From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: David Rogers Subject: Re: Overall organization/setup for org mode: Projects and Tasks Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:40:55 -0700 Message-ID: <87wrd6lgi0.fsf@gmail.com> References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Return-path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([140.186.70.92]:57567) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1R57JX-0007qg-Bx for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:41:04 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1R57JW-00076Z-56 for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:41:03 -0400 Received: from mail-pz0-f44.google.com ([209.85.210.44]:58067) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1R57JV-00076V-Pf for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Sat, 17 Sep 2011 22:41:02 -0400 Received: by pzk36 with SMTP id 36so5748262pzk.3 for ; Sat, 17 Sep 2011 19:41:00 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: (Alan E. Davis's message of "Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:43:28 -0700") List-Id: "General discussions about Org-mode." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org To: "Alan E. Davis" Cc: org-mode "Alan E. Davis" 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.