Discussion Forum > Productivity talk done beautifully
I'm glad you found him, Avrum. I also stumbled upon his site in early spring.
His 8 cards a week "Simple System for Everything" is simple to use, ensures weekly progress in each area of your life, gives order to your day, is calming, and is very low-overhead.
It limits your daily tasks and weekly plan by using a small container: ten items will fit on half a horizontally-lined 3x5 index card. For the daily card, that's left half for appointments, right half for tasks. For the weekly, left half for roles, right half for results. Ten each.
If you want the round corner index cards like David shows on his site, you can buy a Martha Stewart corner punch for $12. For those in the U.S.A., Michael's and Fred Meyer/Kroger have this corner punch on the shelf.
An alternative to index cards, one which I find superior as it can be used to integrate a daily dated calendar, a short weekly accomplishment journal, a weekly plan, and an envelope at the back for loose papers and holding the flap of a thin notebook is the Moleskine 12-month 3x5 Pocket Daily Planner. It fits 19 items to a page: appointments on the left, todos on the right.
Sunday's daily page has no times printed, making it perfect for listing your roles on the left, and your week's results on the right. You also have a nice book of your accomplishments. In the room left over on Sunday's page, beneath your roles and results, list your top 10 accomplishments or moments for the past week.
I recommend that you write your weekly plan on the Sunday page for the week you're planning. For instance, if it's Sunday the 1st and you are planning the week of Monday the 2nd to Sunday the 8th, you would write your weekly plan on the page for Sunday the 8th. When you come to Sunday the 8th, you simply check off the results you made progress on and write your top 10 accomplishments beneath that.
When you need to travel ultra-light or don't want to lose your planner in transit, buy index cards locally when you arrive or bring 8 for each week of travel. Plan your week, plan your day the night before, and write your top ten accomplishments on the back of your weekly plan card. Before the trip home, recycle the dailies, and keep only the weekly plan cards. When you arrive home, simply store the cards in the envelope at the back of the Moleskine, or copy the weekly cards to the Sunday page of each week you were away, and recycle them to oblivion.
His 8 cards a week "Simple System for Everything" is simple to use, ensures weekly progress in each area of your life, gives order to your day, is calming, and is very low-overhead.
It limits your daily tasks and weekly plan by using a small container: ten items will fit on half a horizontally-lined 3x5 index card. For the daily card, that's left half for appointments, right half for tasks. For the weekly, left half for roles, right half for results. Ten each.
If you want the round corner index cards like David shows on his site, you can buy a Martha Stewart corner punch for $12. For those in the U.S.A., Michael's and Fred Meyer/Kroger have this corner punch on the shelf.
An alternative to index cards, one which I find superior as it can be used to integrate a daily dated calendar, a short weekly accomplishment journal, a weekly plan, and an envelope at the back for loose papers and holding the flap of a thin notebook is the Moleskine 12-month 3x5 Pocket Daily Planner. It fits 19 items to a page: appointments on the left, todos on the right.
Sunday's daily page has no times printed, making it perfect for listing your roles on the left, and your week's results on the right. You also have a nice book of your accomplishments. In the room left over on Sunday's page, beneath your roles and results, list your top 10 accomplishments or moments for the past week.
I recommend that you write your weekly plan on the Sunday page for the week you're planning. For instance, if it's Sunday the 1st and you are planning the week of Monday the 2nd to Sunday the 8th, you would write your weekly plan on the page for Sunday the 8th. When you come to Sunday the 8th, you simply check off the results you made progress on and write your top 10 accomplishments beneath that.
When you need to travel ultra-light or don't want to lose your planner in transit, buy index cards locally when you arrive or bring 8 for each week of travel. Plan your week, plan your day the night before, and write your top ten accomplishments on the back of your weekly plan card. Before the trip home, recycle the dailies, and keep only the weekly plan cards. When you arrive home, simply store the cards in the envelope at the back of the Moleskine, or copy the weekly cards to the Sunday page of each week you were away, and recycle them to oblivion.
June 5, 2013 at 10:12 |
Michael B.
Michael B.
Michael B -
<<8 cards a week "Simple System for Everything">>
I can't seem to locate the 8 cards a week idea. Lend a hand?
<<8 cards a week "Simple System for Everything">>
I can't seem to locate the 8 cards a week idea. Lend a hand?
June 5, 2013 at 13:20 |
avrum
avrum
Hi avrum, I'm assuming it's 1 weekly plan, followed by 7 daily plans, per week. Each one uses a card.
http://pilotfire.com/plan-a-great-week-in-20-minutes/
http://pilotfire.com/plan-a-great-day-in-2-minutes/
http://pilotfire.com/plan-a-great-week-in-20-minutes/
http://pilotfire.com/plan-a-great-day-in-2-minutes/
June 5, 2013 at 13:31 |
Chris
Chris
I also stumbled on him sometime but kinda skimmed it. I like the simplicity and little time put into planning each week and each day. At the time of reading about it I was using WeekPlan ( http://weekplan.net/ ) which is a digital spin on it (based on Covey's FTF). Actually, I was recommended to read his site from someone who used WeekPlan in the first place.
His 3x5 paper method is excellent but I like apps and digital stuff.
Good find Avrum, and thanks for shedding light on it.
His 3x5 paper method is excellent but I like apps and digital stuff.
Good find Avrum, and thanks for shedding light on it.
June 5, 2013 at 14:17 |
GMBW
GMBW
Hi Avrum
This sounds remarkably similar to my weekly version of DIT. Each day I pluck some MIT's from the weekly page on an index card for my day's focus card. I have checklists for the regular recurring maintenance stuff that I treat as background work. I assign a fake deadline to incrementally get things done. Having the fake deadline gives me a target and it allows me to avoid having the whole thing to do on the due date. (My fake deadline is always before the real deadline to give me wiggle room.)
Instead of roles I use categories/projects that are different than the normal stuff I keep on checklists. They may have real deadlines or I might give them fake deadlines to give me a target. I think in categories so it's easier this way for me. For my brain, it's easier to think of purpose/reason and outcome to provide motivation. If I feel resistance, I especially need to keep the reason and outcome in mind to direct my attitude and focus.
The method you describe seems very much like Covey's roles. I changed it to PURPOSE (values, responsibilities and passions) and OUTCOME because that's how my brain gets the juice (motivation) to keep on. I suppose that roles provide the same purpose and outcome that categories do for me.
After you get used to it, planning your flexible week's targets and culling from it your day's MITs becomes second nature. If I were to offer any advice, leave plenty of room for flexibility just in case you need more time, things go wrong or a wonderful opportunity shows up.
This sounds remarkably similar to my weekly version of DIT. Each day I pluck some MIT's from the weekly page on an index card for my day's focus card. I have checklists for the regular recurring maintenance stuff that I treat as background work. I assign a fake deadline to incrementally get things done. Having the fake deadline gives me a target and it allows me to avoid having the whole thing to do on the due date. (My fake deadline is always before the real deadline to give me wiggle room.)
Instead of roles I use categories/projects that are different than the normal stuff I keep on checklists. They may have real deadlines or I might give them fake deadlines to give me a target. I think in categories so it's easier this way for me. For my brain, it's easier to think of purpose/reason and outcome to provide motivation. If I feel resistance, I especially need to keep the reason and outcome in mind to direct my attitude and focus.
The method you describe seems very much like Covey's roles. I changed it to PURPOSE (values, responsibilities and passions) and OUTCOME because that's how my brain gets the juice (motivation) to keep on. I suppose that roles provide the same purpose and outcome that categories do for me.
After you get used to it, planning your flexible week's targets and culling from it your day's MITs becomes second nature. If I were to offer any advice, leave plenty of room for flexibility just in case you need more time, things go wrong or a wonderful opportunity shows up.
June 5, 2013 at 14:18 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
My dad taught me this in the med 1950's. Instead of roles, he had me write values, responsibilities and passions on index cards to help me learn how to plan keeping these things in mind. Since I was just a kid, most of my values were character traits. Every day he also wrote out an index card with appointments, surgery date, time and patient(s) and to dos. The appointments, of course, were outside of his normal patient care. His secretaries took are of that.
We had weekly inspections on Saturdays. I could cheat by waiting for my dad to fall asleep. I'd read his index card on his desk next to his wallet. Then I would inform my brothers and sisters what times Dad had surgeries. If he had more than one, it was heaven. That gave us more time to finish up before he got home. LOL!
We had weekly inspections on Saturdays. I could cheat by waiting for my dad to fall asleep. I'd read his index card on his desk next to his wallet. Then I would inform my brothers and sisters what times Dad had surgeries. If he had more than one, it was heaven. That gave us more time to finish up before he got home. LOL!
June 5, 2013 at 14:33 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
Chris:
<<I'm assuming it's 1 weekly plan, followed by 7 daily plans, per week>>
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.
<<I'm assuming it's 1 weekly plan, followed by 7 daily plans, per week>>
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.
June 5, 2013 at 14:52 |
avrum
avrum
Learning:
<< The method you describe seems very much like Covey's roles>>
Ok, here's why I'm so impressed by this guy: http://pilotfire.com/due-credit-to-stephen-coveys-first-things-first/
He doesn't shy away from giving props to Covey. Very cool.
In 2001 I was working as a therapist for a struggling non-profit. We (clinicians) would spend our days whining about inept management, drizzly weather... anything but hard work. Long story short, someone gave me a copy of Covey's 7 Habits, which led to FTF & then PlanPlus. Within a year, I raised 3 times the anticipated funding to built a two successful recording studios for at-risk youth. Yup, that's me: http://alturl.com/nh24v
Since then, I've been mucking around with other systems, always trying to get back to a principled based life management system. I'm so grateful to have stumbled upon http://pilotfire.com and David's work.
<< The method you describe seems very much like Covey's roles>>
Ok, here's why I'm so impressed by this guy: http://pilotfire.com/due-credit-to-stephen-coveys-first-things-first/
He doesn't shy away from giving props to Covey. Very cool.
In 2001 I was working as a therapist for a struggling non-profit. We (clinicians) would spend our days whining about inept management, drizzly weather... anything but hard work. Long story short, someone gave me a copy of Covey's 7 Habits, which led to FTF & then PlanPlus. Within a year, I raised 3 times the anticipated funding to built a two successful recording studios for at-risk youth. Yup, that's me: http://alturl.com/nh24v
Since then, I've been mucking around with other systems, always trying to get back to a principled based life management system. I'm so grateful to have stumbled upon http://pilotfire.com and David's work.
June 5, 2013 at 15:07 |
avrum
avrum
Hi Avrum
Because you recommended it, I glanced over his site. I love his plain speak and great illustrations. I had to chuckle about the people looking like hot dogs because that's how I feel sometimes trying to plan and actually do the right things. *blush*
Avrum, I get the distinct impression that you've always been a principled guy.
Because you recommended it, I glanced over his site. I love his plain speak and great illustrations. I had to chuckle about the people looking like hot dogs because that's how I feel sometimes trying to plan and actually do the right things. *blush*
Avrum, I get the distinct impression that you've always been a principled guy.
June 5, 2013 at 15:15 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
p.s.
I admire that he told his "before" story. That's what also made me admire Mark Forster even more.
I admire that he told his "before" story. That's what also made me admire Mark Forster even more.
June 5, 2013 at 15:17 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
<<I get the distinct impression that you've always been a principled guy>>
You should have met me in the 80s and 90s... but thanks.
<<I admire that he told his "before" story>>
I agree. In many ways, our "before stories" are more powerful than current thinking (which can often come off as a know-it-all). I've told people that my before story, and difficult journey towards marriage, will be the best part of my soon to be released (soon, hm, that's a bit of a stretch) book.
You should have met me in the 80s and 90s... but thanks.
<<I admire that he told his "before" story>>
I agree. In many ways, our "before stories" are more powerful than current thinking (which can often come off as a know-it-all). I've told people that my before story, and difficult journey towards marriage, will be the best part of my soon to be released (soon, hm, that's a bit of a stretch) book.
June 5, 2013 at 15:50 |
avrum
avrum
Hi Avrum
I never experienced anybody here as being a know it all. In my opinion, Mark runs the best productivity site on the internet. I can only think of one or two gurus that have that air once in awhile. I'm guessing that they can get impatient because they get asked and challenged quite frequently and I'll hazard a guess that some of them are a bit tired of their own schtick that keeps their books and seminars selling.
Please do alert us when your book comes out.
I never experienced anybody here as being a know it all. In my opinion, Mark runs the best productivity site on the internet. I can only think of one or two gurus that have that air once in awhile. I'm guessing that they can get impatient because they get asked and challenged quite frequently and I'll hazard a guess that some of them are a bit tired of their own schtick that keeps their books and seminars selling.
Please do alert us when your book comes out.
June 5, 2013 at 17:29 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
p.s.
Avrum, your 80's and 90's were probably like my 60's, 70's and 80's. My university years and first years of my career were the wildest and least legal. I worked hard and played harder.
Avrum, your 80's and 90's were probably like my 60's, 70's and 80's. My university years and first years of my career were the wildest and least legal. I worked hard and played harder.
June 5, 2013 at 17:32 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
<<I never experienced anybody here as being a know it all.>>
Least of all Mark. So yes, I was referring to other guru types... both in productivity and my profession.
<< the wildest and least legal>>
Learning... I think you've got a working book title :)
Least of all Mark. So yes, I was referring to other guru types... both in productivity and my profession.
<< the wildest and least legal>>
Learning... I think you've got a working book title :)
June 5, 2013 at 17:40 |
avrum
avrum
Hi Avrum
LOL! Since I was young I was nicknamed the methodical bohemian!
LOL! Since I was young I was nicknamed the methodical bohemian!
June 5, 2013 at 17:48 |
learning as I go
learning as I go
Finished listening to First Things First (spoken by Covey), and now reading the book. Besides the fact that Covey's principled-based productivity system aligns well with Family Systems therapy (what I do), I'm quite taken with how well thought out his ideas are/were.
June 6, 2013 at 14:17 |
avrum
avrum
Folks,
I'm so glad you got a chance to visit Pilot Fire. I'm about to launch a beta for a Week's Plan tool and a Covey-esque invention I call Role Reminders, and I'd love your feedback. If you are interested, please sign up for my First Alerts list:
http://pilotfire.com/lessons/first-alerts/
I'm glad you enjoy the hotdog people too.
-David
I'm so glad you got a chance to visit Pilot Fire. I'm about to launch a beta for a Week's Plan tool and a Covey-esque invention I call Role Reminders, and I'd love your feedback. If you are interested, please sign up for my First Alerts list:
http://pilotfire.com/lessons/first-alerts/
I'm glad you enjoy the hotdog people too.
-David
June 8, 2013 at 0:18 |
David Delp
David Delp
http://pilotfire.com
If you're not into Covey's weekly planning or roles idea, this probably won't be your cup of tea.