Discussion Forum > Binary SMEMA (SMEMA FVP)
Binary System:
"A star system containing two stars orbiting around each other."
"A star system containing two stars orbiting around each other."
June 4, 2015 at 15:46 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Hmm... Please post an example session.
June 5, 2015 at 4:31 |
Tommy
Tommy
An Example Day:
The Morning Brief
1. Begin your day by reviewing your scheduled events and same-day reminders.
2. Review your daily captured tasks.
Using a notebook, 3x5 cards, or an app, park these tasks and ideas as they occur to you. This is used to clear and calm your mind, eliminate these tasks from being visual distractions on your active list, and in the mornings, for priming your mind. Try to think of them as notes and not a task list you work from. It is the one place where you'll collect your tasks, and when you need them you'll know where to look.
Using the Method
After the morning brief, your mind is primed with your options and obligations for the day.
You begin your work by writing down a task you're resisting. In this example you've written the resisted task on the top line of a 3x5 card:
Project X Report
Next, you look at the resisted task and ask, "What's more exciting?". You feel stirred to tidy your desk so you add it to the end of your list and begin the task straight away:
Project X
Tidy Desk
At this point you feel you've gotten a good start on the task and have decided to finish for now, crossing out the task:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
You then look at the resisted task and ask again, "What's more exciting?". You feel a pull to make your dental appointment now so you add it to the end of the list and look up the phone number for the call:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
Make Dental Appointment
At this point Jane walks in and asks for the Project Y file. She'll come back in a few minutes. Since you had not yet made your phone call and are in charge of project files for your company, you add Jane's request to the end of your list and begin locating the file:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
Make Dental Appointment
Project Y File?
You find the file and leave it by the door for Jane. Returning to your list you cross out Jane's request and resume making your dental appointment call:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
Make Dental Appointment
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
Once you have made your dental appointment, you cross out the task, look at your resisted task and again ask, "What's more exciting?":
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
You decide that having tea and a scone is more exciting, so you write it at the end of your list and go for tea:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
Tea
Returning to your office, you cross out the tea task, look at your resisted task, and again ask, "What's more exciting?". At this point you have reviewed your resisted task four times and have not only lessened your resistance to it, but have now built enthusiasm towards it by asking "what's *more* exciting", implying that it's somehow exciting:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
—T-e-a———
You feel a sudden surge of power towards this task. You feel for a moment that you can take this target out and decide that nothing is more exciting right now. With little thought, you begin Project X right away.
After getting Project X rolling and feeling good about your start and your progress, you decide to finish up for now and continue at a later time, ending on a positive note. You now cross out the task:
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–X———
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
—T-e-a———
As there are no more active tasks remaining on your list, you return to step 1, write down a task you're resisting, and continue on with the method:
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–X———
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
—T-e-a———
Strength Training
Tips
• There is no need to dot your started tasks, you always work on the tasks in reverse order, starting with the last active task on the list.
• When you cross out your tasks, an essential tip from this forum is to always connect the horizontal crossings-out with a vertical line on the left.
• Anytime your list is irrelevant, start a new list.
• If you're using paper and want to start a fresh list—say after filling up a 3x5 card with crossings out—transfer the active tasks to the new card and then cross out the active tasks on the first card with an arrow --------->. This will come in handy if you review your achievements for the day and wish to know how many times you worked on a task. None of the arrowed-through tasks will count towards your tally.
• If you collect your completed lists you will know exactly what you did during your day and these can be very useful during an evening review where you reflect on what you accomplished and where you can improve.
• Another tip is to dot any interruptions you write down by adding a dot to the end of the task. During your evening review you can see how many times you allowed yourself to divert from your plan and what the interruptions are. This way you can form standard approaches to these interruptions so they happen in a controlled way instead of at random times in random ways.
The Morning Brief
1. Begin your day by reviewing your scheduled events and same-day reminders.
2. Review your daily captured tasks.
Using a notebook, 3x5 cards, or an app, park these tasks and ideas as they occur to you. This is used to clear and calm your mind, eliminate these tasks from being visual distractions on your active list, and in the mornings, for priming your mind. Try to think of them as notes and not a task list you work from. It is the one place where you'll collect your tasks, and when you need them you'll know where to look.
Using the Method
After the morning brief, your mind is primed with your options and obligations for the day.
You begin your work by writing down a task you're resisting. In this example you've written the resisted task on the top line of a 3x5 card:
Project X Report
Next, you look at the resisted task and ask, "What's more exciting?". You feel stirred to tidy your desk so you add it to the end of your list and begin the task straight away:
Project X
Tidy Desk
At this point you feel you've gotten a good start on the task and have decided to finish for now, crossing out the task:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
You then look at the resisted task and ask again, "What's more exciting?". You feel a pull to make your dental appointment now so you add it to the end of the list and look up the phone number for the call:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
Make Dental Appointment
At this point Jane walks in and asks for the Project Y file. She'll come back in a few minutes. Since you had not yet made your phone call and are in charge of project files for your company, you add Jane's request to the end of your list and begin locating the file:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
Make Dental Appointment
Project Y File?
You find the file and leave it by the door for Jane. Returning to your list you cross out Jane's request and resume making your dental appointment call:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
Make Dental Appointment
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
Once you have made your dental appointment, you cross out the task, look at your resisted task and again ask, "What's more exciting?":
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
You decide that having tea and a scone is more exciting, so you write it at the end of your list and go for tea:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
Tea
Returning to your office, you cross out the tea task, look at your resisted task, and again ask, "What's more exciting?". At this point you have reviewed your resisted task four times and have not only lessened your resistance to it, but have now built enthusiasm towards it by asking "what's *more* exciting", implying that it's somehow exciting:
Project X
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
—T-e-a———
You feel a sudden surge of power towards this task. You feel for a moment that you can take this target out and decide that nothing is more exciting right now. With little thought, you begin Project X right away.
After getting Project X rolling and feeling good about your start and your progress, you decide to finish up for now and continue at a later time, ending on a positive note. You now cross out the task:
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–X———
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
—T-e-a———
As there are no more active tasks remaining on your list, you return to step 1, write down a task you're resisting, and continue on with the method:
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–X———
—T-i-d-y–D-e-s-k———
—M-a-k-e–D-e-n-t-a-l–A-p-p-o-i-n-t-m-e-n-t———
—P-r-o-j-e-c-t–Y–F-i-l-e———
—T-e-a———
Strength Training
Tips
• There is no need to dot your started tasks, you always work on the tasks in reverse order, starting with the last active task on the list.
• When you cross out your tasks, an essential tip from this forum is to always connect the horizontal crossings-out with a vertical line on the left.
• Anytime your list is irrelevant, start a new list.
• If you're using paper and want to start a fresh list—say after filling up a 3x5 card with crossings out—transfer the active tasks to the new card and then cross out the active tasks on the first card with an arrow --------->. This will come in handy if you review your achievements for the day and wish to know how many times you worked on a task. None of the arrowed-through tasks will count towards your tally.
• If you collect your completed lists you will know exactly what you did during your day and these can be very useful during an evening review where you reflect on what you accomplished and where you can improve.
• Another tip is to dot any interruptions you write down by adding a dot to the end of the task. During your evening review you can see how many times you allowed yourself to divert from your plan and what the interruptions are. This way you can form standard approaches to these interruptions so they happen in a controlled way instead of at random times in random ways.
June 5, 2015 at 13:57 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
A hint of Colley's Method variation:
Ask the question a second time while looking at the second task you wrote down, producing a third. Then work on the third task.
Ask the question a second time while looking at the second task you wrote down, producing a third. Then work on the third task.
June 6, 2015 at 14:52 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Some may find the question "What do I want to do more?" works better for them.
June 6, 2015 at 14:57 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Michael B, is that a realistic example? It feels like a huge load of work needed, constantly writing things down to the nth degree and then crossing them out, and supposing that tasks somehow become approachable just because you've hinted that they might be exciting. I imagine if this was my day.
I'd start with my briefing and finish that knowing that that I need to get the project x report done. If that's been on my mind for a while (I'm "resisting it") then from experience that's usually an indicator that I am myself unclear on what I need to do or how to best go about it, so I will try and work out where the uncertaintly lies.
Once I've identified and addressed that the feeling of resistance will melt away. This is a good sign that I've been successful in this, as is the spontaneous emergence of natural checkpoints within the work, places I know I can now get to and park it if needed. You can only get those if you understand what you're doing. If you don't understand what you're doing then the work feels like a homogeneous "blob of stuff" that you will absolutely avoid. No amount of telling yourself that it's exciting will resolve it.
First I'll call to make the dentist appointment, tidy my desk then get started on the report. Jane interrupts asking for the file, I find that and get back to the report. After I've reached a natural break in the report some time later I have a short break with a cup of tea and a scone and then get back to it.
I don't need to write anything down for this. If I have a few more things I want to do then I'll probably do a few more small things before the report and jot the rest down for later. I don't care about reviewing my distractions or interruptions, I either minimise them (close email and IM, phone on silent, move to a quiet area, whatever) or deal with them at the time and then they're under the bridge and gone.
Chris
I'd start with my briefing and finish that knowing that that I need to get the project x report done. If that's been on my mind for a while (I'm "resisting it") then from experience that's usually an indicator that I am myself unclear on what I need to do or how to best go about it, so I will try and work out where the uncertaintly lies.
Once I've identified and addressed that the feeling of resistance will melt away. This is a good sign that I've been successful in this, as is the spontaneous emergence of natural checkpoints within the work, places I know I can now get to and park it if needed. You can only get those if you understand what you're doing. If you don't understand what you're doing then the work feels like a homogeneous "blob of stuff" that you will absolutely avoid. No amount of telling yourself that it's exciting will resolve it.
First I'll call to make the dentist appointment, tidy my desk then get started on the report. Jane interrupts asking for the file, I find that and get back to the report. After I've reached a natural break in the report some time later I have a short break with a cup of tea and a scone and then get back to it.
I don't need to write anything down for this. If I have a few more things I want to do then I'll probably do a few more small things before the report and jot the rest down for later. I don't care about reviewing my distractions or interruptions, I either minimise them (close email and IM, phone on silent, move to a quiet area, whatever) or deal with them at the time and then they're under the bridge and gone.
Chris
June 6, 2015 at 14:58 |
Chris
Chris
One variation on the question is, "What's better than X?".
June 6, 2015 at 16:22 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Chris:
Of course it's not a realistic example. It's an illustrative example of a session using an experiment designed to produce a SMEMA-like list-free FVP using a small sample of make-believe tasks in answer to Tommy's request for an example session. I haven't had a scone in ages.
Of course it's not a realistic example. It's an illustrative example of a session using an experiment designed to produce a SMEMA-like list-free FVP using a small sample of make-believe tasks in answer to Tommy's request for an example session. I haven't had a scone in ages.
June 7, 2015 at 11:36 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
1. Write down a task you're resisting.
2. Look at the resisted task and ask, "What's more exciting?" Add whatever comes to mind to the end of the list.
3. Work on the task at the end for as long as you feel like, then cross it out.
4. Return to step 2.
5. If no tasks are more exciting than the resisted task, work on it for as long as you feel like, then cross it out before returning to step 1.
6. Add interruptions and urgencies to the end of the list. Handle whatever's at the bottom first, working your way back up the list. No need for dotting anything.