2017
- I put them in walking order so that I can optimally move through the house and not backtrack.
- I made sure to capture the clocks that I tend to miss, like the timer for the aquarium lights.
- For a couple of clocks that are very confusing to update I put the relevant notes directly in the tasks so I don’t need to search.
- We have some clocks that update themselves, like our thermostats. They are not on the list so I don’t have to try and remember which ones I can ignore each time.
Mazie and Tammy playing some Scrabble at Black Eye Coffee.
Fabulous spin class this morning. High intensity, felt good.
Using Project Templates
I’ve seen and read about people using project templates for a while, but I’ve never adopted them myself until recently. Mostly I found many of the means of managing project templates to be bothersome and I never dug into it further. That has changed recently, and I think many systems now support robust ways of importing projects and using them as templates.
What is a Project Template?
A project template is a set of actions and tasks that can be brought into your task management application. It’s significantly more powerful if the templates allow for some variable substitution for words or dates so that it can be customized for each use. It is even better if you can do some minor calculations on things like dates and indicate that one task is deferred or due relative to the date of another task.
Use Cases
I have found project templates to be particularly useful for three types of projects.
Frequent Activities
The most obvious use case for project templates is for recurring, relatively frequent events. At the office, I have multiple meetings that happen on a certain schedule, such as a team all-hands. Each time I do one of these meetings, there are a set of tasks I need to do. Determine agenda, prepare a draft, get input from others, arrange a guest speaker. Using a template for these events is very helpful.
Business trips are another good example. Each business trip has a series of before, during and after actions. I put these in a template with the proper variables and relative dates to help with trip planning and preparation.
Multiple Instances
One area where templates can be great is when you have multiple instances of the same thing with a slight variation. The best example I have for this is doing performance reviews. I have to write several of them, and each one has multiple steps. They are mostly direct copies of each other, but the person is different and possibly the dates. To make this easier I create a template and then run it for each person and can quickly build the multiple sets of projects that I need to get done for this process.
Infrequent Activities
I have found project templates to be a good way to make improvements to things that I rarely do. In fact, this is probably my favorite use of templates. It feels like a way to apply continuous learning to things you do once a year.
The template I made for Daylight Savings Time adjustment is a great example. I do this twice a year, and every time I tend to forget one or two clocks. There are also a couple of clocks that are tricky, and I often end up searching the Internet each time for instructions.
This year I made a project template for this that helps in many ways:
Now that I have a template I can do it faster, more efficient and know I didn’t forget anything.
A similar example to this is a recent template I made for Apple OS Upgrades. I have Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Apple TV’s that all need upgrading. I now have a template so I can easily capture those activities when needed.
Another example that I’ve come to like a lot is project templates for major holidays. Christmas is a perfect example of a very fun time of year but also a complicated time. Sending Christmas cards out, traditions and getting presents add up to a lot of things to make sure you get done and don’t have a bunch of last minute things to do.
I created a template for this and was able to capture all of the main things that we do each Christmas. This let’s me have more confidence that I do not forget anything. The last item on these templates is usually a task that suggests to “Update template with any changes from this year” which is a great way to get better for next year.
Scheduling
Project templates are handy, but often you want them to get setup on a schedule. I’ve decided to keep this out of my task management system and instead I have a task list in the Reminders application called ‘Project Reminders.’ This is where I set the annual triggers to create various projects from their templates.
Next…
I purposefully kept this post independent of the tools that I use so I could just make a case for using project templates in your personal GTD system. In a future post, I’ll talk about the tools that I use to implement this.
Typing on an Apple Wireless Keyboard after getting fully used to an Apple Magic Keyboard feels really weird. The keys seem to move a massive distance when pressed.
Great Minnestar board meeting today! Very exciting things in the works over the next few months! 👍🏻
Why is it that when Twitter updates their Privacy Policy I get email notices for Twitter accounts that I supposedly deleted years ago. Were these accounts actually deleted? 😕
Spiffed up my JSON Feed with additional fields. Nice capabilities. See it in JSON Feed Viewer
Horseshoe Pits Completed!
Last weekend we finished putting in the horseshoe pits at the cabin and I’m very pleased with the result!
We have a lot of yard games at the cabin and I though it would be a lot of fun to add horseshoes to the mix. I honestly didn’t think that much about it and put a horseshoe set on my wishlist for Christmas. After getting the set I realized I had bit off more than I realized.
I found a great site for horseshoe plans. My brother-in-law helped me get the wood and cutting done and unfortunately the winter came before I got it all done. We finished digging the pits into the ground this spring after the ground thawed.
I really like the throwing platforms and the backboard. This is a more complex pit than you absolutely have to have, but it’s really nice to play on. Now I just have to work on my game!
My mother sent me this photo of a “bike mower” that she saw at a garden show today. What kind of horribleness is this!?
First afternoon on Cannon Lake for 2017! Cooled off at the sandbar.
One of our trees didn’t make it through the winter. 😔
Got both horseshoe pits in!
Smoking ribs for dinner. Great day for the Big Green Egg.
Attempting to bake cookies in a solar oven. 🤞🏻
This Surly glass that my Todd the Axe Man came in is really cool.
Nice night.
Oh no! The dandelions have taken over the yard!
Outlook’s new built-in grammar checking is helping me realize I use the word “actually” way, way too much. Actually…
Andy Domeier and I right before kicking off yesterdays awesome TechJam. #TeamSPS had a great day learning!
