Get Everything Done

I think you could achieve all the stated goals using the well established personal kanban approach instead, giving you freedom with focus and better avoiding the broken lines, rather than tracking them which feels like a waste of energy. In the example you gave I'd be inclined to group things loosely by function and focus on those (sort of like GTD contexts), ie get all your phonecalls done together where possible, and in that example probably on the commute to or from the gym.

If this is really an anxiety issue, then looking into Twitter or Facebook to solve that is pointless.

From where I sit it sounds more like a novelty addiction problem.

Once per week is more than enough for Twitter or Facebook, specially for professional usage.

Anxiety is too general. Pin it down to what the real problem is. For example, if it's financial worry, get a "nest egg" to alleviate the anxiety. Let me guess, you have a hard time getting enough new clients? Improve your marketing.

If it's novelty addiction, have more meetings with real humans in the carbon based.

Choose intellectually stimulating projects that excite you more than "social" media.

If anxieties keep you from performing work tasks, forget about making it as an entrepreneur.


Harsh, I know. But I am rooting for you!


P.S. I like Apple Notes as well :-)

"Not looking for a new system or rules"

If you're staying with this approach then my only other observation is to avoid being too granular because having to track all the connections and changes at that level will exponentially sap your time. "Run 5K" is probably okay. "Gather running gear together" isn't.

I agree with Christopher's comments about social media. If you're hanging out there you're exposing yourself to everybody else's agenda and that's a black hole as far as you getting done what matters to you. Put it in your calendar to check once a week for 30 minutes and then don't look at it again.

I've been trying the system of writing down the next thing I'm going to do in a notebook. My problem though is that I feed it from another list, so I still have the overwhelm of a lot of stuff that I'd still like to do.

The system of writing down the next thing you're going to do is very similar to instruction #2 in Time Surfing: Be aware of what you're doing and accept it. The author writes "take a moment to realize that the task or activity you've chosen is you only task at the very moment...Fully accept every activity as your task for this moment. All the while, remember to remain natural and flexible. It shouldn't require any strength to focus your attention on the activity."

The main difference between the two is that Mark recommends writing it down, whereas Time Surfing has you mentally note it. He says to internally "name" the activity. "I am making breakfast for my children". Over time this will become unnecessary and you become more aware with without silently naming it inside your head.

I think that the system of writing down what one is going to do next and then immediately doing it is in my top three favorite systems. A couple of weaknesses to this system versus others I like:
- It doesn't seem to be as responsive to "little and often" as something like simple scanning. I have to remember to do something often throughout the day and write it down. For example, if I write "plank" or "push-ups" on simple scanning, I'll get it to it 4-5 times throughout the day. Those little sessions add up over the weeks. If I just write down what I'm going to do next, then I may only get to planking and push-ups once or twice a day.
- I still feel some resistance to getting started on projects.
- I still need a list of some sort to remind me of the commitments I've made.

I've thought recently about redefining my relationship with my to-do list. Usually I consult them often to decide what to do next, whether they be large or small, with some sort of scanning algorithm. Has Mark ever suggested keeping a to-do list and then reading through it once, maybe twice a day to remind our subconscious of all the things we've committed to?