Subscribe to 🔎 Finding Focus, an email newsletter, where I share with you my reflections from the past week to give you one thought, tip and tool to improve your focus and creativity.
🔎 Finding Focus #14 — Stick to the Plan: A Sticky Note Strategy
|
👋 Hey Friends, I've been heads down the last week or two. There are some cool things brewing (more on that at the bottom of this message). Stick to the Plan: A Sticky Note StrategyThese first 90 minutes are essential. They are my most valuable of the day. This short window after I get up is when my brain is sharpest. It is my High Energy Time. I’ve known this for two years now, but I still wait until that block starts before I schedule something for it. I wake up, walk down the hall, grab a coffee, my MacBook and begin. By begin, I mean begin the process of what to do with the most valuable time of my day. I open the most distraction-filled place in the world, (no, not Instagram) my To-do list. It’s filled with so many delightful things to explore and hits of dopamine to be gained by checking off easy wins. Twitter/X couldn’t curate a more seductive list of topics if it tried. After culling through the 20+ options of things I could work on, I choose a task. Success. Except thirty minutes have passed. I’ve burnt through a third of my high energy time, and a good bit of my decision-making quota for the day. I think there is a better way.Over the past week, I’ve been trying something a little different. An experiment, if you will. Instead of starting my day with a coffee and my To-Do list, I’m starting it with coffee and a sticky note. I’ve set a pad of sticky notes and a Sharpie marker on my bedside table. Before laying down for bed, I take 60 seconds and pick an intention for tomorrow’s High Energy time, and I stick it to the headboard. It’s the first thing I will see when I get up, and I know what to work on without having to see my To-Do List. Plus, I’m more likely to stick to the plan if it is stuck to something. That last part is just me wanting a good excuse to play with Sticky Notes. ​ “Set a simple plan for the day. If you don’t end up liking it, you can always change tomorrow’s.” ​ — Brandon Boswell ​ I need your help. I’m designing a to-do list that actively helps you focus and protect your high energy time. If that sounds interesting, reply to this email, I would love to chat with you.​ Until next time, ​ ​ |
Looking to improve your focus & creativity?
Subscribe to 🔎 Finding Focus, an email newsletter, where I share with you my reflections from the past week to give you one thought, tip and tool to improve your focus and creativity.
Hey there! It feels good to be home. It feels good to be back in a routine. More specifically, my routine. The routine that I’ve curated for my own personal value system [and sanity]. I am someone that, perhaps oddly, enjoys their daily grind. I wake up, get a shower, grab a cup of coffee and dig into what feels most interesting and rewarding for that day (of late this has been Playlist, but more on that in a bit). This summer has not been that… …and yet weirdly has been more special and...
For the past 985 days I have created a new video every two weeks (each fortnight, not Fornite). Along the way, I’ve learned a ton, grown significantly, and enjoyed thousands of insightful comments and responses from so many of you. Thank you for that. It’s been a fun ride, but what surprised me is: The most important lesson I’ve learned from YouTube wasn’t how to create great videos. General advice for growing on YouTube recommends posting a new video each week. This advice is sound, it...
👋 Hey Friends, Today’s post is a personal reminder to myself. Many call me particular. Others say: attentive to detail. It is a skill that I have found helpful, especially as a designer. I recently came across this quote from John Gruber: “The quality of any creative endeavor tends to approach the level of taste of whoever is in charge.” — John Gruber I like to think my particular nature has led to increased quality in the projects I’ve been involved with. What I haven’t (until now) thought...