Efficient Time Management

Get Things Done by Putting Them Off Until Tomorrow

In the last chapter, I described the problems created by a never-ending stream of incoming demands: on the one hand, the constant interruptions can destroy the concentration required for creative work; on the other, endless to-do lists create the Sisyphus effect – a feeling of hopelessness and demotivation.

In his book Do It Tomorrow, Mark Forster provides a provocative and elegant solution to these problems, transforming my working life. He suggests creating a buffer between incoming demands and our response – by making "do it tomorrow" our default response to all requests. Not tomorrow as in tomorrow never comes, but tomorrow as in tomorrow. Not today or the day after tomorrow, but tomorrow.

For example, here is Mark's solution to the never-ending stream of emails. In this system, on a typical day, you only have to deal with one day's worth of emails – i.e., those that arrived yesterday:

Suppose you received 40 emails yesterday (once you have weeded out all the spam) – the first thing you do is move these 40 emails into a folder marked action. These are the only emails you are going to deal with today.
Sit down and answer them all in one batch. Or, at most, two or three concentrated bursts of effort.
Any emails that arrive in your inbox are collecting there for tomorrow – whatever you do, do not get caught up in responding to them, or you will find yourself back in Sisyphus' shoes, facing an endless task!

Of course there will be exceptions – sometimes you will receive an email that has to be answered today – e.g. from your boss, demanding an urgent document by 5 pm. But these should be the exceptions, rather than the general rule. Mark argues that most tasks are not nearly as urgent as we think they are – ask yourself, "Will there be a disaster if I do not answer this until tomorrow?" The answer is usually no.

Doing it tomorrow has several benefits:

Dealing with emails in one batch is more efficient. You can get into email mode and zip through them in one go.
It is more motivating to deal with a finite number of emails than an ever-expanding inbox. In other words, it cuts out the Sisyphus effect and presents you with a manageable task instead of a never-ending one.
Today's emails cannot interrupt you – because you will not respond to them today. I experience a feeling of relief each time I look at an email containing a request and then let go of it and return to the task at hand – confident that I will deal with it tomorrow.
You answer emails in a better state of mind – so you are much less likely to take on unnecessary commitments by agreeing to something to eliminate the email. You are also likely to make a more thoughtful and helpful response.
It does not matter how often you check your email. Personally, I can see the benefit of only checking email once a day, but I am not disciplined enough to resist, especially if I am waiting for something important. This way, I can check my email as often as I like without getting caught up in responding to it.
You deal with difficult emails. Most of us have a few tricky emails that we put off answering for various reasons. But this system means you answer all the emails that came in yesterday – so you end up clearing out the difficult ones and getting them off your mind.
You know when you are finished for the day! Once you have answered yesterday's email, you are finished with email today – how good will that feel?

The same principles apply to other communication channels: posts, phone calls, text messages, and commitments you take on at meetings. They all go into the in-tray for tomorrow. So at the start of every day, you know exactly how much you have to do to keep abreast of your commitments – once you have dealt with a day's worth of emails, posts, phone messages, and verbal requests, you are free to get on with more exciting things. Like that design, you have been itching to get back to.

N.B. This only applies to the reactive side of your work, i.e., requests from others. Work initiated by you is a different matter. Mark Forster suggests that you prioritize your goals by devoting the first part of the day to a current initiative of your own. But be wary of putting all your ideas for new initiatives into the intray for tomorrow, especially if you are the type of person who has a lot of ideas – I tried doing this when I first read Mark's book (not carefully enough) and put my back out by trying to do an absurd amount of work each day!

Yes but…

My in-tray already has hundreds of emails – so did mine. Mark Forster suggests you take all these emails and put them in a folder labeled Backlog. Voila – an empty inbox! You can now implement the system by dealing with one day's worth of emails at a time. You should also set aside dedicated time to work through the backlog – because you have limited the size of the backlog, it can only get smaller, so every email you deal with brings you closer to a cleared backlog.
People expect me to respond to them today. Then manage their expectations. Sometimes it is a case of training others to learn not to expect an instant response. On average, you are more likely to get back to them quicker using this system since you are not overloading yourself by trying to answer everything as it comes in.
My boss expects me to respond today! This is trickier. If you are lucky, your boss will listen to reason – you can explain your new system, and s/he will be impressed by your efficiency and agree to wait until tomorrow unless it is urgent. If not, then you can at least apply the system to everyone else you deal with.
I have got too much coming in! Mark Forster is pretty blunt about this one – if you have got too many demands coming in regularly, then you need to scale down your commitments by saying no and/or delegating more. It is not easy, but it is easier than carrying on with an impossible task.
I have got too many other things to do! Beware of stuffing your diary so full of meetings and client appointments that you do not have time to do the rest of your work. And you do not need to keep up every single day. If I am running a seminar all day, I certainly will not be processing all my emails and post when I get home! They can wait until tomorrow.

Mark covers all these objections (and more) in his book, Do It Tomorrow – he also offers many more invaluable suggestions, so if you are intrigued by the idea of doing it tomorrow, I highly recommend you get a copy.

Do it Tomorrow – Or Next Week?

Mark Forster's do it tomorrow system works for me, but it may not be right for you. Your work might follow different rhythms. Do it next week might work better for you. Another productivity guru, Tim Ferriss says it is possible to manage by only checking email once a week!!!

The key principle is to create a buffer between the information and demands that are coming at you, and your response. That way you can get out of reactive mode, avoid the Sisyphus effect and spend more time on the kind of work that really inspires you.

Questions

What difference would it make to your work if you knew every morning how much work you had to get through that day?
Apart from 'do it tomorrow' how else could you create buffers between incoming demands and your response?