Get Everything Done

Hope someone can help me with this query. Say I start work on my AF list today (30 April) and I pick up where I left off last night (page 98, on which most of the items were added 3 days ago on 27 April). On that day, 27 April, while working my AF list, I had checked my e-mail 3 times during the time I was working on the AF list, and re-added it to the last page, so that it appeared on 27 April (page 98), 28 April (page 98) and 29 April (page 99). Now today, 30 April, while doing the quick scan of page 98, I come across 'check e-mail'. When I'm doing the slow scan, that item stands out. Would the best course be to:

(a) Cross it off (on the basis that since it was added on 27 April I've checked e-mail many times) and re-add it to the last page.
(b) Cross it off (on the basis that I've already checked e-mail today, 30 April, before I started to work on the AF list, and re-add it to the last page.

In other words, does the task 'check e-mail' refer only to the day it was entered, or should it apply only to the day it stands out, today?

This dilemma is occurring on a daily basis, and for quite a few other tasks in addition to 'check e-mail', so although it may seem quite trivial, it is interrupting the flow of working my AF list. Any thoughts gratefully received.

Thanks, Mark. I, too, clear all my e-mail each time I do it. My query was more related to the crossing-off process than specifically dealing with e-mail. As a further example, I might have 'Tidy 1 shelf of my bookcase' as a recurring item, with the most recent entry added on 27 April on the last page (page 98). I don't reach that page until today (3 days later) but I know that I tidied 1 shelf on the day after I entered it, not during AF time but just when I was passing. There are still several shelves to clear. So when I come across that item today, do I cross it off (because I did tidy 1 shelf since the date it was entered on the list) and re-add it, or do I treat it as a new stand-alone task (albeit that I will keep re-adding it until all the shelves have been tidied) that offers itself to be done today, and only cross it off if I tidy another shelf today? This is a bit of a grey area for me. I like to get an easy win by crossing something off that's already been actioned before I get to the page it was entered on, and it's easy to do this if it's a one-off task where you know you've either done it or not done it, but with recurring tasks it's a bit more difficult. (Of course in the time it's taken me to create these posts, I could easily have tidied another shelf!)

Margaret

I think it would not make any difference at all which way you did it. You want that item always on the list until it is finished. So you could just leave it there till your next pass.

But why not give yourself the benefit of having done a shelf and cross it off as done and re-enter it at the end. That way it feels like a fresh item when you come to it next time and furthermore you will probably feel you are making progress.

Hi Margaret

It sounds as if you are running pages by day (ie Day 1 = Page 1) rather than by page length where Page 1 could be Day 1 to Day 4 which may impact upon the way AF works. As a general rule if I reach a page and a task has already been actioned then I cross it off. If however it is a recurring task like email then, when I reach the page I either action it or not and cross it off only if actioned. It may well be that the next time I reach that page email will stand out and be actioned then. Unlike Mark I do not always clear my email each time the task stands out - sometimes I do but on other occasions I just work on it "for as long as I feel like".

Thanks Jim, Christine and Mark - your replies are appreciated. I've decided to stick to the rule that if a recurring item stands out, then I take further action there and then, no matter how many times I have already taken action between the time it was added and the present moment. In other words, if 'Tidy one shelf' stands out, I do so, instead of just saying "Well I've already tidied four shelves since that particular item was entered, so I'm going to cross it off as actioned, without having to do any more just now". Christine suggested that my Page 1 might equal Day 1, but I follow the instructions - any page might have items added over the course of one or several days, and on any particular day, the added items might cover less than a page or several pages. Incidentally, Christine, I have the same problem you mentioned (in an earlier post today, I think) that it's too tempting to use the 1-task-per-page to race through the list.

Another side-effect I've noticed is that I'm so keen to work my AF list that I'm reluctant to go out and do something pleasurable (e.g. go to the cinema), even though the main reason I'm doing AF is so that I'll have more time to do something pleasurable (like going to the cinema!). I can't understand it - in the days before AF, I would much rather have bunked off outside than stay inside working on things I knew needed to be done. Now I'm in danger of seeing anything outside of AF as a pest. Perhaps it's a case of not seeing the wood for the trees. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Yes, I put items on my AF list to trigger events that I know will be enjoyable, but they don't always stand out - I don't feel they're ready to be done. I feel I would rather be taking action on other items on my AF list than doing that particular item. I'm worried that I'll turn into an AF junkie who does nothing except stay at home, using the 1-item-per-day rule to whizz through the list multiple times, but procrastinating worthwhile items that would achieve what I say I want, i.e. spending more time on the things I enjoy, and taking timely action so that I'm not rushing at the last minute. Rather than using the AF system as a means to an end, I think I'm guilty of treating it as the end product. Maybe I should take up your suggestion of setting 'working hours' for AF, and see how that turns out. I'm in the fortunate position of all my time being discretionary, so I can try various ways of using AF.