Discussion Forum > This month's experiment, AF plus intermediate deadlines
First Report:
The first few hours were great. I finished a lot of little things. The next evening, I was ready to declare the system useless. In two days, I had made no progress on two major projects with deadlines later this week.
This morning, though, I think I made the right choices. Those little things made a big difference. (Laundry. Clearing the front hall of vacation packing. Planning lunches for my daughter nest week. Family grocery trip. Nutritious supper cooked and served on time. Family evening. I also continued reading the last of the big books I took on vacation and started prep for a class I teach next month.)
One of the big projects due later this week (sending out advertisements to a dozen sites) requires concentration. As much as I wanted to start it early, leaving it till today (when my loudest kid is at camp) was the right choice. The other project got done overnight. My subconscious found a story that practically tells itself to round out my set for Friday.
So, despite a few concerns, the system is working.
I need to do a long-term pass very soon, though. Some simple but large projects, done just for me, that need little-and-often aren't getting it. Hopefully, more intermediate deadlines will keep the pressure up, so I make better use of my time when I can focus.
The first few hours were great. I finished a lot of little things. The next evening, I was ready to declare the system useless. In two days, I had made no progress on two major projects with deadlines later this week.
This morning, though, I think I made the right choices. Those little things made a big difference. (Laundry. Clearing the front hall of vacation packing. Planning lunches for my daughter nest week. Family grocery trip. Nutritious supper cooked and served on time. Family evening. I also continued reading the last of the big books I took on vacation and started prep for a class I teach next month.)
One of the big projects due later this week (sending out advertisements to a dozen sites) requires concentration. As much as I wanted to start it early, leaving it till today (when my loudest kid is at camp) was the right choice. The other project got done overnight. My subconscious found a story that practically tells itself to round out my set for Friday.
So, despite a few concerns, the system is working.
I need to do a long-term pass very soon, though. Some simple but large projects, done just for me, that need little-and-often aren't getting it. Hopefully, more intermediate deadlines will keep the pressure up, so I make better use of my time when I can focus.
August 13, 2012 at 14:57 |
Cricket
Cricket
Cricket, have you given up on FV, or do you view this system as an FV variant? (Myself, I've invented yet another AF1 variant which has been working very well for weeks now.)
August 13, 2012 at 19:18 |
Deven
Deven
Yes, I've given up on FV except when I need to look at the list in a different way. Try as I might, my chains were too long. I was so excited to "have permission" to work on the long-ignored projects that I couldn't focus on the ones later on the list. I didn't get through enough cycles for the list to re-organize itself. Ultimately, I didn't trust it.
Today, my new system.fell down, probably because I'm trying to start exercising again. Procrastinated. Walked. Relaxed after walking. Finally made progress on one of the big projects due later this week and prepared for tonight's meeting, but I need to call for several appointments and didn't.
Much as I think this new system has potential, I think I'll drop it. I'm reading Agile Results. The early chapters are about building short lists from my values and goals and doing them, rather than going through long lists of tasks and picking those I should work on now ignoring those that should wait.
Today, my new system.fell down, probably because I'm trying to start exercising again. Procrastinated. Walked. Relaxed after walking. Finally made progress on one of the big projects due later this week and prepared for tonight's meeting, but I need to call for several appointments and didn't.
Much as I think this new system has potential, I think I'll drop it. I'm reading Agile Results. The early chapters are about building short lists from my values and goals and doing them, rather than going through long lists of tasks and picking those I should work on now ignoring those that should wait.
August 13, 2012 at 23:46 |
Cricket
Cricket
I'm not ready to write this up yet, but here's a quick summary of my current experiment, which is working pretty well so far:
* Use 3x5 index cards instead of a notebook. Keep current card reversed on the bottom of the stack for recording new tasks. (Binder clip optional.)
* Start with AF1 rules as a base, but NO dismissal process. Instead, must action or delete at least one task when processing a card.
* Use stars to prioritize tasks (a la Prioritized FV), keep cards with more stars on top.
* After processing a card, rip it up if nothing is left, otherwise put it at the back of the stack with other cards with the same maximum number of stars.
* To select the next card to process, alternate between selecting the most urgent card (top of the stack with the most stars, using current card if necessary) and a non-urgent card (top of the stack with no stars).
I think that's about it. The index cards I'm using have 10 lines (not counting the top line, which I use for a label like "Work". I also date the cards (and lines starting a new day) for informational purposes.
Alternating between urgent and non-urgent cards felt like a big improvement, because it kept extra focus on urgent tasks without neglecting everything else in the process. YMMV.
* Use 3x5 index cards instead of a notebook. Keep current card reversed on the bottom of the stack for recording new tasks. (Binder clip optional.)
* Start with AF1 rules as a base, but NO dismissal process. Instead, must action or delete at least one task when processing a card.
* Use stars to prioritize tasks (a la Prioritized FV), keep cards with more stars on top.
* After processing a card, rip it up if nothing is left, otherwise put it at the back of the stack with other cards with the same maximum number of stars.
* To select the next card to process, alternate between selecting the most urgent card (top of the stack with the most stars, using current card if necessary) and a non-urgent card (top of the stack with no stars).
I think that's about it. The index cards I'm using have 10 lines (not counting the top line, which I use for a label like "Work". I also date the cards (and lines starting a new day) for informational purposes.
Alternating between urgent and non-urgent cards felt like a big improvement, because it kept extra focus on urgent tasks without neglecting everything else in the process. YMMV.
August 20, 2012 at 17:57 |
Deven
Deven
Do you find urgent tasks on cards filled with non-urgent tasks get skipped? Probably depends on work flow and how long you spend on the cards with several urgent tasks.
It does have a dismissal process -- if nothing on the card gets done, you delete one task. It's only one at a time, though, rather than everything else on the page.
It does have a dismissal process -- if nothing on the card gets done, you delete one task. It's only one at a time, though, rather than everything else on the page.
August 20, 2012 at 19:42 |
Cricket
Cricket
My experiment with "intermediate deadlines" was a success. I learned it should be reserved for high-crunch times, such as after vacation when I take a day or two clearing backlog (laundry, phone calls, email) before working on longer projects.
August 20, 2012 at 19:44 |
Cricket
Cricket
I wouldn't call it a dismissal process; it's more like the "magic slot" in FV where you have to take action on the root task, even if that action is just to delete the task or think about it a bit and rewrite it.
The very idea of dismissal always bothered me. I'd much rather make a conscious decision to delete an item from my list than to have the system tell me to do so based on arbitrary reasons. Mark said that AF1 didn't "crack the whip" enough, yet I found the compulsory C2 rules in SuperFocus to be way too much. Meanwhile, the small amount of compulsion in FV (having to action the root task) seemed just about right. I'm basically trying to apply a similar idea to AF1, but with a bit more flexibility -- you can pick what to action (or delete), but you can't just keep cycling through the same card over and over and over again indefinitely.
I think with only 10 tasks per card, it seems balanced enough to "crack the whip" some, but without being overbearing like SF. The big test is how well it handles high-resistance tasks which are also high-priority. I found FV was a failure at this, and Prioritized FV was much better, but ultimately the chain-making process itself turned me off to FV in general. So far it's been going fairly well, but time will tell.
I've been finding that I do work on the urgent tasks even when there are non-urgent tasks on the same page, but the non-urgent tasks can be a distraction. Originally I had been always selecting the top card from the urgent stack, and it felt like it was weighing too heavily in favor of the urgent tasks to the exclusion of all else. So I started alternating between urgent and non-urgent cards, which seems to provide a better balance. However, the urgent tasks are ending up scattered between cards.
I'm going to experiment with moving all the urgent (priority) tasks to cards of their own, separate from the regular tasks. Since I'm alternating between processing urgent and non-urgent cards, this might work better.
It also occurs to me that if one uses multiple stars, it would make sense to process each level separately -- 2 stars, 1 star, no stars, back to 2 stars, etc.
The very idea of dismissal always bothered me. I'd much rather make a conscious decision to delete an item from my list than to have the system tell me to do so based on arbitrary reasons. Mark said that AF1 didn't "crack the whip" enough, yet I found the compulsory C2 rules in SuperFocus to be way too much. Meanwhile, the small amount of compulsion in FV (having to action the root task) seemed just about right. I'm basically trying to apply a similar idea to AF1, but with a bit more flexibility -- you can pick what to action (or delete), but you can't just keep cycling through the same card over and over and over again indefinitely.
I think with only 10 tasks per card, it seems balanced enough to "crack the whip" some, but without being overbearing like SF. The big test is how well it handles high-resistance tasks which are also high-priority. I found FV was a failure at this, and Prioritized FV was much better, but ultimately the chain-making process itself turned me off to FV in general. So far it's been going fairly well, but time will tell.
I've been finding that I do work on the urgent tasks even when there are non-urgent tasks on the same page, but the non-urgent tasks can be a distraction. Originally I had been always selecting the top card from the urgent stack, and it felt like it was weighing too heavily in favor of the urgent tasks to the exclusion of all else. So I started alternating between urgent and non-urgent cards, which seems to provide a better balance. However, the urgent tasks are ending up scattered between cards.
I'm going to experiment with moving all the urgent (priority) tasks to cards of their own, separate from the regular tasks. Since I'm alternating between processing urgent and non-urgent cards, this might work better.
It also occurs to me that if one uses multiple stars, it would make sense to process each level separately -- 2 stars, 1 star, no stars, back to 2 stars, etc.
August 20, 2012 at 21:31 |
Deven
Deven
Unlike the "magic slot" in FV, there is generally still some choice involved -- at least until a card gets down to a single task, at which point you don't get to choose.
August 20, 2012 at 21:52 |
Deven
Deven
I thought it over last night and decided that nuntym's AF2ND is more promising:
http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/1908142
I'm trying it out, starting today.
http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/1908142
I'm trying it out, starting today.
August 21, 2012 at 15:33 |
Deven
Deven
Also, from past experience, this is when the less-urgent projects stand out -- robbing time from urgent projects on later pages. Meanwhile, the now-urgent projects I put off until after holidays are happily hibernating.
Here's my plan.
Short description:
Put everything in one big list. Looseleaf binder. Any order. New entries can go anywhere, at least to start.
Pick a deadline. Start with 30 minutes from start of pass. Review the first page. Flag any tasks that I want to do before the deadline. "Want" is the usual broad perspective.
Do flagged tasks. Leave each unfinished or repeating task where it is or recopy it to new task section or tickler. Different ways work best for different task types.
(This gives me a tiny bit of flexibility in working order. Or I can just do them in order.)
Err on the side of less. Remember, I have to finish the entire book before the deadline -- something nasty might be lurking on a later page. (Keeps focus.)
Turn page. Repeat until end of pass.
Pick slightly longer deadline (60 minutes from start of pass). Repeat.
Continue increasing the deadline for each pass.
Every other pass, do a "60 minutes" pass. Just in case. If I'm on top of things, the only tasks here could not be done earlier, like the next load of laundry.
Keep a stickie handy. If I want to do it before the current deadline, but can't do it now, add it to the stickie. If it needs to be done between deadlines (after this one, but before the next pass's deadline), add it to the stickie (or choose a tighter deadline for the next pass.)
If I change my mind about something on an earlier page (realize it's a pre-requisite for something urgent on this page, or necessary materials arrive), use common sense. If I flag something, then realize I don't want to do it this pass, use common sense. (Also have good talk with my sub-conscious. It might be trying to tell me something important.)
New entries can go on the current action page or later. It will work.
Goal: Every day, build up to "within five days".
Daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and yearly planning is done by making a pass without flagging. Maybe write deadlines beside tasks so I remember the long-term plans.
End short description.
+++
Advanced and Extra Details:
This is easier than reviewing the entire long messy list for what I should do next, especially if I don't have a good feel for the list.
"Do before X" is replaced by "Do before anything with a longer deadline." When I don't have a good feel for the list, it will emphasize things that truly have to be done soon. Absolutely must do enough advanced planning for long-term projects that I know short-term milestones, or they'll be missed. (This planning is second nature to me. I set good milestones -- and then get distracted by other things.)
If there's nothing I want to do in the next few hours (fires are out, yay!), do a pass with a longer deadline, no flagging. This counts as daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal and yearly planning. It will probably change the urgency of several tasks. I learned that there are so many due by Tuesday that I need to spread them out.
If it helps, write deadlines (firm or tentative) beside tasks. In pencil.
Put the pages in order of when I want to do the earliest task on each page. Saves time since I won't have to look at later pages. When I feel comfortable with my current progress, look ahead a bit.
Keep a stickie pad handy.
If I find things to do before the next pass, but not immediately, use a stickie to collect them.
If planning errands after this (or any) pass, use a stickie to collect them.
Keep track of a good time frame for the next pass. While doing the "before breakfast" pass, I saw several "before lunch" tasks, but no "before elevenses".
I can move pages around safely (by date or project), so long as each pass hits all of them. I can also rewrite or consolidate.
My daily and weekly grids fit this system. So do lists of tasks by frequency. Flagging method changed slightly on those pages.
Remember, err on doing less each pass, so I get through the entire book by the deadline.
Two bookmarks: Current (the page I'm looking at) and New Tasks (just before the ticklers).
Dismissal is not a formal, firm part of the system. Be disciplined!
++++
It will change and evolve and be flexible. I think there are a few contradictory steps. Do what works. Use common sense. Focus first on things that have to be done soon, then planning, then intermediate. Planning creates intermediate urgent tasks so that long-term tasks are done on time.
Comments welcome.