This is Week 8 of a Year of Living Productively
This week I tested the principles of Mark Forster’s book, Do It Tomorrow. Specifically, I declared a backlog of all former tasks which I then spent the first part of each work day on. The majority of other tasks were accomplished the following day from when they came in. Scroll to the end of last week’s post for more information about my test week.
How Do it Tomorrow Saved My Sanity This Week
- Helped me accomplish more routine tasks. I did more of my planned routines this week than I did when I was specifically testing routines! The book really reignited my vision for why I have routines in the first place. I developed them to address specific problems I’ve identified. Not doing them means I have more hassles.
- Gave me the satisfaction of being done for the day. I can’t say enough about the feeling of doing everything I should and being able to call it a night. Not only that, but I knew I had done more than a few easy one-off tasks. I was working on a variety of things that made me feel reliable and that I was progressing on my goals. I was also motivated to finish tasks because I knew if I didn’t, they’d be on the list again tomorrow.
- Relieved stress over undone tasks. Declaring a backlog gave me immediate piece of mind and the belief that I really could be on top of my work. Can’t remember feeling that way since I was in college and the terror of failing had me working ahead on assignments.
How Do it Tomorrow Made Me Crazy This Week
- Having two scheduled days in a row put me behind. My two busy days with little time for tasks made my perfectionism kick in. I was demotivated because I had failed to do a day’s work. I forgot what Mark Forster’s admonition was for situations like this. First, just do what you can and catch up on the proceeding days. If necessary, non-urgent tasks can also be scheduled across several days.
- I had to think about my commitments. In order to do everything I want to do, I have to stay really, really busy. I really don’t like to admit that some of my interests will have to go if I want to get a day’s work done.
Did Do it Tomorrow Help Me Get More Done?
Without a doubt. I couldn’t be more delighted and I am unwilling to give it up this week! I will say that I’ve had more energy this week than I’ve had in a long time, but the philosophy resonates with me and that energizes me, too.
**UPDATE**
Surprisingly, I don’t use Do it Tomorrow anymore. I eventually found that it didn’t make sense to tackle every incoming task tomorrow, even though it was nice to get a head start on a lot of projects. The problem for me is that when it rains, it pours. Tasks tend to get processed in bulk on an open day that is followed by a busy day. Now, I schedule tasks for certain days of the week to batch them. I pay bills on Mondays. I manage blog tasks on Tuesdays, and so on. If I can’t get to something, it gets pushed to the following day or week, depending on the task and its deadline.
The Productivity Approach I’ll Be Using for Week 9
If you’ve not heard of the Pomodoro technique, you haven’t been reading anything about productivity. But even if you’re into productivity hacks like I am, you may not be familiar with the whole approach.
The concept. I knew that Pomodoro meant working for a set period of time and taking a break. That’s all I thought it was. A Pomodoro is a 25-minute work period followed by a 3-5 minute break. After four Pomodoros, a 15-30 minute break should be taken.
The information that was new to me is that tasks to be done for the day (listed in order of importance) should be recorded and the number of Pomodoros required should be estimated. (Tasks should be grouped so they will take at least 25 minutes). Each completed Pomodoro for that task should be indicated with an X. Interrupted Pomodoros don’t count.
The Pomodoro Technique should be an excellent complement to Do it Tomorrow. Just as in Do it Tomorrow, Pomodoro requires same-day urgent tasks to be written below the line of tasks that were planned. I plan to use a paper planner and the Promodoro timer app on my iPhone to track my Pomodoros.
If you’d like to join me this week, here’s what you do. Read about the Pomodoro Technique in the free PDF or watch the video. Decide if you will use the paper recording forms, an online tracker, or an app. Plan your tasks and estimate the number of Promodoros or just work according to the 25-5 x 4 + 15-30 minute break schedule.
To see how my test with Pomodoros went, click here.
If you’ve tried Do it Tomorrow to increase your productivity, please vote in the poll below.
Here are the links to the productivity hacks I’ve tried so far:
Hi Mel
I use roundup days for the basic stuff to prevent guilt. It also works to get ahead. If you have company on a certain day, you can do lots of it ahead of time. You can also intentionally get ahead if you know you have very busy future days for whatever reason. Like you, I’ll also like to feel current always. Roundup days allow it.
As I explained before, roundup days work well for things you hate but you must do. I hate accounts day so I have the roundup day at the end of the week. I can work on it incrementally on the previous days to make it less overwhelming….or…complete it early to get rid of the nag/worry factor.
I need flexibility and order. Roundup days ensures a “deadline” day and also gives me the flexibility to approach the work however I want to. I especially love getting ahead. Freedom is always a juicy carrot!
re: next week timers. I love timers but I prefer making my own rules. 5″ timebox if I’m in pain or just avoiding something to half day if I really want to sink my teeth into it. A five minute break never works for me. I’d rather work long and break longer! I can work a few hours at something I don’t like if there’s a hefty break afterwards. 5 minutes? nah….That’s more annoying to me than doing the ****ing dreaded work! YMMV…good luck with it. I just don’t see an arbitrary 25″ working for every type of job. I create time boxes according to 1)deadline 2)how much money I’ll make from it 3) my attitude about it. This also works great for work I love. Time box a couple of hours for the work I hate and then spend the rest of the day on the projects I love.
p.s. I hope you’re feeling better.
Learning, so glad to hear from you. I’m on my 5 minute break! And yes, I’m so much better. I’m so thankful for that.
Thanks so much for the advice to work to get ahead of work that must be done. I think one strategy that might work is to assign all work that would normally correspond to Tuesday or Wednesday (my unusually busy days) to Thursday. I could then chip away at it ahead of time because I do have *some* work time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I’ll have to test it. Working ahead is a very helpful strategy for me. It’s feeling behind that just kills my productivity.
I absolutely hear what you’re saying wrt work periods and break times. I’ll report next week. 😉 Thanks so much for commenting.
Hi Mel
I’m so glad that you’re finally feeling better.
Yeah, I feel the same way. Even though DIT said doing the checklist “on average” was OK, it still made me feel behind. The roundup days solved that. Plus, sometimes I’ll devote a day as catch up and plan forward if things get too overwhelming. I love flexibility. Of course, if you’re on vacation for a month or something in life creates a tailspin, the flexibility of roundup days really helps.
It taught me not to try to complete everything, every day! I started DIT in 2007 and at first I tried to finish the checklist everyday. What I discovered was that I was wasting precious time and effort on things that didn’t deserve my attention simply because it was in the batch. Yet with roundup days, you better learn what’s necessary and at what intervals! I can safely skip snail mail easier than email skip a day dusting than sweeping. It’s lovely to skip things that can be skipped and use the time and energy on things that are more important to us (leisure included). I was raised military style. It took me years to let go of the daily white glove and everything done and in perfect order attitude. Bleh! People must have had more time in those days!
Thanks! I don’t think I have enough margin in my life and making Thursday a roundup day would be great. Fortunately, I only do the housekeeping tasks that really have to be done on a daily basis. Years ago I used to expect more of myself, but now my routines are more manageable. I find I don’t have time to catch things up because if we take a day off from school, my husband is right there wanting us to get out of the house and do something fun. I love that, but it means I’m constantly feeling behind. It’s even been a problem in the summers. I use that time for school planning, organizing, etc. and he has other ideas. LOL I will say that he’s become much more understanding over the years though. He will do things with the kids without me if I explain that I really need the time. I appreciate your input so much. Helps me improve! And I completely understand about the military clean lifestyle. I wasn’t raised that way, but have friends who were and struggle with it.
Hi Mel
Except for running your business and your home schooling curriculum, where’s the worry? If your hubby is cool with things and you’re getting your kids to do their part, I’d enjoy his suggestions. You don’t know how fortunate you are that he creates fun plans. It could be “What do you want to do?” “I dunno. What do you want to do?” LOL! My mom always had a full time maid and lawn guy but my dad taught us all how to clean and make us clean the place from top to bottom on the maid’s day off. Trust me. Maids don’t clean very well at all. If you teach your kids how to clean the place top to bottom once a week like we had to and the daily stuff, you could have lots of time to do your stuff and still go out when your husband offers you all a fun time. He sounds great to me. I had to plan everything down to tickets, reservations, etc. My husband never once had a plan. Your guy is a keeper!
Well, I don’t have a business per se, though I’m planning to start a family business. I know exactly what you’re saying about being easy breezy with his suggestions. I’m very thankful for him and tell him that all the time. The kids definitely help out a lot, too. In the past, I gave up any kind of to-do list besides the things I had to do and would forget, because I wanted to be able to just drop everything and go. The problem is there are times he wants me to be spontaneous, but then wants to know what’s for dinner or why his laundry isn’t done. Well, it’s hard to get those things done when you’re gone or doing what he wants to do. There has to be a balance in there somewhere! 🙂 I absolutely agree he’s a keeper.
Hi Mel
Somehow my eyes missed this. The answer is fairly simple. If he wants you to drop everything and also wants his clean laundry and fine dinner to magically appear, set him strait in a polite manner. I’d suggest something similar to “Wow, that sounds like a great time. I’d love to go but what should WE do about the laundry and dinner?” Hey, you’re a family. Sometimes roles and duties need to overlap once in awhile toward the common good. Just my opinion but I was raised to do my part and be willing to chip in for others as well if it helped things along. Surely both your husband and you are equally important in keeping your family life running well. He shouldn’t mind pitching in once in awhile especially if he’s entreating you to drop everything to enjoy your company. Maybe you can test it out and see what happens. LOL!
Great advice, Learning. He’s a great help to me, but I could definitely ask him what to do about those things BEFORE we go.
Hi Melanie, I am also a forgetful person. I was never able to remember to tell the kids to clean their rooms, nor did I notice they were messy (even though they were pits) so they grew up never having to do that.
But – I did have a house cleaning system that worked for this forgetful, non-observant mom! It gave me loads of free time even though at that stage of my life i was too lazy to take advantage of it.
If you’re interested let me know – don’t worry, I won’t feel bad if you aren’t! I realize you may already have a working system.
I have an organized approach for housekeeping, but I’m always interested in what works for other people. Share away!
p.s. And on weekends we had to do the yard duties even on Saturday inspection day sometimes….unless we had advance permission to be excused from work duties. Luckily the yard work wasn’t every week but house inspection was every Saturday after Dad came back from surgery rounds. Even our friends didn’t dare come around until we called to say that the coast was clear! LOL!
Wow, you had strict parents, but that probably enabled you to structure your work as well as you do.
Hi Mel
LOL! No, they weren’t strict in all areas. Dad was quite liberal except for table manners (brutally strict with that! LOL!) and character traits. We had full license to learn whatever we wanted. He’d buy us whatever instruments we wanted to learn and provide lessons. We had no limits with the friends we kept. (Mom was sort of snobby but dad always vetoed that)We could join as many clubs as we wanted to so long as we maintained our responsibilities. Friends use to fight over who got to have dinner or sleep over because things were so loose when mom wasn’t there. Dad would let us do whatever we wanted and go where ever we wanted. He trusted our judgement and character. No helicopter parents in our house. They’d have open house buffets during the world series and a lucky few of our friends got tickets to some of the games, spend a couple weeks at the beach house, get concert tickets, free movies, bowling, etc…Whatever we wanted to do so long as it was moral and legal! LOL! Maybe that’s part of the reason all of us were so popular!LOL! My mom named our place Grand Central Station because so many kids were always there on top of all of us! LOL! Maybe that’s why people nicknamed me the methodical bohemian! LOL!
p.s. Most of the freedom was when Mom wasn’t there. Dad was much more liberal. Mom would never allow us to stay out past midnight. Dad would let us go to rock concerts, take weekend trips, etc. Dad was raised on a farm so he had more trust in our capabilities. He didn’t see the difference between driving a block away or 200 miles! (naive maybe, but I loved him for teaching us to actively pursue our passions and friendships yet relied on us to be decent and responsible. And we were…..most of the time! LOL!
Learning, that’s so neat that you recognize your parents’ relative strengths. I hope you had a blessed Easter!
Hi Mel
Yes, they really did complement each other in many ways. Poor dad was raised in a very hash and strict religious household. They considered coffee and soda pop drugs! Lots of other restrictions. They were quite puritanical. Mom, on the other hand, was raised in a household where they believed that life was to be enjoyed and to actively create celebrations out of even the most ordinary events. Dad was painfully shy and Mom was a charming extrovert. She had to teach him how to celebrate occasions. He never celebrated anything…Christmas, Birthdays, anything. On those days, his family was very stoic and just prayed. They also had much in common as well. They both blended well overall and taught us much.
The thing that mom did that I remember best was from Christmas to New Years, every night was open house. Up until they died, our friends would show up from all over the country. I sometimes wonder what some of them thought when they rang the doorbell expecting merriment and cheer to find that my family didn’t live there anymore. She was also very generous with allowing anybody to sit at our table for any meal. Kids would even show up for breakfast! Mom didn’t care. We rarely had a meal that only comprised of immediate family. Overall, those were the happiest times of my life. It was nice to have instant friends in your brothers and sisters and they’d all be there. Now it takes planning to see my loved ones.
Mel, your kids will always remember growing up. When days look dark or scary, they’ll remember the memories and lessons you provided them. But most of all, it’s your devotion and love that will keep them strong and satisfied. You are to be admired.
That’s so sweet, Learning. I don’t know about admired, but I hope my kids always remember how much I love them.
Scheduled appointments are a weakness of DIT. The book doesn’t recommend putting them on the same page, but during my DIT attempt, I found it helped. When I wrote things on tomorrow’s page, I’d see “2 hours for appointment and travel”. (Not in those words, but close enough.) That encouraged me to write less on tomorrow’s page, and sometimes write on the next page — although done too often it destroys the flexibility which is one of DIT’s strengths. I ended up with several days in a row that were over-loaded.
Other options are do it next week, or next half-week, or next “at home” day, or half-day, or…
Pomodoro and DIT work well together in some ways. The DIT list for the day becomes the Activity List. Pomodoro recommends returning to a task until it’s done rather than “until you’re tired of it”.
I need to work harder on my 5-minute breaks. At home it doesn’t matter as much, but at work I often delay lunch for hours. Officially I’m done at noon, so I don’t stop for lunch if there’s only 5 minutes left in a project. It’s better to stop and eat.
I understand what you’re saying about scheduled activities. I don’t use a paper diary, however. And the idea isn’t that you try to figure out what you can accomplish on a given day. It’s that you will have to get caught up with work you don’t finish on a day. This way if you are scheduling unnecessary things, you will be motivated not to schedule them in the future. Yes, the keep working until it’s done aspect is very different from DIT. I’ll be commenting on that! 🙂
Actually, a big part of DIT is learning (through experience, which includes failure) how much you can do on a typical day, so you don’t schedule too much. The “in a nutshell” version allows (encourages) us to schedule way too much “tomorrow”. One of the later chapters, “Completing Today’s Work” (near the end) gets into efficiency (which can only take you so far) and the tough decisions about too much work and too little time. Rather than a big, timeless, amorphous list, we’re able to see how much we expect to do in a single day and make appropriate decisions.
Hi Cricket
I see it a bit differently. To me, it’s not how much or how little work I can accomplish in a day but choosing work based on our commitments. We are blessed with a generous world of choices. Over-choice can be better handled when you’ve actively chosen your commitments. For me, the project queue helps to tame my curious, impatient mind. I with I could live to be a thousand years old to do everything that catches my interest but, alas, I might have 80-100 years at best (unless medical science changes that). Although I love the Current Initiative best, it’s the commitments versus interests that best helps me to choose what to do based on what I’ve committed myself to do. My monkey mind doesn’t like that I only have 24 hours in a day and I have to waste some of it sleeping and taking care of scut. DIT’s principles helped me learn how to keep a more intelligently chosen projects queue. It isn’t ever easy with my monkey mind….”Ooh…SHINY!” LOL!
I need a project queue, too, Learning. My goodness I have an insatiable desire for new things to do. I wish I had an assistant who would follow me around and say, “You don’t have time for that.” 😉
Great description, Cricket.
Haha, Melanie, I also need an assistant who will follow me around all day and say, “You don’t have time for that!”
She would probably be saying it right now, though – I guess I better get to work!
Right! Get busy! I’m on my break. 🙂
Hi, Mel. Good to hear how well you have got on with DIT and thanks for taking the time to test it out.
I’m just working on something at the moment which harks back to my first book “Get Everything Done”. If it works out, maybe you’d like to have a go at it for one of your Productivity posts. I should have it up on my website fairly soon.
I’ll be looking for your post, Mark. I would be glad to test it out! Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
Hi Mel
You’ve got quite an influence! Your post has things hopping at Mark’s site also. LOL!
I’m curious to see Mark’s GED variation that he’s working on. He does love inventing systems. He definitely chose the right career for himself.
The trouble with inventing systems is that I never settle down with one for long enough to achieve anything other than inventing more systems.
That might be a bit like Edison wishing he had stuck with one idea. 😉 A lot of people benefit from your various systems.
Hi Mark
I concur with Mel’s sentiments. If it doesn’t wreck havoc with your life overall, enjoy your talent. My dad was a more generalized putterer. (usa term for inventor or tweaker.) Dad was more of a tweaking type. He invented a small stream toothpaste dispenser (he hated the gobs in the sink left by some more careless folks), he color coded our non meal dishes and glasses to prevent the accumulation of lots of dishes piled into the sink, he created a mushroom garden in the wine cellar and made his own yeast cultures and yogurt cultures. (He was a chemistry professor before he went to medical school.) My favorite thing he went overboard on was an underground smoke house. (He was very fussy about his landscaping so it had to be hidden.) He did lots of things like that. It drove my mom crazy sometimes but I loved it..especially when it involved food! He’d having tasting parties to test them. Example: we’d taste different sour dough breads to discover which of his yeast cultures worked best for it. He must have grown over a dozen different cucumber varieties until he perfected his pickle recipe. The list goes on.
I’d say that Mom would have preferred it if he tinkered with productivity systems instead.
Funny story: He used monkey eyes to develop better suturing procedures. (He was an ophthalmologist). He wasn’t thinking and put them in formaldehyde and into one of our water containers. I went to pour a glass of water for my mom and she screamed loudly when she saw monkey eyes spilling out. The scream shocked me and I spilled the entire container over the dining room table. Monkey eyes were dancing all over our meal! LOL!
I admire your desire to help people…and your area of focus won’t spoil anybody’s appetite!