[FRC4ME]

Create a class that implements interface Runnable, like this:

public class MyTask implements Runnable {
    public void run () {
        // Do stuff in here
    }
}

Then, in the main robot class, create a thread:

public Thread myThread = new Thread(new MyTask());

Start the thread in robotInit():

myThread.start(); // Will call MyTask.run() in a separate task

I think this is what you were thinking of already, no?