Get Everything Done

Hello All,

I continually struggle with my Autofocus attempts, and I think one of the main reasons is that I do not effectively use the "little and often" approach. Big, ugly tasks go on my list...and then I find myself getting spun around by the day's drama and I make almost no progress on my list (especially the big uglies!).

I am curious if others have experienced this and have any suggestions for creating the "little and often" mindset.

Thanks!

Practise! Pick one of those big uglies and think, "what is the smallest bit of this I can do?". Do that, and move on. You don't HAVE to move on, but if you are trying to get a feel for little, that's what I'll suggest.

Now if your problem is getting lost in one task and doing too much of it to the neglect of others, try using a timer. When it beeps remember to think about moving on.

There two elements in all of Mark's systems that support progress:

1) Little and Often
2) Dismissal

In DWM, given enough time, the assembly line process will kick your a@@ if you ignore little and often. In time, you learn to respect both rules to get through the mundane and sacred tasks/projects.

The above should read: "There ARE two..."

It should have read "kick your ass" as well.

Good post. Short and to the points. Moreover, good points.

Tony,

My suggestions. Use some more reasonable language. "Drama", "big uglies"? I find that a language of accuracy and precision helps bring reality back into the picture and allows the intuitive aspect of AF to flourish.

There are tasks. Your write them down. You go through a list and note when one stands out. You work a little on it. Some tasks expire (depending on the rules you are using). You highlight them for possible re-consideration.

No drama. No biggies. Just tasks. Reading a list. Paying attention to what your gut says to work on. Work on for as long as your gut allows. Let go of the tasks your gut knows don't require you.

There is no calculus, if there were Mark would have included it (unless he waiting to make a ton money by waiting to release the "skeleton key" to all human achievement).

If this is a non-starter and you find you can't tell your gut from a hole in the ground, you might want to read the thread about intuition and standing out, to see how others cultivate this part of the practice.

Good luck.

For me, one of the things I love most about Mark's systems is that "little and often" basically validated the way I worked earlier - but before, I thought I was an inefficient magpie. Now I just know that's how I function.

Here's what I do: I start working on something, and I potter along making progress. At a certain point either my attention starts to wander, or I start feeling resistance to the task. That's the point when my "little" is done - and it might have been five minutes or it might have been an hour. But that's when I move on to the next task.

Another tip from Mark's DIT (Do it Tomorrow) is to schedule a current initiative.

This is a task which is progressed first thing in the morning before checking e-maill, having a coffee, anything.

This gets you one step ahead of the events of the day and ensures some progress is made. After a few sessions even daunting tasks start to crack!

This does not feature specifically in AF but it has been suggested as a tweak in the threads and certainly suits some individuals, and some tasks.

Search on here, or in the blog for "Current Initiative" for more.

Good Luck!

I found that DWM does a much better job breaking down the "big uglies" than AF, especially if your list tends to keep growing over time. The various "dismissal" methods of AF help, but they just aren't as relentlessly effective as DWM. At least, that's been my experience. So, if you are still using AF, you might consider giving DWM a try.

In using DWM (or the WM variant), I've noticed that I now have some resistance to starting a big task that I might not want to commit to finishing. If you realize how the system works, it behooves you to delay starting something you're not really sure about. From Forster's DWM instructions: "The thinking behind this is that you can put anything you like into the system. If you do nothing about it, it will remain there for a month and then expire. If at any time you commit yourself to a task by taking some action on it, you are put under increased pressure to get it finished by being given only seven calendar days to do some more work on it. "

So, for example, if I add some big task to the list, then wait three weeks to get started, I've avoided a lot of (self-imposed) pressure to continue working on it during those three weeks. If I had started right away, I would need to do some little part of it each week, or the whole task would expire much sooner. Perhaps this is all to the good - if your current workload doesn't provide time/energy to get going on the big task, it could be better to let it stew for a few weeks instead. But it's important to realize this aspect of the DWM system if you intend to stick to it.