Get Everything Done

I've been using Autofocus for a couple of weeks. Well it's not been a miracle cure yet, but it's helped a lot. Here's why I think it works for me:

1. I sit at my desk most of the day, so I don't have much need for contexts. Most of my tasks I can do at any time.

2. It requires virtually no initial set up. Just get a blank page in your notebook, and begin.

3. GTD is for CEOs and all sorts of people who presumably are already pretty productive. Autofocus is BRILLIANT for people who REALLY struggle with productivity. I now don't find myself sitting around unsure of what to do -- I always can pick a "next task" easily.

4. I can throw anything into it, any time it pops into my head. No need to decide "what's the context?" or "is this an action or project".

5. In the past my to do list got so long that I spent a high proportion of my day looking through it, trying to figure out what to do next. Focusing on 1 page at a time cuts that out completely.

6. Relatively few of my tasks are 100% compulsory. The important thing is that I do the most valuable tasks at any one time, not that I tick every thing off. So having the freedom to skip stuff works really well for me.

Thanks Mark, I think it's great. Good luck spinning it out into a whole book however -- that will be a challenge. ;)

My main problem is -- once I finish a task I find myself messing about for too long before I go back, tick the task off, and move onto the next on.

AF has clearly more focus (auto) than GTD.
Good points in GTD are concepts like "complete inventory" and "what is next action".

However, (at least) i'm failing with GTD since it doen't have in-built focus and also GTD has lot of setup + maintenance overhead. => AF is much more easier and lighter method

"My main problem is -- once I finish a task I find myself messing about for too long before I go back, tick the task off, and move onto the next on. " I couldn't understand. What happens when you finish a task?

My experience has been quite different. I know immediately what to do next, something I longed to all my life (it is obvious for so many people, but it wasn't for me till AF).