Get Everything Done

I'm working now on my second day with a DIT/AF-hybrid – maybe it is a bit early to tell – but it is pretty much the best productivity system I have ever had. For most people the AF-system worked pretty well – but some people, like me, struggled with the system and tend to fall back to DIT. I started to procrastinate on my AF-list, did only trivial stuff and dismissed many items.

My idea was to incorporate the „structured procrastination“-approach of AF that balances the rational and intuitive parts of the brain into some DIT-ideas. It striked me that I'm more productive when I first pre-edit what I write down (e.g. make a rational decision, see below) and then work my way through it in a manner AF chooses the task (go through a closed list until something catches your attention).

This is what I do:
1.)I write everything down whenever it crosses my mind.
2.)I put everything I write down in an inbox and forget about it that day (create a buffer).
3.)I clear the inbox daily and make a rational decision what to do about it (I know, old GTD habits – but it works here for me...just hang on and read a bit further).
4.)I write the task in my task diary. My task diary is a notebook (A5), one day per page. On the left side of the page I jot down all my tasks that need to be done at a specific time of the day. On the right hand side I jot down every other task of that day. I use the „little and often“-approach and write the task down in manner that it can be dealt with in just a little time (e.g. instead of „write essay“ I put down „begin to write first draft of essay“)
5.)I review my daily tasks in the same manner as in the AF-system: I don't prioritise them and go through them until something stands out for me.
6.)I work on the task for as long as I like.
7.)I cross the item off and re-enter it when I'm not done with the task either on the following day or on the day I like to proceed (e.g. if the next day is a sunday and there is no need to work on that item).
8.)See 5 until I'm done (which is a pretty good feeling I don't have with AF).

The problem with AF for me was that I maybe got more done, but I wasn't more productive! I did trivial stuff instead of the more important tasks.

I asked myself: Do I really need for example to write 57 books down and THEN choose the books that I read by going through the list until some books will catch my attention? Why not use the 80/20-rule and run through the 57 books and choose the ones that stand out for me on that day and write these books down. I know, Mark will argue that the books the AF-system choose are a better assortment of books than he could choose. But in fact, the system is you (or your unconscious) and to write them down is an integral part of the system – but I found out that I could make the (unconscious) decision beforehand and then write only the tasks down that I really needed to do.

On other tasks I first made a rational decision based on the 80/20-rule. Instead of pages over pages with items that I would dismiss later anway I came up with 20 tasks that would fit easily on my page in the notebook. By using the „structured procrastination“-approach when choosing the tasks in the task diary I felt less resistance. I got less items done – but nevertheless I was more productive....

In short:

pre-edited items (choose until it stands out for you) and rational decisions (80/20-rule) made me more productive by actually doing less items

I only need one list (notebook) instead of a list AND a notebook

I can jot down time specific tasks

I still make heavy use of the „structured-procrastination“-approach and feel less resistance

I make use of a closed list and know when to call it a day and enjoy my spare time.

Nice idea, M. Romer.

I have similar situation. And asked how to conmbine it with daily / weekly goals and with your life long strategy.

Maybe you would like to take a look at some Excel formats similar to those that you are describing, with a daily format. There is a Notebook and an Agenda:

http://davidseah.com/publiki/Variations-of-Compact-Calendar-by-Sp/

Also, you may want to read an interesting method named "Getting Shit Done" which has some similar aspects, like notebook contained, simplified GTD, similar to DIT with a Day's Objectives concept:

http://utilware.com/gsd3.html

Sincerely,

Spencer

@Mark Forster:

Thanks for your answer. You are right, it's maybe a bit exaggerated to call it a "hybrid" - but the applied system owes at least a major aspect to Autofocus: In DIT I had only a couple of items (maybe 6-10) in my task diary; now I have more or less 15-30 items and I go through them as if it were a list in the Autofocus system (that is first quickly and the looking more slowly through the items until one catches my attention). I feel less tension even when I choose more unpleasant tasks, which I think is the effect of structured procrastination. I had no such feeling whilst working with "regular" DIT.

But I understand your concern. If you think this system is out of place in a discussion forum concerning the Autofocus system, please feel free to delete this thread. I was just happy that the most intriguing feature of the Autofocus system, the lack of stress and overcoming the feeling of procrastination, could be integrated into my "beloved" DIT.

@Spencer:
Thanks for the links. I will definately look into that...

By the way: The "write everything down forget about it and evaluate it later"-step has been made popular by Mr. Allen and his company but is by no means his invention, as far as I know. There has been a Harvard study that deals with the executive function of the brain and it's implications on time management (see: Stefan Klein: Time. A User's Guide. which is a pretty good book by the way) which came to the same conclusion earlier than GTD.

@Mark Forster:
Well, I guess then I worked for the first time with DIT as it is supposed to be while having experimented with the Autofocus system!

I never had so many items in my Task Diary before - and really got them all done. I think the way I approach the items in the Task Diary brought me into a different mindset that comes close to the liberating feeling that many people apparently have with Autofocus - though Autofocus didn't work for me. Plain DIT and I feel illuminated....

An interesting thread.

Re the book M. Romer mentioned I just wanted to add that it was originally published in German and is called "Zeit: Der Stoff, aus dem das Leben ist". I know that there are some German participants of this forum (like myself) who might find this helpful.