Progress Report AF New Rules - #3

I’ve just realised that I never gave a final progress report on the proposed new rules for Autofocus 1.

In spite of the fact that I got a considerable amount of work done in the few days I ran the trial, I came to the conclusion that the new rules didn’t in fact contribute much. I came across much the same benefits and problems as I normally do with Autofocus, which are that the list tends to expand excessively with the result that eventually the size of the list becomes oppressive and it’s difficult to deal with urgent or time-sensitive matters within the system.

I’ve now decided to go back to the Simple New System  which I described nearly two months ago. I’ve never really given it a proper trial, but it seems promising.

Comments

[Christopher]

Yes, the dismissal rules as such are already good. Do you remember your analogy with the "tough mudder" race? It's not important to complete every tasks once entered. It's a sifting process of which ones should be done.

My AF1 list(s) remain stable at around 8-9 active pages on a 31 lines notebook. I think you wrote that you as well use 31 lines per page. Usually I have 3-4 pages with very few active tasks.

Dealing with urgent items is still a problem though. I can see how this lead you two develop the series of "two lists" systems. The thing is however, that nothing compares to the relaxed feeling one gets when working AF1, add to that the zero-resistance while getting everything done.

The root cause of the problem is that it can take you hours to get to the last page with the new urgent items on it. If you add a "hack", another way of getting there than traveling through the pages, you'll end up with having to face resistance to some tasks.

I can think of only one solution, that doesn't introduce a new system nor is some kind of scheduling regime: When you enter a new task at the end of the list, you are allowed to work on it immediately. Then you proceed the normal way, crossing-off, maybe re-entering. After that you return to the point in the list you were working on.

[Mark Forster]

Christopher:

That's a very good summary of the pluses and minuses of AF1.

I'm not so sure about the solution though. When I first introduced AF1, I advised liberal use of the "If it needs doing now, do it now" rule. I still think that would be the best answer, but anyone who's in to AF1 (including me) has a distinct reluctance to break out of the system.

On the other hand FVP works that way. All new tasks go at the end of the list, where they become immediately available. And the rules state that old tasks which become urgent can be crossed out and re-entered at the end.

Maybe the solution is something as simple as writing a task you need to do now on a separate piece of paper and just doing it. That would apply to new tasks and ones already on the list.

(31 lines is the page length for the standard Moleskine notebook, but it's not essential to use that size notebook. I just find it a convenient size.)

[Christopher]

> Maybe the solution is something as simple as writing a task you need to do now on a separate piece of paper and just doing it. That would apply to new tasks and ones already on the list.


Sounds good. Like the "under the line" tasks in DIT. One could re-use the same paper to detect patterns or alternatively use the calendar. Thing is, dramatic urgency more often then not comes from other parties not being on top of their work.

[Virix]

Or there's AF3 with its two modes

[Nico Sydney]

This is how I overcome urgent items.

A post it is used to indicate which task I am currently working on. The item just above the post it.

On the post it, itself, it shows items that absolutely needs to be done today. After doing an AF item I clear the post it items if it can be cleared.

Example of my page:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3ADQnPnb6o6GoQA38

[David Coyer]

Interesting Nico. So the yellow note moves with you while you scan? And then when you land on something you want to do, the yellow note is attached directly below that item?

[Sathya]

Glad to hear of this conclusion.

Every other I use a long list system - AF, SS or FVP or GTD NA, I found that... There's an initial high as you are able to run through various tasks, quickly.

But after that..
1. The list becomes too unwieldy to manage and I feel overwhelmed
2. Feel resistance to the entire list
3. Decision fatigue catches up
4. Context switching while it was a joy in the beginning, soon realize it's a pain.

Guess there needs to be a balance...

My conclusions as of now:
- Long lists are fantastic for capturing/ collections. GTD's capture list, Mark's long list, Brain dump journaling, Bullet Journal's Future log. I prefer to call it 'distraction journaling'
- Have a DIT like must do short list for the day. Gaming it to take scores. What's the % of tasks completed or if all tasks done, I get a score, etc
- A loose Deep work time boxing system. Scheduling doesn't work for me. But work on a task for at least 2 hours straight. Batching it..

So the daily short list is pulled from the long list.

I'm trying this out for July. Let's see how it goes.

[Stever]

I haven’t formalized a rule about this, but in practice, after adding a new item to the last (active) page, I allow myself to scan through the active page using AF1 standard rules. Then when nothing stands out, I return to the last interior page I was working through. Urgent tasks get handled this way and then the system returns me to the non-urgent tasks.

[Alan Baljeu]

Sathya, that inspires me to try something new. Maybe it will work as a medium list; neither long nor short, but just right. A dismissal scheme to manage a long list system so that list never actually gets very long.

[Rain Perry]

For someone who has struggled so much with the concept of dismissal, AF4 is proving to be the one for me at the moment. I love that every week or so I am compelled to process everything I haven’t been getting to. I’ve set up a “dismissed tasks“ page in my Evernote in case there are things that I am being forced by the process to dismiss but still don’t want to take entirely off my radar. This has helped me move a lot of things through faster. But I’m finding that having to highlight in yellow a whole bunch of things makes me either just do them, or rethink them and add them back into the list in a more doable way.

[michael]

@Nico: I use this concept but implement it as an AF1 list on the left with a "Next Hour " list on the right hand side.

[Christopher]

Mark:

> Maybe the solution is something as simple as writing a task you need to do now on a separate piece of paper and just doing it.

The problem with that is, then I have to decide where to put the task before I write it down.

With my solution I just can write down and then the second micro-step is to decide if it is really so urgent that I want to do it now.

Also having the task on that one list, is better for statistical examination purposes and the like.

[Mark H.]

There is an advantage to having one notebook in which you write everything down. I have been keeping all my notes, and AF lists, and "Next Hour" lists, and Today lists all together in one composition book. I just write in chronological order, stream-of-consciousness. There are no single sheets of paper to keep organized or to throw away. I have written "Next hour" lists on a separate piece of paper if the tasks will be actioned soon. However, sometimes I didn't do an action and I want it for future reference to action later. The disadvantage is that the notebook fills up a lot faster. It is harder to spot tasks. You need to constantly review your notebook to make sure you don't neglect something.
I am contemplating moving soon, and I planned the project on computer. Perhaps I will track it on computer as well rather than in a notebook.
There is no perfect system. I am beginning to think that there are people that are gifted at getting things done, and they are the Andrew Carnegies of the world. Perhaps they know intuitively by the mind how to manage projects, and can adapt whatever tool(s) they have at their disposal.

[Cricket]

When I review my list, I have a time frame in mind.

Does this need to be done in the next 7 days? If so, it goes on my week list. I can then ignore the big list for 7 days. It feels reassuring to put the big list back on the shelf, knowing that I will make progress where needed, and can safely ignore the rest for 7 days. It also reduces the fatigue that comes from scanning, and deciding not to do, the same things multiple times a day.

After that it depends on the type of week. Sometimes the week list is broken down into day lists as I make it. Other times do the week list, then once that's in an easily scannable format I do the day lists for the week. Doing the day list each day leads to leaving too much until Friday.

New tasks are written on the week list, usually, with an implied "Think about" rather than "Do." At the end of the day/week, the day/week list becomes part of the big list.

Mechanics vary. Sometimes it's all in one big book. Sometimes the day lust is in a smaller book or loose paper. Sometimes it's all in a binder, sometimes with preprinted templates.

Not exactly an AF system, but i sometimes use an AF system, or one of the many others here, to work each list. If I ignore something on the big list for many weeks in a row, it needs to be dealt with. Same with something on today's list that I put off each time I look for the next task. Colley's Rule is a reliable way to pick what goes to the next layer down. Randomizer often rescues a day when I can't focus.