Running My Day, Part 4: What Happens to Today at the End of Today
Moving from Tuesday to Wednesday.
This is part four of a series about how I actually use the Lists tool in BartBot. In each post I ask and answer one question.
The question: What do I do with everything on today's list when today is over?
My answer is that every line on the day gets a decision, and then I delete the day itself. A line I finished is done, and I delete it. A line I didn't get to is deferred, and I move it to the day I'll do it. A line I've decided not to do at all is denied, and I delete that too. A line someone else can carry is delegated, and it stays on my list, because I'm still the one accountable for it. I only delete the day once nothing is left under it. That way I can be present and focused on the day I'm in.
From Tuesday to Wednesday
Here is my Dailys list as it stood on Tuesday morning, September 8.
Tuesday morning.
Tuesday had eleven lines on it. Six were done, so I deleted them: the shower, the drive to the gym with the workout nested under it, softball, dance practice, the library books, and the groceries. Five moved to Wednesday. Four of those are lines I carry forward from one day to the next. The fifth, "Plan next team practice", I didn't get to, so I deferred it to Wednesday.
Tuesday, decided line by line from morning to evening. Then Wednesday moves up and Tuesday is deleted.
Once Tuesday was empty, I moved Wednesday up out of Future and deleted Tuesday. Part 3's list still has Tuesday at the top. This part's list doesn't.
Wednesday morning. Five of these lines came from Tuesday.
Four decisions
Three of the four, done, deferred and delegated, are adapted from David Allen's Getting Things Done. Denied is my name for the fourth: deciding not to do something at all.
Tuesday showed done and deferred. Done usually means deleted, with one exception.
Done, but kept. On March 6, 2027, "Tax 2025" is struck through, next to "Tax 2026". I keep last year's while I do this year's, because I refer to it. When I finish 2026, I'll delete 2025, and 2026 will sit struck through next to 2027. A finished line stays only while the record still has a job.
Last year's taxes, kept beside this year's.
Denied and delegated didn't come up on Tuesday, so these two examples are from other days. They aren't on the public list or in the video.
Denied. A call with a friend was on my list for noon. By 12:30 he hadn't called, so I deleted it. I didn't move it to another day, because I knew we'd catch up later in the week anyway. I also deny a line when I cancel something I'd planned, when it keeps slipping and I decide to stop moving it, when someone else decides it doesn't need to happen, or when my plans change.
Delegated. This one is rare, because most of what's on my list I have to do myself. When I can hand something off, the line stays on my list, because I'm still accountable for it. "Mow lawn" stays. What changes is the action: a text to my kids asking who can help today, and then helping them follow through.
During the day, and at the end of it
Most of these decisions don't wait for the end of the day. That call got denied at 12:30. And many days I hit a point where I have to let the day go. That's when I start deferring things. It isn't unusual for me.
At the end of the day, or early the next morning, I decide everything that remains on the day, all at once. I go through every line, give each one of the four decisions, and then delete the day. I don't go top to bottom. I make the easy decisions first and leave the harder ones for last.
What that buys me
Yesterday left at the top of my list is a very loud signal that I've left something undecided. That signal makes it very hard to be present and focused on what I'm doing now. It's like cooking dinner and leaving the kitchen a mess. Dinner isn't really done until the kitchen is clean and the dishes are washed. So the longest a day can sit there is until the next morning. I can't start the next day with yesterday still sitting there staring at me.
My question for you
When your day ends, what happens to what's still on your list? Does it move, sit there, or quietly disappear? Drop your answer in a comment. I'd love to learn what you do with what's left.
The complete list is public, frozen at the state this post describes: Wednesday morning, with Tuesday gone. It's a simplified copy of my real Dailys list with private details removed.
Next: How do I keep a long plan alive in a daily list without automating it?