
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@debcha @clive I need to sit down and move everything to Stuff to Do and then selectively move them to Today and Tomorrow (and likely many to Probably Never, realistically) to reset.Both this, and the utility of Probably Never to reduce psychological barriers, are about managing our own psychology as much as the to do items themselves. Which is what Clive’s article ultimately arrived at as well.
(DIR) Post #AbyQBwoUwdTJNfqX4q by clive@saturation.social
2023-11-19T19:05:50Z
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@GeekAndDad @debcha When I wrote that to-do list I was talking to someone and we were joking that we should make "don't do" lists
(DIR) Post #AbyYRMELWitOBenNtw by GeekAndDad@mastodon.social
2023-11-19T20:38:12Z
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@clive @debcha I hear you. It’s actually pretty quick when you have the discipline to only put three big tasks and fewer than 5 small quick tasks that can be done together on your Today list :)and a similar quantity on Tomorrow. Grooming the Stuff to Do list happens once a week on the weekend and is about making sure the priority order is still accurate and moving items you can to “Probably Never.”Otherwise just grabbing from the top of it to populate Today or Tomorrow.
(DIR) Post #AbyYsTHfPTMxskHGxU by GeekAndDad@mastodon.social
2023-11-19T20:42:43Z
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@clive @debcha Yep. Hacking our psychology is a useful approach. Understand the psychodynamics involved and then mess with them to improve an outcome or experience.During the last year of medical challenges I realized how much the psychodynamics play a role and how little the (USA) medical establishment supports patients on that dimension, or factors that into their treatment planning. They don’t see the 24/7 impact of those doing strong chemotherapy, for example. Etc.