Get Everything Done

Steve,

I never heard of Mundis before Martin mentioned him. I see that amazon.com in the US has used copies of his book, _Break Writer's Block Now!_ available at a very low cost.

You might be able to try that first to determine if his more exorbitantly priced products are worth purchasing.

Thanks Moises. I'll check it out.

I haven't posted in a while but have been diligently working my AF system in real time with my very real life. So much I like about it!! especially when the release comes and i do things like read stuff I have not found time for or dig into my novel or sort out my cd's. But I am at the point where I bail and it's hard because that release thing is just so cool. And welcome. And real. But can this system work w my life? I have roadtested it and observed what is going on and it ain't working. Well it's working where it's working but the rest of my life is falling apart. I sit here at my desk with stuff piled up all around me, and stuff on the counters in the kitchen and I am still not unpacked from my trip to Calif last week that was canceled.

I am completely snowed under with work this weekend. I have student work to read and critique, I have another novel I am hired to read and critique, I have a grant to apply for which can net me $$, I have my own novel to write, I have a slate of officers to come up with for a board I am on, and I have more than that but you don't need to hear about that.

Waiting for a release..ha! I don't even have time to take a good look at my lists at this point. I have stuff to do. If I trusted this system, I would get fired. If I blocked off time for work and put it on my calendar, I would have very little time for AF. I don't have anymore work than anybody else btw.

I LOVE AUTOFOCUS!! What a great way to live!! I wish I could live that way. Maybe if I had come from DIT and not GTD this would be a more organic shift, I don't know.

I don't want to give up THAT RELEASE, such a rush, such a dream, such a cool thing, but I would have to have another life if I were to wait for that.

It doesn't make sense to TRUST THE SYSTEM until real life and work intrudes--cause it does all the time---and then come up with a parallel system to cope with that, such as blocking off hours or all day. Occasionally okay, but with my life? My parallel system would take over my AF system. It has. It's kicked it's ass---LAST WEEK, THIS WEEKEND, THIS WEEK, THIS DAY.

Set me straight, any of you smart ppl. I would sincerely like that. Now..back to work!!

Steve:

I bought the mp3's, and had one coaching session with him, too (over the phone). There's a lot of good stuff in the recordings, and I've learned quite a bit. Some of his recommendations flatly contradict Boice's, but they have quite a bit in common, too. I immersed myself in the system for a good period of time, and got good results, and I still use some of the things I learned from him. Of course, you might be wondering why I'm not still adhering to the whole system...I'm not sure, to be honest, and I'm too tired right now for self-analysis to be a good idea. Perhaps I'm just looking for a magic bullet....

In any case, I'd definitely recommend Mundis's work. He told me, incidentally, there's a fair bit of material in the recordings that isn't in the book, but nothing in the book that isn't the recordings. I haven't seen the book myself.

Martin

I've been following this post with interest but didn't really feel qualified to get involved as a "non-writer". I must admit I was thinking of writing along the lines of "choosing to be a writer" as opposed to the concept of writing for a thesis or as part of a course, where I can understand that there would be a considerable degree of resistance attached, but never considered that writing "by choice" would have the almost constant element of resistance that people have expressed. I had always thought that writing should be fun, should just flow, and that writer's block was an occasional blip rather than a constant concern. I found the point about separating the tasks of writing and editing very helpful - I can see that the latter would be more likely to have resistance attached.

I have mentioned before that I have always wanted to write a book or two - and have started that on occasion. AF is encouraging me to revisit that wish to the extent that I have started to look seriously at the options. The question I would like to ask - of those who write by choice (books, articles, blogs whatever) as opposed to more "obligatory" writing, is do you really find that the task of writing does become a chore, even though it is what you really want to do? If so, is that because of deadlines imposed or some other reason? For me, the concept of that type of writing has always been something that flows from my creativity (or not as the case may be!). My mother wrote numerous novels and loved to write so I guess there may be some sort of inherited disposition but I have never really questioned my "belief structure" vis-a-vis writing before and would be very interested in people's views on this.

The thing that really prompted this question was that this morning the task "Thinking Time" stood out, and I found myself starting to write just what I was going to use this time for. Almost before I knew it, all of my thoughts just started flowing and what I produced was something I would be happy to look at as the start of a blog, an article, or even a book. Out of curiosity I copied my writings into Word to do a word count - I set up my "Thinking Time" page at 11:04, made a cup of coffee before I started, and by the time I did my word count it was 11:41. The number of words was 742 which surprised me given the daily numbers quoted above. To me THAT is what I imagine writing SHOULD be like. I'm certainly not saying that what I produced was a masterpiece or anything like that, but it was the way in which everything flowed so easily that I am curious about.

I would really value people's comments on this - thanks!

Hi Christine, I have published a well reviewed book of ficition (NYT's Notable book of the Year, Summer Reading list, Michiko Kakutani review as well as a Sunday Book Review review) and teach in a grad writing program at a University. I know lots and lots of well known writers (fiction writers mainly) who have won almost every major literary award that can be given in U.S. and here's what we have to say about writing. If it's easy or fun, you aren't any good. Seriously, that's what the writer's I hang out with say. Everyone blood, sweats and tears through their books. But maybe that's why they are published, made into movies, make it into Best American Short Stories and all over the New York Times. That's why they teach at Harvard, win Guggenheims and Genius awards.

I say to my students that a writer needs utter emotional freedom to create, and then iron clad discipline to turn it into art and if you lack either one, you will not be a contender. It is all a competition. There are only so many publishers etc. However I find that the biggest competition is with yourself and that's where a lot of the fun is.

Also there is nothing more satisfying than a finished short story or a novel that lives on forever. First of all, you have done real work. You have done the very best that you can do and that is satisfying in and of itself. And I know, for me, that I will die much happier for having done the work that I do and have done.

Okay, I am a literary fiction writer, not a blogger or screenwriter so maybe they should weigh in as well and I am sure they will. I have written giant feature articles for the NYT's Magazine section and other magazines but it's not my thing. My think is fiction. love and kisses

Trish,
I know that some anonymity is built into our discussion group but would love it if you could you give us another hint about your book! But please don't feel any pressure to do so, and if it doesn't feel right just ignore this request. best regards, Steve

I posted this in a separate topic a few days ago. I should have put it here...

Interesting post on how to keep the writing momentum going. The rest of the blog is well worth a browse, too.

http://memex.naughtons.org/archives/2009/01/25/6438

Dave

"A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people." Thomas Mann.

I do think that some writing (blogs, e-mails, letters, newspaper articles) can be done faster than other kinds. I have a friend who is a journalist -everything with him is fast, fast, fast -- and he tried to write a novel. It took him about two months and he was amazed at how bad it was. I have another friend who is a novelist and each novel takes several years and they aren't even very long. But they're great.

In general, fiction seems to take longer than non-fiction. And if someone is writing poetry, the time spent working can be huge compared to the word-count.

Steve, I wouldn't be such a blabbermouth if I weren't anonymous. Plus, this just isn't the place to post that kind of thing. Wouldn't feel right about it. But, thanks for asking!!

Trish, I totally understand!
best, Steve

Trish:

I like the Freudian typo ('my think is fiction'). Interesting post, anyway. I'm thinking about how to reconcile it with some of Boice's findings. Amongst other things, Boice has found that the more productive writers tend to be better at "moderating" negative emotions and negative thoughts – when thinking about writing or actually writing, they spend less time feeling bad, their bad feelings are less intense, and fewer of their thoughts are negative ("I'm talentless", "This is rubbish", "I'll never finish on time", etc.). He claims that the optimal state for writing is one of mild happiness, and claims that the most productive writers spend more time in such a state when writing.

At first sight, this might seem to be at odds with some of what you report ("If it's easy or fun, you aren't any good," "Everyone blood, sweats and tears through their books"). But perhaps not: perhaps what you're talking about is hard work and discipline – regular hours, lots of time and energy expended, lots and lots of revising and editing, etc. – which needn't be accompanied by suffering of the sort Boice is talking about – feeling depressed, hopeless, or anxious a lot of the time, lots of "negative self-talk". What do you think?

(And incidentally, the Boicean approach is completely on-board with "iron-clad discipline". One of his golden rules is daily sessions, and he recommends "contingency management" as a way of bringing that about, at least initially, until good habits are formed – not letting yourself shower/have coffee/check email/read the newspaper/<insert own desired daily activity> until after your writing session, giving a friend a cheque made out to a hated political organisation which he or she will mail if you don't stick to your writing schedule...that sort of thing.)

Trish/Dave/Steve/Martin

Many thanks for your responses to my question. There is a lot of food for thought there. I'm really quite motivated to explore this further but am not sure where it will lead. I've written articles that have been well received so I know that is something I "can" do but it was not something I ever enjoyed - perhaps because it was more enforced than voluntary. I "want" to write a book - non-fiction on subjects to do with Time Management and other organisation issues and have found, when I have started this before, that my thoughts flow relatively easily. I've been told I have a good writing style but I believe that is always going to be relative. I write in the style that I like to read for that type of book; in that genre there are so many different styles, some I like and some I don't. However I would say without exception that each of those books will have had both excellent and terrible reviews. People will either relate to a style of writing or they won't.

I would love to be able to write fiction but don't feel I would be very good at it. That's not to say I might not try - I'll just have to make sure I use a pseudonym :-)

Hi Christine,

FWIW, I really like your writing style!

I think you answered your own question though - it is much easier and way more fun when it's voluntary.

Every day of my life, I worry about my unfinished DPhil. So much money, so much time, so much work, still nothing to show for it. I want that degree so badly, but clearly not enough to sit down and actually finish my damn thesis. Whereas I have no problems writing on this blog or on the other discussion forums to which I contribute (a very effective displacement activity of course).

Martin, on your recommendation I bought Jerrold Mundis's MP3s and I like them a lot. Only heard the first 3 so far, but a great find. Thanks very much for pointing me in the right direction (again!)

Thanks for that little b!

I think that is the answer for me. If I feel like writing and enjoy doing it then I will go for it. If someone likes it enough to read my blog or articles then great! If someone likes it enough to publish then great! If not - I've been having fun!

Great, glad you like them, little b! Hope they prove helpful, too.

Thanks Mark. I'm actually making some daily progress finally, thanks to AF. I am not at all a mornings person which is why I've never taken your 'first thing' advice (think it's in MYDCT?) but I will try it on Friday anyway and let you know how I get on. Incidentally, Mundis gives the same advice to resisting writers - write first thing.

Hi everybody,
I am really enchanted with this AF thing even though I end up in the ditch with it. As I have said before, the good part of the experience is just so good!! Anyway I have hauled myself out of my latest ditch and am sitting here working on my lists...again. So as I see it, there are some things that are just out of AF territory and then some things that are well within it.

My guess is that errands are outside of AF. Some deadlines are...as I have just experienced this week. Repeating daily things/weekly things could be in or out depending..on you. Writing novel is out...however....I am wondering if I put it back in and did something on it first thing in the morning? Resistance gone..which would be an xcellent thing indeed. And I was very much happier writing on novel when I had it within my AF list. Less happy when I chunked out a buncha time and nailed myself to my chair, especially on day two. Especially especially on day three.

I can't believe I am ready to try this AF thing again, but I am!!! I kind of wish I had never heard of it, but it's like falling in love..here I am ready or not.

Well, I tried writing first thing on both Friday and today. It didn't work for me :-(

Issues - on Fridays and Mondays I work from home. This means that I save an hour at the beginning of the day (8.30am to 9.30am) and then again in the evening (7pm-8pm) on commuting. That's four hours a week that I could very usefully spend on my DPhil before we even get to evenings and weekends.

But on Friday my husband, who'd been away all week on a business trip, came home earlier than expected and we ended up going out for a coffee. It wasn't a busy day workwise so I knocked off at 5pm (though I still had unimportant though nonetheless necessary tasks on my work AF list undone). HB and I went out to the cinema instead.

This morning, I got to my desk, remembered all the crappy work tasks I hadn't dealt with on Friday afternoon, thought I'd better get them out of the way before I started on my DPhil reading so I didn't have them hanging over me...and suddenly it was 9.45am and my clients were on the phone.

Some thoughts -

1) HB is a distraction when he's home, but a happy marriage is ultimately more important to me than the DPhil. But as a result of this natural prioritising, top priority is actually sabotaging second priority.

Ironically, my husband nags me about the DPhil constantly whenever I get sidetracked with any displacement activity, and was very dubious about me shutting up shop at 5pm.

2) I will do ANYthing, including the crappiest work tasks ever, before I will touch anything to do with my DPhil. Yet, as soon as I get started on the DPhil reading, I start loving it. All the resistance is in the anticipation.

Soooooo, can anyone help me stop all this displacement activity and persuade me to just get down to the job at hand???

to little b:
try getting up a half hour earlier than usual. use that extra half hour to do some reading or writing for your DPhil.

that's it.
see how this works for you.
then try it again the next day.

steve.

p.s. if a half hour feels like too much, try fifteen minutes.

little b

From your comment "as soon as I get started on the DPhil reading, I start loving it" would seem to indicate that the "problem" with this task is not the task itself but some emotions surrounding it. Tasks of this nature can create a lot of emotion - the enormity of the task, the amount of time required, fear of failing, inability to do other tasks in the meantime - perhaps you could put a task on your list to "examine feelings about DPhil" and just brainstorm on that for a while - could be surprising .......

Mark has it exactly right,little b. For me, first thing means I get up, splash water on my face, make tea and sit at my writing desk. That is it. Any activity other than those three are deadly traps for avoidance I conserve all my energy for the writing. No email. No radio. No Internet. No phone. No children. No wife. Just me and the work. I make it as much of a regular ritual as possible. It is sacrosanct. Eventually it becomes habit. When I do it this way, inspiration is abundant, the anxiety is minimal and I feel fantastic. I suggest you start small and build up the time spent every day. Start with 10 minutes. Add ten minutes each day thereafter. It works.

Hey!!!!!!!

It works!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I took your collective advice last night (was reading the forum at bedtime which is why I didn't post), got up early, did nothing else but make myself tea, and worked solidly for 40 minutes.

So thank you all so much for moving me forwards! I guess I'll be trying chaining next...

...On which subject, would it be helpful if we had a separate thread on which we each "checked in" daily once we'd done some work on our writing project? Sort of like a Weightwatchers weigh-in, but with words written or minutes spent instead of pounds lost?

DO IT FIRST! Is a general principle that applies to anything. If you have one task of any kind that you hate, do that first and the rest of the day sails. What is it someone said: if you have to eat a dozen frogs today, eat the biggest one first. Something like that ;-)

Mike I do love your analogies:-)

i have to confess though that the frog analogy left me thinking "nooooo - I'd rather AF it and trust my subconscious to recognise when it was ready", i.e. all nicely cooked with garlic and mushrooms!

Regarding the frog, the advice I have heard (but never taken) is to "eat a live frog,first thing every morning, and then nothing worse can happen to you for the rest of the day."

little b,

I keep a log of how many minutes I've spent writing each day. I have a goal for the number of minutes spent writing for the year. Each day, after doing my writing, I enter the number of minutes for that day into the log.

That is one particular tactic that works for me. Below I've summarized some more general strategies. The more of them you do, the more you are likely to succeed.

1. schedule it
2. control your environment (no interruptions, no distractions [phone, internet], comfortable chair, usable work surface, handy reference materials )
3. monitor your progress (track minutes, or pages, etc.)
4. commit to others (create a thread on this website with your goal, and post to it daily telling us how you've done).

Thank you all for the tips and support everyone.

On Moises's advice, I'm checking in to say that I have managed 68 minutes today - combination of working first thing and spending lunchtime usefully. Most I've done in a long time without an externally imposed deadline looming, so very happy.

Mark, your idea about tea being a reward has got me thinking. There is no way I can get up in the morning without the cup of tea - I am emphatically not a mornings person, so there's no way it can become my reward for working on my DPhil daily; I'd simply never get out of bed without it.

But the tea makes it possible to get up because I link drinking tea (something I love doing) to getting up (something I hate doing) and accordingly it "dilutes" the resistance to getting up. I only drink tea first thing though, so the thought of it each morning must be triggering some sort of Pavlovian response in me: if you want to drink tea, you have to get up.

So...if I can reduce resistance to a task by combining it with something I really enjoy doing, all I need to do now is think of an activity that can complement working on my DPhil.

But what activity could it be? You can't combine watching Coronation Street with completing your DPhil, more's the pity!

Music seems to be the obvious example but I'm not musical so I'm not sure whether it would be a good trigger to get me studying. Eating chocolate biscuits would definitely work, but probably wouldn't be very good for me :-(

For years my morning ritual has been simple. Make coffee and start writing. By now, the very act of making the coffee seems to trigger my desire to sit down and start writing.

little b

There's a book called Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard (link below)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Beautiful-Life-Elegance-Beauty/dp/0380705117/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234379012&sr=1-1

which has some great ideas for creating rituals for events. The one that always stuck in my mind was the story of a lady who hated doing her finances so made a ritual out of it by setting up a place to do it, using a fountain pen to write her cheques with coloured ink, having a vase of flowers on the table and music in the background.

When I used to travel in the States a lot I listend to a lot of "smooth jazz" radio stations and find that type of music makes a good unobstrusive background. in fact one of the tasks on my AF list is to find a good station to listen to whilst working as I find it often helps my concentration.

Just checking in to let everyone know that I'm still doing okay with the 'first thing' challenge. I've had a very hectic week and was away for the weekend, but I've still managed to do at least thirty minutes every day and some days I've managed a good couple of hours.

To help me on my way as discussed above, I have bought myself an obscenely expensive but utterly delicious-smelling Diptyque candle, and I light that whilst I write. No lighting the candle unless I'm writing. Stop writing, candle has to blown out.

I'm still struggling a little bit with putting the kettle on only when I'm working on the DPhil, as it's just too easy to cheat; tea has medicinal value as far as I'm concerned!

Christine, thanks for the book recommendation. I haven't checked it out yet, but there's a reason for that: it's a truism that anyone studying for a DPhil will delay writing until they've finished reading, and they'll read anything to avoid writing. My new rule is that if it isn't directly relevant to the writing of my thesis, I won't read it. Not until the Easter holiday, anyway ;-)

Oops, forgot to tell you about seeing the author Vikram Seth speak earlier this week.

For non-Brits, he wrote an epic novel in the 90s called 'A Suitable Boy' that is even longer than War & Peace (and arguably a much better read), as well as another very different novel, a biography, a travel guide, and a novel in rhyming couplets. So an awesome writer even if assessed only on productivity (though he's generally considered a genius on aesthetic grounds too).

Would you believe Seth regularly suffers from writer's block? And procrastination? And crippling self-doubt?

Currently he doesn't have a project, so he's painting instead. He said it was important to keep feeling creative and keep being productive so that you jam the vicious spiral of feeling blue because you're doing nothing, so doing nothing and feeling worse.

He also said that once you start writing, your ideas and characters will take on a life and a momentum of their own and you'll want to carry on writing just to see what happens next. The starting is the hard part (we could have told him that, right?)

Ironically, he also has an unfinished DPhil thesis!!

I played with the idea how to write in small chunks, strictly using AF. I devised a method and blogged about my experiences:
http://www.taskberry.com/2009/03/28/write-little-and-often/

I know I'm coming late into this discussion, but I want to add another reccommendation for Boice/Silvia and writing at a scheduled hour. When I actually do so, it really works.
As for AF, when I started, I tried interspersing writing tasks, but quickly they got lost, so I started a notebook AF-style just for writing tasks. During my writing time, I process it using the AF rules to decide/remember what I want to write next.