In previous posts, I presented the most important principles of the TargetNavigator method. This allowed you to understand its essence. Systematic and consistent use of TargetNavigator ensures success. Therefore, the question arises, can this tool be improved? And is it worth doing?
For use in a narrow scope, the tool does not require changes. It can be successfully used in the described form. However, when developing TargetNavigator, we initially aimed for it to be a universal tool with broad application possibilities in both personal and professional spheres.
Daily work with TargetNavigator will result in dozens of task cards appearing on the board. For effective management of them, we tested various modified models and board layouts. We will explain the current version further.
3 Kingdoms
The first new element of the TargetNavigator method is the concept of 3 kingdoms. Each of us is like the ruler of three kingdoms: personal, private, and professional. Let me tell you more about these kingdoms:
Personal Kingdom (Y-You):
This is the area where you govern yourself. Here, you decide on your values, passions, and life goals.
Your health, personal development, hobbies, and relationships with loved ones are part of this kingdom.
Take care of yourself, nurture your interests, and build positive habits.
Private Kingdom (P-Private):
This is the sphere where you manage your relationships with other people.
Family, friends, life partners - all are part of the private kingdom.
It is important to care for these relationships, express feelings, and support each other.
This also includes your possessions: home, car, garden. By taking care of or neglecting your assets, you make them either flourish or wither and decline.
Professional Kingdom (W-Work):
Here, you rule over your career, work, and professional achievements.
Professional goals, skills, career development - all fall within this kingdom.
Remember, balance between professional and personal life is key to success.
Remember, each of these kingdoms is interconnected. A well-balanced life involves caring for all three spheres.
In the current version of TargetNavigator, matters of each of the three kingdoms are collected separately on dedicated boards. Of course, nothing prevents you from trying to create one common board. I have also tested such versions. Each solution has unique advantages, but also limitations, resulting, for example, from the size of the board and the capabilities of the program and devices I use to work with TargetNavigator. Surely, with the development of technology, the boards will evolve. However, at this moment, the concept based on separate boards for each kingdom seems the most user-friendly to me.
The following illustrations show the three discussed boards in a new edition, with a new design. For easier identification, each board is of a different color and has its title on the circle. These are the only differences between them. The layout of the quarters has been changed compared to the version presented so far. Thus, the upper right quarter is intended for Important and Urgent projects and tasks. The two lower quarters (i.e., the entire lower semicircle) accommodate Important and Non-Urgent projects and tasks. Finally, the upper left quarter is intended for cyclical tasks. In such an arrangement, there is no place for ordinary and other tasks, although, of course, the user can change, for example, the purpose of one of the lower quarters.
We have also modified some task flow paths. So:
The area outside the largest circle is designated for incoming or incubating tasks and projects. Users familiar with GTD principles know that some topics require maturation time before starting to address them.
The first outer circle contains project cards in progress. We decided to create a dedicated space for projects and separate it from the tasks that need to be completed for their realization. Thus, this circle contains started but unfinished projects.
The next circle is designated for tasks to be done, labeled ‘To Do.’ It should include all tasks related to projects awaiting execution, as well as unrelated tasks that also need to be done, such as cyclical tasks.
The third circle from the outside contains tasks planned for the current week, labeled ‘This week.’ These are tasks moved from the ‘To Do’ circle as well as unforeseen tasks added during the week.
At the junction of the third and fourth circles are the ‘Today’ circles. As you can easily guess, these are for tasks to be completed on the nearest day. The method of working with these fields will be described a bit further.
The fourth circle is designated for waiting tasks, labeled ‘Waiting.’ This applies to situations where actions or information from outside are needed for the task to continue.
The fifth circle contains blocked tasks, labeled ‘Blocked.’ These are usually tasks from the previous circle, for which, despite reminders, there is no information on when we will receive the necessary input to continue working on the task.
The sixth circle contains tasks in the final phase: awaiting acceptance by the task or project recipient.
Finally, the seventh, central circle: this is where completed tasks and projects are placed.
This is the current version of the task and project boards. In the next paragraph, I will describe the previously mentioned topic ‘Today.’
Today
The “Today” board is a new addition. Its introduction aims to increase the user’s focus on planning the selection of tasks for execution and on their actual completion. During systematic work with TargetNavigator, the number of task and project cards in progress will increase. This is especially true in professional areas, particularly for managers who often have to work on multiple topics simultaneously, with different time horizons. And, of course, they must (or should) also maintain balance in other kingdoms. Therefore, to facilitate work on the “Here and Now,” we decided to introduce an additional board.
How it works
We assume that the user reviews tasks in each kingdom daily at the beginning of the day or possibly at the end of the previous day. During this process, completed tasks are moved to the central field, and waiting tasks to the fourth circle. Then, tasks to be completed that day are selected and placed on the small “Today” circles at the junction of the 3rd and 4th circles. For each kingdom, the selected tasks for today are marked, cut (CTRL+X), and pasted onto the “Today” board (CTRL+C). Of course, it may happen that tasks from the “Today” fields of different kingdoms overlap. Therefore, after pasting, they need to be arranged so that all are visible. During the day, tasks that are fully completed are moved to the central field to the pool of completed tasks. Tasks that now await external input are moved slightly towards the center of the board, so they are between the central circle and the small “Today” circles. The following illustration shows 2 such tasks:
Task “3” as completed has moved to the center of the board;
Task “4” - after some work, still requires further input. At the end of the day, all tasks in the waiting phase can be transferred to the home boards of the kingdoms by performing the cut and paste operation. The manipulations described here use the properties of the “Slides” program, meaning that the program pastes an object cut from one slide exactly in the same place on the new slide.
Tasks that could not be completed on a given day can be left for the next day or moved to the home board and shifted to a specific stage of the workflow.
Task Card
In the version we describe, additional markers have been introduced on task cards. At the beginning of the text describing the task on the card, there is a kingdom marker #Y, #P, #W for personal, private, and professional, respectively. These markers are used in measurements to give an overview of the allocation of time and attention between the three kingdoms.
The second marker, placed at the end of the description: @@@, precedes a number that reflects the complexity and importance of the task. The higher the number, the more complex or significant the task was for the project or kingdom. The goal is to understand how our attention is distributed across the kingdoms by cyclically summing (weekly, monthly) the completed tasks for each kingdom.
Assigning points to tasks is a very subjective activity. However, we assume that over a long period, the level of subjectivity in the assessment will be similar for personal, private, and professional tasks. The essence is to try to get some picture of the state of affairs. Then, by initiating various projects placed on the kingdom boards, we can improve our engagement in the matters of a specific kingdom.
I use Google Sheets to collect data and statistics. Measurements and analyses will be covered in a separate post. Meanwhile, that’s all regarding the new version of TargetNavigator boards. I’m curious about your opinions.