Get Everything Done

A few weeks ago, I read "How to Make Your Dreams Come True." (I have now read all of Mark's books!) I think I put off reading this one so long because I imagined it would be "different" and less practical than the rest. It *is* different, but not in a bad way. It is quite a book: original, memorable, and inspiring. The dialogues have a catchy literary quality unlike anything else I have read. It's one of those books that will stay with you for a long time.

I've found many of the ideas in the book to be useful even after brief consideration. I feel that I have a clear vision and I'm being "pulled" towards it. What resonates is the underlying principle that you can do what you want to do (with the confidence that you are not "drifting" but are moving toward your goals).

One question has lingered in my mind, though--and this is because I am coming to "Dreams" after Mark's other systems.

I'm wondering: In the "Dreams" approach, to what extent (if at all) should one use other task management systems/techniques? (Perhaps the correct "Dreams"-ian answer is: "If you feel like doing it.") I'm wondering specifically about the use of: 1. a long list (e.g. Simple Scanning) and 2. timers (as in "Get Everything Done" and as recently described on this blog). Of course, long lists can be helpful to keep track of many tasks (relieving the memory). And timers seem like a possible solution to a problem of mine: working too slowly.

I ask because, while "Dreams" doesn't seem to be a prescriptive, I get the sense that the default is to use none of the above and, indeed, to use no list at all. Now, I suppose someone using "Dreams" would still need an agenda or some kind of "bring forward"/tickler system. (I see no point in doing otherwise.) Also, I assume that making ad hoc lists of stuff to do (and tearing them up afterward) is par for the course with "Dreams." Mark's systems have never been about keeping stuff in your head to the point where it gets in the way of efficiency.

And yet, I also get the sense that "Dreams" is meant to be a complete system in itself, that it was not intended to be paired with, say, a long-list system or timers. Perhaps there would be a danger of falling into "push mode" or otherwise short-circuiting the "Dreams" process. But maybe this is wrong? Maybe using "Dreams" to clarify the future vision and inaugurate pull mode + using Simple Scanning for efficient processing of tasks would be a powerful combination? Similarly, perhaps using timers would boost one's speed and concentration, mitigating the pitfalls of "drift mode"? I don't know!

Any thoughts from Mark or others on this hybrid approach?

Mark Forster:

<< 1. When I wrote "Dreams" my intention was to do away with to-do lists and the like entirely...

2. The fact that I didn't use Dreams with any form of to do list doesn't mean that you can't. >>

Hi Mark,

Thank you for confirming this.