Get Everything Done

To be honest, I am still not happy. I like some Ideas of DIT and I am not sure whether AF will actually be good for these situations. Let me explain:

One of the things that I like about DIT is the task diary. Before I close my office each day I write down all those things that are needed the next day, certain telephone calls, maybe an important e-Mail or letter to write, friends to visit etc. All these are things that need to be / should be done on the particular day when I write them down.

Other, I called my tax advisor for some information and she is away for a week. Of course I left a message with my request but I need to be reminded to check sometime next week.

How are things like these covered in Autofocus? Maybe I only have a short workday, but if I start with the first active page of AF, where is the guarantee that I will find the then urgent things at the end of the list early enough?

Just to balance things, what I don't like about DIT ist the "chaos" resulting from not managing to do everything on the list. Rewriting is tedious and not very elegant. This is the nice bit about AF, things can remain in the same spot until I decide to do something about them or dismiss them. Even if a particular turbulent day at the office prevents you from doing them, they will still be in the same spot tomorrow...

Finally, for planning purposes in DIT I find it much easier to note and visualize appointments in my task diary as well. It takes away space, but that is what I like about this approach. It will help you visualize directly how little time you have left to work on your DIT or AF list.

This brings me to my final thought:

Right now I am trying to combine the best of both worlds. I keep the task diary with all date relevant entries. Mostly my daily list is quite short. Once that is taken care of, I will then continue with everything on my AF list.

What do you think? Is this a good thing to do? Overkill? Better suggestions?

Hi, I would suggest you o have a look on GTD method. For me AF is incredible powerfull for acting. But GTD for planning and thinking and some other list such as someday may be or dates items. Fore these dates items the best thing to do on my opinion would be to put a recall on your agenda.

AF is for action (it replace context in GTD) and if you do it well the result is incredible.

Efficiency is quiet hard too obtain but such as many thing you have to search the equilibrium. That mean sharing your time in parts where you do things and when you are the most productive to do it using the best of methods to find your own way.

For instance :

> in the morning create a process like
- See my email (twice a day)
Make a little review :
- Read all autofocus list
- Read my projects
- report the bigs rock on a sheet apart
At night :
plan things on agenda
read all dismiss and cross what is unusefull

> After diner
think about ....
wrk on project

Hope this will help.

In my opinion, AF must be used in combination with a calendar.

Entries in the calendar must be kept as few as possible. Just fixed dates ("friday 10:30 dentist"), reminders ("tax forms due 05/01") and, for longer projects, intermediary goals ("chapter 15 first draft until sunday").

(I am hesitating whether one should block times ("wednesday afternoon: big garage cleaning") or not - in the moment I try to avoid it in order to allow spontaneity.)

So, the calendar defines the frame within one works from the AF list. The goal is to keep as much time as possible freely available, just because it's more fun to work from AF than from a predefined schedule :-)

IMHO, there is no other way to avoid drowning.

However, I would love it if Mark Forster came up with a more clever solution that mine!

@Jupiter: Thanks, even though I didn't elaborate on this, but GTD is where I am coming from. Around the few examples that I described above you will find the classic GTD framework with one inbox, 2 Minute tasks and all the rest. I was just looking for some advice as to how I could integrate the need to plan certain events and tasks at certain dates with AF. In general, even though I liked the framework from DIT, especially the current initiative and the task diary, certain things are much more comprehensively solved in GTD. And as you could see, I don't have a problem to mix.

@AndreasE: I believe we are very much thinking along the same lines. Your suggestion is precisely what I am trying out right now, keep the calendar reserved for all time and date dependant things and keep the ToDo list in Autofocus.

I am having a similar experience. The AF list is good for a list of actions
to follow, but a calendar/reminder system is needed to date and
date/time specific events.

As well as the calendar, I fnd that I need a project planning methodology,
and David Allen's Natural Planning method works well for me. I use this method
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/GTD/Natural_Project_Planning.html
for exploring what needs to be done. I have a printed copy of this plan
in the back of my AF notebook, so I can review regularly to choose a next action.

It seems that as a result of my beta-testing of the system, what is needed for
productiity
1 - A Task list (for non-date specific)
2 - Calendar - for appointments and deadlines
3. -Project planning / Big picture thinking

Charles

Don't forget that AF is a system to be used with discretionery time - for items that do not have to be done at a specific time - see the list of Do's & Don'ts specifically.....

DON’T use this system for things which need to be done at specific times of day. These might include preparing meals, music practice, shutting up shop, etc.

DO use some means of bringing forward tasks which can only be done at a future date (Tickler file, Outlook reminders, Calendar, etc.)

and the Common Sense rule

DO use common sense. If something comes up which needs doing immediately, do it immediately.

The best advice to anyone new to the system is to try it as written, and without trying to adapt it to fit previous systems, whether DIT, GTD or any other system. The Do's and Don'ts also state

DO trust the system. Because of the way it is structured it will help you to produce better decisions than you would unaided.

and that is the key - the trouble is that it does take time to realise that, and our natural inclination is to decide to do what we believe is the most important and/or urgent item first .....

Christine:

I don't think we try to adapt AF with other systems. I think the point is that working with AF is so great that we'd wish we could use it to manage EVERYTHING in our lives. So we're persuaded to overlook the small print. (DO use reminders, DON'T use it for things that need to be done on a specific time etc.)

AF has to be wrapped into a calendar shield. That's the point.

And as for as urgent/important is concerned: WE decide what's important - but OTHERS decide what's urgent. And we have little control over the decisions of others.

Hi Andreas

You're so right about the excitement of AF meaning that you want to use it for everything and it is surprising how easy it is to forget the detail of the instructions. The interesting thing for me is that I have come to realise that AF can be used for more than I thought, rather than less.

I do think that the postings show that some people at least do come at AF with a very strong background in another system and as a result do try to combine aspects of AF with other systems, and I think that has been a cause of confusion for some. That's not to say there is no benefit in other systems but the way that AF works is pretty unique, and many of the other techniques cut across the way in which AF works. Most, if not all systems, have some element of grading of tasks and that is a hard habit to break :-)

And as for other people deciding what is urgent it is very easy to give in to interruptions and allow someone else's view of what is urgent to influence our own view - that is where AF can really help us to avoid that influence to some degree. People will invariably interrupt and say "I need this now" when actually it is more likely that they do not "need" it now but rather "want" it now. If it is the latter then by allowing the interruption we start to work from their timetable rather than our own.

You may also find the following thread helpful

http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/629407

I'm coming to the conclusion that, whilst we indeed may have little control over the decisions of others, we have more control over our responses to those decisions than we usually exercise - i.e.by learning to say no. Of course it depends who the "others" are .... we can't always say no to our boss :-)

DO trust the system.

But DO NOT trust the system to tell you when your bills are due

Steve

Absolutely agree!

So DO trust the system to prompt you to set up a better bill paying system by "making" you forget to pay bills! :-)

As a temporary conclusion I would be tempted to state that, after all, Autofocus is not really a complete management system at all. It needs to be complemented by other parts (calendar, task diary, project management) in order to work successfully! This is at least my own impression.

This brings back my initial question, how do others do it? How do you manage these other aspects and how do you integrate them with AF?

I do realize that we are probably collecting material for Mark's next book, but I also believe that this might be a good time to have a second management system that is not GTD.

Yes Klaus - you are right that AF is not a total management system but a time management system. It does not give us flexibility in when we deal with fixed time events, but it may well guide us to the times we establish those events where WE have the choice; it will not plan our projects for us but will manage our time in such a way to enable us to do that planning most effectively; it will not darn our socks but will find the best time for us to do so. (Actually probably not - does anyone actually darn socks nowadays? :-) ....)

What it does is to manage these other things and our use of them. As Mark puts it in another thread, AF does not manage the project but does manage our involvement in it. There have been a number of threads with suggestions for schedules and project management systems and you may find some of the threads listed in the FAQs helpful in that respect.

http://www.markforster.net/forum/post/645945

The best advice I could give regarding any other system (whether scheduling or project management) is to keep it simple. AF's strength is in it's simplicity - a scheduling or project management system does not need to be complex. My diary system is just as effective for a dental appointment as for an appointment to meet the Queen. My project management system is just as effective for cleaning my kitchen as for building a small town, AF is as effective for a task to "watch TV" as for "take over world".

Thanks for that link. Very helpful.

By the way, if you permit me saying this, as Mark pointed out several times "Time" cannot be managed, just what we do at a given point of time.

;-)

Klaus - I think the question here is one of trusting your system. David Allen talks about getting all incompletes (ie whatever is on your mind) into a trusted system. I have found that sometimes I get really into a task (for days) and don't go round my list. This does mean that deadlines can whistle past - not the fault of the system but more how I am using it. I have added a few extra bits to out of the box AF. My implementation is described below.

I like to work a max of 50 mins using AF then take a min break of 10 mins. This helps to avoid diminishing productivity.

I use the www.autofocus.cc application because I can access it using my iphone.

My calander (iphone) has only appointments, tasks that can only be done that day (eg because the person is in town that day) and info about the day (eg bank holiday monday). This comes from GTD.

I use www.memotome.com to bring forward reminders for example birthdays where I need to do something in the future but the day isn't too critical eg buying/sending a birthday card.

If a tast has a deadline I write this on my AF list eg cashflow report due 3 May.

I have an index card (a 5x3) on which I write the urgent tasks and work it with whatever AF page I'm on.

If I am focussed for ages on one task I scan the list and put anything that must be done on the card. I think you need to look at every task on the AF list more or less every day or things will be missed.

I have a list of three goals that I want to do before my next birthday. I don't have this written but regularly think I am actually going to do something to get there and then put task on my AF list.

I run projects in the AF lists putting in biggies like renovate flat and then just put in smaller things to do as I think of them. I don't like separate project lists (or lists of steps) because they tend to become task graveyards and make you feel guilty. If you need to update someone on project status (eg a boss) you can scan thru your list and make notes.

For work that arrives I make a distinction between whether I thought of it or not. If say a letter or e-mail arrives ideally I like to deal with it immediately if I can and its easy. This wouldn't go on the list. I don't have a 2 minute rule, if I can't do it then (eg because I can't be bothered to) then it goes on the AF list. Post goes into my filig system. E-mail sits as a read in the in-box. If I think of a task it always goes on the list no matter how trivial (because I can fill up a whole day with trivial tasks). This gives a future opportunity to decide if its worth doing. Normally if someone else gives me a task verbally I put it on the list.

When e-mails are done I move them into a done folder and rely on search to find them again. For paper I use modified freedon filer approach. I use cardboard magazine folders which are cheap. These are split up based on when the papers will get binned. So there is a permanent one (for things like asset ownership records), remove & replace (for docs where a new one goes in and an old one goes out like the insurance certificate for the car or TV licence), then a I have 4 folders for things that will get chucked but I want to wait 18 months before they go. So I have '07 H2, '08 H1, '08 H2 and the curent '09 H1. Say a mobile phone bill arrives I check its OK cost wise and that it says the direct debit will pay it and then I bung it in '09 H2. In June when its full I'll chuck out '07 H2 (well feed the shredder) and the now empty box becomes '0 H2. Then finally I have a noguchi for everything else which is either in progress papers (ie there is a task on the AF list) or just something I want to keep.

I love to tinker with time management systems. I've been to Boston twice to hear David Allen. I am on the lookout for the perfect time management system preferably one where I don't actually have to do anything. The botttom line with AF is that it has got me doing stuff.

Klaus, I don't use any of those things - a calendar (I used to), a task diary (I used to) OR a formal project management system (never have apart except when managing a team of people in a job with lots of dependencies). OK, I do use a calendar, but for meetings only. So I don't think they are essential. Now I just use one mid-sized notebook - and tags on my unworked email that flag them in red as "important" (ie. looming deadline).

Klaus

Re "Management of Time" - absolutely! :-)

To handle date specific items, I have just been putting the date (appointment, due date, etc...) in the left margin of my notebook. I actually run a screenprinting shop where certain jobs need to be done on a certain day and some jobs don't have a due date attached.

So, first thing in the morning I usually look for either today's date or tomorrow's date and work on those tasks first. It works for me. I haven't had to use a specific time yet, but it should work for that too. Having the date on the task helps them to "stand out" for me.

But anyway there's my hack for today.

@Man of Kent: that was a lot of information! While reading through your post my first impression was that you setup was way too complex. But this obviously depends on your work environment. For example, the calender function in the iphone leaves much to be desired. It works very well on the Mac of course. So why do I use it? The iPhone is the one thing that will always be in my pocket. So for a quick check this will suffice. Another advantage is the notes function that allows me to enter directions or maybe train connections in the notes area of an appointment.

Instead of describing my complete system, just one remark about e-mail. I found it helpful to have the inbox (empty), an archive and two other mailboxes called "action" and "waiting". These are self explanatory and it prevents me from writing specific mail related tasks down. It all depends on the task of course.

@Jaqueline: I just wish I could make do with just a list. My projects are not very complex but since I work in the forestry sector they usually cover a lot of time. And how you keep track of all the things that need to be done on a certain date... Good for you that you can.

Maybe I'll give it a shot sometime, but for the time being I feel much more comfortable with my task diary.

Klaus, I'm actually thinking of finding a calendar with a small monthly format that I can glue into my AF book for non-work items. I rely too much on memory, but usually need to see something in writing in order to memorize it - I can't hear things and recall what was said very well. YMMV = Your Memory May Vary :-)
I didn't realize that other people were so heavy into reviewing deadlines. I've never seen that before in the dozen or so places I've worked - 99% of it in finance which is deadline driven by necessity.
Like anything else, it depends very much on your type of job and your life. I also think I've got a calendar phobia now because of all the times I tried to schedule myself with them and force myself to do things at certain hours or on certain days, only to fail all the time. Now I just work ahead as much as possible all the time so I have the ability to respond to requests quickly so the deadline isn't an issue because I've got it done before then.

Jacqueline

I think that is the key - "work ahead as much as possible all the time so I have the ability to respond to requests quickly so the deadline isn't an issue because I've got it done before then."

That is working for me with AF for newer stuff - the deadlines that are still a problem are those arising out of my backlogs - still looking forward to that party ....... :-)

Jaqueline - I absolutely agree with the working ahead bit. Of course this depends somewhat on your working environment.

The deadlines are usually just an example. But then again, even if not forced on us by the job, I think we all know them. Your response by having everything ready before the deadline cuts in is of course the only possible one. Still I need to have someplace where I can view and plan those deadlines.

Another one would simply be tasks that need to be done on a certain day. Like calling someone for his birthday. It is not a deadline but it needs to be done and you will know it way in advance. This is where you need a calendar.

But since you pointed to your calendarphobia: in the past we had a very popular system here in Germany called "Time system". The basis was an A5 ring binder with daily pages. The instructions said to schedule your work accordingly with nicely prepared priorities. What was lacking in those days was the closed list approach from Mark as well as the little and often approach. Everyone would deal with the days urgencies, work on the planned items and find that they never ever finished the list. As a result most of these books were finally used as overpriced calendars and notebooks.

Fortunately we have progressed a lot from that point.

What is a noguchi?

Hi acedia

You can find more information in this blog post

http://www.markforster.net/blog/2008/6/9/noguchi-filing-system.html

Thanks!

I had googled it but only found a coffee table.

This looks a lot more useful.

Hi Klaus,

I wonder if having a month at a glance calendar wouldn't be much more useful to work in conjunction with AF than a daily task diary? The reason why one has to put in reminders on the daily task diaries is because you can't easily see the deadlines unless you are flipping pages. That's where Outlook etc. come in handy with multiple views.

Sorry for going off topic here...

In the heavy deadline world of corporate reporting I used to work in, we would have a list done in Excel of major pieces and their workday (WD) cutoffs for every month end, a longer list for quarter end, and an even longer list for year end that was sent out to everyone that had a hand in putting the financials together. We also had an internal list along the same lines just for our department. These lists were recurring as you would do the same things every month and our goal was to always beat our time and reduce our overtime from the month before. It made it a bit more fun.

So the cutoffs aren't so much for "this is the deadline" - although that's part of it - but to let the people in the next step in the process know they can begin work on that area. It is very rare in a well-run financial system that these deadlines aren't met.

The people who are most successful and work the least amount of overtime in this demanding world are the people who don't wait until handoff is made to their department to do everything that they can do on their piece of the pie. And that means literally breaking everything down to a component level and analyzing whether or not ______ can be done now or not and not seeing a dependency where there isn't one. For some reason, it's very hard to train people to think this way.

Anyway, my point is that for all date dependent items, maybe it would be better to run a list in excel so it can be sorted by date and other fields?

I used to work exactly the way you describe - more of a "Do It Tomorrow / Do It Now" hybrid (without the additional AF list for discretionary items except for the one in my head) prior to AF. It worked very well and I never felt I was overdoing anything. To be honest, I am finding at work that I almost prefer working that way because things will be on the AF list and I will do them, but I feel it may have been better if I had forgotten about them. At home, I don't have a problem with dismissing, but I don't dismiss at work - maybe it's time to start. Perhaps I'm doing more than I really have to - and there's nothing I hate more than overworking, but I haven't worked with it long enough here at work to find a good combination that feels right to me.

That's funny, I was just thinking about using a month at a glance calendar instead my current week at a glance one. Better overview over deadlines and fixed dates, if one has not THAT many of them was exactly what I considered.

Can't help thinking that David Seah's "Candy Bar of Time" should be helpful here. Just can't think exactly how...

http://davidseah.com/blog/compact-calendar/

You could use the compact calendar to do things like colour in your holidays - then if you had to change them, it would be easy - easier than erasing or crossing out in a regular paper calendar. I would still prefer something a bit bigger with space to write in though, definitely needs resizing.

Hi acedia

My coffee table has frequently doubled as my filing system :-)

Jacqueline & Andreas

Interesting that you both mention a monthly schedule. I hadn't initially given in a great deal of thought but just naturally set my AF schedule up as a monthly schedule. However what seems really strange to me was that the way I set it up is a lot more "AF" in nature than any previous system I have worked with. I set up my schedule in OneNote - pretty basic, just a month to a page. After a month or so (and with lots of posts about Outlook) I felt I ought to do something a little more professional so started transferring it to Outlook - I found the transfer boring so added it as a task in AF to do gradually. It NEVER stands out so I have totally concluded that the really simple OneNote schedule is right for me. Weird ......

In terms of a calendar I actually prefer one with a week on one side and plain notes on the other (it's the red moleskine one). Since I don't have a million appointments that space will suffice and the other page always enables me to write important stuff down, like phone numbers for a meeting or the adress, etc.

Once I write more than a handful of tasks in there it will get full very soon. That's what I like about the 1 day per page task diary. On the other hand it is that sense of fulfilment that I get when I look at the completed page. And always I can keep track of things: I call someone today. We will meet up next week wednesday or thursday. So he will call me monday or tuesday to set up the precise meeting... This is not for AF and not for the limited space in a weekly diary.

I am still experimenting.

The monthly calendar offers too little space to write things down. Everything needs to be abbreviated. It is useful if you have a secretary that will always pass you a folder with all the details, but for the rest of us?