Discussion Forum > Too few items?
Eric:
I am finding it is better to enter as much into AF as possible. I am by no means perfect about entering everything. I enter more in order to cross off more. Crossing off more amplifies my drive to get more things done. Silly it seems but is very powerful. You might try breaking the tasks down more to experience the increase in velocity and "draw" I and others are finding with AF.
I am finding it is better to enter as much into AF as possible. I am by no means perfect about entering everything. I enter more in order to cross off more. Crossing off more amplifies my drive to get more things done. Silly it seems but is very powerful. You might try breaking the tasks down more to experience the increase in velocity and "draw" I and others are finding with AF.
January 20, 2009 at 7:14 |
Stark
Stark
Hi Eric
Stark is absolutely right in the effect of crossing off tasks, and the breaking down of tasks into smaller parts is definitely beneficial. You say "I tend to do tasks that can be done immediately without writing them on the sheet." Just because a task "can" be done immediately does not necessarily mean that it is the best time to do it. AF allows us to do tasks when we want to, as opposed to when we feel we ought to or just could do. When you fist start with the system that sounds too simple, or haphazard even, to work, and most people feel a fear that they will not do the "important" things "in time". The reason I stress "important" and "in time" is because those definitions are often definitions that have been imposed upon the task that are not in fact real. They may be self imposed or by another party.
Obviously common sense says that something that genuinely needs to be done now must be done now, but there are a lot less of those type of tasks than we might imagine. If someone interrupts us and says "I need this now" in many cases they actually only "want" it now but our reaction is often to do it because we can.
The beauty of AF is that the tasks on our lists do get actioned. Yes, some may be rejected (but they can always be readded at another time if a later review throws them back up as necessary) but the majority (the vast majority) of items will be progressed, but in a way that flows naturally.
Try writing those little things on the list, try adding tasks like"wash the dishes", "go to the movies" or, with larger projects "review project x" instead of "do project x". "Thinking time" is always a good addition to the list - AF in an amazing way enables your mind to be freer by removing a lot of the anxiety associated with a "should" based system. It is good to set aside time to work with that ability to focus more and just allow yourself time to think.
The following post will give you links to some of the more questions raised in this forum which may be of assistance. However I would recommend giving it a try with more items for a period to get the feel of AF first as it is easy to get bogged in too many questions. AF is incredibly simple but we human being just love to make things complicated. :-)
http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/627319
Stark is absolutely right in the effect of crossing off tasks, and the breaking down of tasks into smaller parts is definitely beneficial. You say "I tend to do tasks that can be done immediately without writing them on the sheet." Just because a task "can" be done immediately does not necessarily mean that it is the best time to do it. AF allows us to do tasks when we want to, as opposed to when we feel we ought to or just could do. When you fist start with the system that sounds too simple, or haphazard even, to work, and most people feel a fear that they will not do the "important" things "in time". The reason I stress "important" and "in time" is because those definitions are often definitions that have been imposed upon the task that are not in fact real. They may be self imposed or by another party.
Obviously common sense says that something that genuinely needs to be done now must be done now, but there are a lot less of those type of tasks than we might imagine. If someone interrupts us and says "I need this now" in many cases they actually only "want" it now but our reaction is often to do it because we can.
The beauty of AF is that the tasks on our lists do get actioned. Yes, some may be rejected (but they can always be readded at another time if a later review throws them back up as necessary) but the majority (the vast majority) of items will be progressed, but in a way that flows naturally.
Try writing those little things on the list, try adding tasks like"wash the dishes", "go to the movies" or, with larger projects "review project x" instead of "do project x". "Thinking time" is always a good addition to the list - AF in an amazing way enables your mind to be freer by removing a lot of the anxiety associated with a "should" based system. It is good to set aside time to work with that ability to focus more and just allow yourself time to think.
The following post will give you links to some of the more questions raised in this forum which may be of assistance. However I would recommend giving it a try with more items for a period to get the feel of AF first as it is easy to get bogged in too many questions. AF is incredibly simple but we human being just love to make things complicated. :-)
http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/627319
January 20, 2009 at 10:17 |
Christine B
Christine B
I would think I wasn't being granular enough, but these are large tasks, and I tend to do tasks that can be done immediately without writing them on the sheet. Is this a mistake? Is it a mistake to not cross out and recommit to tasks where I am interrupted in the middle by a call or such?
I'm trying to figure out why everyone else has so many pages!