Get Everything Done

I’ve started a trial today of Autofocus 1 with a revised dismissal rule.

The new rule is that if you scan a page and no tasks stand out for action, then you go through each task remaining on the page and EITHER delete it OR cross it out and re-enter it at the end of the list.

This is intended to be:

simpler
easier
less harsh
just as effective (or possibly even more effective)

I will identify tasks which have been relegated to the end of the list in this way with yellow highlighting. If they get relegated twice in a row then the highlighting changes to orange. That will make it very obvious which tasks are stuck, so that remedial action can be taken.

Anyone who wants to try this along with me is very welcome. You can discuss your experiences with it in the Comments.

Update on Thursday, June 24, 2021 at 15:47 by

Mark Forster

After a bit less than 24 hours, how am I getting on?

Very well on the whole.

The real question is whether the new rules for dismissal have made any difference. Since I haven’t dismissed anything yet, it’s a bit early to say. But I do have one page with only one task remaining, and it’s one I’m unlikely to find time to do today.

Under the old rules I’d either have to force myself to do this task when I don’t really have time, or else take it out of circulation for a while.

With the proposed new rules, I don’t feel any tension about it. If it gets done, it gets done. And if it doesn’t get done, then it will be moved to the end of the list and highlighted in yellow so I am reminded that it needs special attention.

So far I have seven full pages, which total 231 tasks of which 77 remain undone.