On Lists and Hierarchies

I wish I could credit this properly.

In middle school, a teacher (who's name escapes me now) gave me some basic rules for note taking. Over time, I've adapted those rules into a process for all the lists I write. As I've been working with the GTD process, and "To Do Lists" (see where this is going?) I've really begun to appreciate the system.

Below are just a couple quick tips for list writing that I've been using.

1. Begin with Numbers: The number system here is not meant for prioritizing your list, it's more meant to keep a running tally of items. If you look first at the last item on your list you'll know exactly how many items are there for processing.
   1. Move to Letters: Letters make for easy processing and reference down the line. You can, for example, reference this portion of the list later as 1.A. Other sub-items should be lowercase roman numerals. (i, ii, iii, iv, etc.) The next level down is really unnecessary.
   2. Indent Each Level: Every list level after the first should be indented appropriately. Uppercase letters should be one tab while roman numerals should be two.
2. Title Items as Needed: Unless it's a short item, leading with a title makes skimming easier. If it's just a short point, or item, then no title is necessary.
3. Single Item Sublists are Bad mmmKay: If you don't have more than one point for a sublist then you don't need a sublist. It's easier to just have a single long item.