Mark Forster (author)

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Mark Forster was a British author and time‑management expert (24 November 1943 – 12 October 2025). He worked as a business coach until he retired in 2008 and had previously served with the British Army, the Ministry of Defence, and the Church of England.

He is best known for Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management, a book that questions traditional time management ideas and introduces a simple system built around four tasks and seven principles. The Do It Tomorrow approach argues that time and tasks are finite, so every choice has an opportunity cost. Important ideas include:

- Real work comes from a mix of creativity and efficiency.
- Don’t rely only on busy to-do lists; aim to reduce busy work to free time for real work.
- Goals should reflect what you will not do, not just what you will do.
- Some tasks can wait; same-day or next-day responses are often enough.
- Use closed lists and strategic delay (the “mañana principle”) to boost focus.
- Practices include scheduling tasks forward and identifying a daily “current initiative.”

From 2008, Forster developed AutoFocus, a variation where you write tasks in a notebook and follow simple rules to choose what to work on, encouraging intuitive decision making. He also promoted the Final Version method, which combines prioritizing with motivation to help you work on important tasks as well as tasks you want to do.

Forster passed away on 12 October 2025 at the age of 81. He wrote several works on time management, including Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management and other guides on getting things done and achieving goals.