The Author

Mark Forster is the author of three books about time management and personal organisation. The most recent, Do It Tomorrow, was published by Hodder in 2006.

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Fix the problem, not the blame. Japanese proverb
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Discussion Forum > Question about Dismissal

I'm still confused about what the rules are for tasks that are dismissed when their date has passed. Are these to be treated like the dismissed tasks in AF1-4, in which you highlight them and then think about them, e.g., abandon or rewrite (see the instructions about dismissal in the original AF1 instructions)? Or are you supposed to get rid of them and not re-think or re-write them (following the Niagara Falls analogy)? That is to say, you missed your chance to act on them, and now they are gone for good. They can only come back later if they pop in your head on their own.
February 8, 2010 at 18:12 | Unregistered CommenterGorham
Gorham:

Yes, they are dead, deceased, done for, defunct, drowned, down in Davy Jones's locker, and quite definitely departed.
February 8, 2010 at 18:29 | Registered CommenterMark Forster
> you missed your chance to act on them, and now they are gone for good. They can only come back later if they pop in your head on their own.

That's how I'm planning to deal with them, but I haven't gotten to the first "+7" page to dismiss yet, so doing something different is still an option :) I may add a task at "+30" to review dismissed tasks later though.
February 8, 2010 at 18:31 | Unregistered CommenterLillian
"drowned, down in Davy Jones's locker"

Mark,

do you think there is any chance to retrieve them from the bottom of the sea?
February 8, 2010 at 18:37 | Unregistered CommenterRainer
Rainer:

I think you should take the fact that they have lapsed seriously. If there's still a real need to do them then you should carefully examine why you failed to do them in the first place. Only then should you resurrect them.
February 8, 2010 at 19:02 | Registered CommenterMark Forster
Okay, Mark, thanks.
Again the point is: holding myself accountable.
February 9, 2010 at 8:25 | Unregistered CommenterRainer
Rainer:

Exactly.

The more dismissal is taken seriously, the better the system will work.
February 9, 2010 at 8:33 | Registered CommenterMark Forster