Published on 20 Oct 2021 in improvement
Productivity apps draw me in.
They’re new toys to play with, and there’s always the possibility of improving my workflow. But when it comes to tasks on a day to day basis I always seem to return to the notepad next to my desk.
Not some smartly laid out and pristine notebook, just whatever blank book I have to scribble into.
My system is simple. If something I’ve jotted down has an action for me, it has a check box next to it. At the start and end of each day I scan the last couple of pages to remind myself of what’s outstanding. Ideally I’ll have got to an action by the time it falls a couple of pages back.
The consequence of this is that if I haven’t done something by the time I’m a few pages ahead, it’s binned. This is a good thing! Clearly it wasn’t that important, and since the book is right in front of me all day and I review what’s there regularly, I naturally see anything not getting done. If it’s important enough to warrent more focus I’ll keep it at the front of the list by noting it again. Otherwise I’ll either leave it or cross it out completely. I don’t really care much about sizing, but it’s easy to tell when something’s too big and will be hanging around too long. If it’s going to take more than a day I’ll generally break it into smaller actions.
I keep returning to this system because:
The constraints in my system are an enabler. If I used A3 instead of A5 pages, I wouldn’t be as focussed, more work would build up and it’d take longer to go through it. Physically only being able to see a couple of pages at a time creates focus and the effort of flicking back means that well, you don’t. It also forces me to get things done, because if I leave them to fall too far back I probably won’t do them.
I still use a couple of different apps for goals, notes and other stuff, but they’ll never be as available as my scratchpad. The process of gravitating towards the path of least resistance like this is natural. There’s a subconscious cost/benefit analysis going on that moves you towards the most efficient route, as long as it’s still effective. That’s why when designing any process or way of working, don’t fight the path of least resistance, find it. It’s the most effective way to get to your goal.