Conversation

I want to pose a design challenge to people interested in workflows and productivity. Call it a ribbonfarm millennium challenge X-prize ($100 prize if you actually nail it as judged by ribbonfarm editorial board jury): A system for supporting playflows. What do I mean by that?
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In most workflow theories two extremes are well-theorized: pure habits (things that can be almost fully compiled down to unconscious/barely conscious repetition) and pure projects (only moves if consciously moved, terminates at some point) The hard stuff is all in-between.
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We usually call them “processes” as in computation threads with fg/bg meta-states. Processes: a) have an evolving log-like state (LT memory) b) repeat chaotically like a strange attractor c) require frequent inspection, tuning and steering d) start once, terminate by fatal crash
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Processes differ from habits in that their memory accumulates and can only be lossily compressed. Habits otoh tend to zero marginal new information after a few iterations. Example, you don’t learn much consciously the 10,000th time you brush your teeth. But 10,000th page read?
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Processes differ from projects in that they are self-perpetuating and termination is a pathology. Book readers will always have a queue. Book reading is an infinite game. Empty queue = death. You will always try to continue the game. Not “work” towards “last book, then I’m done”
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Habits are learning projects. Other projects are “win to finish” finite games. Both live for a while in a system like GTD and then pass on. Habits till they’re learned, other projects till you’ve won or lost. Processes are neither. They are death-do-us-part activity threads.
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How are these modeled in workflow systems? In GTD, a book you’re reading now would be a project, and the next chapter might be a next action, but typically nobody tracks books this way. The habit+project part of reading books is too trivial to track. The hard part is elsewhere
If you’ve used GTD for at least a year, you’ll have noticed something: the Someday/Maybe list moves very slowly. In the Areas of Concern top-level list, most Someday/Maybe items come from “play”, “meaning” or “enrichment” areas. You don’t someday/maybe taxes or a work deliverable
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This is not an accident. Processes are disproportionately from the nice-to-have enrichment side of life. Each item is individually unnecessary, but if you don’t do some subset, life will seem meaningless. Book lists, bucket lists, collection hobbies, tinkering/making hobbies...
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Subtlety: With books history matters as much as the future. A book doesn’t ever quite exit the someday maybe list because it can only be declared “done” if it doesn’t merit another reread. A book is a potentially infinite-pass “project” if you like it enough.
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That is the setup. Now imagine a life “work”flow where 90% of the energy is in processes like this and the project/habit parts are trivial. Everything is a thread with an extended past and an indefinitely extended future.
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Things that have this character tend to have a someday/maybe character. Nothing must *necessarily* be done, it’s all optional, but you want a certain amount of energy contained in that process. Example: book reading, travel, hobbies, key relationships.
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Further, imagine that these processes interact like in a distributed computing system, full of CAP theorem messiness. Your travel inspires your reading inspires your game design hobby inspires more travel. You want to keep this fertile reaction going.
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Now... design a system like GTD where the “process” is the first class citizen, indefinitely extended memory is valuable, there are no due dates, nothing *must* be done, and the governing spirit is play not work. So this is a “playflow” design challenge.
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Despite lots of serious things going on in the world, more and more energy is shifting from “work” like activities to “play” like. Either actual play, or work disguised as play via gamification. So we need playflow systems.
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Three states of life "Settled down" like your parents want = 90% of your energy is in "habits" "Exploring life" like you do in your 20s and think you'll want to do forever = 90% of your energy is in "projects" Both are recipes for misery after 30.
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You need 90% energy in processes that won't terminate till you die, but aren't habits or projects. Each also has an associated "system" that grows continuously over your lifetime, and ideally reaches perfection 1 minute before you die.
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Suspicion: best playflow models will also be social in nature, and "store" state in relationship states with other people to the extent possible. Ie every robust playflow stream line is a relationship state as well (with a coach, sport partner, anthropomorphized thing, etc)
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Wish I were more artistic in capturing the right-brained imagery where my ideas usually start. This is a rough picture of my starting point for this thread.
Image
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