It was proposed by the British expert on personal effectiveness and author of books on time management Mark Forster. He believes that sorting tasks based on a subjective opinion about their priority is useless at best, and even harmful at worst. Therefore, Forster has created his own autofocus system, which helps to find a balance between what seems most urgent and what seems most important.

"Autofocus" in this case means that we pay attention to the task that "hooks" our brain, and we feel that it is ready for us to complete it. It does not sound very clear, and Forster himself emphasizes that it is difficult to explain, but it is easy to feel.

According to him, the autofocus system balances rational and intuitive processes in our head — conscious and unconscious. The rational part of our thinking is more likely to pay attention to more urgent tasks, and the intuitive part is more important. When we use the autofocus system, both of these parts equally decide what we should focus on.

Forster writes M. Forster. Autofocus system — instructions that this approach helped him significantly increase the amount of work done, reduce stress levels and speed up routine actions.

How to use the autofocus system

Mark Forster's method includes five steps:

Write down all the tasks you need to do and skim through them, but don't take any action.
Go back to the beginning of the finished list and study it more carefully until some item attracts your attention.
Work on the selected task until you lose the desire to do it.
When you stop working on a task, cross it off the list. If you haven't completed it, add this item to the list again, but at the end.
Continue to browse the list and select the cases that "catch" you.

If you find it difficult to manage a long list, divide the tasks in it into four categories: new, recurring, unfinished and old. Start the day with a new task, and when you feel it's time to stop, choose the next one from the repetitive ones, and so on.

If you haven't completed any new tasks for the day, move them to the group of old ones. Repeat the process daily to make progress in all four categories.

At first, the autofocus system may seem chaotic and inconvenient. Forster has formulated a few rules that will help you get the most out of her:

Trust the system. Even when it seems impossible to work without a clear plan, keep using autofocus. If you focus on the tasks that you have chosen in this way, you will gradually begin to cross off items from the list much faster.
Stick to common sense. If there is an urgent matter, deal with it immediately. And move the task that you worked on before to the end of the list so that you don't forget and come back to it later.
Each time, put a date next to the task that you first add to the list for the day. This is optional, but it will help to track progress.
Fix the tasks that need to be completed at a certain time in the calendar.
Review the list every time after a long break from work, for example after a weekend or vacation.
Include creative tasks in the list, such as brainstorming or collecting information. Often they are not perceived as full-fledged tasks, but they can be. And you will intuitively feel when you are ready to do them.
Do not add personal matters to the list, such as lunch or a visit to the doctor. If necessary, create your own list for them and view it separately from the worker.
Do not edit the list. The essence of the autofocus system is not to determine priorities in advance, but to listen to your feelings here and now.