DWM - Mark Forster has been at it again

Those of you who have visited my blog before will know how I have been using the various evolutions of Autofocus by Mark Forster for managing my tasks in recent times. They have all worked quite well for me, although each variation has had its strengths and weaknesses. None of them have been completely perfect, but they did seem to be a better overall fit for me compared to categorised lists in Outlook and my Blackberry, such as those proposed by David Allen's GTD system.

I'm sure much of the benefit for me has been the revelation of using a pen and paper/analogue solution rather than a digital one, but the various combinations of open and closed lists and the way your subconcious works when reviewing the lists to select the next task is also a major plus for me.

Mark's latest Autofocus variant is known as DWM, for the Day/Week/Month time management system. I won't go into too much detail on how the system works here, or introduce the concept of Autofocus in the first place. Mark's web site has all the information you might need if you are interested. I will point out that like Autofocus, DWM uses combinations of open and closed lists to manage your tasls, but there are some key differences.

The previous Autofocus systems did not have time or dates, they were timeless lists of tasks, and appointments were maintained separately. DWM still works on keeping your appointments on a separate calendar, but it does use a day to a page diary or its equivalent for the lists of tasks, and if tasks are not at least progressed when their date expires, they are dismissed/removed from the list, no exceptions. This makes a huge difference in that as the date a task is listed on gets closer, it's amazing how you will suddenly feel compelled to progress a task at least a little so it doesn't get dismissed, or fall over the edge and get lost forever. Brilliant motivation. Even tasks that seem stale, or those you simply don't want but unfortunately need to do suddenly jump out as something that must be progressed before they are lost, even if only for a few minutes. The fact that even working on a task for only a few minutes saves it, but only for one more week, also prevents you from forgetting about it again for too long. It really is incredible just what a difference this makes with procrastinating over unpleasant tasks.

Another key difference is that Mark has released the system without testing it thoroughly himself this time. In the past, he has told followers of his blog that he has a new system but will test it for a few weeks first before giving the details. You can imagine how some of these productivity junkies keep coming back every day checking to see if the details are posted. For DWM, the basic procedure has been provided early in the piece, and those who wish to try it out at their own risk can, almost like a beta release. I was going to wait, but decided to give it a go, because I know in Autofocus some of my tasks do tend to stagnate, although not so much in the last version.

My early impressions are very favourable. I think this is the best Autofocus variant yet, but it is early days. I'm about to start hitting some task due dates, so that could be interesting, although so far I am generaly finding myself keeping ahead by at least a few days. The other big test will be when I head overseas again for a 3 week business trip in March. I will need to ensure that any home task I have listed are progressed sufficiently so they can wait until I get back, or are closed off so they don't expire while I am away. My time away on business trips have always tended to knock my to do lists around, or allow tasks to stagnate.

Hopefully this time will be different, but I will let you know in late March...

If you think you could do with revisiting your own task management system, check out Mark's blog and his systems, there just might be something that works well for you there too!

In the meantime, I hope you have a productive day!

Later.