Using a Bullet Journal and Autofocus for Getting Things Done

19 Aug 2022

Have you tried every productivity system available and still cannot get things done?

Do you have notes scattered across several notebooks, piles of paper, and perhaps a whiteboard? Do you have multiple task and todo lists with no strategy for getting any done?

By combining the old with the new (relatively speaking), and adjusting some of the prescribed patterns, I finally have a system that works.

• I use a Bullet Journal for recording daily notes
• I use the Autofocus method for managing my task and todo lists

My method for using a Bullet Journal

My Bullet Journal method uses a subset of the page types that the Bullet Journal was designed for. I have read the book, watched the videos, and taken my time on the website. Ryder Corral would be fine with me just using a subset of the Bullet Journal because the system is supposed to be customized by the user. That is the power. You don’t need to do everything. You just need to do what works.

• I use the Index Page and fill it out as time permits. This has proven extremely helpful in locating something that I know I had written down. The index is the, well the index, to your notes. I highly recommend reserving 3-5 pages for an index.

• I don’t use the Monthly Logs page. I have a traditional job and we use Outlook at work. That handles the bulk of my calendaring needs. The family calendar is handle in Google and I don’t need to recreate that on paper.
• I do create and utilize a Future Log for important personal dates and events. I just use the one labeled “Ryder’s Method.”

So that is my Bullet Journal: an index, future log, and my daily pages for notes. It makes it pretty dense as I do not draw too many pictures. I am recording things daily and updating the index when I get time, usually once per month.

I do use two (2) different color inks: blue for personal notes and black for work items. These allows for easy visual scanning.

Autofocus is for anything that needs to get done

Autofocus is a system for managing TODO items. The system itself was developed by Mark Forster and is very basic. I came across the Autofocus method via a Lifehacker article. I began using the system at work and have been following for a number of years. This system is simple, works, and has very little overhead.

As described on the Autofocus page the system has only 8 steps. I use 5 of the steps as I limit myself to only a single page of items.

Here are the annotated steps from the original website:

1. Read quickly through all the items on the page without taking action on any of them.
2. Go through the page more slowly looking at the items in order until one stands out for you.
3. Work on that item for as long as you feel like doing so.
4. Cross the item off the list, and re-enter it at the end of the list if you haven’t finished it.
5. Continue going round the same page in the same way. Don’t move onto the next page until you complete a pass of the page without any item standing out I only fill up a single page of item. I don’t let my list grow to be more than a single page. If I have more than a single page I get some things done before moving any remaining items to the new page. This forces you to get things done (especially work related non-exciting tasks).
6. Move onto the next page and repeat the process Single page!
7. If you go to a page and no item stands out for you on your first pass through it, then all the outstanding items on that page are dismissed without re-entering them. (N.B. This does not apply to the final page, on which you are still writing items). Use a highlighter to mark dismissed items.
8. Once you’ve finished with the final page, re-start at the first page that is still active.

The system is incredibly simple. By limiting myself to a single page of todo items, generally around a dozen or so, I always have something to do next, but never so much it causes me to stop moving forward. When a page is filling up I will start a new page and transfer any outstanding items to the new page. This helps me cull the tasks that were written down but no longer needed.

Again, I use two (2) different color inks to keep personal and work related items separate.

Simple and consistent gets the job done

I have been using the Autofocus system during my past three (3) jobs. I have tried digital tools and managers. There is always an issue with what to do in a meeting, or during a conversation. Using paper I can carry it with me at all times. Somebody asks for something and you just write it down. Personally I prefer the steno type notebooks that flip pages top-to-bottom. That keeps the writing area free on the sides.

The Bullet Journal grew out of trying to write down meeting notes, or observations, using the Autofocus notebook and process. I would try and write notes as taks and that never worked. I also tried just using a new page for longer form thoughts. It really got messy with the two (2) types of notes getting conflated in the same notebook. Finally, it dawned upon me to just use another notebook for notes. Enter the Bullet Journal.

The system is not perfect but it allows for thoughts to be recorded in long form and tasks to be tracked. Not much gets lost along the way.