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GETTING ORGANIZED EXPERIMENT - WEEK FOUR+FIVE ASSIGNMENT

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Silvia:
A personal question to Mark Foster:

I am trying DIT but I am failing. The problem is lack of energy and lack of focus. I never go to sleep on proper time. The following day I see the consequences. I don't have any sleep problem. I just keep doing "just one more thing " before going to bed. one more website, one more blog, just a chapter in this book, a paragraph in another.

This has been a big problem for many years. Of course, if I only have discipline. Is there any thing you can suggest me, please?

Thanks a lot,
Silvia

markf:
Dear Sylvia

We always tend to follow the path of least resistance. So the question you have to ask yourself is "Why is it easier for me to go to bed too late, than to go to bed at the proper time?"

Once you've answered that question, set about changing all the reasons you gave in answer to the question so that they no longer apply.

So for instance if one of your answers was "I haven't defined what the proper time to go to bed is", then define a time. And so on with all the other answers you gave to the question.

If you do this exercise thoroughly you should end up making it easier for yourself to go to bed on time than to stay up late.

Good luck!

Mark

brownstudy:
I just keep doing "just one more thing " before going to bed. one more website, one more blog, just a chapter in this book, a paragraph in another.
-Silvia (October 04, 2006, 11:10 PM)
--- End quote ---

One thing I've been using successfully lately is Mark's idea of writing everything down. So I keep a little pad of post-its or index cards by the computer, and when I have the urge to surf or read or whatever, I write it down as a task to be done. Then I put the card or post-it in my inbox for later processing. Just getting the idea out of my head and making it tangible on paper seems to be enough to tell my brain, "OK, it's noted and I'll follow up later." Sometimes I generate an insane amount of dribbly tasks that the next day don't look all that important.

This is also part of Mark's advice to adjust your environment so that it supports what you want to do. Just taking the time to write those "just one more thing" tasks on a nearby piece of paper doesn't take a lot of discipline. Try it for a few days and see if it helps.

mike

markf:
That's very good advice from mike (brownstudy). Another way the same technique can be useful is with insomnia. If you tend to lie in bed worrying about things, you can have a notebook and pencil beside your bed and just jot down a reminder to yourself to take it further the next day. That way you have parked it safely and can go to sleep again.

Mark

urlwolf:
two quick things...
I have added a review of DIT here:
http://www.academicproductivity.com/blog/

Also the Forster Interview is finally a fact!
It is pure content, Some really nice chuncks there, for example:
= Why people drop off time management systems
= Why having a day with no long blocks of time available (e.g., if you have to teach a class at 12 and another at 2:00) may actually work in your favour
= Why you should write down any task before doing it
= stuff for programmers estimating a day's work
= Why we should stick to one system (instead of trying many as in the GEO experiment).

I'm really happy with the result. I also want to thank Mark for being so generous with his time. Mukestar will do the sound post-processing, and it should be ready for a podcast soon.

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