---
tags:
  - productivity
  - task-management
---

# Autofocus Productivity System

**Autofocus** (AF, later called AF1) is a paper-based task management system published by British time-management author Mark Forster in January 2009. It replaces prioritising, scheduling and categorising with a single long list and one rule of thumb: work on whatever *stands out* as you read through it.

## Core idea

Forster's claim is that the rational mind and intuition work best together. A structured way of scanning the list gives the rational mind a framework, while the choice of what to actually do is left to intuition ("standing out"). The result is meant to be low resistance, since you only ever work on what you feel ready to do.

## What you need

- A ruled notebook (roughly 25–35 lines per page)
- A pen

## The rules

1. **Write everything down** in one list, one task per line, with no categories, priorities or dates. New items always go at the end of the list.
2. **Read quickly** through all the items on the current page without taking action.
3. **Go through the page again slowly**, in order, until one item stands out.
4. **Work on that item** for as long as you feel like doing so.
5. **Cross it off.** If it is unfinished or recurring, re-enter it at the end of the list.
6. **Keep circling the same page** in this way. Move on only when you complete a pass of the page without any item standing out.
7. **Go to the next page** and repeat the process.
8. **Dismissal:** if you arrive at a page and nothing stands out on the first pass, every remaining item on that page is dismissed. Highlight them rather than crossing them off, and do not re-enter them. This does not apply to the last page, which is still being written.
9. **After the final page**, return to the first page that still has active items.

## Key concepts

- **Standing out**: a felt sense that an item is ready to be done, not a reasoned decision. Do not force it.
- **Little and often**: you do not have to finish a task, only work on it. Re-entering it at the end keeps it moving.
- **Closed pages**: each full page is a closed list, which is what creates focus and gradual pressure on old items.
- **Dismissal**: the system's built-in filter. Dismissed items are reviewed later to decide whether to drop them, rephrase them, break them down, or reinstate them.
- **Urgent items**: the system is slow to reach new entries, so anything that must be done right now is simply done outside the list.

## Strengths

- Very little overhead: no prioritising, tagging or reorganising
- Reduces resistance and procrastination
- Handles a large, mixed backlog well
- Recurring tasks and long projects are processed naturally through re-entry

## Weaknesses

- Poor fit for urgent or time-specific work (use a calendar alongside it)
- The list can grow faster than it is cleared
- Old pages with a few stubborn items can slow the cycle
- Relies on honest intuition; easy to keep picking easy tasks

## Later variants

Forster kept iterating on the idea, mainly to deal with urgency and list growth:

- **AF2, AF3, AF4**: revisions of the scanning and dismissal rules (AF4 splits the list into a closed backlog and an open list)
- **DWM** (Day/Week/Month): items expire by date rather than by page
- **SuperFocus**: adds a second column on each page for urgent and unfinished items
- **Final Version (FV)** and **FVP**: build a short chain of preselected tasks by asking "What do I want to do more than x?"
- **Simple Scanning**: one long list, scanned repeatedly, with no pages or dismissal

## Source

- Mark Forster's site: [markforster.squarespace.com](http://markforster.squarespace.com/)