How helps a planner to make your 100 dimensional life (semi)linear?

Warning! As I read the book "ADD friendly ways to organize your life" in the night, I couldn't sleep after that, because my mind started to thinking about what I read - so much thought, and they are still here and swirling around me. The post might a little bit academic and chaotic.

A dream about a linear world, and the reality

I dream sometimes about a world, which is simple linear. A task comes in, I finish it, next task comes... But the world is more complicated. Hundreds of tasks bombard us in every minute. You have to decide if it really a task? Is that you who has to solve it? The biggest thing to remember all of it. Because the time is linear, you can accomplish only one thing in one time. With a little cheat, you can start something, and leave it to happen: start the soup, and leave it, you can do it something else until it will be cooking, but it can be an issue to find a way back (in time). But doing things like this: parallel to each other takes a lot of energy - switching between tasks is exhaustive.

Solution Level 1: Have a list

If you have a list with tasks makes for you possible, thinking linear. You work on something, and you don't have to think on other things, because they are on the list. Until you don't finish, you have only this one particular task. The list has to contain doable tasks! "My daughter's birthday" is not a task. A task is to find out what gift I will buy, buying the gift, writing invites, baking a cake...
You are making something, input comes (post, email, a thought): I have to do something with this. Write on your list on. Finish your task, then go to the list - and? What? Your list might have 100 of items. Pick the next one? Or spending a lot of time to choosing the right task for now? Better as don't have any list, but not the best. How could you finish a long term goal? It is not possible not eat, speaking with your friend, cleaning, etc until you didn't wrote that book. Switching between this long term things and everyday life little tasks, and back is very difficult. And not linear! And another question: where do you have your list? On a piece of paper? Will you always find it?

Solution Level 2: Use a calendar

If your list is in your planner, it will be always there. But how to organize your list? You should not only know WHAT you have to do but also WHEN.
Using a planner can be on more levels. You might use it as a calendar, writing appointments in and some time sensitive things, like "bring library books back", "mom's birthday". It is simple, but the problem can be, if I see today in my calendar, that my mom has birthday today, it is too late. I have to plan todos related to this thing before. So comes planning in: write one week later to the calendar a task "buy gift" to a day, where it is appropriate (have time, and opportunity).

Solution Level 3: Project planning

Project planning for work and for personal life too! What is a project? A project is anything that contains more than one doable tasks. Organizing the time is more simple, if you have more that one list. Start writing thematic lists! 

Use a planner, where you have place for a calendar for time sensitive appointments and tasks, and place also planning, not time sensitive tasks. You need also place for the project tasks lists too. You might have a "projects" session in your planner, with an index page in order from A to Z.

How to make your plan: decide on what you will work on. Choosing from 10 projects is more simple that choosing from 100 tasks. After choosing the project you are working on you can choose the task from the tasks. This helps also to finishing long term projects. 

Let's see, you are writing a book. You don't have to plan all tasks before. You can plan "working 2 hours" every day on this project, and when you are working on you are going on that project tasks list. Or you can plan "writing chapter one" in May. 

Solution Level 4: Organizing the projects in time

If you have lot of projects and you have them organized from A to Z, it is hard to decide on what you have to working on now. Place the project tasks lists in your planner in order of you will working on them! Have dividers for months, and day as in 43 folders system, or have dividers for months and weeks, how I make it. Place the lists to the time you have to working on! When you getting there, you have to choose only from a few tasks. Some sample: I have to pay tax for our house every 3 month. I have all infos on a notepaper (where how much and the tax numbers, and a list, where I write in when I payed). I have that after the monthly divider when I have to pay. When I payed it is going 3 month later. If I would have this "project" in an alphabetical order, I might never pay it! I have an idea, what I want to buy for my husband's birthday. I should make also a birthdays list, and also a gift ideas list too. But then I should always check them. I write birthdays to my calendar, and ideas to the month when I have to buy the gift! An idea is only an idea, not a project, so I have a notepaper by the monthly dividers. I prearranged with someone to make together a promotion. I don't need a project page yet, but to the month I will have to start working it, I have a note about it. I can start my list than. But if I get an idea, I start a project page before it and write it down!

I know, that was long... If you have any question or comment, do not hesitate to write me!