Get Everything Done

Business guru Tom Peters has an article at his site that touts: "THE ONE TOOL WHICH WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOUR CAREER. Namely the ... To-Do List."

http://www.tompeters.com/entries.php?note=006635.php

His version could not be more unlike AutoFocus. I bring it up here because...well, because, hey, he's Tom Peters--he must be doing something right.

I could not agree with him more. This is why I'm crosswise with some on this list ... I'm an advocate of planning then doing the important things. My AF list gets worked in 20 minute bursts of time between larger 2 hour intense sessions.

The one thing I got from him was something I'd not heard before ... no more than 4 items on the list. In my own case, I decided that three was all I could comitt to doing. It was a painful decision to make. I usually had 10-20 or more things I HAD to get done in any day. But at the end of the day, only about three got done. So, maybe picking up the idea from DIT, I decided that I'd put on the list only those things that stood half a chance of really getting done. After all, a TO DO list is not a "wish list".

So now my "card" in front of the AF book has only three things on it plus any errands or appointments or tickler items that have come due. When I'm not working on one of those three big things, I'm working the rest of the AF list for one or more 20 minute sessions.

It seems to be working for me.

I can see where the "doing" process is different. But from what I see, there are very similar principles behind what Tom Peters advocates and what Mark Forster has written (especially in DIT). The point of Tom's "to-don'ts" reflects Mark Forster's principle of defining your limits. Tom's 4 or less items on the to do list is essentially a restricted closed list. Also I can see implicitly in the post two other principles, that one attempts to 1) reduce random factors in the day and 2) focus (and work) on commitments rather than interests.

That and as soon as I tell myself that I MUST do these top x tasks, I don't want to. I feel obligated to do them then. That is why I look at both my dated list with tasks due today or soon and my standard AF list and always give myself the choice. If I tried committing to doing all due or priority tasks first I would become a real problem for myself. I am trying to work with my rebellious nature now rather than against it and so far it's working beautifully.

I remember an exercise in GED from Mark, to decide to do something the following day and then do it, reliably. After accomplishing that for a while, scale it up to two tasks, then three. This really develops will power. By the time I was up to half a dozen per day, lots of things had been accomplished, but there was obviously negative discretionary time left. Fortunately my copy of DIT arrived at about that time.