A New Question for FVP, Simple Scanning and Life in General

When I was very young, back in the early fifties, before the advent of domestic central heating, I lost count of the number of times I put my homework off for hour after hour until I ended up having to wake myself up to do it at 6 a.m. on a freezing cold morning. 

I think the memory of those cold mornings, and the knowledge that it was entirely my own fault that I got myself into that mess, sparked a life-time interest in time management. But it wasn’t until nearly seventy years later that I finally realised WHY I kept getting myself into this easily avoidable situation.

The completely obvious reason, which had eluded me for so long, was that I was paying more attention to my resistance to starting my homework than to my resistance to doing my homework in a freezing unheated bedroom at 6 o’clock in the morning.

In other words I was paying more attention to how I felt about doing it than to how I felt about the consequences of not doing it.

Or to put it yet another way I was resisting doing it, rather than resisting not doing it.

I was ignoring the negative consequences.

I realised that there are two types of motivator - 1) the positive motivator of succeeding at what you have set out to do, and 2) the negative motivator of having to live with the consequences of not succeeding in doing it.

And then I realised something else. In spite of what every self-motivation book tells you, negative motivation is far more effective than positive motivation. 

My problem with getting my homework done was that the positive motivation of getting it finished was far too weak to overcome the negative motivation of having to stop playing with my toys or listening to the radio (we didn’t get television until 1953). But what if I had concentrated instead on the negative consequences of not doing it?

Ten years later I found myself in the Army. The Army is renowned for negative motivation. But it certainly produces results. Have a look at this parade from 1962 - I’m somewhere in the back rank of the company receiving the Colour. Negative motivation it may be, but 59 years later being a part of that parade is one of the proudest memories in my life.

Anyway what all this is leading up to is that I’ve been puzzling recently why I’ve never felt entirely happy that I have found the right question for FVP, Simple Scanning and the other methods which use a question.

So looking at the most popular questions:

1. No Question and Standing Out. These come down to identifying what one feels needs doing, based on the premise that our minds are capable of subconsciously identifying the most important factors. This is well and good but I realised that they identify the positive consequences of doing the task, rather than the negative consequences of not doing it. 

2. The same applies to such questions as What is the most important thing that I could do now? Something may not seem to be that important to do, but be very important to avoid failing to do. 

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

This sounds just like me, for want of doing my homework and missing Muffin the Mule, having to get up at 6 a.m. and work in the freezing cold in an unheated bedroom.

So the new question I have come up with focuses on the negative consequences of not doing the task, rather than the positive consequences of doing it:

What am I resisting NOT doing? (Note that the question is not What am I resisting, not doing? The comma would change the meaning completely)

This question is the reverse of What am I resisting doing? as it measures my resistance to the negative consequences of failing to do the task, rather than the negative feelings associated with doing the task. And once I’ve experienced how much I am resisting those negative consequences, I will want to do the task rather than avoid it.

So to go back to the little tale about the nail and the horseshoe, the farrier might say to himself “What am I resisting not doing? I’m resisting not getting hold of one more nail because I know that having badly shoed horses can be fatal in a battle and this is going to be a very important battle indeed.” Only he wouldn’t need to say it because the feeling of resistance would say it for him.

There are several additional forms this question can take:

What am I most resisting NOT doing?

This is the form I use as a stand-alone question (i.e. without any list) or with Simple Scanning, The Bounce and suchlike methods.

What am I resisting NOT doing now?

This is similar to the previous question but with an increased emphasis on immediacy.

With FV, FVP and other similar comparison methods, the question is:

What am I resisting NOT doing more than x?

————————

How well does the new question work?

Amazingly well in my experience so far. For one thing it is very time sensitive. Another thing I’ve found is that it gives a very strong “hit”, which means that I can scan very fast if I’m using a list.

In the short time I’ve been using it, it has immensely improved the quality of my life by ensuring that negatives are removed. If you think of all the negatives caused in your life by “not yet getting round to sorting [problem/mess/disorder] out”, you can see what this means. It also has meant that I prepare earlier and better for meetings and such like.

Your mileage may of course vary. But I would be very pleased to have your comments after you’ve tried it out with your favourite system.

Another Experiment

For the last couple of days I’ve been experimenting with a variant of Autofocus 2. This was a system which I developed in response to the perception that Autofocus had difficulty dealing with urgent tasks once the list had grown beyond a certain size - which it inevitably did.

Unfortunately Autofocus 2 suffered from the same problem in reverse. It was great at dealing with urgent tasks - which is why I still use it for panic lists - but not so good at dealing with non-urgent tasks, particularly the more difficult ones which tended to congregate at the beginning of the list.

So I’ve been looking at how I can improve Autofocus 2 so that it keeps its ability to deal with urgent tasks, but keeps the work going on the beginning of the list as well.

I’ve found a very simple change which seems to solve the problem. Just divide the list into two. Here’s how:

1. Draw up a list of things to be done. Keep it reasonably short at this stage. My first attempt was 23 tasks long and so far it’s working fine.

2. Draw a line at the end of the list. Everything that you enter or re-enter from now on goes after the line. 

3. You have now two parts, the Old List and the New List.

4. You scan from the end of the Old List back towards the beginning of the list. When you come to a task that stands out as being ready to do, you do it. Then delete it and, if there is still work to be done on it or if it will recur again within the next few days, re-enter it at the end of the New List.

5. Now scan back from the end of the New List in the same way. When a task stands out do it and re-enter it as necessary.

6. If no task stands out continue your scan in the Old List as in 4.

7. Continue in this way, scanning for one task in each list alternately until there are no more tasks in the Old List. When this happens draw a line at the end of the New List which becomes the Old List, and start a New List.

8. Please note carefully that if no task stands out in a List, just carry straight on to the other list. But if a task does stand out, once you’ve done it you do not scan further in that list but move immediately to the other list.

The rules sound more complicated than they actually are. In fact it’s a very simple procedure.

If anyone wants to accompany me in this experiment, please do so. Your comments are welcome.

P.S. Make sure that 1) you always scan backwards from the end of a list towards the beginning. 2) you only pick one task before moving on to the other list.

One last point. When the Old List is down to just a few tasks and none of them get selected on repeated scans of the list you may either delete them or move them to the end of the New List (which will then be free to become the Old List).

How To Do The Same Old Thing (Again)

In the comments on the previous post there have been a few mentions of ten task systems. This reminded me of a very effective long-list system which I’ve mentioned before but never made a big thing of. I think it deserves another outing.

How to Do The Same Old Thing - Blog - Get Everything Done (squarespace.com)

I was using it yesterday and had a very satisfactory day. As I’ve said more than once, first days can be deceptive. So I’m looking forward with interest to how it goes today.

The characteristics of the system are that it is quite fast and is good for both difficult and urgent tasks. It makes excellent use of the principle of Structured Procrastination.

Experimenting with a New System - Day 2. Disaster!

The first day of the system I described yesterday went extremely well, as I described in the update at the end of the post.

Unfortunately today (Day 2) I discovered the logical flaw in the system, which I should have spotted before I started.

The flaw is that on Day 1, the first task on the list is a random task. It might be any degree of difficulty. The one I started with yesterday was an easy task. So my first pass through the list consisted of easy tasks. 

But when I started on Day 2, the first task on the list was far from easy. The reason is that the day before I’d cleared out all the easy tasks at the front of the list, so it was bound to be quite difficult.  And indeed it was one I was resisting quite a bit.

That meant that when I started on my first pass through the list today I found that I was doing nearly every task on the list. So instead of the fast easy passes I did the day before, I was labouring through the entire list and by the end of the working day hadn’t even completed one pass.

Back to the drawing board!

Experimenting with a New System

I’ve been trying out a new long-list system today, which resembles FVP a bit, but not a lot.

Anyone who wants to try it out at the same time as me is welcome to tell us how they get on in the Comments below.

How it works: 

1. Draw up a list. You can add more tasks to it as you go along.
2. Dot the first task (as in FV and FVP)
3. Go through the list task by task, asking the question “What do I want to do more than x?” (where x is the dotted task).
4. When you come to a task that you want to do more than x, do it. (This is where it is quite different from FV and FVP.
5. As in all my systems, you work on a task for as long as you feel like it, and then re-enter it at the end of the list if there is still work to be done on it or if it is a recurring task.
6. Continue down the list asking “What do I want to do more than x?” and doing the tasks which the question identifies. This is again quite different from FV and FVP, because x continues to refer to the first task on the list. You are in fact comparing every task on the list with the first unactioned task.
7. When you reach the end of the list, return to the beginning of the list and do the first task.
8. Dot the next unactioned task, and repeat. 

The system is intended to make use of the principle of Structured Procrastination. The more you are resisting the first task, the more tasks you will do on your pass through the list.

My first day’s report is that it seems to be very fast and very effective, but I know only too well that first day’s results can be deceiving. We will see!

AFTERNOTE:

At the end of Day 1, I have done 70 out of 133 tasks.

Just Suppose...

It’s sometimes useful to play a game of make-believe, and this is particulary relevant when one is dealing with the future from the perspective of the present, as when thinking about how best to manage one’s time.

So, just suppose for a minute that you have no resistance to your work at all. All you have to do is to decide what to do next and you can do it without a moment’s hesistation or reluctance. 

For most of us that is probably quite an unlikely scenario. But if your fairy godmother waved her magic wand over you and all your resistance disappeared for ever, what then?

Would you still need some sort of time management system?

If so, what would such a time management system look like?

Would you take on more work or less work?

Would you stay in the same work or move to something different?

Would you have more or less leisure time?

Would having no resistance result in your having more or less focus?

Would your lack of resistance tempt you to take on work which is beyond your skills?

Answers in the comments please!

The Someday/Maybe List

I’ve forgotten who originally came up with the name “Someday/Maybe List”, but it’s a common expression in time management circles. The idea is that you keep a list of all the things you would like (or ought) to do in the future, but don’t have the time or inclination for at the moment.

Its purpose is to prevent your current list from growing too much by moving all the things you know you’re not going to get round to at present into a list for the future.

I applaud the idea of preventing your list from growing too much, but in my opinion there are several problems with the Someday/Maybe List concept. One is that the list tends to grow and grow and grow, and another is that the vast majority of the tasks and projects on it never get started. What’s more some of the projects may just have been temporary enthusiams which quickly became outdated.

Here’s how to make a someday/maybe list that really works:

1.  Draw up a list of everything that you want to do sometime in the future but haven’t got time for at the moment.
2. Revisit the list several times over the next couple of days and add any further tasks or projects which have occurred to you in the meantime.
3. Choose one thing off the list that you are going to start TODAY.
4. Tear up the list and throw it away.

 Lo and behold, you have got one of your future projects under way. What’s more you don’t need the list, because all you have to do when you want to start another someday/maybe project is go through the process again. 

“But what happens if I forget about one of my projects?”

Well, if you forgot about it it couldn’t have been that important to you, could it?

Testimonial: Secrets of Productive People's 5/2 System

I’ve received the following testimonial from a reader of Secrets of Productive People who wishes to remain anonymous:

I would like to express appreciation for the very simple and effective time-management technique in chapter 9 of your book “Secrets of Productive People.” 

At the end of last week, my work was in a mess. For several weeks I had been overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to do, and most days I had been doing very little real work at all. I didn’t know where to start.

My office was untidy and I had a mountain of jobs to do, stacks of papers, unanswered emails, and unfinished projects, with no idea of what I had done and what still remained to do. 

I read your five-task system over the weekend and started using it on Monday morning. I can honestly say that I have had one of the most productive weeks of my life. Not only that, but I enjoyed every minute of it!

The time flew by. I could see I was making progress constantly. A lot of the jobs I had been frightened of actually took very little time. Some didn’t actually need to be done at all! 

I enjoyed the fact that I always had a choice about what job I wanted to do next.  I had time to prepare myself mentally for some of the more challenging tasks, seeing them there on the list.  I was easily able to cope when unexpected extra jobs came along. And at the end of each day, I could see exactly what I had achieved, with the satisfaction of a list of tasks crossed off.

I cleared my entire backlog, set up some new systems, and even took some new initiatives. All this in between meetings, despite fairly regular interruptions from colleagues as well as the fact that I was suffering from insomnia for most of the week!

So thank you very much for what is a very powerful productivity system. I thoroughly recommend it and am looking forward to trying some of your other suggestions.

Email Address

Please note that the email address given in my books markforster@aol.com is no longer in use. 

Instead use the address given in the Contact tab in the top menu.

Which is the Best System?

Everyone will have their own answer to this question. This is my answer for me and is not intended to disrupt anyone who has already found a method which suits them well.

I have spent most of the lockdown comparing the different dynamics of the most popular systems which have been promulgated on this website or in my books. I haven’t made any attempt to compare them with methods published elsewhere.

The first question I asked myself was “Which is best, No List, Day List, Long List or no time management system at all?

The vast majority of people in the world get on perfectly well without any time management system at all or with perhaps a few reminders at best. So the next question I had to ask myself was “Would I get on better with no system at all?”. In my case that is not a difficult question to answer. Long experience has taught me that without some form of system I very quickly descend into chaos. In fact that’s why I started investigating time management systems in the first place. For me, any system is better than no system.

So having established that I am much more effective with a system than without one, the next question was which type of system is best? No list, day list or long list?

I won’t go into all the ins and outs of my comparisons. Enough to say that long list was the clear winner, provided that: 

• The list is comprehensive (which doesn’t mean it can’t be built up over a period)
• There is no chopping and changing of systems. By their very nature, long list systems need time to mature.
• The list is worked intuitively.

So the next question was naturally “Which is the best long list system for me”?

The most basic is Simple Scanning. I have in the past considered this to be the best as well as the simplest system. But it does have some disadvantages: 

• It’s boring. This may sound a rather frivolous reason but one of the characteristics of a good system is that it maintains interest and motivation. Just going round and round a list gets to be a bit mind-numbing.
• There’s not enough encouragement to get moving on tasks which have been on the list for a long time.
• There’s also not enough encouragement to keep moving on tasks or projects which have been started

I don’t intend to review all the many long-list methods on this site. So I’ll move straight on to the winner, which is The Final Version Perfected (FVP). Why do I consider that to be better (a lot better) than Simple Scanning? 

• It’s not boring. The way the list is processed keeps interest alive and encourages engagement with the individual tasks on the list as well as the list as a whole.
• The sorting method is designed so that every task on the list will get dealt with. The progress towards the early tasks on the list is inevitable. The algorithm used ensures this. So indefinite skipping over tasks is not possible.
• Once a task starts moving, the pressure is kept up on it until it is completed. This applies whether it is a new or an old task. It will deal equally well with small routine tasks and major projects. What’s more there is no need to differentiate between these when working the list. 

One can get through an immense amount of work using this method.  

I have found that the best and quickest way to use the list is not to use a question, but simply to use “standing out”. If you work it consistently the list will find its own balance.

N.B. I’ve been having problems getting the blog editor to open which has resulted in my not being able to add links to this post. I’ll add links as and when the glitch clears. Meanwhile you are advised to use the search box in the right margin to find the meaning of any terms you don’t understand.

New Blog Post Coming Soon

I’m well into writing an article on which is the best of my systems. This is the result of much experimentation during the lock-down.

One definite winner emerged.

Anyone like to guess which it is?

Reverse AF2

At the moment I’ve gone back to Reverse AF2, which was one of the contenders for my entry in the Lenten Challenge 2010.

Judging by the amount of success I’m having with it now, I’d have probably stayed the course if I’d entered it as my system for the Challenge. As it was I made a bad call and made using no system at all my entry  - that didn’t last long!

If anyone is looking for a very simple system which puts the emphasis on the oldest items on the list, but can still react to urgent stuff, then I recommend them to try it.

The shorter your list, the better the method works. So it’s best to use it with a day list, i.e. a list of what you intend to do that day.

Lenten Challenge 2020

LESS THAN A DAY TO GO!

Challenge ends 11.59 pm 9 April. Don’t fall out within sight of the finish!

But please let us know if you do fall out (Comment Section on this thread is no longer closed)

——————————————————————————— 

We intend to run our traditional Lenten Challenge this year.

The idea is to commit yourself to using the same time management method every day for the whole of Lent without changing to a different method. 

This year Lent runs from Wednesday 26 February to Thursday 9 April (both inclusive). 

If you wish, you may leave out non-working days if you do not normally use a time management method at home. You should be consistent about this though.

This is not intended to imply any religious affiliation or purpose whatsoever.

Last year a good proportion of people completed the challenge. Let’s make it 100% this year. I myself intend to use Reverse AF2, which is basically the same as Simple Scanning except that you scan from the beginning of the list each time. 

You can sign in for the Challenge any time before the start of Lent (your local time) in the comments to this post (or email me). All you need to give is your screen name and the system you intend to use. You can use your own system if you like. You can change the system you’re going to use right up to the start of the Challenge. If you change it after the start of the Challenge you’ve failed!

ADDITIONAL NOTE:

The whole point of the Challenge is that it is an exercise in consistency, i.e. sticking to the same thing for a set period of time. So to play fairly you should get your system in as good shape as possible before the start of the Challenge, but then keep further modifications until the Challenge is over (or you’ve pulled out, whichever is first).

ENTRIES SO FAR:

1. vegheadjones - sorted list with 3T timeboxing

2. avrum - own system

3. Mike Brown - Simple Scanning

4. foleymeister - Simple Scanning

5. Taran - FFVP (modified)

6. Athaban - 5T

7. Ian - Simple Scanning

8. Seraphim - DIT with TOC Thinking Processes

9. MrDone - Real Autofocus

10. Myself - No system (which means I lose if I use any TM system at all)

11. Will - Simple Scanning

12. tomcal - Serial No-List with MS To Do

13. Ville - Reverse AF2 + Simple Scanning

14. Colin - DIT

15. Sathya - Dreams/ Self dialogue in the morning; Trello - for task management

16. Jens - ‘Entry by Doing’ No-List

17. Laby - Reverse AF2 (last 3 pages only)

18. Brenda - AF4

19. diweon - GTD + AF + 2T (with timer)

20. Alan Baljeu - Own system (Well Structured Day)

21. Nia - ASEM

22. Sitkeys - Ultimate Time Management System

23. darth pinata - Own system (LL-WL-DL)

24. Lauren - Simple Scanning

25. Cricket - Own system

26. Caibre65 - FV

27. Lisa F - ASEM

28. Shamil - Halving and AF2

29. Cameron - Simple Scanning + SWEETs

30. Tesshu - DIT + Dreams

31. Fintan - DIT

32. Adam T - Simple Scanning

33. Erin - Spinning Plates

34. Carmen - UTMS

35. Ian O - One-day FVP

36. Christopher - Simple Scanning (digital)

37. Eugenia - Simple Scanning

Ten Tasks

I don’t know that I’ve ever described this method - if I have, I can’t find it.

After long experience with “long list” systems I’ve found this one to be the best of the lot.

It goes like this: 

1. Write out your initial list. Keep it quite short at this stage, but more than ten tasks. Keep adding tasks.
2. Count the first ten. Draw a line in the margin to show where they end.
3. Circulate round the first ten actioning all those that stand out.
4. When no more stand out, count the next ten and draw a line to show where they end.
5. Circulate round the ten tasks as in 2.
6. Keep doing this until you reach the end of the list. Delete the old markers.
7. Go back to the beginning and count ten active tasks.
8. Carry on as in 3-6 above 

This is a bit like AF1 except that there is a constant initial page length of ten tasks.

Questions?

Working from Home

As a result of the worldwide Coronavirus crisis many people who do not normally work full-time from home are having to. 

Here’s how to supercharge your work.

You can concentrate your work by taking advantage of the “end effect” which I wrote about extensively in my first book “Get Everything Done”. The way to do this is to work to the “school timetable”. This is two periods of 40 minutes with a 10 minute break between them, followed by a break of 30 minutes, with another two periods of 40 minutes. Then an hour and a half’s break for lunch, followed by the same again. Assuming a 9 o’clock start the working periods are as follows:

0900-0940

0950-1030

Break

1100-1140

1150-1230

Lunch

1400-1440

1450-1530

Break

1600-1640

1650-1730

If you want to finish at 5, then you can reduce the lunch break by half an hour. 

It’s very important that, whatever work periods you decide on, you stick to them to the second. This is because a definite start and finish time produces much more concentrated work than just working while you feel like it. A definite end time produces much better work then just carrying on for as long as you feel like it.

Reverse AF2 Experiment

I’m going to try the experiment of alternating between AF2 and Reverse AF2.

In the past I’ve done this by starting scans alternately from the end and the beginning of the list. However I’ve found this constant oscillation between the end and the beginning rather detrimental to keeping my attention consistent.

So what I’m going to do initially is that during the even hours (8 am, 4 pm, midnight, etc.) I will scan from the end of the list (i.e. AF2) and during odd hours (9 am, 1 pm, 5pm) I will scan from the beginning of the list.

I could also try odd/even days (1st of month etc) or weeks (week 11 of the year). I doubt if it’ll be necessary to try odd/even months or years!

It’s now 18:17 according to my computer - an even hour - so I’m going to be using AF2 scanning for the next 43 minutes.

Reverse AF2

The sharp-eyed among you will have noticed that I have changed my own entry for the Lenten Challenge to something called Reverse AF2.

This is a long-list method, and consists of scanning the list from the beginning each time you select a new task. This is unlike Simple Scanning in which you scan the list from the task you have just done, and unlike AF2 in which you scan from the end of the list each time (which is why it’s called Reverse AF2).

The main advantages are:

1) It puts most emphasis on the beginning of the list.

2) It gives a sense of purpose as if you were pushing through the list.

The main disadvantage is that you are not continuously scanning the whole list as you would in Simple Scanning. However I’ve not yet found this to be a problem. I find I tend to be aware of what is at the end of the list because they are either new tasks which I’ve just entered or re-entered tasks which are on my mind anyway.

Lenten Challenge Starts/Started at Midnight (Your Local Time)

Here is the starting list for the Lenten Challenge 2019. I will accept last minute entries and amendments up to 11.59pm March 5th (your local time). 

At the very last moment I decided to change my own entry to a new, and so far untried, no-list method. I have no idea whether I’ll be able to keep it going.

I’m pleased to say that we have 57 entrants, which I think is a record for this.

If you fail to keep to the challenge please let us know in the comments to this post so that everyone can see. Do include a description of your experiences if you want to. Progress reports are also welcome.

If you are unable to post, then you can email me (top right tab) but please only do this if you have to.

Remember this is a challenge and not a competition, so the only person you will be deceiving if you cheat is yourself! 

STARTING LIST 

1. Myself - 10 Task No-List
2. vegheadjones - The Bounce
3. nuntym - Task Tracking Light
4. avrum - Daily-Weekly Narrative
5. Seraphim - Serial No-List
6. Divyana Adwani - Google Ecosystem
7. Will - Simple Scanning
8. Mike Brown - Serial No-List
9. Gadgets - Simple Scanning
10. Colin - Simple Scanning
11. Paul B - ASEM
12. Ville - Simple Scanning
13. teckwyn - Randomizer
14. MrBacklog - ABC simple scanning batching
15. TMac - Simple Scanning
16. Laby - Smile (Own Method)
17. Eiron Page - Productivity Bingo
18. Natalia - 4x2
19. Brenda - DIT (Do It Tomorrow) and Dreams book Combo
20. Jacqueline - Method to be confirmed
21. Eugenia - Simple Scanning
22. Fintan - DIT
23. bryane - AF2/Deep Work Combo
24. Paul MacNeil - Time Surfing
25. Andreas Vlach - Own system
26. Jordan Navarrete - AF4
27. adam - Simple Scanning
28. Pablo - Dreams
29. Caibre65 - Own Method
30. Alan Baljeu - Serial No-List
31. stefanb - AF1
32. Nia - Burner List
33. Cricket - Every-Other-Day
34. Clarablanco - AF2
35. Bence - AF2
36. flight16 - One-A-Day Randomizer
37. tomcal - Serial No-List
38. Ryan Freckleton - AF4 modified
39. KMac - Dalo
40. Cameron - Simple Scanning
41. Stuart Tattum - Weekly & Daily MVPs
42. Emma-Rae - Simple Scanning
43. Sitkeys - Own System
44. Jens - 5T
45. Dino - Halving
46. avrum - Own System
47. Mario - AF1
48. Christopher - DIT
49. Diana - Simple Scanning
50. Nordwind - T7P10 (Own System)
51. Leon - Own System
52. Silvia - AF4-3T
53. Margaret1 - Serial No-List
54. Chris Cooper - RAF modified
55. Terhorst - Simple Scanning
56. Erin - RAF
57. dgbeecher - Simple Scanning

Only Five Days to Start of Challenge!

Just to remind you that the Lenten Challenge starts on Wednesday next week. So if you haven’t already signed up, please make sure you do so before the Challenge starts. Best to do it now in case you forget - late entries will not be accepted.

Similarly if you’ve already signed up but want to change the method you have registered, don’t forget to let me know before the start of the Challenge.

I think the list is complete, but if anyone has been missed out, please let me know as soon as possible.

You can sign on or amend your entry either by email (see right tab on top menu) or by comment box (it doesn’t matter which post you put your comment on - I see all new comments together).

Sign Up for the Lenten Challenge Now!

Fifteen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty-two Twenty-three Twenty-four Twenty-seven Twenty eight Thirty Thirty-three Thirty-four Thirty-five Thirty-six Thirty-eight Thirty-nine Forty-two people have signed up for the Lenten Challenge so far with Simple Scanning the most popular choice of method. 

Several people are using methods of their own invention. This is a good chance to field test a system of your own if you have one.

You may be asking yourself the question “Why sign up now since the beginning of the Challenge is still two and a half weeks away?

You don’t have to sign up until the last minute, but signing up now gives you a chance to iron out the bugs in whatever system you intend to use. And if you find the system unsuitable then you have time to change it for another before the start of the Challenge.

You can sign up in the comments section below, or send me an email using the Contact tab in the top menu.