Get Everything Done

If you don't really feel like following AF - you know, those days at work or home where you are just going through the motions, what do you do to regain your enthusiasm?

Take a day or a week break from the list? Change the rules a bit - go in reverse instead of forward? Put something on the last page that you want to do and don't let yourself do it until you get to that page?

What to do you do keep yourself motivated with AF? Especially those of us who have been doing it for about 4 months?

Hi Jacqueline

The times my enthusiasm has waned have been when I have tried to force the system, got bogged down in urgent tasks, or drifted away from the lists. I also found that when I put time blocks or complete projects into the lists I often had a resistance because the tasks were "too big". Now that I have readded a lot of smaller tasks, and have a lot more choice as a result, I am up and running pretty well. I really do wonder if you would feel better about your lists if you added a whole lot more tasks - you do seem to respond to visibly seeing progress in the same way as I do, and lots of cleared items does that for me. How about printing out (or writing out) a list of your dismissed tasks and seeing if anything jumps out - you may just need a kick start ...... or how about adding a whole load of routine tasks to get those crossing outs (or ticks) moving :-)

By the way, I meant to say I REALLY liked the sound of your "future goals" - the RV trip, the cabin etc - I want to stowaway!!! :-) And I suspect that you will not have lost your talent for fiction writing - the key is in the fact that it was something you enjoyed! How about adding "writing fiction" onto your list?

Christine, I do have myself up to 14 active pages on my home book and about 8 or so in my work book. So no shortage of tasks. I think it's just a bit of burnout - working until midnight Saturday night and then up again at 6 a.m. the next day to go at it again. Nobody can run on all cylinders all the time, as good as it feels to get a lot accomplished.

You're right Mark - so today after work, I just took the dog out, and did mindless things that I knew were somewhere on my list but didn't require any brain power - like shopping and going to the bank. I left my book in the car after work (and didn't even cross them off). :-)

There's no way I'm going to add something more to my list like writing though Christine - that's something special that I'm *saving* for when I have more time. You can come out to visit - I'll be in Texas in January, Mexico February-April and up the east coast to the Maritimes after that - mostly with no itinerary. :-)

When it comes to knowledge workers, the point of diminishing returns holds very true. I used to find that was so true when I wouldn't get a lot of sleep, thinking that I got so much done because I only slept 4-6 hours a night. But when your awake time is only 70% productive (16 hours awake & working * 70% productive = 11.2) vs (12 hours awake & working * 95% productive = 11.4), you're actually less effective than if you get the amount of sleep that your brain needs. The same thing holds true with work. If you work just to the point where your mind is still fresh, you are far more creative and valuable. Unfortunately, many work environments acknowledge # of hours put in over contribution.

Jacqueline, just butting in here to say that although I know we all have times when we can't do certain things because of more pressing concerns, but I hope you won't put off writing or any other pleasant pursuits for too long. The thing most retired people agree with is that they're even busier than they used to be! That or their lives come to an end before they've gotten to enjoy all the things they were saving for when they had more time. Don Aslett's book, Get Organized, Get Published makes this point very well: write WHILE you're busy. You probably know all this and just mean you're exceptionally busy now, but in case any lurkers can relate, I thought I'd give my $2.00 on the issue. ;-)

Thanks for the kind words Mel, and you're right - I feel I can't put even one more thing on my plate right now without really burning out.

A writer I like once said something like - if you love swimming and put off moving to Florida where you can swim in the warm water every day - don't put it off until you're so old you're afraid of the water. You can bet that in 8 or 9 months I'll be pulling out my notebooks (I write in longhand) and putting writing on my AF list. Writing doesn't really work with me with a "little and often" approach though. It takes me 1/2 hour just to get warmed up.

It's the carrot at the end of my "saving stick". I've read Aslett's book, it was very good, probably his best I thought.

Thanks for the book reference Mel - I've bought a few of Don Aslett's books when I've been in the States and found them excellent. I have to say I tend to have fallen into the trap of putting off what I love until I've done what I hate and am gradually learning to break that habit but burnout is a whole other issue. At the end of the day we know what we can and can't do and from what you say Jacqueline keeping that "reward" in hand will be a good motivator and potentially "the light at the end of the tunnel". The problem with burnout - or being close to the edge of it, is that you can have incredibly productive days and then feel like you want to disappear into a cave and be a hermit. I must say that I think the ability AF has given me to focus probably saved me from falling over that edge but the are still those days ........... :-) Of course what I can now do, instead of planning my hermit cave trip, is plan to be in the US in January and visit with Jacqueline in Texas :-)

South Padre Island in January! Up to Dallas for some shopping and down to Galveston for a short cruise - can't beat that!

Oh Jacqueline stop it! I am turning green!! Dallas is my favourite place for shopping and as for the rest - sounds wonderful .........

Happy to say that I've been working off the list at home the last few days, and I think I'm ready to hop back on it again today (with some sense of relief, I might add). Basically, I've been working on things that I know have to be done eventually, but aren't projects that I've been wanting to take on right now so they aren't on the list. Mostly things that are labor intensive (vs. mental activities) like pulling up the carpet tacks on the bedroom carpets. I've just been doing things that wouldn't cause too much of a mess, but are relatively time consuming.

I also gave myself permission to hop around the list a little bit doing things as I was in that area of the house rather than following anything in order. But I didn't consult the list as I was doing them. In doing this, I managed to clear off quite an amazing number of items even though my energy level wasn't that high.

Sometimes letting the inner rebel out is a good thing. :-)

Enthusiasm comes and goes. That's the nature of all feelings: they come and they go, and we don't have direct control over them.

You don't need to feel enthusiasm (or anything else) for you to accomplish the things that need to be done in your life. You may want to review your lists to see all the things you accomplished in the past even though you did them without enthusiasm.

Though we can override our feelings when we need to, they contain important information, so we should always pay attention to them. Perhaps your lack of enthusiasm is reality's way of telling you that some things are missing from your list. Some possibilities for missing items could be giving a gift, writing a letter of apology and thanks to your parents (whether living or dead), visiting someone in the hospital, doing a secret service for someone else, and so on.

But don't worry about feeling one way or the other. Your feelings will change in time: I guarantee it. Instead, pay close attention to reality, and let what needs to be done be your guide for deciding what to do next.

I hear what you're saying about enthusiasm coming and going Dan - it just makes the work move along a lot more easily. :-)
That's the thing that I like the most about AF - you can move away from the system, but it's still there when you come back and you're not starting off every day fresh like normal scheduling or even DIT.

Sounds like you're doing exactly the right thing, Jacqueline.

If you pay attention to getting enough meds, energy and enthusiasm will return. (Meds is Nicholas Bate's acronym - meditation, exercise, diet, sleep. He has a nice, punchy and enthusiastic blog that is worth five minutes of your morning http://nicholasbate.typepad.com ).