Get Everything Done

I'm still finding Autofocus to have all sorts of great benefits, but there's one thing that isn't working for me yet: I'm not going through all my pages at least once a day. Far from it, in fact. A couple of days ago I got through almost half the pages, and that was a good day. In January this wasn't really an issue for me, as it was rare that anything was terribly urgent, because the institution I teach at was on a break. But now the new semester's started up, I'm much more likely to add something to the list that needs to be addressed in the next couple of days, say; and I'm taking more than a couple of days, on average, to cycle through. As a result, I'm starting to feel some anxiety and stress, and to have to break the rules to make deadlines on occasion. (I'm also only coming back to 'Email' every few days. The plus side is that I'm spending a lot less time on email, which is a good thing; but I'm also not really on top of it, for the first time since I adopted DIT.)

In a forum posting a little while ago, Mark, you addressed this issue explicitly, and advised tuning one's "little and often" knob to ensure that one moves through the whole list at least once a day. I'm wondering if you, or anyone else, can give me advice about _how_ to do that; and more specifically, how to do it without violating the principles of Autofocus.

Here's what I mean: In order to increase the rate at which I move through the list as a whole, I'd need to

(a) reduce the average time per item worked on, or
(b) reduce the average number of items per page I work on, or
(c) both

(Increasing the "little and often"-ness of my approach would presumably be a matter of doing (a).) But how do I do (a) whilst sticking to the principle that one should work on a given item (once picked) for as long as one feels like it (given that that's what I've been doing so far)? And how do I do (b) whilst sticking to the principle that one should do some work on each item that stands out (given that all the items I've been working on are ones that stand out)?

This is really the only issue I'm having with Autofocus at this point; but I'm worried it could become a big one.

Incidentally, in case it's relevant, I don't think my list is exceptionally long. I currently have 22 pages active, with about 120-130 "live" items altogether. (I know of at least a couple of pages that'll get dismissed next time around – or so I predict – but it's taking me a while to get back there....)

Thanks.

Thanks, Mark – that's helpful. I'll work on it.

Hi Martin

Don't feel that you're the only one finding the need to adjust like this. I've posted before that I strongly believe that we will be having to make adjustments and/or work outside the system on occasion whilst we are getting used to it - and it is getting used to us! I only cleared my first page today and have been unable to cycle through the pages at all for the past week or more. Today I had only half a day "discretionary" time and worked on approx half of my pages - that is frustrating but as my early pages only have one or two items left I know that I can move more quickly - and I do make a point of reviewing all of my items so that if something is urgent then it will get done.

What I am noticing is that the wording of, and type of, tasks on my later pages is quite different to my earlier pages. In addition I have actually changed, added to or improved a lot of my systems as a result of AF, as it has highlighted areas where I could streamline my working practices.

Although it feels like AF has been around for ever - it is in fact less than a month - and the amount of change I personally have initiated as a result is quite frankly amazing. It will however take time for those changes to filter through - and for my backlogs to clear. At present I do not feel I am using AF to it's full potential because of that legacy input - but it is improving all the time ......

The name "Autofocus" suggests that the more we do the system, the more we engage in some kind of psychic balancing. How we feel about an item will certainly be influenced by how many open pages and open items we have.

Martin has certainly stated in a very clear way, how things feel when we are getting overwhelmed by our commitments. In my very first two days of implementing Autofocus, that was precisely how I felt. I would repeat here what Mark suggested to me at that time: use a notebook with more lines. It does allow me to progress more quickly through the pages.

Mark: I'd like to play devil's advocate here, having thought about this a bit more. Why isn't the approach you've suggested – training one's mind in the way you suggest above – a significant shift in the whole idea behind Autofocus? As originally presented, the idea was that by following the rules about lists, pages, standing out, etc., you'd find yourself making good judgements about what to do when, and how long to spend on it, just by following your intuition (seeing what stands out, working on things for as long as you feel like it). But the adjustment, or training, you describe above amounts to saying: unless it's not working for you, in which case your intuitions aren't leading you in the right direction, and you shouldn't follow them. (You shouldn't work on all the items that stand out, or work on things for as long as you feel like it.) Instead, you should try to develop new intuitions, so to speak.

That's stated a bit polemically, for the sake of vividness, but I am worried about the issue I'm presenting. (It also seems to me that the guideline that you should try and make sure you're moving through your entire list at least once a day is a significant amendment, and should count as one of the basic rules of the system.)

Christine, Moises: Thanks for the supportive words. It could be a backlog issue in my case, too, Christine, but if so, it'll take a while to clear (several months, given the projects I'm working on and their deadlines), and I need to think about how to proceed in the meantime. And I'm already using 30 lines per page, moises...why would increasing the number mean moving faster?

Martin,

This reply just addresses the very narrow question you directed at me.

Assume I have 300 tasks and 20 tasks/page. That gives me 15 pages. If the rules stipulate that I must make at least one cycle through the notebook each day, and I must do at least one item/page, I will do a minimum of 15 items.

If I have the same 300 tasks on 30 tasks/page paper, I have 10 pages and a requirement to do 10 items. That enables me to cycle through the list more quickly.

I have a work list and a home list. I'm only on the 5th page of my 40 lines per page notebook at work and I started not long after this beta began. The first 3 pages are mostly cleared, except for a few items. The 4th is maybe half or more cleared. The 5th page just has 7 items on it. Many items appear again and again, as I've made some progress and then moved them to the end of the list. So, my 4+ pages aren't even all new items. I can't quite imagine having as many as you've described, Martin - I would love to see what's on yours. I haven't dumped any significant backlog into it - I have GTD lists that I haven't gone through, but I'm planning to sort through those and add items gradually, rather than overwhelming the system, as Mark phrases it. It's been working for me, although I'm still an awful procrastinator. But, I still see many good things coming out of this for me.

Mark

I am finding that "trusting the system" really is working well for me BUT I do have some problems with some things not getting done as quickly as I believe (rationally) they should, or perhaps I should say as I would like them to be done. I can see that this has a lot to do with the fact that my discretionery time is somewhat limited, plus the fact that I have backlogs, and though irritating the tasks are not necessarily important but have the potential to become so.

The number of open pages I have and the number of open items is not worrying me but I would like to be moving through my pages more quickly. Because the reason for not doing so is more linked to lack of discretionary time than anything I have resisted the "one item per page" approach because I feel that would make me see the list more as one long list than as closed lists, and it has just "not felt right" to do that. However there are a number of tasks that I believe should be prioritised. I don't feel strongly enough about the items that I should use the Common Sense approach to "just do them". Neither do I feel they are same day items to be actioned from an index card or similar.

If anything the specific tasks causing concern in this particular instance would be more an issue of context - i.e. "home" as opposed to "work" type items. Initially when I started with the lists it was the home type items that stood out (I am using one list for work and home items - which I want to continue). Now it is the work type items that are standing out, on which I will generally work for longer anyway. I really don't want to try limiting the time by anything other than the "for as long as I feel like" rule. However if I am going to avoid living somewhere that looks like the set of a police drama after a burglary I need to do something!

My idea at present is to temporarily split out the home items to a separate list and to just work from that list, in the manner of a separate location, for a period of time. However, it strikes me that an extracted list of "urgentish" items could be a solution as a form of "emergency procedure" to be used on rare occasions only when faced with a backlog related or deadline related emergency.

It seems to me that, with a number of us struggling with legacy backlogs, looming deadlines or just a period of temporary overload that should even out when AF is more established, that some form of "emergency procedure" would be helpful. Using the concept of a separate location list would seem to be a solution in this case but I wondered if you had found this to be an issue at any point in your own journey to date, or whether you see any major problems with that as an approach. My feeling is that such an approach, if used as an "emergency procedure" would have to be legislated as an exception and short term option only as the "extracted lists" would contain rationally determined priority items, even if actioned in an AF manner.

It would be my intention to still keep the items within the original lists and cross them off as appropriate, which would still retain the dismissal point of remaining items on the relevant pages.

I would very much appreciate your input on this Mark in case you can see some major flaws in my plan or have some infinitely simpler approach :-) Thank you!

Hi Mark

I know it is less than 24 hours since I posted the above, and the approach above has it's merits in that some of the things are getting done, but I am finding that it does detract from the AF system. I think the problem is that, because the items have been extracted from partially completed pages, they have almost carried with them a degree of resistance. It's odd because they seem to have more resistance than when left on the original page.

Going back to to AF feels somehow right. My rational mind says I haven't given it a long enough trial but actually the way I feel about going back to AF is such a relief that I know I have. I am glad I tried this "tweak" becauase proving something doesn't work is as valuable as finding something that does. I know I will be a lot happier just doing some of those things "outside the system" if necessary while the backlog element and overall benefits of the system settle down for me, rather than trying to find some way around the problem.

Nevertheless, Mark, I would assume you have already hit these problems so if you have any further insights I would be grateful. Part of me says the above "tweak" should work so if you can add to that it would be really helpful.

Thanks!

Thanks Mark. We're very perverse us human beings aren't we? Still I'm glad I tried my "tweak" - gives me an opportunity to enjoy that relief factor! :-)

Watching space with anticipation ......... :-)

PS I'm amazed how quickly AF showed me my "tweak" didn't work!

Mark that is so true, I am also happier doing it than not, but if you're feeling *sad* in being so enamoured with AF, a quick look around the forum should remind you very quickly YOU ARE NOT ALONE !! There is a growing number of us :-)

Yes Mark - a lot of us are pretty sad! :-) I would suggest we start a club but I think we already have .......

moises:

Thanks for the reply. You're right, of course, that using pages with more lines (but holding the total number of items fixed) will mean that I *can* complete a cycle through my pages in less time – namely, by doing only one item per page (and holding the average time per item fixed). But it doesn't follow that I *will* complete a cycle any quicker, if I stick to the core principle that I work on each item that stands out. Given that constraint, there's no reason to think I'll complete a cycle any quicker unless there's some reason to think that having more lines per page will mean either that fewer items stand out, or that my average time per item will go down (or both).

Martin,

And you, of course, are correct both in that "can" does not imply "will," and that AF appears to require us to adjust our intuitions.

The rules of AF provide us with a new structure for working. Our old intuitions about how long to work on a task will not serve us well in this new structure of AF. If we can’t adjust our intuitions, AF won’t work well.

I no longer “feel” like working as long on items. Consciously, I know that if I do work a long time, I will get bogged down, possibly neglecting other items on my list. Presumably, over time, these conscious thoughts stop being conscious and they become intuitive habits and feelings.

If I still feel like working too long on Project A, when Project B is calling out for attention, then AF is not working.

You point out that the original formulation of AF made no mention of the need to adjust intuition. But now that it does, is that a fault in AF?

Presumably, we had some flawed intuitions going into AF, or we wouldn’t have felt the need to try AF. If AF encourages us to adjust our intuitions so that we move towards a more optimal use of our time, we would all welcome it.

moises

A question - is it that AF is adjusting our intuition or is it that we are allowing our intuition to adjust itself as opposed to restricting it with our logic? I feel that our intuition is almost in some ways like a child finding it's feet and gradually learning that it has the ability itself to think and to assess things, rather than being restricted by what it's always been told to do.

Just a thought to fling into the pot ....... :-)

I struggled for several weeks with my Autofocus list moving "too slowly". I had 45 pages and over 800 active tasks. It just moved too slowly to be effective. I tried several things to deal with that.

For me, the main problem with moving slowly was that I had important tasks with hard deadlines, but I wasn't moving quickly enough through the list to see them even once.

Also, I was losing track of the overall list -- I just didn't have a "feel" for the pages that I hadn't seen in several days.

A couple things really helped with this:

1. "Dismiss" the entire Autofocus notebook, and *start over*. Just get a new notebook, and jot down the things that are most pressing, the things that are on your mind. Be sure to add a recurring task, "transfer some items from the old AF list", to make sure that you aren't forgetting something important. Otherwise, just count the entire old list as "dismissed".

2. Deliberately add duplicate entries for important items, and for items that may need to be done several times a day such as "check email". After a bit of working the system, you'll find that you get these tasks scattered all through your active pages, especially towards the end. It helps ensure that you see them frequently and have the opportunity to do the "little and often" thing.

3. Use different books for different contexts, and use your calendar/time boxes to determine the contexts. I resisted this for a long time, since I liked the way Autofocus itself would steer me into one context or another. But having tried it both ways, I feel more focused and move more quickly through the list when the personal and work are separated.

4. Use project folders to keep track of project tasks. (A "folder" can be in Outlook, on your hard drive, a manilla folder in the cabinet, a box of stuff on the shelf, whatever). In the AF notebook, just write "clear tasks for Project X". Try to put project-related tasks into that folder, and not on your AF list. If it's a really large project, with dozens or hundreds of tasks, then maybe make a new "context" for it, and treat it in the same category that you treat "work" and "personal", with time blocked out on your calendar specifically for that project, and with its very own Autofocus notebook.

5. Don't be afraid to dismiss. This is a new one for me, and I haven't really got the hang of it yet (I still strongly resist dismissing things), but I think it will help even more...

The common theme with all these ideas is to keep your AF list "lean and mean", not to let it get clogged up with distractions and too much detail that really belongs somewhere else.

Christine,

A week or so ago Martin asked Mark what was rational about AF. I believe the response what that there was a law-like regularity to the rules that provided rationality: add new items to the end of the list, go through the pages sequentially, do at least one item per page.

That is the rational structure of AF.

I think we also call a process rational when we consciously engage in means-ends deliberations. I want groceries, that's my end. I then consciously say, OK, the best way for me to obtain this end is to wait till work is over and drive to the market on the way home.

What does the intuition do? Presumably it tells us when to start working on an AF item and when to stop (among other things). For intuition to work, it must discriminate between constraints that can be changed and those that cannnot.

If we develop the AF habit, our intuition learns that the rules of AF are one of the constraints on our behavior. It then calculates what strategy to follow using those constraints.

Gravity is a constraint. The need to eat and sleep are constraints. Intuition throws all these variables into the equation and spits out a result.

I agree with your claim that the intuition thinks and assesses. What distinguishes it from rational thinking and assessing is that it does not involve conscious deliberation. But, I would assert, it still takes into account the existing situation. It distinguishes between things that can be done (drive to the store) and things that can't be done (fly to the store by flapping my arms). Once the AF rules are firmly established, the intuition arrives at a decision that takes the AF rules into account.

I've added "fly to the store by flapping my arms" to my list, just to see what will happen. :-)

Seraphim

I think you will find this will improve your ability to dismiss items!

Of course it could start a new project "look at means of flying without a plane"!

moises

I completely agree with you. Our subconscious "still takes into account the existing situation. It distinguishes between things that can be done (drive to the store) and things that can't be done (fly to the store by flapping my arms)." What I think is remarkable is that our subconscious has absorbed all of the learning we have, the "rules" of rationality such as in your excellent example, the rules of AF and also our own moral and ethical quidelines, and then produces that assessment as you say without conscious deliberation.

That takes just so much pressure off of our conscious mind that we can spend it in conscious deliberation of the actual task we are doing, rather than it being hindered by all of the vague anxieties of our "stuff".

Hi all
I had a similar epiphany as Seraphin. I put my entire Autofocus in the shredder and started anew......listing ONLY things that were either required of me or goals and projects I decided to put a deadline on. I, then, schedule blocks of time to this list. Reading these things keeps me assured of properly keeping track and it also gives the ABSOLUTE FREEDOM to use the rest of my time to live as I most want to at the time....It could be anything from cooking a fine meal to going on (another) hyperfocus jag of creating art, music, writing or creating pleasure with my social circle. Oddly enough, this new method has made other things welcomed options. i.e. I actually spint over 3 hours white gloving the house because I completed the minimum upkeep posted on the list. I, then, painted the walls and then, I welded a new table. I've found that doing mindless work allows my mind to put the pieces together to do my creative endeavors whilst getting "optional" chores (purposely not on the autofocus list) done. The focus is no longer on filing, cleaning to get it done. Rather, it's an activity that gets done as a by-product while I use the time to prime my brain for my passions.
I feel much freer working from a short autofocus list that's designed to cover my ass and meet my responsibilities so that I can freely hyperfocus on my art, music, writing, etc or spend time with people I enjoy.
Now, I love my autofocus list......because I figured out how to make it effective for me. I guess I've been brain-washed to meet my responsibilites first and then I am FREE to love my life however I wish. I've never needed a list to guide that! LOL!.......just a calendar so that I don't forget to show up or meet deadlines.
It's been a week with my "lean and mean" list as Seraphin so aptly described it. I'm over the moon with the results so far! (I don't have to fear my short-term memory nor curse my disabilities. Mostly, when I'm more up to par, I feel safe to guiltlessly and fearlessly embrace my discretionary time for which I don't need to refer to a list at all. My intuition is front and center when my health and time permits it.
learning as I go

p.s.
Maybe it's my rearing, but when I feel myself rebelling against a responsibility or to move forward on one of my goals, it creates an instinct in me to want to do it just to feel like my better side won! I may not relish the procedure but I love the feeling of victory. It's silly but it works for me...even if I need to keep re-starting until I feel satisfied that my better side reigned supreme afterwards. (I've been known to reduce my starts to as low as 5 minutes to make sure I do start.......slow victory to be sure......but victory none the less! *blush* It's like sports.....most of the winning strategy is to stay in the game giving it your all. Even if the opposing team wins, I still victory in my soul for bearing up to the very end. *blush*
learning as I go

learning as I go

"The focus is no longer on filing, cleaning to get it done. Rather, it's an activity that gets done as a by-product while I use the time to prime my brain for my passions. I guess I've been brain-washed to meet my responsibilites first and then I am FREE to love my life however I wish." That is amazing - I can tell from your previous posts that that is a real breakthrough for you!

Our conditioning that we have to do before we are allowed to be is, I think, one of the biggest hindrances to us developing as the people we are meant to be. It doesn't matter where that conditioning has come from - it is what restricts us and imprisons us in a set of "oughts". Now you just make sure you hang on to that freedom! :-)

Hi moises:

I'm responding here mainly to your Feb 6th post, but bearing your Feb 7th post in mind.

For the purposes of this post, I'll call the system laid out in Mark's original instructions 'AF1', and I'll use 'AF2' as a label for the system we get if we combine those instructions with the added instruction to try and make sure that you rotate through all your pages at least once a day, adjusting your intuitions (/ twiddling your "little and often" knob) to do so (if necessary). So AF1 doesn't say anything about adjusting one's intuitions, but AF2 does.

(Footnote: I'm not sure that, as I've set it up, AF2 is internally consistent. If not, though, some minor reformulating would fix that.)

First, a small point. Given Mark's Feb 4th post on this thread (and perhaps his Feb 7th post), it's not clear to me which system is AF at this point. I read the Feb 4th post as suggesting that Mark's inclined to drop the additional instruction after all, and revert to AF1. So it's not clear to me that AF does now make mention of the need to adjust our intuitions.

More important, though, is the question you ask in your penultimate paragraph: Is it a fault of AF2 that it requires some of us (at least) to work on adjusting our intuitions? I'd say yes, at least for me. That is, at least for me, it's a problem with AF2 that it requires that. As soon as I start trying to adjust my intuitions in the sort of way Mark describes, I feel resistance, anxiety, and stress. I automatically start looking at the page as a whole, deliberating about which X items are the most important or urgent, calculating ahead to think about how much time I can afford to spend on this page, etc. That seems very much at odds with the intended spirit of AF, as I understand it, but perhaps more importantly (again), it just doesn't work very well for me (because of the stress, resistance, and anxiety, and resulting lessening of productivity). A big part of the appeal of AF1, and what makes it work for me so much of the time, and in so many ways, is the fact that I can follow my (unreconstructed) intuitions (about whether to work on a given item, and how long to work on it for, given that I have the rules of AF1 at the back of my mind). AF1 hasn't worked *perfectly* for me, certainly – hence the first post on this thread – but it seems to work much better than AF2. (Which also seems to be what Mark is reporting about his own case in his Feb 4th post, as I understand him.)

It's also worth distinguishing between finding that one's behaviour changes spontaneously when using AF1, and consciously or deliberately trying to adjust one's intuitions so that one's behaviour changes. I've also found that I'm much happier than before to do just a little work on something, but that's been a spontaneous change, and not the result of a conscious attempt to adopt a little and often approach, to adjust my intuitions, etc.

Last point: I'm not at all sure that the fact that someone wasn't managing her time well, and so wanted to try AF, means that she had some flawed intuitions. It could be, instead, that she wasn't trusting her intuitions sufficiently, or letting them be a big enough factor in guiding her behaviour. Alternatively, it could be that the system within which she was making intuitive judgements was badly designed, or not as well designed as AF. And for what it's worth, my suspicion is that one of these other two diagnoses (or some combination of them) applies in at least some cases, including my own.

Hi Christine
I have a different view. Sure, some responsibilities seem senseless, but most of my responsibilities have guided me to develop to be the best me I can be. Just because something is a challenge, doesn't mean it's imprisioning me. Example: I dreaded the aspect of technically improving my skills for the instruments I played. But....without that, I couldn't express myself as well or know how to write the composition for others to play. Same with learning the rudiements of using various art mediums or practicing dance or sports. The boring aspects of mastery almost always reap rewards when it's time to create or share......
I find housework and office work tedious, but I find chaos, filth and missed deadlines far worse. Ultimately, I only do what ultimately rewards me unless my judgement got polluted! LOL! Even as a rebellious child, I did what I was supposed to do mostly because I ultimately knew there was a good reason for the sacrifice of immediate gratification........It's the same for everybody I'd assume. The only difference I'm experimenting with is attitude after hearing Michelle and Barack Obame talking about him having to wash the dinner dishes. He said that he found it soothing.................She retorted in a challenging manner, "Since when did you ever WANT to sooth yourself by washing the dishes?" His response was, "I had to do it so I DECIDED to MAKE it soothing!" The bells went off in my head! I hope it lasts! LOL
learning as I go

p.s. The above about Michelle and Barack Obama is not verbatum. I'm sure you can find the interview on YouTube. It was really enlightening! I guess I always knew about "find the good in people" but I never thought to use that principle toward onerous tasks! LOL!

learning as I go

Hi learning as I go

Loved the reference to the Obama interview - sounds like they have a good balance! You are absolutely right in that there are things that we do have to do and making sure we have a system in place is a vital part of life, whether that be a system for housework so we don't descend into chaos or the structure of a work day, or even the structure of using AF. What is damaging however is the belief that we have to get "everything that we ought to do" out of the way before we can do what we want. That is fine when what "ought" to be done is very specific and time or task limited (such as homework, music practice, doing the dishes etc) but if that translates into "everything" which it can well do, then we run the risk of never making the time for the things that are really important in our lives, or else we feel guilty when we do.

Hi Christine
I read something similar to that....I think on this website. That made me shudder!!!!! I'd put a gun to my head if I was stupid enough to attempt to get everything done in succession! That's why planning is so freeing. I KNOW that I don't have to clean my home from top to bottom every day, or wash, pare and slice all the vegetables I'm going to cook with for as long as they can stay fresh, or cull my entire filing system in one go.............Planning takes care of that. "It's covered". I think people think like that precisely because they don't work out a fairly easy system. Just think about it.....when we were mere children, we had to juggle very challenging schedules to do well in school, progress on our passions, and hobbies, maintain our social life.......and still we made sure that we had plenty of time to create joy in our lives.........I think things got skewed with choice and information overload! LOL! (My prime challenge is working with an unreliable brain, body and energy system! LOL! Before the accident, I didn't have much concern with how to "make sure".
learning as I go

Mark

You've got no arguments from me on that one!

learning as I go

I know I've said it before but what I love about AF is not just the fact that it is a tool for getting things done but that it really does enable us to (a) see what is important to us and (b) to identify the reasons why we are or have been struggling with things we thought we ought to have done.

Hi Christine
I never thought about it from that angle. For me, I needed to learn how to feel OK even when I can't remember. Also I've always known why I'd struggle. I was either in a learning/discovery or on a lazy streak. Now add pain, meds or brain limitations. Same resolution........shoulder into it or switch to something I can do for awhile. I especially hate when it's my laziness that's forcing me to get over the hump. It requires me being far more cagey than plugging through pain or a meds high....ironic isn't it? *blush* But then again, I think the lack of confidence in my thinking or my higher pain levels contribute to some of my unwillingness. I'm simply put in the position of getting through it. Most times the resistance lessens with the artificial jump starts when it's pure laziness. When it's because of the pain, I simply have to trick my brain to keep at it. My doctors assure me that I'm not further harming my body, so I'm safe to keep on even when it hurts. That's a large part of the reason I created my scut cap! LOL! After the scut work is done, I'm free to do as I want with my focus and my time....even to do nothing until the pain subsides! LOL! Other times, I'm lucky when the pain AND the laziness fall away and I'm free to choose something close to not being disabled! That's what makes it all worth it........
learning as I go
learning as I go

Hi learning as I go

Interesting that you say "I've always known why I'd struggle. I was either in a learning/discovery or on a lazy streak." I used to put it slightly differently in my case - either something interested and motivated me or I was on a lazy streak. However I now realise that it wasn't actually a lazy streak at all and I suspect if you look at it that is probably true for you too. To me the concept of being lazy (other than "allowed laziness" eg on holiday) was a very negative emotion, linked to feelings that I ought to be motivated and was obviously pretty useless if I wasn't.

What I came to realise after a while was that it was not laziness but procrastination - and there IS a big difference. I could, or so I thought identify the reasons for that procrastination but that did not necessarily help a great deal. Yes I could create systems to manage it, like your scut work system, but that only managed the situation and did not cure it. I could identify some of the emotions linked to the procrastination, excuse and/or justify it, recognise some of the influences that had led to that state but there I stuck. I knew there were more answers but didn't really have the time, energy or inclination to search them out.

It seems that AF has given me that time and space to look at those things, but in a perfectly safe and non-threatening way. From reading your posts I would venture to suggest that the last thing you are - or that you were before your accident - is lazy. You may have procrastinated, you may have had concerns linked to feeling that you "ought" to do more than you really needed to, but that is not the same as laziness.

Something else to think about .....? :-)

Hi Christine
I was taught that laziness was either not meeting your responsibilities in a real sense or prefering not to do something, yet doing it anyway because you are actually reliable despite lazy thinking. The free pass for lazy thinking was to not allow it to ruin your motivations! LOL! Maybe I got a free pass because I DID MEET my responsibilites even though I did things differently than most other folks. You are correct. I'd go to my dad asking how to get rid of useless lazy thinking and he told me that if I managed to work around the attitude and still manage to meet my responsibilities and aims, then it's OK because everybody has things they either prefer not to do (His was filling out his tax forms) He changed my life when he taught me to get the scut work out of the way and work a good plan to accomplish my goals and to live the remaining time doing whatever makes me feel gratitude for being alive! LOL! To me, procrastination is simply acting on laziness. Delaying or deferring connotes rational decisions. I suppose we're all affected by semantics and the culture that taught us how to use language. In our household, our schools and all my places of employment regarded laziness almost as badly as lying or theft! LOL! But if I was reliable and got excellent results......it didn't matter that I was lazy in my thinking as long as it didn't control too many of my important decisions! LOL! I suspect that everybody has areas of lazy thinking. If you've met your obligations and you feel satified with progressing on your aims, then relaxation is a reward.......I prefer the second choice to the times I'm a stubborn donkey in my brain. I'm doing the same thing outwardly but the context is totally different! *blush*
learning as I go

learning as I go

Hi again! I think you're right about the way that semantics and culture have a major influence on how we see things, and don't you think also that we build our own little structures based on culture, upbringing, and learned acceptable behavioural standards? It is absolutely the right thing to build the right structures to enable us to meet our obligations and also to enable us to move towards our goals. I just think we need to be careful sometimes to be sure that they are true obligations and that the goals and expectations are "our" goals and not ones that have somehow been imposed upon us, by that same culture or whatever.

Hi Christine
How right you are! I was raised in the 1950's. I felt like a yoyo. LOL! I was rarely punished for actions....just "attitude". That's why I was so enamoured with school life....I got overly rewarded for actions and results and never punished for the accompanying attitude! I even had to campaign to be allowed to take courses reserved for males. Then I started my career in government because they weren't allowed to discriminate yet I had to spend a couple of years to OVERLY prove myself as a female medical illustrator....I was the FIRST hired in the US Navy coupled with the first without doing military service previously. The first couple of years were PURE HELL but eventually my talent and work ethic prevailed.....had I known that I'd be pariahed so severely and for so long a period of time, I would have never taken on the challenge! It felt like I was proving myself in the Advanced Math and Sciences program in school.......Ultimately I feel honored to be of help to younger women to come.....yet, trail blazing is no dance in the park! But....when we're called to service of any sort (and it's aligned with our values and ethics) we have to keep our fears and lazy preferences in the mental vault! LOL!
I tremble with joy everytime I see Barack Obama on the news.......During his Innauguration, my mind immediately flashed back to the crowds of people attending Martin Luthor King's Poor Man's Walk.........Hard isn't necessarily bad! And the victory tastes so much sweeter! Despite much, I truly believe mankind is moving forward on all levels........Even Mark Forster devoting himself to devising alternatives for us to best spend our attention to both meet our aims and to maximize our gratitudes. Thanks, Mark and all the poster. I'm truly grateful!
learning as I go

p.s. It's far more difficult to read a post than to write it.......therefore I rarely check them. I'm glad I did reread this one......I'm NOT the first civilian woman hired in the entire Navy civilian workforce....only the Medical Photography and Illustration department. The photographers and illustrators were all males with previous military service. I was especially angry that they were "forced" to hire me and they were angry because I bumped out a male already chosen to take the position. I pressed on despite their intimidation tactics. I knew I had the law on my side and I rarely allowed others to quell my ambitions if I knew that I could win! LOL! " Progress, not perfection "as they say to keep ourselves moving forward as both individuals and as a society. Actually, I should be grateful for my history.....My spitfire attitude comes in handy when warring with my damaged spinal cord! (...as inglorious and as inconsequential as that battle is! *blush* )LOL!
learning as I go

learning as I go

Well done for sticking with it - I worked in a very male dominated industry and came up against some of those same prejudices but in that environment it must have been really tough. I can understand when you say "had I known that I'd be pariahed so severely and for so long a period of time, I would have never taken on the challenge!" Well done for doing so - it has obviously stood you well in your later trials.

Hi Christine B
Thanks...*blush*....and back at you! I guess all of us just want to contribute.in our best capacity. I shudder when I think of the long trail of human history and it makes me blush......I only wonder if I could have shouldered on as well as folks who were fighting meaner and FAR more dangerous dragons!
p.s I'm having fun playing with my customized autofocus list. I never tried restricting a list to only mandatory work. Ironically, it gives me plenty of impetus to do far more optional work.....even some things that I'd previously consider to be mundane and boring. I like to switch up my work load presentation every now and again to freshen it up. It distracts my mind from avoiding the boredom or hard pain and turns it into purely testing the system itself. The by-product is getting stuff done sooner and quicker leaving more of my day open to what actually motivates me! I do this a few times a year.
learning as I go

learning as I go

Glad you're managing to get through your tasks - enjoy the extra time on the things you want to do!

AF is working great for me. And I'm always interested in the finer points, so here goes.

Being a mathematician, the # of items per page is an interesting point. Moises' analysis is easy to understand ... more items per page means you move through the pages faster. Until....

Once you complete some random number of items on each existin pages, and add another 10 pages of items ... it takes longer to get through all the pages ... and longer to complete each page since it has more items on it.

There's some kind of mathematical formula here, and I really want to understand it, except... I don't think it matters. For me. Whether there are 10 items or 100 per page, my movements through the pages won't be affected. After you've completed 90 of 100 items on a page ... it's a 10-item page. That *sounds* like it's different from starting with a 10-item page... but it's not, since there is no restriction on what you add to the list.

Whether the 10 items are the distillation of 100 items --- or 10 items I added organically -- the page still page 10 items on it now. 10 items left to be done. And I'm going to do them or dismiss them. Watch out, items.

Martin,

I was drawn to your initial, February 3, post, because it mirrored my own experiences. My first two days of AF (as AF1) were very hectic and I felt, like you, considerable "anxiety and stress." In fact, those negative feelings were so intense that I stopped doing AF1 for a day, in order to reevaluate the entire process.

I could well see that AF1 might be a real boon in the relatively low-stress environment between semesters. I could empathize with the anxiety and stress of doing AF1 in the more intense situations that you face during the semester.

After my 1-day hiatus from AF1, I made some changes. I started using a 34-lined notebook with the spiral at the top, I pulled my recurrent tasks out of AF and onto a daily list that I keep on my desk in front of me, I implemented the rule to do at least one item per page (or dismiss the page), and I implemented the rule to cycle through all open pages once per day.

So, I moved from something like AF1 to something like AF2. I knew that if I lingered too long on any given item, there was a good chance I might not make it through all the open pages. So, I moved towards littler and oftener.

From your post of February 7, it sounds like your "resistance, anxiety, and stress" with AF2 is even greater than the "anxiety and stress" you had with AF1. So, yes, it sounds to me as if you would be better off reverting to AF1.

I don't know if it's how I am constituted, or the nature of my job, but there's no way I could survive looking at e-mail once every few days. For me, the move from AF1 to AF2 meant moving from an intolerable, unworkable system, to a tolerable, working system. I still experience significant stress and anxiety--I am running a business in the midst of an economic crisis. But, with something like AF2, I am able--despite the stress and anxiety--to keep the system going.


You and I both felt some negative emotions with AF1. We both responded by trying AF2. You found that you were worse off with AF2; I found that I was better off.

I would have preferred to have had the outcome you had. I would have preferred to have found myself better off with my unreconstructed intuitions. But I believe that my version of AF2 is better than AF1 for my constitution and my environment, and it is better than any known alternatives.

slothbear

There is actually another factor that comes into play with the number of lines on a page, namely the structured procrastination effect. By the time you reach the 10 items out of 100 you will already have resisted them the number of times you have cycled through that page. That resistance itself is one of the keys to identifying your true feelings about those items - which will eventually have to be addressed or the items dismissed. With only 10 items per page that element of AF is significantly reduced.

moises

Although AF seems very simple there is such an amazing depth to the way in which it impacts that I think there is a much longer learning curve than any of us initially realised. I think we have all tried AF1 and AF2 or other variations and I think some of the "tweaks" will work well in certain circumstances. Mark has been quick to point out that some of the suggestions he has made, such as cycling through the pages more frequently, were tailored to specific situations, and I think that we will all need those options at times. I now have "check email" on every page but still feel the need to check it on occasion "outside of the system" (Shock! Horror!) You may find AF2 is what you need at this point in time but that you will be able to revert to AF1 at a later time (with AF2 still available if needed again in the future).