Lenten Challenge Non-Success Stories

If you didn’t succeed in keeping to one system throughout Lent, then the Comments section to this post is the place to record your experiences and conclusions.

Comments

[vegheadjones]

Guess I am the first to reveal my failure :)

I entered the hallenge with a no list 5T with timeboxing. It did not take me long to realize I needed a list, so I went back to FVP. Then I realized that I need a focusing mechanism alongside the FVP long list, so I started timeblocking larger projects and putting in FVP as a timeblock to work the list.

That was better, but time blocking is too confining. What if I don't want to work on X from 10-10:30? So I came up with a GED variation that worked well for the past week. I have a spreadsheet of all my commitments, I identify which ones I want to work on today and identify the amount of time in totoal to spend on each. I include time for maintenance work (e.g. email) and for my FVP list. I then work for as long as I want in any order, I want but do not go over the time block I set.

I do this in excel with formulas, so it is easy to keep track. I am hopeful that my Lentan journey has led me to a system that may work in the long haul.

[Mike Brown]

I still find using the New Question ("what am I most resisting NOT doing?") extremely transformative. It forces me to slow down my mind's hurry-hurry pace and reconsolidate all the variables I am juggling.

I tried GIRKIR for a few days but found I really missed the comfort of a notebook and long list. Especially during a period when I was in the midst of many projects competing for my time and attention and rushing to meet deadlines. A long list and mix of simple scanning/FVP = my happy place.

[Belacqua]

I've benefitted from Mark's systems for many years now, probably since 2011. Belatedly joining the forum.

I didn't complete the Lent Challenge but I tried the New Question for much of the time.

My first impression was that I really liked the question "What am I resisting not doing?" The idea is original and powerful.

For me, the question didn't work at all with a list. It just felt way more difficult compared to using standing out. So I switched to using a stand-alone question. This was more natural. In the first week, I finished a report (way ahead of deadline) with Zen-like concentration. A great experience!

Unfortunately, it didn't last. The problem with a stand-alone question was that I would either ask it not enough or too much. The latter especially. This generated stress, constantly nagging myself. The total opposite of most of Mark's systems, which are fun to use! This alone led me to drop the New Question. Indeed, when I went back to my usual favourite, Simple Scanning, I felt much more relaxed.

One other observation: I found that the New Question isn't SO different from standing out. I mean: it's still keyed to our feelings/intuition. This makes it way better than some dispassionate inquiry. But I also found that I would "resist not doing" some things that were merely trivial and nagging even though they could be left undone. Similarly with fun things: sometimes, I felt palpable resistance to not doing them even though the negative consequences wouldn't be so bad.

Of course, much of the above may be just my own "user errors." In any case, this was an interesting experience.

[Alan Baljeu]

For the record: I bombed out in the first week, using a system I had already been using for months, but I stepped up the challenge with extra things I wanted accomplished.

In the second week, I started developing a radically different system. By the third week it was pretty-much defined, and I have been using it ever since. Not only that, but all the extra challenges I had seem to blend into the package quite nicely.

The details fluctuate slightly but I think it's a keeper for the long haul. Whether it would be good for anybody else, I'm doubtful.

[Eugenia]

I abandoned the GIRKIR system a couple of weeks in and replaced it with .... nothing! My life has descended into chaos.

I think my issues go beyond time management. I suffer from severe procrastination, also depression and anxiety, which is not a good combination.

But tomorrow I´ll try again, maybe another system, any system, because no system doesn´t really work for me.

Best,

[Mark Forster]

Eugenia:

You might like to have a look at my two latest posts on how to increase will power.

[TopherJake]

I bombed out with Do It Tomorrow. I love the system itself but it is hard for me to keep up, at least the way I do it. I have a list for each day, a project list sorted by due date, and a project list without due dates sorted by priority.

For me, the system creates a feeling that everything must be done instead of creating a list of possibilities like some other systems. When life gets busy and stressful and the backlog begins growing, that's usually when I cannot keep up with the system anymore.

Great system. Just not for me I guess.

[Eugenia]

Mark,

<<You might like to have a look at my two latest posts on how to increase will power.>>

I did, very interesting. I actually tried it out and got to a score of 3. I also did a lot of other things that were urgent or came up and had to be done.

I think that this is a great exercise!

Thans,

[Eugenia]

*Thanks