LifeBalance and TLI's

A challenge I have in using LifeBalance most effectively is deciding how to set up the TLI's (Top Level Items). My intution is that the number of TLI's I use should be between 8 and 12. I figure if I have much more than that then I am starting to balance too many things and starting to spread myself too thin (then again, J already things I am doing that, so maybe this is a sign for me).

An example: Should I have one TLI called Real Estate, with two subordinate items called Property 1 and Property 2? Or should I have two TLI's called Property 1 and Property 2? Another example: Should I have one TLI called Creativity with subordinate items called Music and Creative Writing (and maybe one called Blogging?) Or should each of those subordinate items be its own TLI?

If I use the design that has Real Estate as a TLI with each property as a subordinate item, then here is what happens: as soon as I check off an item under the Property 1 branch, LifeBalance adds the credit to the Real Estate slice of pie. Then when it re-prioritizes my tasks to balance my TLI's, items under the Property 2 branch get pushed down the list. In essence, LifeBalance is saying You already got your Real Estate slice of pie.

Fine, that's what it's supposed to do. The problem comes up if I have things I need to take care of for both properties. As soon as I take care of something for one property, LifeBalance automatically reduces the priority of the second property, and that's not good.

If I make each property be its own TLI instead, then I end up with two TLI's instead of one. If I follow the same approach for Creativity then I will end up with even more TLI's, and then the list becomes difficult to manage. I can only see so many items on the screen and I would have to scroll around too much to find the appropriate TLI when I want to add a new item.

Maybe this situation is telling me that I've got too much stuff going on in my life and that I should pare down my life. Yeah right - as if I would do that.