Day to day, the system is my “external brain” helping me with however much mental energy I have remaining at the moment and while I’m in different stages of auto pilot. (View Highlight)
I make time for a series of regular check ins to review both the contents and the structure of the system and then adjust based on what’s working, what’s not, and what’s changed.
I use my system everywhere. I try to set it up so that I have all of the tools needed available on my phone and on whatever devices I’m using.
But, I also try to maintain the core of it in a way that can be followed with pen and paper if I choose to be more disconnected. (View Highlight)
I maintain all of this because I want to live my life in the most intentional way I can.
For better and worse, I want to do more than I will ever be able to do. It’s how I’m built. And, like many people I’m a way more ambitious planner than a “doer” even though I get a lot done.
I don’t want to let myself down or make commitments I won’t be able to live up to. (View Highlight)
I want to live a life full of great days— have a fulfilling family life and career, plus get to explore as many of the interests and joys of learning, exploration, community, and service as I can.
In order to be more effective at that I need to be thoughtful in a way that powers the intentionality I try to practice. (View Highlight)
The challenge
I do sometimes struggle with the magnitude of information I’m trying to keep and organize. There’s always a danger of making this type of system unmanageable or that the work of managing it starts to crowd out the work it’s meant to support.
I have to be mindful to not let things get too out of balance and that I’m spending more time making progress on the things I care about vs. tinkering with organizing the system itself. (View Highlight)
The upside
It’s a humbling but very empowering thing to have a written down record of what I want to do, what I’m doing, what I’ve done, and a habit that forces contending with what I can realistically focus on.
I genuinely believe I’ve made more progress on the things that matter to me in every phase of my life, and have spent less time obsessing about the things I’m not getting done since I started making a serious effort at this. (View Highlight)
Morning track sleep in “rise and shine” tracker + time sleeping in past 6am
Deep working time in the mornings (personal work early morning, then pivot to the day job)
Mindfulness block between personal and job deep working time
Tread-desk working for about an hour
Try to get a high intensity exercise or cross training in during lunch time block
Audiobooks / high learning podcasts on commute in to the office
Meetings / collaboration in the afternoons
Shallow work / email in between meetings and collaboration
Lower energy / fun podcasts or music on the commute home
Medium energy tasks around the house or exercise / stretching if missed earlier
GTD style processing task inbox and “two minute rule” tasks
(Experimenting) “Done with work” ritual
(Experimenting) Journaling - short what happened that day, gratitude
Dinner with the family
Chores and cleanup
Low energy tasks + relaxation until bedtime
Daily questions
Leisure reading
Sleep (hopefully early enough to get 7+ hours) (View Highlight)
Note: 1. Morning track sleep in sleep Cycle tracker + time sleeping in past 6am
Deep working time in the mornings (personal work early morning, then pivot to the day job)
Mindfulness block between personal and job deep working time
Tread-desk working for about an hour
Try to get a high intensity exercise or cross training in during lunch time block
Audiobooks / high learning podcasts on commute in to the office
Meetings / collaboration in the afternoons
Shallow work / email in between meetings and collaboration
Lower energy / fun podcasts or music on the commute home
Medium energy tasks around the house or exercise / stretching if missed earlier
GTD style processing task inbox and “two minute rule” tasks
(Experimenting) “Done with work” ritual
(Experimenting) Journaling - short what happened that day, gratitude
Dinner with the family
Chores and cleanup
Low energy tasks + relaxation until bedtime
Daily questions
Leisure reading
Sleep (hopefully early enough to get 7+ hours)
Capture “inbox” items - thoughts, ideas, todos, and reminders as they come up (View Highlight)
Alexa to do list synced with Omnifocus via IFTTT
Routine ‘checklist’ tasks with recurring due dates (View Highlight)
Less critical reminders with soft due dates (View Highlight)
Store detailed tasks for projects
Tags to filter specific tasks for certain times / places (View Highlight)
Work calendar
Personal event calendar
Family shared calendar
“Planned time” calendar for time blocking (View Highlight)
Important reminders: Due (iOS)
“Nag” repeating reminders for things that need to get done
Routine nudging reminders for when I get jogged out of “auto pilot” (View Highlight)
Email: Gmail + G suite
Apple mail app for non work email (iOS)
Gmail app to keep work email separate on off hours
Gmail web app for all email on Mac (View Highlight)
Project and Focus area list (paired with Omnifocus)
Active projects
Ongoing - Focus area
“Incubating” projects
Ongoing - Longer term
Someday / Maybe
Meal Tracker
Exercise Tracker
Book Tracker (View Highlight)