Discussion Forum > Mark, what systems do you use today, and why?
Actually, the same would go for all of the rest of you on this forum as well!
December 15, 2022 at 22:53 |
Aaron Hsu
Aaron Hsu
I am crafting a system, but I realize lately that a huge factor in making it or anything work is managing my mental state such that I stick with it. Having expressed this thought here, it seems obvious that the system itself ought to be directing that management. There are definite elements in my process geared to this, but I haven’t really thought to make it the primary driver. I wonder what will come of this line of thought?
It’s not so important that a system has a fixed definition (though I think only fixed systems can be communicated). I can change things at will, so long as I keep moving forward.
My current status is a combination of Sooner or Later with some specific recurring items, and a roughly defined approach to managing project tasks, and some aspects of goal setting. It seems complicated, but it ought to be easier than GTD.
It’s not so important that a system has a fixed definition (though I think only fixed systems can be communicated). I can change things at will, so long as I keep moving forward.
My current status is a combination of Sooner or Later with some specific recurring items, and a roughly defined approach to managing project tasks, and some aspects of goal setting. It seems complicated, but it ought to be easier than GTD.
December 16, 2022 at 15:27 |
Alan Baljeu
Alan Baljeu
I have been using the same system - with slight modifications - for a few years now. The crux of the idea is to produce daily journal pages that capture:
* project updates (all of my major projects receive their own emoticon - for aesthetic purposes and searching)
* information about important people in my life (my wife and kids have their own emoticon)
* tasks without due dates (tasks w/ due dates go into Reminders)
* general observations about work, family etc
* art sketches
The workflow:
1. Every day, I jot down ideas, things to-do, things I've done, questions in Apple Notes w/ Apple Pencil
2. In the evening, I transcribe the handwriting into text, and paste them into my journal (Pages, Mac) along with any sketches
3. At the end of the week, I review the weekly entries, and update any unfinished tasks. I also add footnotes where appropriate.
4. At the end of the year, I export as PDF and print as hard cover book.
Examples:
A typical Notes page: https://ibb.co/8sVDTFc
A typical journal entry page in Pages: https://ibb.co/qmDx9vG
* project updates (all of my major projects receive their own emoticon - for aesthetic purposes and searching)
* information about important people in my life (my wife and kids have their own emoticon)
* tasks without due dates (tasks w/ due dates go into Reminders)
* general observations about work, family etc
* art sketches
The workflow:
1. Every day, I jot down ideas, things to-do, things I've done, questions in Apple Notes w/ Apple Pencil
2. In the evening, I transcribe the handwriting into text, and paste them into my journal (Pages, Mac) along with any sketches
3. At the end of the week, I review the weekly entries, and update any unfinished tasks. I also add footnotes where appropriate.
4. At the end of the year, I export as PDF and print as hard cover book.
Examples:
A typical Notes page: https://ibb.co/8sVDTFc
A typical journal entry page in Pages: https://ibb.co/qmDx9vG
December 16, 2022 at 16:54 |
avrum
avrum
avrum:
It sounds to me like you've basically found a great way of doing your own bullet journal. :-)
Alan:
I can sympathize with the whole "stick with it" thing, though I've found lately that sticking with things isn't the thing that I have trouble with, but rather, I'm now at the point where I think sticking with something is less important than figuring out patience and how to manage pacing. I have a tendency to want to "do it all" and that sometimes obscures things.
----
For my own, I've recently been considering the 80/20 concept and whether or not most of my issues may entirely be the result of a single thing that is out of whack. That is, if I were to spend sufficient, regular attention in the most basic way on my singular main project that is hovering over me, would this completely obviate all other system requirements and needs? If I just get a certain X number of deep hours in on this project in a given day, does that put me in a situation where everything else takes care of itself? I am currently thinking that it may very well be just that simple.
I've also noticed that this seems to be mirrored in the working habits of many others in the same position as me, so there is evidence to support this.
The only real issue with this, though, is that I want to have some way of happily integrating my love of writing and using pen and paper into something I do daily that I enjoy and that feels "productive" or like work rather than just hobbyistic. If I have a simple time-block requirement as my main working condition (and it may in fact be that simple), this is such a simple requirement that no pen and paper are required to manage it, which leaves me wanting to do something with my pens and paper, but I haven't figured out what, yet.
For managing lots of other tasks and reminders, I am thinking that because they are so much lower on the priority list than my main One Thing, it's very possible that having done the one thing to sufficiency, I can be quite tolerant of pretty much any other system, and especially, this presents Mark's long list systems, particularly the relaxed and easy going ones, as a potential thing to use there, since I have almost zero pressures around the rest of the work, which means that having something that lets me take it easy on everything else as a contrast to the high-intensity focus that I give to my main thing might be quite interesting.
Still not sure how this will all play out though.
It sounds to me like you've basically found a great way of doing your own bullet journal. :-)
Alan:
I can sympathize with the whole "stick with it" thing, though I've found lately that sticking with things isn't the thing that I have trouble with, but rather, I'm now at the point where I think sticking with something is less important than figuring out patience and how to manage pacing. I have a tendency to want to "do it all" and that sometimes obscures things.
----
For my own, I've recently been considering the 80/20 concept and whether or not most of my issues may entirely be the result of a single thing that is out of whack. That is, if I were to spend sufficient, regular attention in the most basic way on my singular main project that is hovering over me, would this completely obviate all other system requirements and needs? If I just get a certain X number of deep hours in on this project in a given day, does that put me in a situation where everything else takes care of itself? I am currently thinking that it may very well be just that simple.
I've also noticed that this seems to be mirrored in the working habits of many others in the same position as me, so there is evidence to support this.
The only real issue with this, though, is that I want to have some way of happily integrating my love of writing and using pen and paper into something I do daily that I enjoy and that feels "productive" or like work rather than just hobbyistic. If I have a simple time-block requirement as my main working condition (and it may in fact be that simple), this is such a simple requirement that no pen and paper are required to manage it, which leaves me wanting to do something with my pens and paper, but I haven't figured out what, yet.
For managing lots of other tasks and reminders, I am thinking that because they are so much lower on the priority list than my main One Thing, it's very possible that having done the one thing to sufficiency, I can be quite tolerant of pretty much any other system, and especially, this presents Mark's long list systems, particularly the relaxed and easy going ones, as a potential thing to use there, since I have almost zero pressures around the rest of the work, which means that having something that lets me take it easy on everything else as a contrast to the high-intensity focus that I give to my main thing might be quite interesting.
Still not sure how this will all play out though.
December 16, 2022 at 18:24 |
Aaron Hsu
Aaron Hsu
Aaron:
<<avrum: It sounds to me like you've basically found a great way of doing your own bullet journal. :-) >>
The original idea for tying together tasks, sketches, daily plans, etc came from Danny Gregory's "Creative License": https://dannygregorysblog.com/books/6061-2/
I read that book in 2005, and started putting it into practice a year later. Ryder Caroll's "The Bullet Journal" was launched in 2013.
A small - but significant - difference is that all of my tasks, projects, etc are tied to the context and meaning of the day. And the end result reads more like a diary than a daily planner.
<<avrum: It sounds to me like you've basically found a great way of doing your own bullet journal. :-) >>
The original idea for tying together tasks, sketches, daily plans, etc came from Danny Gregory's "Creative License": https://dannygregorysblog.com/books/6061-2/
I read that book in 2005, and started putting it into practice a year later. Ryder Caroll's "The Bullet Journal" was launched in 2013.
A small - but significant - difference is that all of my tasks, projects, etc are tied to the context and meaning of the day. And the end result reads more like a diary than a daily planner.
December 16, 2022 at 19:01 |
avrum
avrum
You mentioned a while back that you were considering what systems you actively use that meet certain criteria, indicating AF2 as the one that met all of those conditions.
I'm very curious what systems you find yourself using these days, and which ones you tend to have used in the past but don't anymore. I'd be very interested in a bit of summary of why each of the systems that you still use remains in use and why some of the other systems don't. I would find such an analysis between the systems in your present consideration quite enlightening, I suspect.