A daily tool for your efficiency

[Santi M]

Hello, fastlaners!

I start this thread to tell you about a tool which I’ve used for a “long” time (long enough for having tested it correctly) and I wanted to share it with you so you can take advantage of it if you want to.

I have to say that this tool isn’t a revolutionary thing at all, but implemented correctly can revolutionize how you use your time, namely your life.

I like to call this:

AP2T – Always Plan Tomorrow Today

Always Plan Tomorrow Today, yes, I refer to it like AP2T because it’s easy (and cool in my opinion).

Why use it?
This tool is very powerful because it brings you something very important; time. Using this tool, you are “investing” about 10 minutes today to get back hours tomorrow.

You should always plan tomorrow today if:

• If you know you aren’t making the most of your days and you feel bad about it.
• If you don’t want to waste a lot of time thinking what to do at every moment.
• If you want to go to bed more relaxed and have a better sleep.
• If you want to be more productive.
• If you want to be more organized.

How to use it?
It’s very easy to plan the next day every day, the “hard” thing here is to have the willpower of doing it every day and above all, stick to it to accomplish your daily goals.

The only thing you have to do is the following:

Grab a notebook/diary and at the end of the day think about the things you have to do tomorrow, including meals, exercise, etc.

Then, you have to write the time you start that activity and right down, the next one carrying out the same procedure. The time you start the next thing is the time you finish the previous one.

NOTE: Of course, your daily goals have to be aligned with your weekly-monthly-yearly goals.

For the people who have never planned his day before it’s normal you don’t know how long take some activities, don’t worry, only allocate the time you want to expend in each activity (and you think it’s enough but not so comfortable) and as the days go by, adjust your schedule.

For making this clear, I’m attaching a photo of the diary I use and an example of a random page of a day planned so you can see how I do it.

Since the year started I’ve been using a diary, but it’s not necessary, I used to do it in a normal small notebook.


I’m from Spain so the text is in Spanish, but I’m translating it beneath the pictures.



I plan only since 15:00 as I'm at the school the whole morning so it doesn't make sense to plan anything at that time.
Translation
(After eating)
15:00 Resting
15:45 Meditation
15:55 Arrange the room
16:05 Reading
16:50 Make an orange juice
17:05 Homework (School)
18:30 Snack
18:45 Online course
20:00 GYM (at home)
20:20 Shower
20:40 Online course
21:20 AP2T - Plan the next day
21:40 Dinner
22:00 Online course
22:30 Reading
23:00 Go to bed

My routine isn't always like this (although very similar), but I will plan every day depending on my priorities.

Of course, I have not invented this, but I have learned it from different successful people and put together the best practices based on my experience.

Probably lots of you already implement/have implemented this before, but I wanted to write about this for people who have never thought about doing it or tested it.

Did you already use this? How do you implement it? Any recommendations? I’m reading all of you!

*Sorry if some parts of this text aren't totally correct/ they don’t make sense; my English isn’t very advanced yet, but I’m trying to improve every day, sorry for the inconvenience.

I hope you enjoy the post.

Thanks and greetings,

Santi.

 

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[njord]

I dont see the point of micro managing your hole day, its very time intensive and if things take longer to do or if things come up your hole "schedule" gets f*cked up.

I just plan 1 to max 3 things that need to be done today and if iv completed them I look at my trello overview for the next task that needs to be done.
This way you dont waste time over planning everything and you stay flexible.

If you plan more things you will just clog your day up and wont be able to focus on what really matters.

I use the system @LightHouse posted i swear by it now its really good and the cool thing is you can custumize it to your wishes:
GOLD! - Achieve Laser FOCUS + PRODUCTIVITY With The System Legendary Fastlaners Use...

 

[Santi M]

By the way, I recently read about "My Fastlane Daily" sheets which you can get in the link: (100 Days) The Millionaire TO DO List and I think this tool is very compatible with planning your days.
One for goals and the other for time.

 

[lejus]

I do it Andy Frisella style. I plan 5 things that will move me forward and to them + my daily habits for which I use habitica, and whatever comes up as necessary to do. It is really variation of the same technique but I might try this for a change to see is there any improvement. Thanks for the post. Good stuff.

 

[RazorCut]

For anyone using Trello I can recommend the pomelloapp that will link with it.

A good task manager combined with an integrated Pomodoro timer can make a world of difference to productivity.

 

[lejus]

If you need some Ideas, here's a woman who talks about planners, scheduling, and different types of planning. You might even be able to get her to spread the news about your product if you have planners, calendars etc.

Annie

Looks good. This is technique my friend is using:
WTF Is A Bullet Journal And Why Should You Start One? An Explainer
It is excellent if you ask me but I prefer more simplistic approaches, so 5 tasks a day + pomodoro +daily habits implemented into habitica all the way, but again ppl are different they like different techniques so it's best to share all information and everyone can find their own way.

 

[Marius973]

Hi, I too was like you before but I had trouble planning my day because:
-If there was a contingency that changed my planing
-If I spend more time on a task so that changes everything
-If I finish school at different times
-My mother call me to eat at different times

And I have a question, the day is you in shape?
Because I think you sleep very tart?

Marius (From France)

 

[Zcott]

I plan my day; it's important. I like to visualise myself doing the things I have planned the night before the next day.

 

[.B.]

Agreed: simple tool and efficient.

The productivity journal from Intelligent Change was great for me to stay on track too.

It uses your P2TD approach and adds a few elements

You can buy their agenda or build your own getting inspired from their sample page: Productivity Planner PDF

It is worth reading how they propose to implement pomodoros. Not the usual way, very efficient to stay focused

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk

 

[njord]

Hi man, yeah maybe sometimes it can be uncomfortable if things come up, but the point here is not losing time, so if you have to stop doing something to do something more important that's ok, the goal is never to stop doing things and wonder "What should I do now..?" and things like that. Besides, it is not 'normal' that things came up if you have a routine.

Anyway, I've seen people who are more comfortable doing what you said, only planning the 1 to 3 things they have to do and they work perfectly that way. It's up to you and your personality and lifestyle.

In my case, putting 10 minutes in planning will save me some hours the next day.

Thank you for your answer and your recommendation.

Santi.

The thing is is you do as you say and delegate multiple tasks throughout the day and follow your sedule when you stop a task before its completed to do a diffrent task you waste so much time and energy.

They have done studys that have shown that people at work that are distracted or interupted with there work need up to 30 minute to get back to their task.

If you keep at one task intill it is completed you will save your self alot of time and energy

 

[lejus]

I will give that app a try.

I am a bit put off by the game-like screenshots that might not look serious enough for my ego at work

But a habit gamifying app may help put in place habits through Cue -> Craving -> Habit/Process -> Reward

Cf. the book "Atomic Habits" discussed on the forum this month:
BOOK - Atomic Habits, by James Clear (Review & Discussion)




Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk[/QUOT

A long time ago I've tried 2-3 different apps (can't remember the name). Most of them had some form of to do list sometimes with 1-2 extra features. Why I kept using habitica:
-decent synchronization between mobile app and website, quick refresh works when problems occur but those are hardly ever
-it is possible to create party and work together with your friends when someone slacks on their tasks everybody lose their health so your friends will nag you do to the work
-a separation between habits, dailies and to do. Therefore I was able to separate my 5 tasks a day from my daily routine and to do list
- tasks, todo and dailies work differently, some need to be tick daily some just change color when not done for too long, etc this way you can easier separate for different types of habits, you can also setup separate timeframes for habits and difficulty level, those are things I didn't see on any other apps
- there is a possibility to work with strangers, there are groups, guilds, and challenges, you can pick from already organized and designed group habits where you get plan and support that is custom build, especially when your habits fall into common categories like: study, read, get fit, productivity etc you probably already have challenge for it created with group of ppl already doing it and supporting each other, you just have to join and read how they planned it, this does not stop you from creating your own, but 10 h/week work challenge is one that helped me a lot with side hustle.I don't join it that often anymore but I kept most of the principles and setup they used in my weekly setup.
- there is an option for negative habits, therefore TV watching, facebook scrolling whatever you press it as a negative habit and you lose health, therefore you can both monitor and make conscious negative habits
Habitica have downsides:
-it is the worst in terms of childish graphic design
- overall as a game it is not a very good one, that might be actually good thing, you don't get caught in playing instead of working it's like a small addition, on the other hand maybe you would work more if it was better, hard to say, either way after few months gaming aspect is something they could remove and I wouldn't care
-since it's complex nature you get occasionally caught up in differences between app and website if you use both but I didn't find this to be a big issue.

I am still reading Atomic habits, I probably should occasionally focus on just one book instead of reading 7 at the same time but I've done it for too long and I am too deep the rabbit hole, I don't think I can't go back. Downside is that sometimes it is short and good book but still takes me long time to finish because other ones are just too addictive

EDIT: Sorry for the lengthy post but I noticed few people being interested in habit forming apps, and since habitica seems less mainstream I thought I will share my experience with it since it was mostly positive and , this app definately have more unique futures than any other I've tried.

 

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[.B.]

- tasks, todo and dailies work differently, some need to be tick daily some just change color when not done for too long, etc this way you can easier separate for different types of habits, you can also setup separate timeframes for habits

-it is possible to create party and work together with your friends when someone slacks on their tasks everybody lose their health so your friends will nag you do to the work
...

-... when your habits fall into common categories like: study, read, get fit, productivity etc you probably already have challenge for it created with group of ppl already doing it and supporting each other, you just have to join and read how they planned it, this does not stop you from creating your own, but 10 h/week work challenge is one that helped me a lot with side hustle...

- there is an option for negative habits, therefore TV watching, facebook scrolling ...

EDIT: Sorry for the lengthy post ... since it was mostly positive and , this app definately have more unique futures than any other I've tried.

Don't apologize for a valuable lengthy post! :-D

Thanks, great info in your post regarding the available features.

I was looking for some of those features! (Specifically those above in the quote)

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk

 

[Arigilos]

I've done this before and I like it a lot. I've always used a note taking app on my phone to plan and record my days. And I've recorded days that I haven't planned and it's interesting to see how much time I waste. And some days that I've planned it's interesting to see how little time I have.

 

[.B.]

. Why I kept using habitica:
-...
-a separation between habits, dailies and to do. Therefore I was able to separate my 5 tasks a day from my daily routine and to do list

- tasks, todo and dailies work differently, some need to be tick daily some just change color when not done for too long, etc this way you can easier separate for different types of habits, you can also setup separate timeframes for habits and difficulty level, those are things I didn't see on any other apps

- ...

So far so good: Habitica helps me to put in place some new daily habits in a fun way. Thanks!



Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk

 

[.B.]

Since I'm quite impressed with Habitica, I did a search to see if sthg similar existed to track fitness progress.

I bumped into this article: it's a list of apps selected by an expert in gamification: https://yukaichou.com/lifestyle-gamification/the-top-ten-gamified-productivity-apps/

Among the apps listed, I will give a go at Fitocracy and also at Super Better:
Fitocracy (gamified fitness app)
SuperBetter ("life improvement" app)

The TED talk from the SuperBetter designer was impressive and interesting:
The game that can give you 10 extra years of life

She mentions how such an app can help in many more ways than just improving productivity.

Initially she designed the 1st version of the app for herself: to keep improving her condition a little bit each day at a time when she was considering suicide because of her physical condition and the daily pain she had to endure.

The TED talk is worth watching: SuperBetter

The official aim of the app is: "help build personal resilience: the ability to stay strong, motivated, and optimistic even in the face of a tough challenge".

In terms of pure productivity app, to come back to the topic of the thread, since I like using pomodoros I will give a try at the Productivity Challenge Timer app

Because I like how it forces us to complete each "pomodoro" (25 minutes focused work without interruption).
If we allow ourself to be interrupted, the pomodoro is cancelled, no point is awarded.
It is the same approach recommended in the Productivity Journal.
And it was very good at training the brain to disregard any distraction during each 25 minutes of focused work:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wlxd.pomochallenge&hl=en_GB

Any of you already tried one of these apps?

 

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[The Abundant Man]

Why don't u do it one mobile phone or the internet?

Handwriting is better.

Here's peer review studies from the US National Institute of Health
Handwriting or Typewriting? The Influence of Pen- or Keyboard-Based Writing Training on Reading and Writing Performance in Preschool Children


Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning


Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults - a prospective cohort study


The Influence of Texting Language on Grammar and Executive Functions in Primary School Children

 

[lejus]

I will give that app a try.

I am a bit put off by the game-like screenshots that might not look serious enough for my ego at work

But a habit gamifying app may help put in place habits through Cue -> Craving -> Habit/Process -> Reward

Cf. the book "Atomic Habits" discussed on the forum this month:
BOOK - Atomic Habits, by James Clear (Review & Discussion)




Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk

Since I'm quite impressed with Habitica, I did a search to see if sthg similar existed to track fitness progress.

I bumped into this article: it's a list of apps selected by an expert in gamification: https://yukaichou.com/lifestyle-gamification/the-top-ten-gamified-productivity-apps/

Among the apps listed, I will give a go at Fitocracy and also at Super Better:
Fitocracy (gamified fitness app)
SuperBetter ("life improvement" app)

The TED talk from the SuperBetter designer was impressive and interesting:
The game that can give you 10 extra years of life

She mentions how such an app can help in many more ways than just improving productivity.

Initially she designed the 1st version of the app for herself: to keep improving her condition a little bit each day at a time when she was considering suicide because of her physical condition and the daily pain she had to endure.

The TED talk is worth watching: SuperBetter

The official aim of the app is: "help build personal resilience: the ability to stay strong, motivated, and optimistic even in the face of a tough challenge".

In terms of pure productivity app, to come back to the topic of the thread, since I like using pomodoros I will give a try at the Productivity Challenge Timer app

Because I like how it forces us to complete each "pomodoro" (25 minutes focused work without interruption).
If we allow ourself to be interrupted, the pomodoro is cancelled, no point is awarded.
It is the same approach recommended in the Productivity Journal.
And it was very good at training the brain to disregard any distraction during each 25 minutes of focused work:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wlxd.pomochallenge&hl=en_GB

Any of you already tried one of these apps?

Man this is epic post. I will definitely watch this TED talk, and I will check all of those apps but pomodoro caught my eye too. There is 10 hours of work chellenge on habitica but I am looking for something more efficient to be honest. It worked for me but not always.

Handwriting is better.

Here's peer review studies from the US National Institute of Health
Handwriting or Typewriting? The Influence of Pen- or Keyboard-Based Writing Training on Reading and Writing Performance in Preschool Children


Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning


Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults - a prospective cohort study


The Influence of Texting Language on Grammar and Executive Functions in Primary School Children

This all reminds me of morning pages:
Morning Pages | Julia Cameron Live
IT is primarly creativity technique but I use it time to time and there was the time when I used it everyda and it definately helps you decluter your mind. People underestimate power of handwriting.

 

[.B.]

This all reminds me of morning pages:
Morning Pages | Julia Cameron Live
... it definately helps you decluter your mind. People underestimate power of handwriting.

I once read that Tim Ferris was using that technique daily (the exercise comes from Julia's book "The Artist's Way" which seems to be fairly well known among artists and creative people)

I tested the pomello challenge app I mentioned above. But it is too simplistic.
So for now, I will stick to the non-gamified "Focus To-Do" app for the pomodoros.

And I still want to test the pomelloapp recommended by RazorCut in conjunction with Trello, to see if it is is better than the "Focus To-Do" app

 

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[Mattie]

If you need some Ideas, here's a woman who talks about planners, scheduling, and different types of planning. You might even be able to get her to spread the news about your product if you have planners, calendars etc.

Annie

 

[Santi M]

A lot of valuable content arising from your posts, thank you guys for the value, now I have a lot to read and some apps to test!
@lejus @.B. @Mattie

 

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[Mattie]

Looks good. This is technique my friend is using:
WTF Is A Bullet Journal And Why Should You Start One? An Explainer
It is excellent if you ask me but I prefer more simplistic approaches, so 5 tasks a day + pomodoro +daily habits implemented into habitica all the way, but again ppl are different they like different techniques so it's best to share all information and everyone can find their own way.

Just sharing resources with who needs them.

 

[Diallo Mamadou]

It is very nice. i always plan my day before it's started

 

[Santi M]

It is very nice. i always plan my day before it's started

Hi Diallo, it's great, isn't it? Doing this has helped me a lot!

 

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[Santi M]

Hi, I too was like you before but I had trouble planning my day because:
-If there was a contingency that changed my planing
-If I spend more time on a task so that changes everything
-If I finish school at different times
-My mother call me to eat at different times

And I have a question, the day is you in shape?
Because I think you sleep very tart?

Marius (From France)

Hi Marius!
I know sometimes it's difficult to plan a day if you aren't sure about what you are going to do, but I think it's better to have a plan an achieve what you can rather than not planning anything. In case your days are so unpredictable then I'll recommend you to do something simpler, for example, writing down three things you must achieve the next day. It's not like planning the day but at least you will achieve little goals every day.

And I have a question, the day is you in shape?
Because I think you sleep very tart?

Regarding this, yes, I keep perfect the whole day. Here in Spain, we go to bed so late (compared with the rest of Europe). But I sleep 8 hours, I think that's ok. I go to bed at 11 pm and wake up at 7 am, so, no problem.

 

[Diallo Mamadou]

By the way, I recently read about "My Fastlane Daily" sheets which you can get in the link: (120 Days) The Millionaire TO DO List and I think this tool is very compatible with planning your days.
One for goals and the other for time.

Il like this plan, I will buy one of this plan as soon as possible.

I am student too

 

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[.B.]

AP2T

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk

 

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[Markpassawat]

Why don't u do it one mobile phone or the internet?

 

[Santi M]

You can buy their agenda or build your own getting inspired from their sample page: Productivity Planner PDF

Thank you, very interesting. I'm going to try it!

 

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[andyhaus44]

Hello, fastlaners!

I start this thread to tell you about a tool which I’ve used for a “long” time (long enough for having tested it correctly) and I wanted to share it with you so you can take advantage of it if you want to.

I have to say that this tool isn’t a revolutionary thing at all, but implemented correctly can revolutionize how you use your time, namely your life.

I like to call this:

AP2T – Always Plan Tomorrow Today

Always Plan Tomorrow Today, yes, I refer to it like AP2T because it’s easy (and cool in my opinion).

Why use it?
This tool is very powerful because it brings you something very important; time. Using this tool, you are “investing” about 10 minutes today to get back hours tomorrow.

You should always plan tomorrow today if:

• If you know you aren’t making the most of your days and you feel bad about it.
• If you don’t want to waste a lot of time thinking what to do at every moment.
• If you want to go to bed more relaxed and have a better sleep.
• If you want to be more productive.
• If you want to be more organized.

How to use it?
It’s very easy to plan the next day every day, the “hard” thing here is to have the willpower of doing it every day and above all, stick to it to accomplish your daily goals.

The only thing you have to do is the following:

Grab a notebook/diary and at the end of the day think about the things you have to do tomorrow, including meals, exercise, etc.

Then, you have to write the time you start that activity and right down, the next one carrying out the same procedure. The time you start the next thing is the time you finish the previous one.

NOTE: Of course, your daily goals have to be aligned with your weekly-monthly-yearly goals.

For the people who have never planned his day before it’s normal you don’t know how long take some activities, don’t worry, only allocate the time you want to expend in each activity (and you think it’s enough but not so comfortable) and as the days go by, adjust your schedule.

For making this clear, I’m attaching a photo of the diary I use and an example of a random page of a day planned so you can see how I do it.

Since the year started I’ve been using a diary, but it’s not necessary, I used to do it in a normal small notebook.


I’m from Spain so the text is in Spanish, but I’m translating it beneath the pictures.

View attachment 23528

I plan only since 15:00 as I'm at the school the whole morning so it doesn't make sense to plan anything at that time.
Translation
(After eating)
15:00 Resting
15:45 Meditation
15:55 Arrange the room
16:05 Reading
16:50 Make an orange juice
17:05 Homework (School)
18:30 Snack
18:45 Online course
20:00 GYM (at home)
20:20 Shower
20:40 Online course
21:20 AP2T - Plan the next day
21:40 Dinner
22:00 Online course
22:30 Reading
23:00 Go to bed

My routine isn't always like this (although very similar), but I will plan every day depending on my priorities.

Of course, I have not invented this, but I have learned it from different successful people and put together the best practices based on my experience.

Probably lots of you already implement/have implemented this before, but I wanted to write about this for people who have never thought about doing it or tested it.

Did you already use this? How do you implement it? Any recommendations? I’m reading all of you!

*Sorry if some parts of this text aren't totally correct/ they don’t make sense; my English isn’t very advanced yet, but I’m trying to improve every day, sorry for the inconvenience.

I hope you enjoy the post.

Thanks and greetings,

Santi.

Thank you for sharing this. I use MJ’s My Fastlane Daily and allocate the time on the back of the planner

 

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[.B.]

I use the system @LightHouse posted i swear by it now its really good and the cool thing is you can custumize it to your wishes:
GOLD! - Achieve Laser FOCUS + PRODUCTIVITY With The System Legendary Fastlaners Use...

Agreed with Santi & Njord: have to find what fits your needs, personality, environment, constraints...

Writing the schedule in advance can be a way to help us to make time for the task. (easier to say no to external requests)

And indeed the setup of Trello from LightHouse is pretty cool. And TRello syncs with the phone.

Today I start using the pomodoro app "Focus To-Do":
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.superelement.pomodoro&hl=en

It seems well done (To help stay focused without interruptions and to keep track of the blocks of time spent with focus on the important tasks)