;)
Discussion Forum > My "Jumping Out" Journey
Yes, I think so. Mark had previously replied on another thread:
A task which stands out should feel as if it's ready to be done, as if any resistance to doing it has evaporated.
Standing out is quite different from an intellectual sense that the task needs to be done. -Mark Forster
A task which stands out should feel as if it's ready to be done, as if any resistance to doing it has evaporated.
Standing out is quite different from an intellectual sense that the task needs to be done. -Mark Forster
February 10, 2009 at 18:45 |
Bev
Bev
Hi Deej,
I know what you mean: I had a problem at first defining what I felt 'standing out' means, because different things stand out for different reasons. e.g. sometimes something stands out because you feel you *should* be doing the task, other times they stand out because all the nice, easy 'trivial' tasks shout out to procrastinators like myself!
I've managed to lessen my confusion slightly by employing the following small change:
Every time I look down my list I now ask myself (sometimes out loud), "What feels *ripe*?"
Somehow 'Ripe' feels like just the right word. And it usually makes the right thing declare itself.
For some reason I feel like this should be said in a pirate's drawl, (and I don't always manage to resist the temptation). ;-)
"Which task is ripe for the pickin', Ahar!"
I know what you mean: I had a problem at first defining what I felt 'standing out' means, because different things stand out for different reasons. e.g. sometimes something stands out because you feel you *should* be doing the task, other times they stand out because all the nice, easy 'trivial' tasks shout out to procrastinators like myself!
I've managed to lessen my confusion slightly by employing the following small change:
Every time I look down my list I now ask myself (sometimes out loud), "What feels *ripe*?"
Somehow 'Ripe' feels like just the right word. And it usually makes the right thing declare itself.
For some reason I feel like this should be said in a pirate's drawl, (and I don't always manage to resist the temptation). ;-)
"Which task is ripe for the pickin', Ahar!"
February 11, 2009 at 20:20 |
Neil Cumming
Neil Cumming
Neil, when a child has a dirty diaper, that word is very appropriate! No need to revert to the common sense rule. It's just ripe! LOL
February 11, 2009 at 21:11 |
Mel
Mel
Deej:
Don't try to prioritise items mentally - this will interfere with the balance between the rational and intuitive parts of your mind. Instead wait for a feeling of release about an item. It's hard to describe but easy to recognise. You just feel that the item is ready to be done. If you go on down the page, you may find that you feel drawn back to that item. Once you get that feeling about a task all resistance to doing the task vanishes, and it becomes easy to do.
Don't try to prioritise items mentally - this will interfere with the balance between the rational and intuitive parts of your mind. Instead wait for a feeling of release about an item. It's hard to describe but easy to recognise. You just feel that the item is ready to be done. If you go on down the page, you may find that you feel drawn back to that item. Once you get that feeling about a task all resistance to doing the task vanishes, and it becomes easy to do.
February 11, 2009 at 21:18 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
Oh, I don't do it in a rational way at all. (Although it may seem that way from my description.) Basically, I read down the list and let my feelings guide me. When I get to something and don't feel resistance, I do it. In fact, I'm suddenly excited about doing it, and find I actually want to do it. (Even if it's a task I'd usually put off for one reason or another.)
I haven't tried to prioritize anything. I don't question whether something is important, or important compared to other items on the page. I haven't even had to measure my resistance to different tasks yet. I go by how the task or project feels at that moment.
And it's still hard to explain, isn't it? :-D
I haven't tried to prioritize anything. I don't question whether something is important, or important compared to other items on the page. I haven't even had to measure my resistance to different tasks yet. I go by how the task or project feels at that moment.
And it's still hard to explain, isn't it? :-D
February 11, 2009 at 21:37 |
Deej
Deej
Deej:
In that case you're doing it exactly right.
In that case you're doing it exactly right.
February 11, 2009 at 21:38 |
Mark Forster
Mark Forster
However, I do want to check in on the issue of things "jumping out."
When I first started, everything seemed to jump out at me. So instead, when I came to each item, I asked myself, "Is this something I really feel like doing right now?" And while that helped a little, I still felt too much was "jumping out" at me, not because I really felt like doing those things at that time, but because my rational mind was telling me those were things I *should* feel like doing because they needed to be done. Which didn't seem to be what AF was about.
So, then, I asked myself if each item was something I really wanted to do. Which helped a little more. But there are a lot of things on my list that I don't necessarily *want* to do, and I didn't want them to fall through the cracks.
Finally, after reading around this forum some more, I'm thinking "jumping out" is a matter of resistance. If you look at an item and don't feel any resistance to doing it at that time, then it is "jumping out." If you feel resistance, it's not.
Is that the gist of it?