Paul Cornell : Autofocus

AutoFocus Version 4 Now Available

Paul Cornell [MSFT] — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 19:47:00 GMT

AutoFocus version 4 (AF4) is now available.

In summary:

Start writing a list of your undone tasks, one task per line.
Draw a line at the end of the list. Everything above the line is called the Backlog. Everything after the line is called the Active List. As new tasks come up, add them to the end of your Active List.
Start circling through the Backlog, working on tasks until you feel that you can't do any more of them.
Now move to the Active List and pass through it once, working on tasks.
Go back to step 3.
When you have finished all of the tasks in your Backlog, draw a line at the end of the entire list. Everything above the new line becomes the new Backlog. Everything below the line becomes the new Active List. Go back again to step 3.

Here's a PDF showing AF4 in action.

Autofocus: Why I Like AF2 So Much Better Than AF1

Paul Cornell [MSFT] — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:49:00 GMT

Why do I like Autofocus 2 (AF2) so much better than AF1?

I like the notion of one big list of tasks (instead of “pages” of tasks). I never really followed the concept of pages anyway, and there really isn’t a good page model for electronic lists such as Tasks in Microsoft Office Outlook.
Starting from the most recently-entered task each time and working backwards (instead of from the most oldest task and working forwards) helps give me more focus on tasks that may have a better chance of getting done now.
The “line” drawn after unactioned tasks each day helps me bring more clarity to lingering tasks that must be re-evaluated or dismissed outright.

I’m finding AF2 gives me a new sense of excitement and purpose about my tasks. (It’s more fun to track them, too!)

Autofocus: Differences Between Versions 1 and 2

Paul Cornell [MSFT] — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 21:06:00 GMT

I’m really enjoying working with the Autofocus (AF) method by Mark Forster. It has allowed me to complete a greater volume of work each day, and it helps me focus on my most critical tasks. AF has been updated, so now there’s a version 1 and a version 2, which I’ll refer to simply as AF1 and AF2.

To summarize AF1:

Enter your tasks, with 25 to 35 tasks per “page.” (I use the term “page” because, if you do this electronically, especially in Microsoft Office Outlook, it’s a challenge to define the start and end of each “page.” Oh, and if you’re curious, I use a paper Moleskine notebook with 30 lines per page. I also very occasionally use Outlook to turn e-mails with lengthy e-attachments into e-tasks, but this list has never grown beyond 25 to 35 tasks – usually 10 tasks or less.) There are no notions of categories, groups, symbols, or the like.
When you’re ready to work on a task, simply visually scan the list and pick a task that “stands out” to you at the time. Put a dot next to the task so you don’t lost your place, and begin working on that task.
When you’re done with the task, draw a line through the entry. If you don’t finish it, re-write the task at the end of the list, and draw a line through the old entry.
Stay on the same page as the task just crossed off and look for the next task to work on. If no task stands out for you, dismiss all of the unactioned tasks on that page by highlighting them in some way (use a highlighter pen or similar, anything except crossing them off). These dismissed tasks become candidates for serious decisions about whether you really should do them, break them into smaller tasks that have a greater chance of being completed, or similar.
If all of the tasks on the page are crossed off (except for the page with the most-recently-entered tasks), put a cross at the top corner of the page. Circle the cross if there are crosses on all of the previous pages before that page. This helps you find the last page with unactioned tasks on them.
When you come back from an extended break, start looking for tasks beginning with the oldest dismissed task.

AF2 changes the following AF1 guidelines:

There are no “pages.” There’s just one long list.
At the beginning of each day, go to your oldest active page (the page with the oldest unactioned task on it), and draw a line after the first block of unactioned tasks (in other words, the oldest tasks that are still awaiting action). All unactioned tasks that are before where the line was drawn are now candidates for dismissal.
At the beginning of the following day, all unactioned items before the line are dismissed.
After re-drawing the line and dismissing any items, you should read through the list from beginning (oldest tasks) to the end (newest tasks), paying particular attention to tasks which are in danger of being dismissed in the next few days.
When looking for your next task to work on, always look to your most-recently-entered task, and then work backwards.

In my next post, I’ll describe why I think that AF2 is better than AF1.

Autofocus Version 2 Now Available

Paul Cornell [MSFT] — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:10:00 GMT

See http://www.markforster.net/blog/2009/6/27/autofocus-2-time-management-system-af2.html. (Version 1 is still available at http://www.markforster.net/autofocus-system/.) I'll soon be providing my list of the differences between versions 1 and 2 and my review of version 2's effectiveness.

Autofocus: Discussion Groups

Paul Cornell [MSFT] — Fri, 01 May 2009 00:53:00 GMT

Here are the Autofocus discussion groups that I'm currently aware of:

Do you know of any others? If so, please let me know in the comments section below this post.

Autofocus: How to Decide on Which Task to Work on Next

Paul Cornell [MSFT] — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:24:00 GMT

The Autofocus directions state that you must not try to prioritize items mentally. "Instead," Mark Forster writes, "wait for a feeling of release about an item. It’s hard to describe but easy to recognize. 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."

So, how do you train yourself to know when an item is ready to be done?

I like David Allen's criteria in his Getting Things Done methodology:

Context: Are you in a location where you can actually work on the item?
Time available: If you only have five minutes, can you make reasonable progress on this item during that time?
Energy available: If the item involves physical action, how strong are you right now? If the item involves creative action, how rested are you right now?
Payoff: Which item could lead to the highest results and benefits or get you closer to your goals?

Autofocus: Dissecting the Instructions #7 - Dismissing Actions

Paul Cornell [MSFT] — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:39:00 GMT