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Discussion Forum > Progress & Questions
Carl
Glad you're getting on so well with the new system - it's great isn't it!
I may be wrong but where you say "I'm pushing myself to get a page cleaned down before starting working through a new one" isn't this going against the spirit of Autofocus?
It was my understanding that you just read down the page once then scan a little slower a second time to see what item most stands out (attracts your attention), work on it a bit then scan again. Once nothing stands out when scanning you then move onto the next page. I would have thought the pushing yourself to 'clean down' a page before starting a new one negated some of the benefits.
Perhaps Mark would clarify this?
Glad you're getting on so well with the new system - it's great isn't it!
I may be wrong but where you say "I'm pushing myself to get a page cleaned down before starting working through a new one" isn't this going against the spirit of Autofocus?
It was my understanding that you just read down the page once then scan a little slower a second time to see what item most stands out (attracts your attention), work on it a bit then scan again. Once nothing stands out when scanning you then move onto the next page. I would have thought the pushing yourself to 'clean down' a page before starting a new one negated some of the benefits.
Perhaps Mark would clarify this?
January 7, 2009 at 15:37 |
Hannah
Hannah
Pushing yourself to complete a page is really the "Do It Tomorrow" approach and not Autofocus.
It will get you into trouble with AF if you have important items on later pages that you don't get round to seeing in time.
It will get you into trouble with AF if you have important items on later pages that you don't get round to seeing in time.
January 7, 2009 at 17:51 |
Frank
Frank
Not sure whether to start a new thread - there's so many - so I'll just post here. I've just started using the system today and am liking it a lot - I'm crossing out a lot of tasks that have been lingering for a while. But--a big but--it seems like I'm picking the low hanging fruit and avoiding some things. I know that's how the "structured procrastination" works -you pick the least objectionable, easiest things to accomplish - but, how do I get myself to do the hard but necessary stuff? I have resistance to these things, which presumably this system is addressing. How are people handling the stuff they don't want to do?
January 7, 2009 at 19:24 |
Balfour
Balfour
Balfour:
It's perfectly normal to do the easy stuff first. But as you cross more and more items off each page, so the choice of which item(s) to do gets more and more into the more difficult stuff.
It's perfectly normal to do the easy stuff first. But as you cross more and more items off each page, so the choice of which item(s) to do gets more and more into the more difficult stuff.
January 7, 2009 at 19:31 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Thanks Mark. But if you're continually adding to the list and you can move on to the next page, what's the motivation for ever getting the hard stuff done?
January 7, 2009 at 21:08 |
Balfour
Balfour
Balfour:
Have you actually tried it? It will make a lot more sense to you if you do.
Have you actually tried it? It will make a lot more sense to you if you do.
January 7, 2009 at 21:25 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Balfour
As far as I understand it, if you go to the page and nothing stands out, those few hard tasks left on the page will be dismissed . If you CAN'T dismiss them because they are too important, then you need to do one of the following:
- do some work on one of the tasks on that page and so break down the resistance to it (adding it to the end of the last active page for further work if needed)
- rewrite the tasks so that they becomes more doable (perhaps by rephasing them in some way)
- examine the reasons why you are resisting a task and try to get some insight into why it is so difficult.
The outcome is that either the tasks will be dismissed and so not done, or you will find a way to work with them.
As far as I understand it, if you go to the page and nothing stands out, those few hard tasks left on the page will be dismissed . If you CAN'T dismiss them because they are too important, then you need to do one of the following:
- do some work on one of the tasks on that page and so break down the resistance to it (adding it to the end of the last active page for further work if needed)
- rewrite the tasks so that they becomes more doable (perhaps by rephasing them in some way)
- examine the reasons why you are resisting a task and try to get some insight into why it is so difficult.
The outcome is that either the tasks will be dismissed and so not done, or you will find a way to work with them.
January 7, 2009 at 21:31 |
Linda
Linda
Thanks Linda. Yes Mark, I am working on the list. What I'm finding is that resistance to some items leads to procrastination/web surfing. I have tried to figure out the reasons for the resistance, but to no avail so far. Will try Linda's and other suggestions I've found here.
January 7, 2009 at 22:03 |
Balfour
Balfour
Hi,
Just to qualify my comment "I'm pushing myself to get a page cleaned down before starting working through a new one".
I don't necessarily complete the tasks, I just start them - not starting "hard to do" is something I know I do and this method helps me to make that start. Often, once I've started, it's really as hard as I imagined. If I don't finish it, I add it to the bottom of the list again.
Thanks, Carl
Just to qualify my comment "I'm pushing myself to get a page cleaned down before starting working through a new one".
I don't necessarily complete the tasks, I just start them - not starting "hard to do" is something I know I do and this method helps me to make that start. Often, once I've started, it's really as hard as I imagined. If I don't finish it, I add it to the bottom of the list again.
Thanks, Carl
January 7, 2009 at 22:03 |
Carl
Carl
It's working really well now - I'm using the exact system as described by Mark except using Excel sheets of a set size instead of notebook pages. I use strikethrough and highlighter in the same way as the paper version, so I think I'm sticking to it.
What I'm finding is that it works very well as long as I keep in mind the old principle I learned (I think from Mark) of 'just get the file out'. As long as I do SOMETHING on the task which stands out, I can then cross it off and re-enter if I need to - but chances are I will move it on substantially before I do.
What is so fascinating is the way horrible 'semi-important' jobs, like tidying up the car, are being released. In fact I'm itching to finish cleaning the car, but since it's 10:45 pm and it's -3 degrees out there, I will leave it until tomorrow!
What I'm finding is that it works very well as long as I keep in mind the old principle I learned (I think from Mark) of 'just get the file out'. As long as I do SOMETHING on the task which stands out, I can then cross it off and re-enter if I need to - but chances are I will move it on substantially before I do.
What is so fascinating is the way horrible 'semi-important' jobs, like tidying up the car, are being released. In fact I'm itching to finish cleaning the car, but since it's 10:45 pm and it's -3 degrees out there, I will leave it until tomorrow!
January 7, 2009 at 22:46 |
Anne Bennett
Anne Bennett
I have not slept in about 78 hours, so pardon me if I did not quite read the post correctly. Day two? I would suggest you follow the instructions and see what happens after weeks or dare I say months?
Day one?
Relax.
My point is that I think it is best to give the vanilla system some time, before coming to any strong conclusions for better or worse and fiddling with stuff. Then again fiddling is a creative way to avoid doing what wants to be done.
IME, being too vigilant will undercut the "intuitive" aspect of the system. That's its greatest strength for me. Write things down. Let them "stand out." Do a little bit. Repeat.
Good luck.
Day one?
Relax.
My point is that I think it is best to give the vanilla system some time, before coming to any strong conclusions for better or worse and fiddling with stuff. Then again fiddling is a creative way to avoid doing what wants to be done.
IME, being too vigilant will undercut the "intuitive" aspect of the system. That's its greatest strength for me. Write things down. Let them "stand out." Do a little bit. Repeat.
Good luck.
June 4, 2009 at 11:25 |
Norman U.
Norman U.
Good response, Norman: absolutely agree with every word.
78 hours?! Good God!!
78 hours?! Good God!!
June 4, 2009 at 18:41 |
Will
Will
That post was from January 7. It would have been amazing if Carl would have been working with AF for months - darn spammers.
Nothing wrong with "pushing down" a page anyway - I've been doing it once a week for the last 5 months.
Nothing wrong with "pushing down" a page anyway - I've been doing it once a week for the last 5 months.
June 4, 2009 at 19:10 |
Jacqueline
Jacqueline
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October 28, 2009 at 20:51 |
HalsMazyskale
HalsMazyskale
I'm on day two of using the AF system and am finding it's working really well for me. I went to Tesco Monday morning and bought two notepads, some black Bic pens and a pack of highlights, labelled the books WORK and HOME and did a brain dump of everything on my mind.
Feedback so far:-
It's simple and intuitive so no real learning curve.
I'm doing lots of work and no longer feel stuck (I was constantly stuck before)
I have a real sense of making progress and get some wierd pleasure out of crossing actions off my list.
I haven't used the highlighters yet.
Crossing off items that I start and adding them to the list again works well for me.
I maintain a seperate list of projects (GTD type) in MyLife Organized which I use as a prompt to see if I've any actions in my head that I've not documented.
I'm pushing myself to get a page cleaned down before starting working through a new one.
Struggling a bit with follow up actions and often repeated actions - I'm going to record follow ups with a prefix FU so I can scan the list, FU if required, then cross off and re-add to the bottom of the list.
Anything scheduled is put into my Outlook calendar.
I clear down my email now by ecording the actions in a book and filing the mail into an archive folder.
So all in all, I'm very happy (and so is my boss, my customers and my family) with how it's working so far. I just hope it's not beginners enthusiasm but time will tell.
Mark, many thanks for putting this together.
Carl