New Form: Keeping Focus
Lately I’ve been moving around, without knowing if I made progress. I developed this new form to help keep me focused on achievement. It may look like a Scantron, but it has theory behind it.
Dealing with Challenges
My most pressing challenge was that I was feeling unfocused and didn’t know if I was getting anywhere. I had forms that were supposed to help me be focused, but I wasn’t using them. Here are the reasons why this will work better:
- Keeping Track of Details: In the past, other forms had me keep track of details, such as time and the specific task. While useful to know, it was also very tedious and generally demotivating to do. The result was I didn’t want to do it.
By reducing the complexity of the form, it becomes less of a monumental task (a psychological burden). If I know it’s easy, then it’s no problem to do and even a little fun (fostering flow). The most work is filling in five bubbles in a day. No calculations. No time-keeping. Easy.
- The Friendly Manager: David Seah was on to something by titling his series of forms as the “printable CEO.” These forms act as a manager, but what kind of manager are they? If it’s a harsh manager, telling you that you aren’t doing well, then you’re going to avoid it or lie (to yourself) about your performance.
This form only has 3 values: I worked intensely, I worked some, and I did not attempt. With the point system, you have an incentive to cheat, which means you are not enjoying the experience of the system itself. By only having three values, you can be honest with yourself and feel good about even making some progress.
- Immediate Feedback: The other difficulty with a point system is the time it takes to calculate the points to figure out your progress. Another lesson learned from flow is the need for immediate feedback, so you don’t have to worry about how you’re doing.
The form is laid out in vertical columns, spanning a month, so you can easily get a visual impression of your progress, even without counting. Another benefit of the month layout is that you can still feel good without the pressure of making progress for all goals every day. You are in control, rather than trying to live up to expectations (which also helps flow).
The end result looks like a cross between a Scantron form and Benjamin Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues form. The purpose of this form is purely to give me a sense of accomplishment and to give feedback when I’m being unfocused. I still need to keep track of tasks that need to get done, but management of tasks and analysis of progress are now separated.
Download and Try It!
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WhiteHatBlackBox is about sharing my experiences on what works in improving life: getting things done, staying focused, increasing consciousness, and hacking behaviors. My passion is figuring things out and sharing how they can help us.
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Crisp design – thanks for the download! I’ve used David Seah’s forms too, but usually always end up going back to Remember the Milk, but I’m a sucker for lists.
Thanks. I face a similar pattern, where I try new (often complicated) things and end up going back to the simple list. I feel really good about this form because it isn’t about managing tasks (which lists are good for), but fills a different need in my life.
Great idea – it may be just what I need to keep myself on-track. Thanks!
Thanks. I am going to give this form a try.
I’m going to try using this form, and I’m glad I found your site.
One question, however, do you only track five things or projects each month? I could use a little more guidance as to how you use this form, so that I’m using it as efficiently as possible.
I’m only tracking 5 things right now (study for actuary test, figure out stuff about my life, work on writing a book, blog, and workout). I used the “brainstorming” area to write down things I wanted to make progress on and narrowed it down to the most important five.
You probably could print out a few sheets and do more than five per month. I thought 5 sounded like a good number, where I wasn’t trying to do too much, but I didn’t feel monotonous or confined to a single project.
My problem is, I don’t know where to start? I’m entirely new to this stuff, and can’t afford all these books and things I hear talked about. I need the ‘for dummies’ or for beginners run down, not blown away with all the massive wave of info that seems prevalent. I’ve downloaded alot of the printable CEO stuff, and these, but I must be missing something obvious cause I just don’t get it.
It’s all about having a visual way to account for things you tend to spend time thinking (worrying) about and need to do something about it. A good place to start is just writing down everything you need to do, so it’s on a paper instead of floating around in your mind.
Once you get used to that, you can either find or create methods that appeal to your particular needs. It’s mainly trial and error to find what best fits with your life, so start small and slowly add and remove things.
Thank you for the awesome and intuitive form. I am using it as an end of day record of how my day went. What I find is that I need more than five projects.
I understand that putting up the template used to create the document would make it difficult to control how the form evolves and still ties back to all the hard work you put into it. You deserve the credit. I am just reaping the benefits now.
I really LOVE this and am getting going on using it. It makes so much sense.
I actually don’t want to track more than 5 goals at a time. My plan is to use what I learned from Zen Habits. I’ll do only a few things at a time until I am regular with them.
But what I’m REALLY wishing for is for the weeks to start on Monday. That’s just the way I plan my life. And chance?
Also, I found your site on DIY planner. Love it.
Lete
It’s cool that you’re using what you learned from Zen Habits. After the first month of using this form, I was able to work it down to three things to focus on. I’ll be uploading some forms tomorrow and I’ll include an updated Re-Focus that begins on Mondays for you.
Daryl,
Many, many thanks for your creativity and generousity in making this form available!
hey, thank for sharing it.
i have little question, can you more explain about “management of tasks”. i believe every one have own rutine (workflow).
it’s really interesting when mentioned about “management of tasks and analysis of progress are now separated”.
Sure thing. “Management of tasks” means knowing the various things that I need to do (such as wash the car or throw out the trash). As you can see, I don’t have a todo list on this form. What I do have with this form is a way to track my consistency and see how much I’ve done without having to know the individual tasks.