DonationCoder.com Software > The Getting Organized Experiment of 2006

GETTING ORGANIZED EXPERIMENT - WEEK SIX ASSIGNMENT

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markf:
I understand app103's struggles and I have been there myself. Something I have tried to stress in my time management books is that using time management systems to a) force your way through a massive work load, or b) force yourself to do stuff you don't really want to do, is not a good idea. That's why I start both "Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play" and "Do It Tomorrow" with chapters on cutting one's commitments and focusing on what is really important in your life and work.

A useful way of re-framing the question is to stop thinking about "procrastination" and to start thinking instead in terms of your to do list acting as a filter. I've always recommended that if you use a to do list (I'm not very fond of them myself) that you don't write it out again each day but keep the pages until they are complete. That way you can see clearly which items you have done and which you haven't. I've been doing this recently myself because I was interested in what did and did not get filtered out. So the first sheet on my list originally had 28 items on it. Now it has 4 left uncompleted. The other 24 have been crossed out.

Doing it this way allows me to compare which items have been actioned and which haven't. What are the differences? What are the characteristics of the ones that haven't been actioned? What I found was that generally speaking the reasons for things remaining unactioned were valid ones. For instance, "Mow Lawn" hadn't been actioned because it has been raining here every spare moment I've had in which I could have done the chore. Another two hadn't been actioned because the projects they were part of were a long way in the future, and there had been more pressing things. And the remaining one related to a project about which I felt no enthusiasm at all. So why am I doing it? A good question!

Being able to compare things directly in this way makes you more aware of the contents of your "filter". You can identify the unconscious criteria which you are applying so that some things get done quickly and others sink to the bottom and never get done. This is all useful knowledge.

Mark Forster

tomos:
Hi Mark,
a sort of a technical question here re:
I've always recommended that if you use a to do list (I'm not very fond of them myself) that you don't write it out again each day but keep the pages until they are complete.
--- End quote ---
would this refer to "Will-do" lists as well,
or,
seeing as they are of a daily nature, would you recommend rewriting the things that dont get done* each day?

*I know things should get done, but, at the beginning its sometimes hard to
a) guage what you can do
and
b) be disciplined  :)

markf:
Hi, Tomos. As you know, the idea of a Will Do list is that, unlike the usual type of To Do list, you are aiming to complete it every day. In actual practice this becomes "complete it every day on average", since it's impossible to balance exactly the amount of work that comes in on any given day with the amount of time you have to deal with it the following day. Where this shows up is usually in the Task Diary. I recommend writing tasks in a page-a-day diary. If I don't complete these tasks during a day I will leave them in place and the next day be actioning two pages in the diary. My aim is to complete both. This provides a useful check because you can see at a glance how many days you are behind. My rule is that if I haven't caught up after three or four days, I will carry out an audit. This auditing procedure is essential to the whole process. There are three questions: 1) have I got too much work? 2) am I working efficiently? 3) am I leaving enough time?

Mark

nudone:
first, advice to app, just forget about this experiment - it wouldn't be a failure to just forget about it. it obviously just doesn't suit you. if i were you, i'd just try and redefine the experience so that it's something you can look back on as being positive, i.e. it helped just to demonstrate that what you already did was the right way.

as for myself...

my current system is: no system! well, that isn't strictly true.

i know what i want to do. i have things wrote down and things in my head. i do whatever i feel like doing during the day - i'm living off of my bank savings so i'm fortunate that i can do as i please at the moment.

providing i complete each month's big task/project that i've set myself then i'll be very happy. so far, everything appears to be going fine. the first half of the month tends to be procrastination based - with me putting off that months project, but as the month progresses a sense of urgency sets in and i feel compelled to get things done. i start getting really angry/annoyed with myself and i know the only way to releave it is to just get on with the big task.

up until the point of seriously tackling the project i will complete hundreds of minor tasks that need doing. like all great procrastination tacticians, i use the avoidance of the major task/project as a way of getting lesser things done.

so, i am very happy with my progress. i've only had one day since we started the experiment where i felt tired/bored/depressed and couldn't really be bothered to do anything at all - but i still got things done - i just felt a bit down whilst i was doing them.

i've managed to stick to my new exercise plan - exercising every other day. i've increased the length of time i do it for and plan to take up more exercise towards the end of the year after i've made more progress with what i'm currently doing.

i'm eating more fruit and drinking more water, and completely cut out alcohol (not that i ever really consumed much) and late night snacks - i've not embraced a truly healthy diet yet but hopefully what i'm doing is the foundation of one.

i still get up about 6am, though, the dark mornings are starting to make that a little more difficult. i'm trying to avoid using an alarm clock as i think they are evil.

overall, i've found these past few weeks to be very successful. i've almost completed every major backlog (as MF would describe them) i've been accumulating over the years. thousands of files stored on my hard drives have been sorted/deleted. hundreds of magazines reviewed and then thrown away (taken to the recycle bin). there are a few things to sort out yet on the computer but i'm at the last 1% or so.

when i think about all of this, it is amazing. years of 'backlog' has been almost cleared. stealing a term used in Scientology - i think i am almost a 'Clear'. the chains attached to all these unfinished/unsorted backlog tasks have nearly worn through - i just need to prevent them from building up again.

on the downside, i still haven't gained the ability to immediately snap my fingers and start doing a task that i'm procrastinating over. sometimes i've managed to do so but not by following a set technique - so, i can only blame myself for not being consistent with a particular method to see if it works or not.

one method that stands out in my memory is from a day where i was suffering from overwhelming procrastination. so, i decided to do something i knew would absolutely ruin my sense of calm - i played a computer racing game that was guaranteed to put me into a terribly foul mood and frustrate me (regardless of whether i won or lost in the game). the idea of this was to, kind of, hit rock bottom - to put myself in the worst possible frame of mind i could think of and then see if i could somehow snap out of it and get the procrastinated task done. it worked, brilliantly so. but the trick to succeeding was probably more to the few minutes i spent just calming myself after playing the game - i don't meditate but i think what i did during those few minutes would be classed as meditating. i relaxed, blanked my mind, blah, blah, and then focused on the thing i was avoiding. i then spent the rest of the day easily working on the problem task. quite incredible really - i have no idea why i've not tried the technique again.

i guess, the main discovery i've found so far is that whilst 'learning' about time-management techniques i am enthusiastic about the particular system i'm looking at but i don't really make a great effort to implement the ideas. but, really, on reflection - it doesn't look like i need to with what i'm doing. maybe i have simply redefined to myself what i consider successful. before the start of the experiment i wanted to become like a machine that would just get on with any given set task - now, i'm simply content that i'm not sitting on my arse wondering why i'm not getting something done - i'm always getting something done.

set yourself realistic goals. nibble away at them. remind yourself of the goals you've completed. that's all i can say.

(i wish to thank Mark Forster for the books he has wrote because i know for sure that they have helped me reach this positive state of mind - and urlwolf for recommending them. i'd also like to thank mouser for his encouragement and the DC community for providing an outlet for this experiment.)

anyway, onwards, and upwards - this is only the beginning as they say.

tomos:
Well, I'm still fairly  :)  enthusiastic -
even though I would say the progress has been slow, it has been steady.
--- End quote ---
its true,
there has been progress, it has been steady

but

I still seem to spend a lot of time doing things I "shouldnt" be doing - posting here, checking out Scribus or whatever new & interesting programme I've heard about most recently - [have you heard of that one, Scribus? ;D ?] - when I "should" be doing whatever is on my list - if I even have one drawn up that is.

Maybe I *should* stop using that word "should"  :o
I know when I do things, I get a sense of satisfaction - "job satisfaction" - call it what you will.

The problem I find is that when I do these "other" things, I consider that time as wasted,
and then I put myself under huge pressure to catch-up with the "official" schedule.
I end up not talking enough breaks, working frantically, working late, being exhausted.

I'm not qualified to offer App any advice, I think the difference with me is that this GOE is actually helping me because I was so so so disorganised before (& getting even less done)

Its important (mainly for me  :) ) to remember that this project is helping me a lot, its also good to be honest, and maybe then go and have another look at the "encourage me" list !

PS. Scribus is at:
http://www.scribus.net/
(Its Open Source Desktop Publishing - apologies if I'm leading you astray ...)

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