|
Focus and the Long List
In the last issue of this newsletter I described how having a long "catch-all" to-do list usually results in a lack of focus. I recommended using a short list of a few items which you compose as you go along. However many people are reluctant to do this because they worry about forgetting something important. A long "catch-all" list gives them a sense of security because - in theory at least - everything they need to do is listed there. Never mind that they don't have time to do it all and that it's difficult to pick out the wood from the trees. So for those who are unprepared to abandon their lists, how can focus be improved? There are many problems associated with a long to-do list but I want to concentrate on two. These are: - How does you keep the whole list under review in order to improve focus?
- How does you avoid starting things and then not finishing them?
The two are obviously closely related. The simplest way of working a long to-do list is just to keep circulating round the list from beginning to end doing any tasks on the way which you want to action. The main problem with this is a tendency to cherry-pick the easier tasks. So the harder, more difficult tasks build up towards the beginning of the list. Another problem is that it can take a very long time to get round the whole list. The result is that new but urgent tasks don't get reached soon enough. The build up of harder tasks can be reduced by always scanning from the beginning of the list. Each time you finish working on a task you cross it out, re-enter it if necessary at the end of the list, and then go right back to the beginning of the list and scan forwards again. This ensure that the beginning of the list is kept under review and your attention is kept on the more challenging tasks. This comes at a price though - it is more difficult to deal with new tasks, re-entered tasks and urgent tasks. The good news is that there's an easy way to overcome these disadvantages without any additional drawbacks. Instead of just scanning from one direction, do it alternately from the beginning and from the end of the list. I have been testing this method out for the last few days to see how well it works, and it seems to strike just the right balance between working hard on the challenging tasks and getting the small but necessary tasks moving. Please note though that I have been using a list of about 40 tasks. I have not tested the method with anything longer. If you're going to give it a try, then my advice is to keep your list well weeded. While using pen and paper I find it helps to mark the selected task with an arrowhead (^ or v) pointing in the direction in which I've just been scanning. That then tells me when I finish the task, which end of the list to move to in order to start scanning again. | 
