Get Everything Done

After I had ChatGPT transcribe the video of Mark Forster demonstrating Autofocus, I asked it this question.
ChatGPT referred to the autofocus of the camera.
I was not aware that this was the background.
Does anyone know if Mark Forster had the camera in mind when he named it?
The answer appears below.

Mark Forster called his method “Autofocus” because it is designed to make your attention naturally “focus itself” — automatically — on the right task at the right moment, without forcing a decision or overthinking priorities.

Here’s what that means in context:

1. Automatic focusing of attention

Instead of consciously deciding what’s most important, you scan through your list and wait for your intuition to “lock onto” an item that feels ready to be done.

This mirrors how a camera’s autofocus works: you move through possible focal points until the image “snaps” into focus on the right one.

In the same way, you move through your task list until your mind “snaps” into focus on a task that feels right to do now.

2. Balanced use of rational and intuitive processes

Forster often said the system gets your rational mind and intuitive mind working together.

The rational side provides structure — the big list, the page-by-page sequence.

The intuitive side decides, in the moment, what to actually do.
He wanted a system that didn’t rely on heavy planning or constant reprioritizing, but still ensured progress on everything that mattered.

3. Progress through natural cycles (closed lists)

Each page in Autofocus becomes a kind of field of attention that keeps narrowing until it’s finished. The list structure “focuses” your energy automatically over time — like adjusting a lens from a wide view to a sharp close-up.

In short:

Mark Forster named it “Autofocus” because the method automatically brings your attention into focus on the right task at the right time, blending intuitive feeling with rational structure — just as a camera automatically brings an image into clear focus.

In searching this website, I found this passage, which could indicate that he might have been thinking of a camera (by the way, in this post of his, he says to only have on the list what you are currently working on. People noticed that and posted on the thread that this seemed to contradict his previous advice of using the list as a catch-all list; he replied that he was talking about AF4; and his advice with AF1 was to weed the list.) :

http://markforster.squarespace.com/forum/post/899977#post933726

"It's important with AF4 that you don't use too long a list. The list should consist only of what you are currently working on.

If you use Autofocus on a camera, you still need to point the camera in the right direction!

November 9, 2009 at 21:41 | Registered Commenter Mark Forster"

I found a post by Mark Forster where he definitely says that word "autofocus" comes from photography (So ChatGPT got it right after all)

http://markforster.squarespace.com/forum/post/931306#post934075

"To expand on what I said on another thread yesterday:

The name Autofocus comes from photography. Most modern cameras don't just have autofocus, they also automatically adjust the aperture, shutter speed, ISO and colour balance, and sometimes a lot more as well. They make it much easier for you to do your job - which is to point the camera in the right direction.

It's the same with AFs 1-4. They are tools which will make it much easier for you to do your work, but you still have to point yourself in the right direction.

November 10, 2009 at 10:16 | Registered Commenter Mark Forster"