Get Everything Done

Week 3 of AF.
I've just completed an important project (my annual workplace appraisal)and it went off well!
With heart in mouth I "trusted the system",even at times I fell behind schedule on the last 2 days.
What I found really worked was an index card which I used on the last 2 days as suggested in the amendments thread.
I listed all the remaining steps onto index cards (both sides) and used them as page markers,treating the items on the index cards and the notebook page as a single list.
I got all the work done without feeling any of the panic or stress I normally feel when I'm close to a deadline and behind schedule.
Here are my "insights" from this experience

1.Using the extra list for urgent items worked really well and enabled me to "choose to work on these" at a time when doing other things wouldn't have "stood out".

2.My initially wary faith in the system has paid off and trusting it is no longer a conscious effort

3.Stress free productivity at long last! I did the work imperfectly,but it was more than adequate.For me perfectionism is a major cause for my procrastination:building perfect plans,finding the "perfect system" and still failing to do things. AF allows me to plan,but there is no insistence on perfection,which is such a major cause for overwhelm.The "imperfect" work on my AF project was more than enough and allowed me to work calmly and almost stress free at all times-contrary to the approaches Ive used for many years with deadlines.At no time was I under pressure to perform perfectly.

4.I feel with hindsight that had I worked on the project well in advance using a single AF notebook,tasks would not have escalated to "urgent" level and I wouldn't have needed the index cards.In future I will start working on projects well in advance-maybe I won't need any "urgent" lists in future?! Wish me luck!

5.Because I cycled through lists many times a day,I intuitively knew what was "urgent and important" and when it was due.Maybe this is the key to keeping on top of things?The index card only allowed me to group things I knew would ALL HAVE TO GET DONE in a short space of time and allowed me the security of knowing I wouldnt have to go searching through many pages when I was short of time.

Best of all,the process has left me joyful and motivated and I am looking forward to tackling my next big project in the next 6 weeks.
Will I use AF? Can I trust it completely? I'm willing to bet my bottom dollar it will!

Thanks again for your insights Mark
Jay

PS Where's the "donate" button? :-)

Hi Jay

Your observations on perfectionism were really interesting - I've found too that there is no need to be as slavishly perfectionist as I would be normally. It seems that I know that there are some things I really don't need to worry about but conversely where something does need those few extra touches to "perfect" it then they come naturally.

At the beginning of participating in this forum I was getting really annoyed with myself for keep spelling definitely as definately, and getting frustrated that my Caps Lock isn't very sensitive (needs to learn AF) and kept ignoring my attempts to write I, hence all those little i's splattered through my postings. Now hey, if it worries me that much I'll eventually action the "change keyboard on Acer PC" task. Mind you, then I won't have any excuse ....

A curious aside - I recalled that when younger if we were imitating the upper class accent we used to pronounce definitely as definately - perhaps my subconscious (intuitive side) is picking that up (I don't recall having difficulty with that word before) ...... now that would be really weird ......! Of course everyone will be checking up on my spelling now ....... :-(

Hi Christine
Yes, not having to be perfect,having absolute freedom to choose options (all of them my own),having a "system" that's trustable(but simple),constantly being able to see my accomplishments(tasks completed), being able to reward myself for even the smallest action(by striking it off).
These are the things that have impressed me with AF and what have worked in the past individually.
And a newfound belief every small action helps!
It has taken something like AF to bring it all together
I'm beginning to see meaning in some of those productivity cliches I couldnt believe in and resisted so strongly(eg just do it) .Ironically,having such "mantra" didn't work for me!And I could come up with some mantras of my own now,but they wouldnt work for others I'm sure.
But there's something universally appealing about AF......

Jay