Autofocus Beta testers

The original send of the Beta Testing Instructions last Monday went out to 1,405 people. The number has since risen to 1,958. That means that 553 have joined in less than a week. Thanks to everyone who has been passing on the news about Autofocus to their friends, colleagues and family. And thanks to everyone who is taking part - there has been an enormous buzz generated by this new system which is reflected in the Discussion Forum and Comments.

Building the List Organically

One of the things which is coming out of the discussions about Autofocus for me is that it is not advisable to start off by transfering every single task that you had listed in your previous time management system. This is particularly so with systems like Getting Things Done, where one is encouraged to keep lists of things which are “someday/maybe” items.

It’s not that Autofocus is incapable of handling long lists of items like this. It’s that the way it will handle them is usually by causing most of them to be dismissed. There is also a problem in the effect of a long list of items on the owner of the list. For someone just beginning on the Autofocus way to have a huge number of undigested items all at once can cause feelings of overwhelm.

Certainly someone who has been using Autofocus for a while will have plenty of items on their list. Currently I have 103 tasks spread over 14 active pages. But they are all related to things which I am currently working on - in other words they are fresh in my mind and part of a general movement. It doesn’t feel like overwhelm, more like being in the flow.

So my advice is not to start the list by entering every possible thing you can think of, but instead just list a few items, start work on them and add others as you think of them or as they come up. You will quickly build up a list of tasks which are currently viable for you. When I started the Autofocus system myself, I started with just three items: Email, Tidy Desk, and Wash Up. By the time I’d completed those three items the list was already over a page long and growing fast - but the point is that what was on the list was currently in my mind and relevant.

Keeping up with the discussion

The discussions about Autofocus appear to have attracted quite a following, and some people have even admitted to being quite addicted to reading them!

So here are a couple of tips to make it as easy as possible to keep up with the discussion. Quite a few of you may already have worked them out for yourselves of course.

1. The threads in the Discussion Forum are sorted in order of the latest post. So to read all the posts that have come in since you last looked all you have to do is start with the first thread on the list and continue reading the threads until you come to one on which you have already read the last post
2. There is an RSS feed available for comments on blog posts. The URL to enter in your feed-reader is http://www.markforster.net/blog/rss-comments.xml

This blog post has been Autofocused

More Testimonials

Another selection of testimonials about Autofocus extracted from the comments and discussion forum posts:

“Having started the Autofocus yesterday, I am amazed and excited by its simplicity and effectiveness. I think Mark Forster has cracked the code and invented the ultimate time management system!”

“What’s so great about Autofocus though is that it takes so little effort to make it flow so beautifully and it feels so good working it…”

“I think AF is going to be a great addition to my life.”

“I can already see how AF is freeing up my thought processes so that my creativity is flowing again”

“As for me Autofocus provides a good frame for my intuition and my thinking to go hand in hand. This Autofocus system works like a charm for me.”

This blog post has been Autofocused

"This email has been Autofocused"

It’s great to hear from the blog comments and Discussion Forum posts how so many people are already beginning to find the benefits of the Autofocus system.

So I expect you want to tell all your friends, family, clients, bosses, colleagues, etc, about it.

One way you can do this very easily is by adding the following line to your e-mail signature:

This e-mail has been Autofocused

You can copy it straight off this page!

This blog post has been Autofocused

Testimonials

Just a selection of few of the positive testimonials made so far about Autofocus. I’ve left them unattributed, but if you want to see any of them in context, put a few key words into the search box at the top of the left-hand margin and it will take you right there!

“This is a shatteringly simple concept, given the millions of words and dollars built around time and task management, but I think it really works.”

“I had concerns over managing a multitude of projects and tasks and keeping track of actions. Including the backlog, I’ve added a smidgen over 300 tasks (work and home) using a pocket notebook front and back. Of these i’ve knocked out some 70 or so, which has made serious inroads into the backlog. This is across a number of projects, but moving through the tasks so quickly and frequently keeps them really fresh in the mind, that it’s quite easy to see how they fit into the projects. One of the best things is the ease of adding another task: as a thought pops into the head, add it to the end of the list and carry on. So the system works largely in the background, and is really low maintenance.”

“I really like Autofocus. The most dramatic effect I’ve noticed is a great feeling of lightness and fluidity as I move through my day. It’s also true that I’ve taken on, and completed, a couple of tasks I’d been procrastinating about (in one case for a number of weeks), and that I felt essentially no resistance to doing them in the context of the Autofocus approach. And I’ve found myself completing some tasks much more quickly, to my amazement – I’m fussing less over emails, for example.”

“I have already posted that I wasn’t 100% sure of everything when I read the Quick Start Guide but just started. By the time I got to my first coffee break I actioned the “read rest of instructions” task and apart from the fact that they cleared up a few questions as to whether I was “doing it right”, I had already experienced the almost uncanny way in which the system did somehow eliminate procrastination and create a real excitement about doing things - included things I had previously resisted.”

“This AutoFocus method really hits the nail on the head for me because of the intuitive element. Just having the choice to NOT do a task, whether just for now or ever, is mentally freeing and paradoxically encourages you to start taking your todo lists seriously again.”

“I’d just like to say, the new system is working for me. I normally work full-time and use a similar system, however, I’m at home at the moment and have been using daily routines and the task diary. Life has been very dull and I’ve found that I’ve been doing some tasks every day and not even starting others! The new system is allowing me to touch on everything which is a great feeling. I feel as if I have done far more than normal. I even thought I might apply it to my love life!”

Clarification: Speed of movement

There are several comments from people who are concerned that, if they are on an early page of the list and have a pressing item at the end of the list, that it may take too long before they get to the pressing item.

As I say in the instructions, it’s important to use your common sense here. If something must be done immediately, then do it immediately!

But it’s also important to appreciate that it doesn’t necessarily take a huge amount of time to move from page 1 to page 15 (if that’s the number of active pages you have).

You only HAVE to do one item on each page, and you only HAVE to work for a short time on that item. So you could in theory move from the first page to the last page in a matter of minutes.

Remember that your mind knows what is needed when, so if you trust it to make the right choice (see previous post) it will move you at the right speed to where you need to be.

The more you practise this the more you will gain confidence in the process.

Clarification: "Standing Out"

It’s clear from reading the comments that many people are having trouble with the concept of a task “standing out” when one does a pass through a page. This is a difficult concept to grasp for people who are used to using an analytical frame of mind, but it is essential if you are going to use the system correctly.

Here’s a little exercise to help you grasp what I mean:

Arrange six or seven coins in a row in front of you. They can be all the same or a variety.

Starting from the left hand end run your finger quickly along the row, making a very slight pointing movement towards each coin.

Now start again from the left-hand side and move your finger more deliberately along the row, pointing quite definitely at each coin. In the course of this pass, pick up at least one of the coins and put it to one side. Try not to anticipate which coin or coins you are going to pick up.

Now start from the left again, and do exactly the same but this time you can pick up any number of coins from zero upwards. If you picked up no coins by the time you reached the end of the row, stop. If you’ve picked up one or more coins, keep going until you either pick up no coins on a pass or you have run out of coins.

This is exactly the process that you go through when dealing with a page (except of course that you are moving from top to bottom, rather than from left to right). Get the hang of what it feels like to pick an item without making a conscious choice.

Autofocus system - instructions

What can you expect from the system?
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This is based purely on my own experience of working the system for a number of weeks, but what I have found is as follows:

A greatly increased volume of work. I have found that I am able to process work much faster. This seems to be mainly due to the fact that there is very little friction in the way of resistance or procrastination.

A lack of stress. Although obviously one still has to do the work, there are no great barriers of resistance to overcome or feelings of overwhelm. In fact just about all my work has become pleasurable. The more I’ve learned to trust the system, the more this has been the case.

Focus on what is important. It’s very difficult to focus on what is important with one’s rational mind alone, because what your conscious mind thinks is important may not be what your subconscious mind thinks is important. What I’ve found is that looking back on what I’ve done I can see that the focus produced by the system feels “right” - right for me in my current circumstances.

Very fast processing of routine actions. My speed at doing various essential routine tasks has increased exponentially. The sort of things I am thinking of are replying to emails, answering comments on my blog, returning phone calls, etc. etc.

Thorough processing of major tasks and projects. The system encourages a “little and often” approach to major tasks. The result is that a project, such as setting up this trial, can be dealt with over a period of time in a very methodical way. One other result of the “little and often” approach is that ideas and insights naturally spring up as a result of one’s mind engaging with the task over a period of time.

Quick Start
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The system consists of one long list of everything that you have to do, written in a ruled notebook (25-35 lines to a page ideal). As you think of new items, add them to the end of the list. You work through the list one page at a time in the following manner:

1. Read quickly through all the items on the page without taking action on any of them.
2. Go through the page more slowly looking at the items in order until one stands out for you.
3. Work on that item for as long as you feel like doing so
4. Cross the item off the list, and re-enter it at the end of the list if you haven’t finished it
5. Continue going round the same page in the same way. Don’t move onto the next page until you complete a pass of the page without any item standing out
6. Move onto the next page and repeat the process
7. If you go to a page and no item stands out for you on your first pass through it, then all the outstanding items on that page are dismissed without re-entering them. (N.B. This does not apply to the final page, on which you are still writing items). Use a highlighter to mark dismissed items.
8. Once you’ve finished with the final page, re-start at the first page that is still active.

Each of these steps is explained in more detail below, but I suggest you get going now and read the rest of the instructions later. Don’t forget to put “Read the rest of the instructions” as one of your tasks. You don’t need a huge number of tasks to start with, just add tasks as you think of them or they come up.


Full Instructions

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As you think of new items, add them to the end of the list.

One of the characteristics of this system is that you can chuck anything at it. I recommend that you enter everything that comes to mind without trying to evaluate. The system itself will do the evaluation.

Read quickly through all the items on the page without taking action on any of them.

A quick read through the page allows your mind to start processing the items without pressure.

Go through the page more slowly looking at the items in order until one stands out for you.

This is the heart of the system. Don’t try to prioritise items mentally - this will interfere with the balance between the rational and intuitive parts of your mind. Instead wait for a feeling of release about an item. It’s hard to describe but easy to recognise. You just feel that the item is ready to be done. If you go on down the page, you may find that you feel drawn back to that item. Once you get that feeling about a task all resistance to doing the task vanishes, and it becomes easy to do.

Work on that item for as long as you feel like doing so

Don’t force yourself to continue working on the item for longer than you feel right doing so. This system encourages a “little and often” approach. Once you feel you’ve done enough, stop.

Cross the item off the list, and re-enter it at the end of the list if you haven’t finished it

Actually it’s better to re-enter it first and then cross the item off because then you are less likely to lose your place, but I have to admit I’m not very good at remembering to do it in that order. Re-entry of items is an essential part of the system. You should re-enter everything which is done on a recurring basis (e.g. e-mail, paper, exercise), everything you are still working on (e.g. draft article or report), everything which needs follow up (e.g. Mike replied to email yet?), and extended tasks like reading a book, magazine or journal. You may also need to enter next steps or follow-up items. I find that about half to two-thirds of my tasks require re-entry in one form or another.

Continue going round the same page in the same way. Don’t move onto the next page until you complete a pass of the page without any item standing out

Treating each page as a unit allows you to get the benefit of “structured procrastination”, which is based on the fact that procrastination is relative. In other words any task becomes easy if it is a choice between doing it or another harder task.

Move onto the next page and repeat the process

You may find that you pass through a page very quickly or spend a considerable time working your way round it. Either way is fine - just let the “standing out” method guide you.

If you go to a page and no item stands out for you on your first pass through it, then all the outstanding items on that page are dismissed without re-entering them. Use your highlighter to mark dismissed items.

This is where the system finally gets rid of all the items which you entered without evaluation, but which the system has sifted and found wanting. This may happen very quickly (for instance if you have entered a long list of books you are thinking of reading), but more usually quite slowly.

Please take the rule not to re-enter these items seriously. It doesn’t mean you can never re-enter them, but you should let some time pass before you do and consider carefully why they were rejected, whether they really need to be done at all, whether the time is ripe for them to be done, whether they distract from your main goals, and any other factors. When you do re-enter a dismissed item, it is often best to break it down or re-phrase it in some way.

Highlighting rejected items helps you to review them easily.

Remember that this rule does not apply to the page on which you are still writing items (i.e. the last page).

Once you’ve finished with the last page, re-start at the first page that is still active.

I mark pages that are no longer active with a cross at the top outside corner of the page, and put a circle round the cross when there are no active pages before that page. That makes it easy to find the first active page. You may find the number of active pages varies considerably from time to time. At the time of writing I have nine, but it’s varied from three or four up to fifteen.

This system can be quite addictive (at least that’s what I’ve found) so you may find it a good idea to set strict working hours. Stop dead when the time is up, and start again at the same place when it’s time to start again. I admit I am not very good at following this advice myself!

Backlogs
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You may already have some backlogs of work when you start this system. If you have a backlog of tasks then I recommend you enter all the tasks into the system in one go and let it sift them. If you find some of them end up being rejected then you need to ask serious questions about whether they really need doing at all.

However with backlogs of email and paper there is a danger that a large backlog may get in the way of the efficient processing of newly arriving emails and papers. So I recommend moving your backlog(s) into separate folders and having tasks called “Email Backlog” and/or “Paper Backlog” as well as the standard “Clear Email” and “Clear Intray”.

Why it works
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The system works by providing a framework which balances the rational and intuitive parts of the brain.

If we try to run our lives with our rational brain only, we will tend to make plans which are subverted by our own minds because our minds don’t work on purely rational grounds. Most of us have experienced occasions on which we know (with our rational brain) that we would be better served to do certain things, but nevertheless our natural inclination is to reject them.

On the other hand, if we try to run our lives by following our natural inclinations only we will have a strong tendency to drift, become impulsive and act irrationally.

However when these two ways of thinking are in balance we are able to make rational decisions which are fully in accord with our deeper feelings and emotions. The Autofocus system provides a framework which enables this. Although I talk about “the system” making the choices, what I really mean is that the system provides a framework which allows us to make these balanced decisions ourselves in a non-stressful way.

Dos and Don’ts
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DO trust the system. Because of the way it is structured it will help you to produce better decisions than you would unaided.

DO use common sense. If something comes up which needs doing immediately, do it immediately.

DON’T try to pre-edit what you put into the system. If you do, you will be using a less efficient means of prioritising than the system itself.

DO expect things to move at different rates. Some things will move fast, some slowly, some will stop for a period, and some will be rejected altogether. This is how it’s supposed to work.

DON’T use this system for things which need to be done at specific times of day. These might include preparing meals, music practice, shutting up shop, etc.

DO read through all the outstanding items on your list when you come back to it after an extended break. This will help your mind to get an overview of what needs to be done.

DON’t forget to put follow-ups and reminders into the system. These are an essential way of keeping track of your work.

DO include plenty of creative tasks such as “Think about…”, “Investigate…”; “Discuss…”; “Review…”

DO put the date next to the first item you add each day. Although not essential to the system, it helps you to monitor progress.

DON’T leave your list without some means of recording ideas and tasks which come into your mind.

DO use some means of bringing forward tasks which can only be done at a future date (Tickler file, Outlook reminders, Calendar, etc.)

DO use a separate notebook and list for each location, e.g. Home, Workplace.

The First Day of the New System!

Well, there was certainly quite a reaction to the issue of the Autofocus instructions! There was a huge number of comments and postings by people anxious to understand the system and get the most out of it, and by the end of the day there were quite a number of postings from people who had tried it out and found it was working very well for them.

I think I’ve just got a couple of general observations:

1. There were a lot of postings from people who wanted to get every detail of the system and how it would work clear in their minds before starting it. This is very understandable, but you can only really appreciate this system by actually working it. That’s why in the instructions I gave a Quick Start guide. My advice is start working the system and then worry about the details!
2. More disturbingly (to me anyway) there were a lot of people who were suggesting modifications to the system that they were going to make before starting it. This is the wrong way round. What you need to do is work the system exactly as written and then make modifications to it to suit your style.

How did the system stand up for me during what was an exceptional day for me by any standards?

Answer: brilliantly. I just trusted the system and it took me through the day without any worries, strain or panic. Everything that needed to be done got done, and quite a lot else as well. I ended the day completely up to date with replying to the Comments on the website (it seemed like thousands!) and completely up to date with email (ditto). It’s now 9.55am and I’ve already cleared all the comments and email that came in overnight.

This was a very different day for me from the the days during which I have so far used Autofocus. I was extremely pleased (though not surprised) at how easily it adjusted itself to the different circumstances.

Thanks to everyone who is taking part in this trial for your enthusiasm and interest. I hope you will find yourselves well rewarded!

New Registrations for Beta Testing

Several people have written to me asking if they are too late to join the Beta testing. The answer is that Beta testers are still very much welcome.

To sign up go to the Email Newsletter sign up box in the right hand margin, enter your email address and when the next page comes up tick the Beta Testing box.

If you are already signed up for my newsletter this box will not appear. Instead press the Submit button and you will be sent an email with instructions about how to change your subscription details.

I send out the Autofocus instructions on a daily basis to all new subscribers. You should therefore receive them either the day you subscribe or the following day.

Comments and Emails

The comments and emails have been coming in thick and fast. I’ve been answering every one that seemed to need an answer, but it’s just possible that I’ve missed some. So if your query or comment appears to have been ignored, please draw my attention to it or re-post it.

Snow

Snow has caused me to abort my trip to Stafford today, so I will be at home to answer all the queries coming out of the launch of the Autofocus system. Quite a few already - must get to work!

Developing One's Vision

The instructions for the new Autofocus system are scheduled to be distributed at 1am EST tomorrow morning (Monday). That’s 6am GMT for those who live in the United Kingdom. Whether you live in America or the United Kingdom you should have them in time for work tomorrow. Go to the Quick Start guide in the instructions and you will be rolling!

I am going to be away all day tomorrow, so please don’t expect any immediate replies from me to comments or emails about the new system. Don’t let that stop you sending them in though!

One thing that’s become very clear to me throughout the preparation for Autofocus has been how the vision for it has developed through working on it. I didn’t draw up a plan at the beginning and I didn’t even have a very clear idea of where I was heading. In fact at the time I thought I had just succeeded in retiring from work - that didn’t last very long!

What I did was to take what seemed to be the next action. As I progressed more actions became clear and I took them. Some of the actions which I dreamed up, died a natural death once I started looking at them more closely. So for instance there are no elaborate videos on how to work the system, nor are there any onerous forms for testers to fill in. If I had done these things, we would be waiting until Easter for the testing to begin and all momentum would have been lost.

The Autofocus system fits naturally into this way of working. Because it encourages a “little and often” approach and an intuitive sifting of possible actions, it is an ideal system for riding the crest of a wave - and also for spotting likely waves as they approach!

New Developments Update No. 6

I’m just in the process of finishing my final draft of the instructions for the Autofocus system, which are due to go out on Monday. At the moment there are 1,304 people signed up for the Beta testing so I think I am going to have plenty of correspondence once people start trying the new system out.

It’s still working brilliantly for me - in spite of the fact that I have deliberately been trying to overload it - something which is only too easy to do with most time management systems. The most exciting part for me has been that it has kept me concentrating on what is really important without my necessarily being clear what that is. What I mean is that it’s only with hindsight, looking on back on what I’ve done, that I can see what the system is putting the emphasis on and what it is rejecting. Just about always it’s clear to me that the system has caused me to made better choices than I would have on my own.

Now that life is returning to normal after the Christmas and New Year lull, I expect to find that the emphasis will change - it’ll be interesting to see how.

Most Popular Articles

The most popular articles on this website over the past month were:

Do It Tomorrow

To Do Lists: How We Love Them

New Developments: Testers Wanted

The Simplest Time Management System

Future Developments

The Best of GTD and DIT

Autofocus: The Book Selection

“Do It Tomorrow” Chapter One

My favourite time management tool

Top 10 tips for keeping your life moving

New Developments Update No. 5

At the time of writing I have 715 people signed up for the trial of my new system and I have had many comments and emails about how excited people are about the launch of the Beta Testing on January 5th. We are right on schedule for that date.

My own testing of the system has continued to go unbelievably well, and has even survived being used over the Christmas season. With most time management systems I get to the stage of having to force myself to continue using it. This has not been the case at all with this new system. Quite the reverse - I actually have to tear myself away from it. Which is pretty sad, I have to admit!

The other thing that I frequently find with time management systems is that I start to get frustrated because I am not doing as much as I want to. Again this has not been the case with the new system. It has adjusted perfectly to whatever has been going on at the time, and I’ve always been happy that it has enabled me to do whatever is really important to me. I emphasize “to me” because so many goal setting systems imprison us in what we think ought to be important to us.

So, a complete absence of procrastination, a sense of being on top of everything that matters to me, and a renewed vision of where I want to go and what I want to do - is that enough to make me feel this is the most important discovery I have ever made?

Click on the New System category link at the bottom of this email to see all previous postings on this subject.

Review: "The To-Do List" by Mike Gayle

I have just finished reading Mike Gayle’s new book The To-Do List, in which the author gives himself the task of completing in one year a to-do list of 1,277 things which he’s been meaning to get around to, but hasn’t. I expect most of us could draw up a similar list of unactioned items.

I’m not going to spoil the story by saying whether he succeeds - suffice it say that one of the people he consulted before he started was me!

The book is very entertaining and very instructive too. See how a to-do list can take on a life of its own. Even when he got discouraged and give it up he found that he was still mentally ticking off items. By the end he has discovered a lot about himself and about what is important in life.

In short: well worth reading.

An Easy Challenge or Is It?

This is an article which I wrote while in the process of writing “Do It Tomorrow”.

I have been developing some new exercises for my new book “Do it Tomorrow” which is scheduled for publication around June 2006. I thought I would take the opportunity to share one of them with you, especially as I would like some feedback to include in the book!

This exercise is designed to make you more aware of how much or how little you are actually in control of your day. By making you more aware it should also help you to improve your control.

The exercise consists of a daily challenge in which you compete against yourself to score as many points as possible each day.

To score points, you have to decide the previous day how many points you are going to attempt to score the following day. Then you write down a list comprising that number of tasks. So for example if you decide you want to try to score three points the following day, you write down a list of three tasks. So you might write down 1) buy new calculator 2) call my sister 3) mow the lawn. The tasks should be simple and specific so that at the end of the day you either have done them or you haven’t. Then you score one point for each completed task.

That sounds easy enough doesn’t it? But there’s a catch. You only score the points if you complete every item on the list that day. If you haven’t completed every item, then you score no points at all for that day – no excuses accepted!

This of course is exactly what we don’t do when we are drawing up our to-do lists or plans for the day. We don’t draw up our list of things to do in the expectation of completing it. The result is that our days are poorly planned and at the prey of random factors. Use this exercise to see how many items you can work up to. Start with just a few – possibly even one – and keep working at the exercise day by day until you can write quite a long list and still be sure of finishing it. You may find it much more difficult than you expect. The key is to do the items on the list first thing - before you embark on the rest of the day’s work.

Try this out for a week or so and then let me know how you get on and particularly let me know of any insights you get from trying it. You may even get a mention in my book!

The book is out now - but I’m still very happy to hear how you got on if you have tried this exercise.

One Thing at a Time

Here is another of my old articles which contributed towards the development of the concept of the Current Initiative in “Do It Tomorrow”

One of the most important time management principles, to which I have often referred in the past, is one thing at a time.

This principle is at its most powerful when applied to getting projects under way. I know that it’s not always possible to be working on only one project at a time, but it’s a lot more possible than we are usually prepared to allow.

What I mean by a project is a desired result that takes a series of actions to complete. There’s no hard and fast dividing line between an action and a project because virtually any action can be turned into a project just by breaking it down further. But basically if you think of a project as a collection of actions leading to a specific result you will not go too wrong.

For the purposes of this article I want to distinguish between two types of project:

There’s the type which involves recurrent activity over a long period, such as learning a language, writing a book, getting fit, etc. The actions are similar to each other, and the effect comes from the regular consistent repetition of the activity. The best way of dealing with this type of activity is to schedule a specific time of day for it every day (or whatever time interval is appropriate). This article is not about this type of project.

The other type of project usually involves organising something. It consists of a series of separate and distinct activities leading to a specific result. It is this second type of project that I am dealing with in this article.

You almost certainly have many of this second type of project that you are desperately trying to find time for. Imagine for instance that you have all the following to get through:

* Write report for Client X
* Update website
* Change your stationery supplier
* Research potential new clients
* Prepare for business presentation
* Implement new marketing strategy
* Decide on new pricing
* Select next month’s special offers
* Edit mailshot
* Organise party for clients
* Put forward proposals to the board
*
Deal with records backlog

Most people faced with a list of projects like this deal with them on the “headless chicken” principle. They rush around doing a bit here and a bit there, constantly getting distracted by whatever is making the most noise at the time. What usually happens is that the ones which have become pressingly urgent get finished, while the others languish.

Yet by applying the one thing at a time principle they can in fact be done quite quickly. And certainly much more effectively and less stressfully than by the headless chicken approach.

Here’s how to do it.

First of all list all your outstanding projects. Split really large projects into separate phases. Next decide in what order to do them. The best way to decide the order is by urgency, rather than importance. After all if they are not important, what are they doing on your project list in the first place? You are too valuable to be doing unimportant work.

So after arranging the items by urgency, the above list might come out something like this:

* Prepare for business presentation
* Select next month’s special offers
* Edit mailshot
* Write report for Client X
* Decide on new pricing
* Put forward proposals to the board
* Research potential new clients
* Design new marketing strategy
* Organise party for clients
* Update website
* Change stationery supplier
*
Deal with records backlog

The next step is to ask yourself for each project in turn “If this was the only project I had, how long would it take me to finish it?” And then plot your estimated date for completing that project.

Today is 16 October but you don’t intend to work over the weekend, so 18 October is your first working day. The first project, the business presentation, will take a day to complete so you estimate it will be completed on 18 October. The next project, the special offers, will also take a day so you estimate 19 October.

After you’ve been right through the list it might look something like this:

* Prepare for business presentation 1 18 Oct
* Select next month’s special offers 1 19 Oct
* Edit mailshot 2 21 Oct
* Write report for Client X 2 25 Oct
* Decide on new pricing 1 26 Oct
* Put forward proposals to the board 2 28 Oct
* Research potential new clients 3 2 Nov
* Design new marketing strategy 2 4 Nov
* Organise party for clients 2 8 Nov
* Update website 2 10 Nov
* Change stationery supplier 1 11 Nov
*
Deal with records backlog 3 16 Nov

So in one month you should have dealt with every project you had on your original list. If you get behind or ahead with the projects, make sure you adjust the estimated completion dates for all the projects. That will help to keep you right on track.

I’m sure you are saying to yourself “Well, that’s all very well, but new projects are coming in all the time. What do I do with them?”

The answer is simple: add them on to the end of the queue!

If that’s not feasible because the project really can’t wait, then enter it in your list so that the estimated completion date is early enough for the project’s purposes. Change all the completion dates for later projects, and you will then be able to see exactly what effect taking the new project on is going to have on the rest of your work.

TIP: Don’t completely erase the old estimated completion dates when you revise them. That way you keep a record of how many changes you have needed to make. Examining that record can tell you a lot about your workload and the way you are tackling it.