My workflow has, in general, shifted towards a session-focused style, as is evident from my recent post. Essentially, that just means that my dashboard of tasks number only a few (about 5-8, give or take) and each represents a session of work. They are not very specific tasks and are more orchestrating in nature. This means that my choices of what to do next are simple.
In addition, I tend to work by habit. In other words, I often work on a project over multiple sessions. Similarly, my routines for maintenance are also a matter of recurring sessions.
As a result, my Dashboard has largely become a series of repeating tasks, using the "Defer Another" function. Tasks repeat at different frequencies - daily, weekly, monthly, or other.. My current Dashboard "recipe" includes the following:
- 1-3 “Land & Sea” tasks daily (“Land & Sea” Project)
- 1 Office Filing task on weekdays, (“Routine : Home & Office” Project)
- 1 Home Filing task on Fridays, (“Routine : Home & Office” Project)
- 1 Weekly Review task on Fridays, (“Routine : Home & Office” Project)
- 1 Family Agenda review everyday, (“Routine : Home & Office” Project)
- 1 Develop: Music task everyday, (“Music & Artistry : Music & Artistry” Project)
- 1 Morning Communications on weekdays, (“Routine : Home & Office” Project)
- 1 Afternoon Communications on weekdays, (“Routine : Home & Office” Project)
- 1 Financial Maintenance task monthly, (“Routine : Home & Office” Project)
- Rare odds & ends when they do not fit in the above.
Each task links to a custom perspective or project.
And, of course, there are types of habitual work that do not appear above. For example, I also have the clients I see throughout the day, so I often check on my @Office : Agendas context in the morning. Clients are scheduled in the calendar.
Also, these tasks are not forced. For example, a particularly busy day with clients means I may not make it to a Land & Sea project that I thought I could have. If that occurs too often, though, it is likely time for me to re-evaluate my workload. In that way, I use my understanding of how the system is stressed to consider where to make adjustments in my general workflows.
