Get Everything Done

Hi Mark
Congrats on getting your taxes completed early. What a relief, yeah? When you say that you use this for everything, do you carry a smart phone for when you're doing things not in your office? I think you're giving the system credit that should go to you. I wouldn't be able to produce your stats even if a gun barrel was pressed against my temple.

I would just like to say that I was very skeptical of this concept the first few times I looked over the previous thread -- I just laughed it off dismissively and moved on. But yesterday I decided to try it, and I am surprised how effective it has proven to be. I have tried both the list method (starting with two) and the number + notebook method, and both have surprised me and their ability to get me moving without resistance.

Hi Austin
I know you didn't mean anything by it, but when you stated

" I just laughed it off dismissively and moved on."

my heart quivered. My different brain caused me lots of trouble since I was a child. It also helped me tremulously when I wasn't bored or feeling too much resistance. I just had to suffer through agonizing amounts of restlessness to complete the boring stuff. When my brain happened to hyperfocus, I'd ride the wave and produce sometimes incredible results. I never deserved either the derision nor the credit. My brain was just different. I was segregated from my classmates yet always asked to be in the competitions. I LOVED college because all they cared about was results, not how my quirky brain got me there.

I truly believe that me life would have been FAR easier and FAR less embarrassing if I had learned Mark's tricks decades ago.

To be fair, the derision and exclusion contributed to me making sure that I always excelled and mostly won. Many times I didn't give a crap about the subject, the talent or the sport. It was my way of spitting in their face! LOL! Of course, I didn't let them know how agonizing it was to get past the boredom. I felt graced when I was actually interested. That's when hyperfocus carried me. LOL!

Thank you, Mark, many many times over! I can't possibly properly express the magnitude and impact of your generous help. I know I'm not the only one.

I'd like to also thank Mark's guests. I've learned that there is no one correct method or principle. I've received so much knowledge and workarounds from you guys. You all are so intelligent and engaging.

It all started with Mark referring me to "It's Like Walking Across a Muddy Field: how to get rid of backlogs" which led me to DIT.

http://markforster.squarespace.com/blog/2008/7/28/its-like-walking-across-a-muddy-field-how-to-get-rid-of-back.html

Hi Mark
Does that mean that you're just working off the same list rather than starting from scratch each day with 2 tasks?

p.s.s.

" It also helped me tremulously when I wasn't bored or feeling too much resistance."
Effing auto correct - tremendously not tremulously. LOL!

Wow, best system I've ever used (number + notebook method). When you hit a task that you can't do (do such and such and errand when the stores are closed), do you rewrite it and randomize again, ignore it, or move to the next open task?

This method is so unbelievably addictive. I can't wait to see what task I get! So far it has completely eliminated resistance. I use an app called "Randomness" on my Mac to generate a random number.

Hi Mark

Hi Mark
I look forward to the blog post.

I thought I understood both the slide principle (to increase probability of numbers hitting by counting crossed off tasks) and I thought I understood to wrap around only on page one. Other pages you move forward. Is that right?

You said:

"I just missed clearing all four tasks off page 1. I threw a 27 from the last page which took me to line 22 on the first page, from where I slid to line 1. "

Understood the slide to 1.

"Then 5 came up and I slid to line 9"

Yup…

"I then threw a 2 and slid all around the page to line 2."

Yup..

"Only two numbers (31 and 32) would have prevented me from hitting line 5, the only unactioned line left. Of course I threw 31 which took me off the page."

Here's where you lost me.
Why didn't it just slide back around to 5? What different rule had you go to a different page yet you slid around into 1,9 and then 2. Why not for 5?

If my work slows down enough, I might play around with this. It has to fit my DIT. I won't screw around with what's served me so well all of these years. Would your system also work with a 3 to 7 item list? Maybe I can play with this after my MIT and CI is done. Hmmm....

I'm so glad that you're enjoying yourself!

Hi all,

I tried this all day yesterday (Saturday) using a notebook and it was a wonderfully productive day. The randomness removes bias and a few items that have bugged me for a while got moved on or cleared. This could be the novelty of a new system of course, but hey, if it is then I got a good day out of it. I'm working the same way today, Sunday.

One thing I noticed yesterday is it made me more ruthless evaluating current tasks. As Mark said, if a task cannot be done for valid, logistical reasons I have crossed it off and re-written it. But, there are a lot of tasks on my list that have hung around under the various AF versions I have been using. With AF I have been free to not select them, and keep them on the list in hope. With random selection I am confronted by the fact that they will continue to be selected and I have to either accept I need to work on them, or accept that they are not for me right now and cross them off. It's the easiest, most ruthless dismissal I've experienced yet, albeit with only one day's experience.

Matt

Hi Seraphim
Ah, now I see. The key about implementing the sliding is where it LANDS. I missed that part. *blush* Thanks for the good explanation.

I wish I had been using this system years ago, it is amazing. However, I have encountered a glitch. At this moment I have some very heavy reading to do by tomorrow, and if I don't focus on that for the next several hours, it's not going to get done. Naturally, I just put my random list aside and I'm going to town on the reading. My thinking is that had I been using this system a week ago, this "logjam" for lack of a better word, wouldn't have happened. I feel the longer I use this system, the more evenly my attention will be spread across all my tasks, and the less likely I'll be facing one of these logjams in the future. I'm hoping, anyway. One thing for sure, when I use this random system, all resistance has melted away. In fact, I can't wait to see what task I roll next.

Hi Paul

I think it's so cool when Mark creates systems to help people especially when there's a gamification element. I'm glad that it's proving successful for you.

I stick with my old ways usually. I only use the randomizing method to break out of stalemate/high resistance. Even then, I prime the deck to favor getting my CI and MIT's started for the first round. I never add tasks unless I finish drawing all the cards before the time block has ended which hasn't happened yet in all these years. Adding tasks diminishes the probabilities ratio of every task so I prefer diminishing the possible draws using a discard arch. When you use a demising pool of possible draws, it lowers the category that you chose…but…you have just worked on it! It increases the other categories.
Example: CI -4 cards
MIT 1 - 2 cards
MIT 2 - 2 cards
Wild card 1 or 2 cards
If I'm hell bent on completing a job that I just drew, I'll not discard it. That way, the odds stay the same for the next draw rather than decrease. Because I only use this to break out of stalemate, I don't do this very often. My way I have 80% or greater chance of drawing an MIT. The wild card serves the purpose of diffusing anxiety by allowing in hope and optimism that I have a CHANCE of doing something less onerous once in a while! LOL! Wild card means my choice! LOL!

Once I've broken down the stalemate, I go back to my list. It's faster that way. BTW, my list is only my CI and MITs. I bundle or pick at the recurring or one off stuff and use it as a relief valve so that I can keep working rather than burn out from all the high concentration work.

My goal is to work toward a state of peace by breaking down the overwhelm and doing enough for today/this week/meet deadlines, etc. This does the trick every time I need to break out of stalemate/overwhelm. There has been times when I've been particularly stubborn where I had to do this for several hours! LOL!

Maybe Mark's big list randomization method might be a fun way to pick off the recurring and one offs. I'm definitely curious to try that. If I didn't love my DIT so much, I'd probably try it for my entire list but I don't want to switch horses when Mark has already put me on a winning horse with my modified DIT. LOL!

Hmmmm….I'm getting curiouser and curiouser….

p.s.
To be clear, I ordinarily love CI but when I'm crunched, sometimes I must give the CI spot to work I dread.

p.s.s.
Automatic spell check has been turned off. PLEASE IGNORE MY POSTS which that damn feature added a bunch of nonsensical words. GEEZ!

Hi Mark,

<< Another lesson random selection brings home is that every time you add a task you reduce the chances of of all tasks of being selected on the next throw. >>

Yes, I hadn't thought of it like that. Another way again of saying a similar thing might be that if I add a task to the list I may actually have to work on it! The random selection is much more unforgiving than I am.

Having played with this at home over the weekend I am now using it at work, where some things are more deadline driven. This means I have broken out the calendar and scheduled some work this morning to make sure it is finished on time. It's actually quite nice because I was writing time-dependent tasks on the AF list and then hunting them out. Now I have the 'hard-edged' stuff scheduled and I am gazing lovingly at an empty afternoon in the calendar where I can dive into the random-selection list and just try and get into the flow.

Matt

Hi Mark
It's nice that you're doing so well with a system that also affords you pleasure. Congrats!

To be frank, no system would work for me if I didn't have an arsenal of workarounds to jump start my attitude. Actually trying to burst through an intense pain bout is usually less challenging than trying to get past my recalcitrant attitude. Pathetic, yeah? LOL!

Hi Matt
When you said

"Now I have the 'hard-edged' stuff scheduled and I am gazing lovingly at an empty afternoon in the calendar where I can dive into the random-selection list and just try and get into the flow."

I feel like that once my Closed List is complete. Unfortunately, I'm not always rewarded with an empty afternoon to gaze at. Sometimes when that happens, I become the hare and just goof off instead of worrying about the bundled recurring and one offs. I'm learning how to feel less guilty using my lower pain times toward enjoying my life rather than always being the steadfast and dutiful tortoise. Why can't I realize more often that sometimes relaxation and pleasure are the real MITs? Puritan work ethic? BAH!

Hi learning; re: <<relaxation and pleasure are the real MITs>>

This is a recurring issue for me, hence my most recent post on 2 list AF - the "have to do" list and the "fun and pleasure" list.

I noticed that most things on my AF list were imposed things from duty and obligation; so in that sense AF revealed to me my own attitudes and convictions. Then I took some ideas from http://peterjonesauthor.com/books/how-to-do-everything-and-be-happy/ and created additional lists. Peter Jones suggests 3 ideas that took my fancy:

1. have a bucket list, but don't call it a bucket list; don't wait butregard it as a experiences to seek out now

2. have a "Boxing Day" attitude set aside for the 26th of each month, not just Xmas

3. also, have a "goals day" where you specific about working only on goals

So far I use my "fun list" to create more balance between work and play. Maybe I need a work, rest and play list!

Somebody remind me again why we commit so much time to things we don't value?

Michael
I don't spend a lick of time on things I don't value. Sometimes uphold my values means completing boring stuff, dealing with rules and people who aggravate me, etc. That's far better than not doing it. No amount of lousy work feels nearly as bad as going against what or who I value or willfully choosing to be a lesser version of who I am. I gripe because I don't always like the experience of meeting my responsibilities. Never once have I griped that I chose to see it through. Meeting my responsibilities and upholding my values frees up my creativity and passion. It also enhances my confidence and courage in my possible future.

For life to be truly sweet and hopeful, you do both. As Clint Eastwood says "There are no free rides."

p.s.
Read Mark's DIT. The overriding principle is commitment vs interest. Mark has a wealth of articles that are enlightening. Even clever use of structured procrastination is toward the good of it's not carelessly applied. What I love most about Mark's work is that he provides us with customizable systems and immutable principles. He even offers many ways to stick with your plan and many ways to get back on track when we veer off. Mark has covered all the bases on how to govern yourself to live a satisfying and meaningful life....most of the time.

Thanks, Seraphim, for directing me to this series of posts. Mark, I wish I had tested this approach during my blog series.

One problem I have had with random task generators (I've used LifeBalance and an app that picks one thing for you to do) is that I resist what's picked. I suspect that may be because neither of the applications I used was very game-like. I'm still really happy with the approach I'm using. Like Avrum, I will be watching to see how the rest of you get on.

Learning, praying you have a wonderful 2014. You're so inspiring.

Hi Mel
You're too kind.

For some reason I started to feel embarrassed about all of my misspellings, omitted words, incomplete sentences, etc. (Sometimes reading back what I typed in 10 minutes can take over an hour to proof read so I just cross my fingers and click my heels. LOL) I find that the auto-correct feature's propensity for spitting out totally left field words is FAR more embarrassing and confusing than leaving my usual crappy writing as it is. LOL! I sincerely don't understand how you find me inspiring. I take forever to do what you guys do in no time and I make many, many more embarrassing errors. My social ego was shot to hell years ago! LOL!

Wishing you and yours an exceptionally wonderful 2014!

p.s.
Mel
Don' allow resistance to what you draw serve as any real deterrent. That's the reason we need the randomizer in the first place. What the randomizer does is to REDUCE my brain's focusing on resistance to particular work. It's similar to dreading getting that colonoscopy. The dread will haunt you every day until you finally get it over with. No matter how embarrassed you are while it's happening, it's only for a limited time. The randomizer does the same thing. I choose an MIT that I dread, it's not pink ponies and rainbows. I think "Oh, GEEZ! I have to start THIS crap?" The beauty part is that like the colonoscopy, the negative feelings are restricted to the time that you're actually doing it. The wild card(s) had a bit of hope that makes me willing to approach the game. If there was no wild card, I'd probably blow the whole thing off. Bear in mind, this circuitous route is still far better than not doing the work at all, yeah? When we need to use crutches we don't expect to go dancing. We're just doing the best that we can with what we are at that time. At least we tried our best to do the right thing. (at least this is what I tell myself rather than make myself feel like a total loser. You're not a total loser if you stay in the game. LOL!) I once did about a 1/10 of a mile on my hands and knees while running a marathon. It totally screwed my time and embarrassed the hell out of me but I did clock in at the FINISH line. This is no different. LOL!

p.s.
Hi Mel
I wasn't clear. I did not crawl over the finish line. This happened at about mile 23. Luckily, my legs came back and I stopped feeling like I was going to pass out. I don't know the exact amount of time I had to do that but luckily my stubbornness was a bit stronger than my depleted ego. *blush* Luckier still, I caught a second wind and I was upright for the rest of the race. It felt like God kissed me on the forehead. My time sucked but at least I was upright when the cameras were flashing. LOL! The abrasions scabbed over and a few people asked if it was road rash! LOL!

Mark, thanks for the clarification. It makes a lot more sense to know that it's not completely random. I'm still not 100% sure of the rules you're using, but I'm hopeful you'll be explaining in your blog post.

Learning, you are so bright, tenacious, humble, and funny. How could I NOT be inspired by you? You're still running a race and God is still kissing you on the forehead, saying, "Atta girl!"

Hi All,

Some rambling thoughts inspired by this thread...

Learning, I love this:

"No amount of lousy work feels nearly as bad as going against what or who I value or willfully choosing to be a lesser version of who I am."

I’m currently reading (re-reading) Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, which is basically about being guided by Resistance and overcoming it to move forward creatively. Sound familiar? I always loved Mark's concept of the Resistance Principle. I had trouble applying it because it’s so easy to fool myself about what is really the best thing to do next. It all comes down to craving everything coming easily to me, when in reality the valuable stuff often takes rolling up the sleeves and working hard, which I then resist (which takes me full circle to Learning’s inspiring quote above).

I think it was Mark in ‘Get Everything Done...’ who pointed out that in order to go with the flow a river needs banks that direct that flow, otherwise it becomes a stagnant pool. Extending that metaphor further, a river isn’t always calm. Sometimes it has to fight over rocks, gets backed up, and even has to turn back on itself and find another way in order to maintain the flow. In other words, a good life sometimes takes hard work.

Mark’s earlier post, including the comment “If you don't frame the randomness properly it will be useless” seems to me to bring together the Resistance Principle with this current randomisation method.

The method holds the promise of allowing flow through the reduced resistance some of us are reporting. It also hints it will provide the river bank as tasks added to the list are actually going to come up and can’t be easily or subconsciously avoided, so they need to be real, relevant tasks.

End of ramble :)

Matt

Mark wrote: "The other day I went for a random walk, in that every time I came to a junction I used the randomizer on my phone to choose which way to go. I just went round in circles. To achieve anything, randomness needs to be operating within the right frame, and that has to be designed by someone."

Mark, you could try walking in a random straight line from your starting point. The simplest way to do this is to generate a random "angle" between 0 and 360 and then use a protractor to draw a random line on a physical map from your starting point. This page (http://www.movable-type.co.uk/scripts/latlong.html) will let you input co-ordinates and an angle and will return a Google map with the angle (partway down the page under "Bearing"). It will feel more satisfying to walk to a destination rather than just randomly walking around. I always thought it would be interesting to fully explore an area in a year by walking for an hour each day on every possible angle from my apartment (eg 360 degrees in 365 days is very close to 1 degree a day -- each day just tick the angle up by 1).

As an aside, I have to say though that in the early days of AF1 (still my favourite method BTW), I used the "standing out" method to randomly walk around my neighbourhood. Come to an intersection, glance at the 3 options, and then look at them again and take the route that "stands out". Worked quite well. Still comes out a bit circular but you generally end up in the place you intuitively wanted to be.

Another implementation of randomness I have quite enjoyed recently is random bookmarks (https://addons.mozilla.org/EN-US/firefox/addon/random-bookmark/). Whenever I have a few minutes of downtime I always end up looking at the same websites. I also have hundreds of bookmarks over the years which I never get around to look at or organize. This add-on is a little button at the top of the browser which randomly selects a bookmark and opens the page. Very nifty.

Mark: "But I can't remember having quite such a big surge of productivity as this before - nor have I had a system before which appears to have so little downside."

Mark, can you explain this because I am genuinely baffled by it. And you'll think I'm being "arrogant" or some such for asking. It is not the random selector which is doing the tasks, it's you who is doing the tasks. The random selector is picking the task for you to do. Okay, I get that this removes your biases, you've outsourced your task selection to a neutral third-party. Is that really enough to eliminate almost all resistance? Why?

Is it much more of a leap to simply just pick a task and DO it without the selector, based on being ever-mindful that it needs doing, using the knowledge that it will be done and out of the way as the driver instead? That's the approach I described a while back and it is very productive, but it's productive because I'm doing everything, not because I'm using a random selector.

Why does the random selector hold such power to make you DO a task, since all it can actually do is select a task? It's a genuine question. Why does outsourcing task selection to a neutral third-party massively reduce the resistance to tasks such that you can now do them, but selecting them manually means they get skipped over, given that you still know they are there and are not going to go away?

Hi Mark
For some reason I woke up thinking about your quote to Melanie.

"randomness without intelligence leads nowhere."

I took a meteorology class. Differential calculus taught me that, in fact, weather isn't really random. It always follows the rules. What makes it sometimes difficult to predict is that the various causal agents can change exponentially which make it impossible to nail down the various and ever changing probability ratios.

Even though I was only about 14-15 years old when I took the class, it matured my expectations about life itself. It also reminded me about Dad playing poker. You act on information as it becomes available yet you also factor in the many possible unknowns.

Maybe thats why I prime the deck. It makes me feel less vulnerable to all of those unknowns. Conversely, adding the wild card(s) changes my viewpoint to a willingness toward accepting what's unknown because the wild cards add a factual, possible forecast of optimism. As I count the discarded cards, the probability of getting that wild card increases. I realize that I can't expect to definitely draw it but I can surely hope that it does as each work card is placed in the discard rack. Without the discard rack, my odds would never improve. LOL!

This is a fun thread. It's also thought provoking on several planes.

Hi Gregory
I've heard of the The War of Art mentioned on this website but I never read it. When I begin to have silly thoughts about abandoning my work, images of my dad patiently teaching me how to develop and integrate character traits based on my values brings me back to those days of index cards and filling in my calendar. He made my choosing something as basic as "feed the rabbit" feel profoundly wise and important because it was reinforcing compassion which is the highest value of all. Maybe I've never quite grown out of basking in the glow of my hero's approval. LOL! It's amazing to realize what informs our decisions. I thought I was being high-minded yet I was just a snot-nosed kid trying to make my dad proud of me. LOL!

Learning, for me this is the most profound statement in this thread:

"He made my choosing something as basic as "feed the rabbit" feel profoundly wise and important because it was reinforcing compassion which is the highest value of all."

I suspect that much of the resistance we all experience is because the task has become disconnected from our values. Getting an oil change isn't taking care of a huge blessing (your car) that millions of people don't have and exercising responsibility (a value). It's just a pain in the rear.

If that's the case, how do we better connect our tasks to our values? I have tried writing down why I'm doing things and it's not been that useful for me. Perhaps it's more of an intentional change of attitude--a reframing of what we do to make it sound more like a politician's rhetoric.

I'm really inspired to get to work now, raising up future leaders, creating a place where family members and guests feel safe and loved, and motivating others to change their lives. That sounds so much better than getting the kids moving on their homework, cleaning the basement, and writing an ebook, doesn't it? ;-)

Hi Mel

I suppose your respect for politicians is far greater than mine. If my self talk started sounding like that, I'd probably begin to distrust and despise myself. There's nothing disingenuous about actively re-framing your thoughts to remind yourself of things that need more focus. i've stated before that I have to remind myself of the WHY I'm bothering to do something that's relatively unpleasant, fearsome or outright anxiety provoking. It always goes back to what was written on those index cards. LOL!

Another game I play is relative gratitude. If I'm experiencing pain and start feeling put out about what the car wreck did to me, I think about myself in a wheel chair with a catheter stuck up my X. Then I begin to actually feel a bit grateful for my circumstances. The pain I'm withstanding feels like a dance in the park compared to being jailed in a wheelchair. Now if I was in a wheelchair, I probably think "at least I can see." I remember my dad going in for surgery that he had to pay cash up front for because the insurance company wouldn't pay for it because his odds were so dire. Before they put him on the gurney he told me "I can stand almost any outcome even death but I couldn't stand becoming blind." Unfortunately, he did lose most of his vision and had to suffer mirages of things that weren't actually there. I was truly frightened for him. I asked him what he thought about what happened. He told me that part of the reason he became an ophthalmologist was his fear of blindness. Now that he was living it, it was actually doable.

Most of the time we can just prioritize our list and do what we're supposed to do. Other times dread or fear can create a paralyzing cognitive dissonance. The tsunami of irrational dread can actually stalemate us. Of course it's irrational but none the less we are gripped in it's clutches. We simultaneously want to approach that job yet feel agonizing resistance. Many times we can play with our heads to bring into focus why we've decided to do that job that creates so much irrational dread. We're just adjusting the lens to correct the distorted thinking. But, alas, that doesn't always work for me. When I'm genuinely stalemated, I grab the cards. The dread is still there but it's not the only focus. There are other a couple of other important jobs to choose and the wild card. Maybe it's the Irish in me but I enjoy a game of chance especially where I can't lose! LOL! Sometimes it only takes one or two draws to break the stalemate. Then I just go back to my list. Other times it may take hours. No matter. The work is still getting done: irrational thoughts and all. LOL!

Mel, I like that you play the same game as I do. When you play the mind game,scraping the crud off of the dishes suddenly feels like you're honoring the blessing of breaking bread with those you love. LOL! Another thing that it does is when you next have to do it, your memory bank has those wonderful feelings impacting and informing your thoughts. It's win-win. Whatever gets us over the hump, yeah?