Video Interview with Mark Forster

Here is video from December 2008 of me being interviewed by Amanda Malloy of Videofocus. It’s mainly in a “Do It Tomorrow” context, but contains many good points and is in my humble opinion well worth seeing. It lasts just over 30 minutes.

DIT2? AF5? Who cares what it's called? This is what I'm working on at the moment...

Russian Translation

Usually when I release a new time management system I have tested it quite thoroughly myself. This is important because often any drawbacks only become apparent quite a while down the line.

But in the case of the new DIT2/AF5 system, I think it might be more helpful to have other people working on it with me at the same time so that we can share our experiences of it together.

So what I am going to do now is to share the basic outline of what I’m doing now, so others can run with it and see what they can make of it. I’m not going to go into much detail because I think that would destroy the purpose of the exercise - the detail should appear from our experience of working the system.

This is what it consists of:

1. You need a page-a-day diary with plenty of lines. Also some form of bookmarking for today’s date and the two entry pages (see below) - though turned down page corners are probably quite sufficient.

2. All new tasks are entered on the page which is one calendar month from today’s date. Example: Today’s date is February 1st. New tasks are entered on the page for March 1st. Tomorrow I will enter new tasks on March 2nd and so on.

3. All re-entered tasks are entered on the page which is one week from today. So any task I re-enter today (Monday February 1st) goes on the page for for next Monday (February 8th). Tomorrow (Tuesday) they will go on the page for next Tuesday 9th and so on.

4. Nothing is ever entered on any page, other than the pages currently one month and one week from today’s date.

5. All active pages are treated as if they were one long list and you continue to circulate round them doing the tasks that stand out.

6. All tasks which are on pages earlier than today’s date have expired. They are dead, done for, dismissed, deceased.

The thinking behind this is that you can put anything you like into the system. If you do nothing about it, it will remain there for a month and then expire. If at any time you commit yourself to a task by taking some action on it, you are put under increased pressure to get it finished by being given only seven calendar days to do some more work on it. Of course many tasks are done in one go, so can be deleted without being re-entered.

That’s all you need to get started. 

Looking for a new name

The new system I’m working on was provisionally called DIT2. But that doesn’t really apply any longer since the latest changes I have made make it far less like “Do It Tomorrow”. In fact about the only similarity now is that they both use a page-a-day diary to write tasks in.

It doesn’t bear much resemblance to Autofocus either, so calling it AF5 isn’t going to work either.

Hmm…

DIT2 Progress Report

I’ve had to make some major changes to my ideas for DIT2, which is going to mean that it will take longer than expected to publish it. The earliest is likely to be sometime in the first half of March.

It’s still based on a page-a-day diary, so if anyone has already invested in one in anticipation the money won’t be wasted!

There are some interesting new concepts which I have now included:

a. You can put tasks into the list without actually committing yourself to doing them. Once you have committed yourself to doing a task, it is then treated in a different way.

b. The little and often approach is encouraged, and the system is so constructed as to encourage you to keep going.

c. There is automatic purging of tasks which you haven’t committed yourself to doing.

d. The system can cope easily when you have days you can’t work on it. You don’t have to forecast these - you respond after the event.

e. You can do any task in the system next without breaking the rules.

Take care of the pre-conditions

While working on my list early yesterday, I came to a task “Buy notebook”. I passed by it saying to myself:

“I haven’t got the car out yet, so I’ll do it later.”

By the time I got to the end of the list I had passed by several other errands for the exactly the same reason. Then on the next pass round the list when I came to the same task again, I still hadn’t got the car out. So I passed the task by again. (Perhaps I should explain that my car is garaged a short walk away from my house).

I suddenly realised that most of these tasks had been hanging around for several days simply because I had only finally got the car out when it was time for evening meetings - by which time it was too late to do any of the tasks.

Looking through my list I could see that many other tasks had similar pre-conditions which weren’t getting addressed.

Anyway, I put “Get car out” on today’s list, and the result is that a whole stream of tasks got done which had been hanging around. I also spent a bit of time identifying other pre-conditions which were holding things up and made sure they were dealt with too.

If you’ve got some tasks which are “sticking”, have a look at what you’re saying to yourself when you pass by them. “I’ll do it later because…”

Then tackle the “because”!

... and I thought I was unique

HowManyOfMe.com

There are people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

"Do It Tomorrow" revision on its way

After all the lessons which I’ve learned through developing the various versions of Autofocus, I thought it was time to look again at Do It Tomorrow and see whether any of these lessons could be used to improve it. The answer is a resounding “Yes!”

I’m now testing out what I hope will be the final version of my revisions, and I hope to publish it fairly soon in the form of a supplement to DIT, which will be free of charge.

The revision keeps the basic structure of DIT, especially the concept of “one day’s work in one day” which was its most innovative feature. However the system is now more flexible and responsive to what goes on during the day. In particular it can now cope extremely well with tasks that need to be done more than once a day. The Current Initiative is streamlined and is better integrated into the system as a whole.

The biggest difference is in the “audit procedure”. Instead of being just a recommendation, it is now incorporated into the system in such a way that it happens automatically. No thought needed!

How does DIT now compare to AF? Well, it now seems to be as responsive as AF, is a universal capture system like AF, and forces one much quicker to either do something or discard it. I’m hoping that it will hold up well under the further testing that I will be giving it.

AF4 News

A couple of news items:

The first translation of AF4 is into Chinese (traditional). Many thanks to Catus Lee.

There is a brilliant file by Andreas Hofmann which gives an animated version of my demonstration of AF4. This is an absolute must for quick understanding of the system. Many thanks, Andreas, this was a huge undertaking.

Some Reflections on Yesterday's AF4 Demo

I must admit that by the time yesterday’s demo was finished I felt very tired. This was a surprise to me because normally AF4 is a very restful way to work, and I use it all day as a matter of habit. I hadn’t allowed though for the extra energy required by the fact that it was a performance!

Another factor was the extra overhead through working the system as a blog entry. Although I spend a huge amount of time each day on my computer, I really do not like using it for a To Do list (of whatever type). I find paper and pen much quicker and easier, and it has a meditative natural quality about it which the computer entirely lacks.

There were certain “extras” necessary for demonstration purposes. I had to number items, change from normal to italic, to bold, to strikethrough and so on. As my regular readers know, I abhor having to annotate entries, so I found the extra fiddling with each task a real strain.

So the whole thing seemed much more like hard work yesterday than it normally does. I was also conscious that having an audience changed what I was doing. I did an impressive number of tasks yesterday, but they are probably not quite the same ones that I would have done if I’d been working normally.

And I’m still trying to work out how to get back to my usual way of working. I feel that yesterday disturbed things, and put them out of their rightful sequence. I think for list purposes I am going to pretend yesterday never happened. I will just pick up my written list from where I left it two days ago.

Preliminary Instructions for Autofocus v. 4

Here are the preliminary instructions for AF4 as demonstrated yesterday. I will write them up in more detail later, but basically everything you need to work the system is here.

I will give the system for paper and pen, but it is easyhttp://www.markforster.net/blog/2009/9/4/work… to adapt the system for electronic use.

You will need a ruled notebook.

1) Draw up your list of things to do with one task per line. (If you already have a list you can continue to use it). You don’t need to put everything on the list at this stage as you can add other tasks as and when you think of them.

2) Draw a line at the end of the list. Everything before this line is known as the Backlog. As you think of new tasks add them after the line. Everything after the line is known as the Active List.

3) You start with the Backlog. Look through the tasks in the Backlog in order and work on any tasks which feel ready to be done. Delete each task when you feel you have worked on it for long enough, and re-enter it at the end of the Active List if you need to do more work on it.

4) When you come to the line, do not go into the Active List. Instead return to the beginning of the Backlog and continue to move through it in it doing any tasks which feel ready to be done. Keep circulating in this way, until you have done a complete pass through the Backlog without any tasks being done.

5) You now cross the line into the Active List. Move through the Active List in order working on any tasks which feel ready to be done.

6) When you reach the last task on the list, you then go back to the beginning of the Backlog and repeat the process from Step 3.

7) When you have crossed off all the tasks in the Backlog, you draw a line at the end of the Active List and this now becomes the Backlog.

So just to recap:

Your list is divided into two parts, the Backlog and the Active List. You circulate round the Backlog until no more tasks seem ready to be done. Then you do one pass through the Active List. After that you return to the Backlog. Once you’ve done every task in the Backlog, the Active List becomes the Backlog and you start a new Active List.

Deleting undone items

After you have been working on the Backlog for some time it may be reduced to a few tasks which for some reason or other you are reluctant to tackle. At this stage you may find that when you go back to the Backlog from the Active List you do a complete pass of the Backlog without doing any of the tasks.

If this happens, you should delete all the remaining tasks in the Backlog using a highlighter instead of a pen stroke, and then proceed as in Step 7 to make the Active List the Backlog.

The next time you come to the beginning of the list, you should finally cross off the highlighted tasks by deciding what to do with each one in turn. You may elect to abandon it, re-enter it on the Active List (with or without re-phrasing), or put it into a reminder system for review at a later date. In making the decision what to do with each task, you should look at the reasons why you haven’t done it yet.

Other implementations

It’s perfectly acceptable to use sheets of ruled paper rather than a notebook. You need two lists, a Backlog and an Active List. If you have undone items to review as in the previous paragraph, you will need to keep the old Backlog list until this has been done.

Electronic implementation is easy, as seen on my example yesterday. Rather than use Strikeout for actioned items, you can simply delete them. There’s no need to put new tasks in italics - I did that purely for demonstration purposes. You might want to use Bold for the current task, as it helps to find your place again.

Update on Monday, September 7, 2009 at 12:34 by Mark Forster

There is a brilliant file by Andreas Hofmann which gives an animated version of my demonstration of AF4. This is an absolute must for quick understanding of the system. Many thanks, Andreas, this was a huge undertaking.

The List after Today

Here is the list after today’s work. Tasks in italics were added today. Compare it with the list at the start of today

Note that there are only 26 tasks left unworked on of the orginal 75 tasks.

Check details needed by Travel Agency
Card for L
Weed Noguchi
Aeneid
“Then She Found Me”
Write E-book
Write M
Camera Manual
Return chalk to T
Brain trainer
German 24/3
Mow Lawn
Sort out Google bar
Blog “7 Habits of Poor Time Managers”
“Saraband”
Write
Reading List (oldest)
Reading List (newest)
G replied?
Walk
Tax Return
Photo Galleries
Squarespace Videos
Journal 10+Paper
“Top Gear”
Change Wallpaper
Autopager?
Firefox extension name?
Voicemail
 Lowest Point Forecast
Doodle
PhotoPlus Manual
“Taxi Driver”
Cancel Avon Policy
Check Porsche Tyres
Check Polo Service
Tidy Office
Make Bed
Facebook
Bureau Top Tidy?
Investment Managers
Carswell
Diaries of Adrienne v. Speyr?
RegZooka
Pitch C#
Write Henry
Voicemail
Ordo
Wash Up
Check BP
Check weeding schedule for old accounts
Find Phone Number for Ben’s Gutters
Prepare papers for Phoenix signing
Check domain hosting records
“Fanny Cradock”
Spanish 13
SpyZooka
Newsletter Template
Portuguese 17/2
Try out issuu.com
Reading List (quality)
Email (2057)
“Fleurs du Mal”
“The Cell”

Working Live Today

Key:
Tasks on list at start of day
Current Task
Actioned tasks (numbered in order of completion)
Tasks added during day
[Tasks marked for review]
—————————— = Start of Open List
(1156) timed log entry (at end)

THE LIST

13 Cancel Insurance Policies (1018)
15 Write Henry S. (1053)
[Contribute to P & Y’s Charity]
10 Buy Guillotine
[Weed Old Accounts]
[Ring Ben’s Gutters]
[Get Phoenix Insurance Claim signed]
[Investigate ways of marketing and selling E-book]
[Approaching businesses?]
11 Photo Plus Manual
[Sort out Domain hosting]
14 Photos for Facebook
12 “Taxi Driver”
[“Fanny Cradock”]
[“I Know Where I’m Going”]
[“The Edge of the World”] [1452][1534]
——————————————
Check details needed by Travel Agency
56 Schedule for Newsletters?
16 Restaurant for L’s birthday?
Card for L
Weed Noguchi
57 Portuguese 17
Aeneid
“Then She Found Me”
Write E-book
Write M
67 Read “Ultra Simple Guide”
Camera Manual
Return chalk to T
Brain trainer
17 Tidy Office
68 “Fleurs du Mal”
18 Make Bed
German 24/3
19 Facebook
50 Spanish 12/2
Mow Lawn
Sort out Google bar
Blog “7 Habits of Poor Time Managers”
“Saraband”
Write
20 Bureau Top tidy?
21 MicroPlaza
Reading List (oldest)
Reading List (newest)
G replied?
22 Desk tidy?
23 Exercise
Walk
Tax Return
Photo Galleries
Squarespace Videos
47 Check BP
Journal 10+
24 Investment Managers
25 RegZooka
26 Cut Hedge
27 NumberWatch
28 Carswell
69 “The Cell” (2300)
Paper
1 Comments (0800)
2 Voicemail

29 Fix date for lunch with Carol N
3 Email
4 FTSE (0833)
“Top Gear”
5 Lowest Point Forecast
30 Back Up
31 Reading
6 Doodle
Change Wallpaper
58 Reading List (quality)
7 Pitch C#
8 Wash Up
Autopager?
Firefox extension name?
9 Comments
Voicemail
32 Email
33 FTSE
Lowest Point Forecast
Doodle
34 Pitch C#
35 Wash Up
36 Comments (0904)
PhotoPlus Manual
“Taxi Driver”
Cancel Avon Policy
48 To Think About
37 L replied re Henry?

38 L replied re restaurant?
Check Porsche Tyres
Check Polo Service
Tidy Office
39 Read Newspaper
40 Check Site Visitors for today
Make Bed
Facebook
51 Find Driving Licence
Bureau Top Tidy?
52 Regenerate Friend Wheel
41 Ordo
Investment Managers
Carswell
59 Carol N replied re lunch?
Diaries of Adrienne v. Speyr?
42 Lunch
53 SpyZooka
RegZooka
54 Reading
Pitch C#
Write Henry
55 Book restaurant
43 Reserve District 9 and Tricks
44 Comments
45 Wash Up
46 Email
Voicemail
56 Site Visitors
Ordo
49 Comments
Wash Up (1450)(1709)(1847)(1849)
—————————————————
Check BP
60 Email
61 Comments (1528)
Check weeding schedule for old accounts
Find Phone Number for Ben’s Gutters
Prepare papers for Phoenix signing
Check domain hosting records
“Fanny Cradock”
Spanish 13
62 Tweetdeck
SpyZooka
63 Reading
64 Site Visitors (2046)
Newsletter Template
Portuguese 17/2
Try out issuu.com
Reading List (quality)
65 Email
66 Tweetdeck
Email (2057)
“Fleurs du Mal”
“The Cell”

0800. The list is divided into two unequal parts, divided by a line ———————. Different rules apply to each part. I am starting where I left off yesterday, near the end of the list. The method here is to move down the list taking action on those tasks which feel ready to be done. I will number tasks in the order they are done so you can follow the sequence. The numbers in brackets after some tasks are times, and refer to the log entries at the end of the list (of which this is the first).

0833. This is reminding me why I hate using electronic means of working a to do list! It’s slowing me down no end. The Squarespace editor is also being annoying - a blank line has appeared in the middle of the list which I don’t seem to be able to get rid of. Never mind!

0904. I’ve now reached the end of the list. My next action is to go to the beginning of the list - into the part of the list before the line (——————). Oooooerrrr!!!

1018. Within the first part of the list, I keep circling round the list until nothing further seems ready to do.

1053. I’ve now been round the first part of the list three times, and there’s nothing further that seems ready to do. So now I start on the second part of the list. I only do one pass of this before going back to the first part.

1450. Now reached the end of the list for the second time today. So back to the first part of the list (the “backlog”)

1452. None of the tasks in the “backlog” stand out for action so I have marked them all up for review (on paper I would have used a highlighter for this). At the same time I have drawn a line at the end of the list so that the whole current list becomes the “backlog”. All new tasks will now go below this line.

1528. Now reached the end of the list for the third time today. Notice how fast I moved through the list this time. Back to the beginning of the list.

1534. What I have now done is delete all the items marked for review. You will see that I have re-entered some after rephrasing them. One I have re-entered as it was (A recorded TV program that I haven’t yet had time to see). The rest I have dropped altogether because I decided the time wasn’t yet ripe for them.

1709. Reached end of first part of list - back to the beginning. On another subject, this page has been loaded 5,973 times today (and it wasn’t all by me!)

1847 End of first part of list again - back to beginning.

1849 I’ve been round the first part of the list again without any tasks seeming ready to do - so on to the second part.

2046. Page has been accessed 7,507 times today.

2057 Reached the end of the list again. Back to the beginning. I’ll select a next task, but what I’m really going to do is go and watch NCIS on tv!

2300 That’s it for today. 70 tasks completed. 8,604 page views. I hope that’s given everyone a good idea of how powerful the system is. Now I’ve just got to copy everything I’ve done today back into my paper notebook!

(Comments on this post are now closed. If you can’t see the existing comments, click on the post heading “Working Live Today”)

Update on Monday, September 7, 2009 at 12:35 by Mark Forster

There is a brilliant file by Andreas Hofmann which gives an animated version of this demonstration. This is an absolute must for quick understanding of the system. Many thanks, Andreas, this was a huge undertaking.

The List for Tomorrow

This is the list which I will be working on tomorrow. I’m posting it here as a matter of record so it can easily be compared with how it looks at the end of tomorrow.

This particular post will remain unchanged. The actual working list will be published at 8am UK time (3am EST) tomorrow (Friday):

Cancel Insurance Policies
Write Henry S.
Contribute to P & Y’s Charity
Buy Guillotine
Weed Old Accounts
Ring Ben’s Gutters
Get Phoenix Insurance Claim signed
Investigate ways of marketing and selling E-book
Approaching businesses?
Photo Plus Manual
Sort out Domain hosting
Photos for Facebook
“Taxi Driver”
“Fanny Cradock”
“I Know Where I’m Going”
“The Edge of the World”
Check details needed by Travel Agency
Schedule for Newsletters?
Restaurant for L’s birthday?
Card for L
Weed Noguchi
Portuguese 17
Aeneid
“Then She Found Me”
Write E-book
Write M
Read Gerald Coleman’s “Ultra Simple Guide”
Camera Manual
Return chalk to T
Brain trainer
Tidy Office
“Fleurs du Mal”
Make Bed
German 24/3
Facebook
Spanish 12/2
Mow Lawn
Sort out Google bar
Blog “7 Habits of Poor Time Managers”
“Saraband”
Write
Bureau Top tidy?
MicroPlaza
Reading List (oldest)
Reading List (newest)
G replied?
Desk tidy?
Exercise
Walk
Tax Return
Photo Galleries
Squarespace Videos
Check BP
Journal 10+
Investment Managers
RegZooka
Cut Hedge
NumberWatch
Carswell
“The Cell”
Paper
Comments
Voicemail
Fix date for lunch with Carol N
Email
FTSE
“Top Gear”
Lowest Point Forecast
Back Up
Reading
Doodle
Change Wallpaper
Reading List (quality)
Pitch C#
Wash Up

All my actioned  tasks are not shown on this list, but it’s worth bearing in mind that I normally work with paper and pen so that deletions from the list are still visible.

Working Live on this Blog Tomorrow

Tomorrow I am going to try something entirely new (to me) by working my Autofocus list on-line so that you can see how it should be done.

I will start the day off by posting my current list on this blog - and then every time I take action on a task or add a new one I will up-date the post. That way you will be able to keep track of exactly what I am doing at any given time.

I will be using the new unreleased Version 4, which I am currently testing, so you can see how fast and powerful it is.

Timings (very approximate):

Start: 8am UK Time

Finish: 11pm UK Time

I hope the exercise will show the following:

- the speed and flexibility of the system

- the various levels at which I enter tasks

- the nature of the tasks which are suitable for an Autofocus list

I will also leave Comments open so that hopefully a dialogue will develop about what is happening.

Keeping one's markers aligned

I was interested to read in the papers recently that some research had shown that people find it very difficult to walk in a straight line in uncharted territory. Most of us in such a situation would aim for a landmark in the distance, but this still results in considerable wandering off the straight. The result is that when you reach the landmark you may be pointing quite a few degrees off course, and the next landmark you pick will not be on the original line.

The secret, known to people like the Native Americans, is to line up two landmarks. When you do this you can easily proceed in a straight line just by keeping the two landmarks aligned. When you reach the first landmark you know you are facing in the right direction so all you have to do is to pick another landmark.

It struck me that this applies to how we go about getting to our goals in our business or personal life. If we aim for just one landmark we are likely to wander about and end up facing in the wrong direction. If we line up two goals then we are much more likely to proceed in a straight line to our desired result.

Let’s give an example of this. We often hear that networking is very important for building a small business. So some people go overboard with networking. They join networking associations, attend lots of events, talk to loads of people, and may even organise their own events.

Then they become disillusioned because their business, far from expanding, is suffering from the amount of time they spend away from it at networking events.

What has gone wrong?

The answer is that they have only lined their actions up on one landmark. They have taken on board that “networking is good” and have therefore lined up on the networking landmark:

——————-> Networking

The result is that they have just concentrated on doing more and more networking without really considering what the purpose of it all was.

If they had remembered that the purpose of the networking was to expand their business they would have approached the networking in a different more focused way:

——————-> Networking ——————-> Business Expansion

As an exercise, you might take a look at some of your goals to see whether they are properly lined up. For instance what might the difference be between these two?

——————-> MBA

——————-> MBA ——————> Promotion to Higher Management

or these two?

———————> Going to gym

———————> Going to gym ———————> Increased energy for work

Wherever you suspect that an activity which should be supporting a higher goal is taking on a life of its own, it’s a good idea to carry out this lining up exercise.

Backlog Method

I’ve written many times over the years about the correct way to clear a backlog:

1) Isolate the backlog

2) Get the system for handling new stuff sorted

3) Keep working away at the backlog

People who don’t know this method usually try to clear a backlog by using step 3 on its own. But without doing step 1 first, all that will happen is that the backlog will fill up as fast as you clear it. Even if by some heroic effort you do succeed in clearing the backlog completely, if you haven’t done step 2 you will have a new backlog within days.

This backlog method can be used in many ways which may not be obvious on first sight. Here are a couple of examples:

Tidying an Office

You need to tidy your office. What is untidiness but a backlog of tidying? So carry out the three-step procedure.

1) Dump everything that is out of its proper place (or doesn’t have one) in a pile in the middle of the floor.

2) Work out a routine for cleaning and tidying your office every day. Stick to it religiously.

3) Work on clearing the pile bit by bit.

Getting out of Debt

What is debt but a backlog of money? So three steps to getting out of debt.

1) Consolidate all your debt into one loan, and refuse to take on any more debt of any type.

2) Cut your expenditure so that you can live within your income.

3) Make regular payments towards paying off the loan (capital as well as interest).

I am now working on a time management system which extends this principle to our normal daily work - even where there isn’t a significant backlog. It’s so far proving very powerful. More details soon!

Hungarian, Russian and Spanish Versions

Hungarian, Russian and Spanish versions of the Revised Autofocus instructions are now available. Many thanks to the translators: Adam Schmideg, Dorinem and Walter.

Chinese (traditional) and Dutch versions

Chinese (traditional) and Dutch versions of the Revised Autofocus instructions are now available.

Many thanks to Catus Lee and Evelien Fick.

French, Italian and Japanese Versions Available

French, Italian and two Japanese versions are now available of the Revised Autofocus instructions.

Many thanks to Lionel Bruel, Romano, Hayashi Hideaki, and Jun Funai for their hard work in producing them.

Chinese and German Versions Now Available

Chinese (simplified) and German versions of the Revised Autofocus instructions are now available. May thanks to Andreas Hofmann and Qinyuan Feng for doing these so quickly.