Achieve Laser FOCUS + PRODUCTIVITY With The System Legendary Fastlaners Use...

[LightHouse]

Do you constantly struggle to stay on task throughout the day?

Are you overwhelmed by the amount of things you need to do with your business or the launch process?

Have you tried "productivity" systems but fail to keep up with them or use them over time?

*Note: I am not selling you shit, so don't hit the back button yet; you WILL regret it.*


PREFACE:
Background: You are a producer. You are working on creating something amazing through a business you have or are building. The problem with your typical list based systems is you can not map the copious amounts of things that need to get done. Most current systems are not structured to pick things from different areas of business to prioritize because they are made for specialists, or folks that focus on one area of things so their task list is related.

*Note: I implemented this system shortly after FLSummit 2016 and it has done wonders for my productivity. I shared it with a few other Legendary Fastlaners who adopted the system and have seen similar results. Thus I am sharing it publicly to help create even more legendary fastlaners.


The SOLUTION: The Get Shit Done (GSD) System** Using Trello.com

The list titles are as follows -

Goals / Projects / Top | Inbox | Today (MAX 3) | Wait / In-Progress (TEMP) | Finished [Archive] | Someday/Maybe



Single Point System:

Your GSD "Inbox" List will become the center of your productivity. I want you to enter everything into your inbox. This is a single stream coming into your mental ecosystem. If something takes more than 10 seconds to do, or comes in during your focus time, it goes to the inbox. PERIOD. You are working on removing distraction, so let GSD be your gatekeeper. (this works great paired with a well-trained VA as well.) You can also get apps that give you a quick add on Chrome, Desktops, and You can even integrate it into Google now (Link here). Additiaonl resources can be found here

You will work things out from here. If it is something for another project management board on trello (hit "B" to switch between trello boards) then you will do that during an organization period. You can set up a direct email to your trello inbox as well to forward emails that have tasks or things to do, right into your inbox as well (info here)

You can label them with colors if you want. I personally grade mine from hot to cold for priority. Red is HOT, orange, yellow, Blue is COLD. Fairly simple.

You can also expand the cards if the task needs a bit more info. Don't load this with data you want to reference, more so just notes. Like an email that needs to be sent to several people, make a list of the people inside the card, You can postfox the card title with "(details)" like i do to remind you there is addt'l data.



Visualize Your Projects and Goals:

This is straight forward. Have your goals outlines and actionable. You will not interact with this much, this serves as a constant reminder of the direction your are working towords. Make sure you use the same card pre-fixes to keep everything easy. You can add additional sections for other things like Habits, or events as well if you need.


What you are doing TODAY - The idea of Kanban + The One Thing:

This section is taken from the kanban system. The idea is that you are limiting what you are working on to three things. PERIOD. You can not add anything until something moves from the list. This keeps your mind focused on what is important. Rather than spreading brain power across 10 things, you have an option of 1 of 3.

The Trick: Whatever cards are above the line (has to be at least 1 every day) are things that move you towards your bigger goal. This idea is taken from "The One Thing". It insures that no matter what you are doing day to day, you are working at least on one thing moving you towards your large goal.


Things Waiting - Don't Stop Your Flow:

This is simple, you do not want to waste time waiting on people or things. If something isnt coming back around for a period of time. Re-label it with the reason/action and move it to waiting to not hold yourself up. Typically things you do not know if the turn around time is going to be less than 24 hours or not (emails, account approvals, etc)

Satisfaction of Completion:

This is where you want to be. You will find an easy addiction to moving cards right and this col being 10x your inbox. It is an easy constant visual reminder that you are actually "Getting Shit Done" and moving towards your goals every day.



FINAL NOTES: This is how the system works for me, this will work for you two but make sure you adapt it to anything specific to you as needed.

I promise you if you spend a day putting everything you have to do into this system, and remove it all from your mind. by day two and three you will not look back. This system will work like your task memory in your brain. So add everything and look at it often. I made it an app shortcut on my taskbar to lauch and keep in an app window all the time.

Proof is in the Fastlaner: I'll invite a few friends here to share their experience and any additional notes. @AllenCrawley @JasonR @Eskil @Iwokeup

Get started (5min), copy this board in either Trello or Notion instantly using these links:

Trello: GSD by LightHouse
Notion: GSD by LightHouse

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Stuff I’ve been putting off has now been magically getting done.

Until now, I have never been able to successfully use a digital system for productivity. I've tried Evernote, Wunderlist, Google Keep and many more. One of the things I liked about my notepad to-do’s was the satisfaction I got from manually crossing out a task once completed with a pen. Nothing I tried digitally gave me that satisfaction. With trello you drag a task from the "Today" list to the "Done". That is very satisfying.

I have always used pen and notepad. The challenge with that has been having various papers, notepads, post it notes spread out throughout my house, office, vehicles. It's difficult to take my large notepad with me everywhere so when a thought came to mind that I need to write down I had to reach for whatever was available. With trello and the system I use everything is in one location and accessible 24/7.

Here's a great article shared with me by @Arrabista. The article actually shows how the writer moved from a "sticky note " method to translating it on a trello board...
http://wpcurve.com/trello-for-project-management/

The key to using trello is having a system. Trello makes it easy to implement a system. I use a combination of GTD, Kanban and The One Thing.

I would have never stuck with trello without a system and the key for me is to keep it as simple as possible.

For now I have everything in one board instead of separate boards. I did this because I think I will stick with it vs. have 3 or more boards that could make me feel overwhelmed. So my business, my wife's business and personal are all in one board.

Here are my lists within the board:

Projects | Goals > Inbox > Today (3) > Wife's Today (3) > In Progress | Waiting > Done

I also have a "Reading List" list.

Everything I think of that needs to be done goes in the “Inbox”. Having Trello installed on my iPhone, iPad and laptop allows me to immediately add anything that comes to mind and it syncs to all devices. My wife also has it installed on all her devices.

Everyday I move 3 items from "Inbox" over to “Today”. Nothing else gets added to "Today" until there is room for it.

I really liked “The One Thing” by Gary Keller. So I added a card to the top of the "Today" list that states "What’s the one thing I can do right now to make everything else easier or unnecessary?” as a reminder to focus on The One Thing.

Since I have everything in one board I’m utilizing the labels and filter features. As an example, while focusing on just my business work I just filter out everything else. My wife can filter out everything but her business tasks.

I'm still fine tuning the system but I have to say since using Trello with the current system my productivity has skyrocketed.

Big thanks to @LightHouse for suggesting and all the resources to help me get it set up and systemized.

 

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[Vigilante]

This thread was changed to GOLD and here's why:

1. The OP gets nothing back from this, other than wanting to share a resource that is changing lives

2. Several high profile fast laners are using this system, so this thread will likely stay active for quite a while

3. The resource is FREE (see www.trello.com) so there's no downside in trying the system

4. The insights in this thread already will take you beyond a basic understanding of the system, and gives you shortcuts to apply a fast lane mindset to a fast lane app

Well done, @LightHouse and thanks for the share.

And for those of you wondering, I am still using a legal pad. And, the OP accused me of printing out a MAP yesterday instead of using my GPS.

 

[Eskil]

Since around 6-8 months ago, I have been meaning to come here and write a post very similar to the one @LightHouse just posted. Only.. mine was going to be about a tool called Asana, and how it had helped my productivity a lot.

Well.. a couple of weeks ago, he asked me if I had tried Trello. I said no, and that I had been using Asana - but that I would "check it out" (not to be confused with dabbling with it, lol). I honestly wanted to give it a proper test, as there were a few things about Asana that irked me, even though I loved it for other things.

The same day I started testing Trello, I was hooked! I spent the next couple of days setting up my system and exporting/importing all my tasks from Asana.

Before Asana, I was guilty of what @AllenCrawley was saying too - random sticky notes and papers, everywhere. Even the back of envelopes and receipts scattered about in a huge disorganized mess. Yet it "kinda sorta" worked because I forced myself to be disciplined.
On a scale from 0 - 10, Asana took my productivity from probably a 4 to a 7.

Trello has now taken that to a 9. And just like @Iwokeup said, I too use it for personal/family management of stuff.

I think the main cool thing about Trello is that every person can set it up to work for them - as long as you settle and stick to a system.

I now have 4 main boards for;
- My main business
- Motivation
- Reading / research (books, videos, blogs, podcasts, tools)
- Personal fitness

My main business board basically follows the GSD setup, except I don't keep a 'Done' list. I just hover over a completed task and press 'c' on the keyboard to archive it. Satisfying! I also have a 'Pending' list in here for tasks that are awaiting outside input, for example if I'm waiting on a response from a supplier or results from a test before that task can complete.

I also use ALL the label colors and use filtering actively.

So my #1 most important tasks I label with 'Admin' (yellow). Some of my other important labels are;

• Sales (green, for ANY task that will directly impact revenue)
• Amazon (orange)
• Website (blue, for anything requiring technical/design changes to the site. Labeling them as separate also will easy let me find stuff I could outsource to a coder/designer)
• Marketing (red, for anything that will help grow traffic)
• Products (grey, for anything regarding product developing, manufacturing, sourcing)
  
• etc.

In my system, a task can have one or more labels at the same time, depending on which areas of my business it affects.

By using the filter function (shortcut is the 'f' key while on your board), I can instantly turn on/off just the types of tasks I want to see - in each of their respective lists. For me, this has been tremendously effective!

So for example, if I need to dedicate say, Thursday morning to website improvements AND that also will affect my bottom line first - with a click of a button I can see all those tasks that I should do NOW, are upcoming, or are pending for some reason.

There's a ton of more stuff you can do also, which I haven't gotten into yet. Check out their upgraded plan for a lot more features + integration with Zapier or IFTTT for some really advanced awesomeness. Some of us could geek over this shit for days, lol.

But really - thanks to @LightHouse for getting me into Trello, and also for posting this here.

To all; If you aren't utilizing a productivity tool yet - get on it right away. This is the sort of stuff that makes a difference between just shuffling by in your business.... to making true, consistent, daily progress. A must for every serious Fastlaner.

 

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[LightHouse]

Oh and I meant to add this to the first post. Click the following link and you can open the menu on the right and copy this demo board to your account ( using the menu on the left) so all you have to do is add your info!

https://trello.com/b/t2mRLCdU

 

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[JasonR]

@LightHouse first turned me on to this. After I set it up, I had to FORCE myself to use it. But once I started using it, I couldn't stop.

If you know me, you know I'm disorganized and ADHD.

This has been a lifesaver for me.

Anything that needs to get done that doesn't take less than 2 minutes gets put in here, so it doesn't get forgotten.

Trust me, give it a try.

Unfortunately, they don't have a native Mac app, but there's a work around. I use Fluid - Turn Your Favorite Web Apps into Real Mac Apps. - which allows you to put any web app on your OS X dock. This program is the only app that runs 24/7 on my machine.

Rep transferred.

 

[LightHouse]

I tried Trello and didn't like it.

The tasks don't wrap to the page and instead the page warps on into infinity causing a perpetual scrolling need. Any way to change this? I spent 30 minutes trying to find a fix and none was found. I saw other people complain about the same shit.

I deleted my account thereafter.

I was the same way, I knew i wanted to like it, but I couldn't. So i figured out why and came out with this.

There are things you can install in chrome and firefox that make it wrap and extend the functionality. But the thing is, that breaks THIS system. Not to mention it's not cross platform. You do not need any extra col's for this to work, and the length of the list helps you visualize to-do and done.

On my small laptop all the 5 col's i actually need show up, I have no need to scroll really. I primarily add either in app, or via google now when I am on the go.

I don't know how well your current system works. But no harm in giving this a hard swing and seeing if it works for you.

This may help some folks...

BONUS VISUAL - My actual GSD board from this morning (Clinton Email style)

 

[Iwokeup]

Okay, so @LightHouse and I were trading ideas back and forth on how to cope with the overwhelming FLOOD of things that come at the entrepreneur/family man, etc. He suggested that I give this system a try and gave me the relevant links to check it out for myself.

For those who don't know, I manage the following entities:

1. Independent Contractor Physician, which means that I am, in fact, a small business with attendant tax, state/federal licensing, hospital credentialing, job prospecting (always have to be on the hunt!), legal, admin, and other responsibilities. Figure 4 hours/week above whatever I work in terms of the above.

2. My current FL project (which includes not only ongoing sales/marketing/the usual, but also future product development, ingredient safety, content generation, face to face marketing, and meetings with manufacturers).

3. Managing our household, which currently includes finances, land acquisition, home sales/purchasing, caring for the health and wellness of the family, and generally being dad.

Also, for the record, I'm HUGE into efficiency, removing wasted movement/energy, and massively cutting down on the Information Signal/Noise ratio.

It's a HUGE part of both my personal and professional lives, and I've tried just about every system out there, all with varying degrees of success.



NOTHING HAS EVER WORKED LIKE THIS. EVER.

Now, I can actually wake up in the morning with, as @LightHouse said, LASER like focus on what NEEDS to be done today, and what's less important.

I've already moved farther since the meetup than I had in the three months prior to the meetup. And it's been...what? About a month since the meetup?

I also have FOUR different boards, but it's actually not crazy. So for me:

1. Cosmetic/skin care company - Current
2. Cosmetic/skin care company - FUTURE (what needs to happen in six months)
3. Emergency Medicine LLC
4. Home

I'm probably going to merge 1 and 2 here in a bit as I think that the current arrangement's inefficient still.

For me, this system is real. And heck, I went ahead and just paid for Trello Gold because I like it that much. And I NEVER pay for apps unless I have to.

Rep sent, bro.

 

[StompingAcorns]

Thanks @LightHouse

I'd love to hear at what level you create your posts in the inbox? Do you define them at as they come and then break them down into 1-day chunks when moving them to the Today list? I would appreciate it if you could provide an example of how you do this as it will benefit me (and others!) a lot.

I struggle with this myself as I define posts on significantly differing levels (of time needed) so this somewhat skews the feeling of satisfaction of moving something from Today to Completed as I tend to focus on the smaller items. Hope that makes sense.

Repped for value provided and to show my appreciation.

I'm sure @LightHouse will give you his answer. However, I find it interesting that you should ask this question, as I have been thinking about writing some articles around how Agile software development methodology parallels and can enhance your business management processes. (I believe Trello got its start in life as an Agile tool.)

In Agile, there is a Backlog, a Release (sometimes), and a Sprint. Plus there are daily Scrums.

The Backlog

The Backlog is that list that you refer to, and how I think many people may be using their Inbox. The Backlog is basically a dumping ground - the whole shebang - big items, little items, important items, unimportant items. Everything that needs to get done. As you noticed, they can vary quite a bit in how much time they take to complete as well as the type of work to be done (similar to the task switching that Lighthouse refers to).

In Agile, there is a process to go through to actually size the work to be done. I'll skip Releases for now and just talk about Sprints. A Sprint is 2-4 weeks of work with a small team. Your goal is to release a usable feature at the end of the sprint, no matter how small that feature/functionality may be. This helps the team think in terms of value to the business - if we work on this for 3 weeks, what will it do for the business? You should be asking the same question. What do I want to accomplish in my business over the next X weeks? If I do x, y, and z, what is the impact going to be to my business?

I'll use a landscaping business as an example.

Your Backlog might have:

• Come up with a plan to increase sales by 20%
• Go prune Mr. Smith's gardenia bush that got missed
• File the business taxes
• Fix that typo on the website
• Fire Brenda, who was pruning
• Find a replacement for Brenda
• Cold call 5 new potential customers
• Find a VA
• Answer today's emails/customer service
• Check accounts receivables for outstanding balances
• Send second invoices to unpaid customers
• Figure out how to break into commercial landscaping
• Write a new landing page
• Split test the new landing page
• Research billing automation solutions
• Create a 1 hour training on pruning
• etc.

Sprint Planning

When you create the Sprint, you first spend a few hours doing Sprint Planning. During the planning, you choose the most important items from the backlog together, in a collection that makes sense to deliver a usable feature. So you wouldn't necessarily, for example, put firing and hiring in the same sprint with growing sales. You might, for example, choose to build a sprint out of cold calling, increasing sales, and breaking into the commercial business (from our backlog example, above) since those are all related to increasing sales. However, as you do the sprint planning, you will decide whether to add more backlog items to the sprint or take some out of the sprint and return them to the backlog.

One of the ways you figure this out is, during planning, you create tasks for each of the backlog items that you chose as potentials for this sprint. And then you estimate the time/effort it will take to get those tasks done. Now you have a list of potential backlog items for this sprint, a list of tasks, and time/effort for each task. I'll walk you through this.

In the landscape business example:

• You decide a sprint should last 3 weeks.
• You set aside 4 hours for planning at the beginning of the next sprint.
• You look at the backlog and decide you want this sprint to deliver business growth. So you eyeball what's on the backlog and think you may be able to get cold calling, growing sales, and commercial business done in the next 3 weeks.
  • Note that your next sprint may be about, say, improving customer service, which includes replacing some personnel who are not delivering that - but for this sprint, your focus will be increasing sales.
• You make a list of tasks for all 3 of those backlog items.
  • Backlog item #1: cold calling
    • Use internet search to identify 5 potential new customers
    • Copy their contact information into the database/spreadsheet
    • Call each contact and use the prepared sales pitch
    • Create a form letter to use for follow up, that is easily customized with a sentence or two.
    • Send each contact a follow-up letter
  • ...and so on
• For each task, you estimate the effort. You can do this in hours or what's called fibonacci sequences, but I won't get into that. Just estimate it. Guess, if you have to. You may also identify certain team members who must work on certain tasks due to their skills. Maybe you suck at writing, so you put a VA's name or a friend who's going to help you out, on the task for creating a form letter.
  • Cold calling
    • Internet search - 30 minutes
    • Add to database - 15 minutes
    • Call 5 prospects - 90 minutes
    • Create form letter - 60 minutes, assign to Allen
    • Send letter - 60 minutes
    • ...and so on

Next, you look at the team members and decide how much time each can dedicate to the sprint. If it's just you, do it for you. Subtract planned time off. Also take into consideration the amount of time each person must dedicate to ongoing support of the business. For you, this may mean handling customer service or managing employees - whatever you must do to keep the daily business going. Subtract that time. The time left is what you have to spend on your sprint. (In software development, this ongoing support consists of things like handling urgent production support, such as bugs that must be fixed right away.)

Now you can match available time with the tasks you had listed for your sprint items. Are you over or short? If you don't have enough hours, then you must remove a sprint item or break it into pieces and do a smaller piece. Let's say in this example, you don't have time to do all 3 sprint items, so you decide to drop the commercial business item and focus on the 20% growth and cold calling. You put commercial sales back into the backlog.

If, on the other hand, you have more hours to spend, then select another item from the backlog, estimate the tasks and hours, and add it into the sprint.

When Sprint planning is done, you have a list of what used to be backlog items and are now sprint items that will be completed during the sprint, a list of tasks to get each sprint item done, and some estimate of how long each task will take.

Sprint Execution

Now the sprint begins. At the beginning of the sprint, all tasks are in a Planned list.

At the beginning of each day, select a single task to work on and either assign or let your team members chose their tasks. Those task(s) are moved from Planned to In Progress.

You work on that task and only that task until it's done. Once it's done, you can pick up another task. If you have sprint hours left for that day, go ahead and start on the second task. Completed tasks are moved from In Progress to Done (or, for software development, into quality assurance testing).

There are tracking methods for this - which is what tools like Trello were design to assist with - including a burndown chart, which I won't get into right now. Some teams use online tools like Trello, and some use whiteboards to track the movement of tasks from Planned to In Progress to Done and who is working on which task.

Meanwhile, as other items are coming to your attention that have nothing to do with the current sprint, simply keep adding them to the backlog.

Daily Scrums

Each day, first thing, hold a daily Scrum meeting with the team. If it's just you, it can still be useful. Ask yourself 3 things:

1. What did I accomplish yesterday?
2. What got in the way (if anything)?
3. What will I work on today?

The daily scrum helps you stay on track so that you don't get to the end of the sprint and go, holy cow, I got nothing done. In Agile, there is a Scrum Master who takes away the answers from #2 and helps remove roadblocks. If it's just you, this process will help you understand what is interfering with progress on your business, so you can decide whether you need to make some adjustments.

When teams are involved, the daily scrum meeting is held standing up to ensure it doesn't last more than about 15 minutes. You don't do problem solving during this meeting - only identifying and reporting out to the group. It also serves as accountability to ensure progress is being made.

Sprint Review

At the end of each Sprint, you take a little time to review. What value did you deliver to the business, how well did you execute against what you'd planned, what got in the way, how did your estimates stack up against reality, etc. Over time, your estimates get better and better, so that you are able to understand how much you can really get done in one sprint.

So basically, set aside time every day to work on business development, taking into account the minimum time you will need for every day business support. Then plan your sprints around where you want to take your business next with your sprint hours.

Conclusion

So that's a very long answer to your question - but you could essentially add in one new list - the sprint plan. If you'll actually do the sprint planning, explode items into tasks, and separate your backlog into ongoing business support v. business development/improvement, it will help you get away from doing the easy, quick items, and focus on what you really want to accomplish.

The items would move from Inbox (your backlog) to exploded tasks in Planned (your sprint focus for the next x weeks) to Today (your 3 things) to Done. That was a lot of text to read through, and it may sound complicated at first to those who are new to it; but like any system, it's in the doing and trying that you will learn the power of it. If you currently own a business, it may be helpful to separate your ongoing support tasks v. your business development tasks.

Incidentally, I used to coach small business owners. This was among the most frequent problems I saw. If you never take time to work ON your business, you will be stuck forever working IN your business; and it very often leads to massive overtime, massive burnout, and business failure. Also, it is "creating your own job" as MJ describes in his book. It comes from a) not implementing systems and b) unwillingness to take the next step into delegation.​

Do I use it? Yes, I do. You can see some of this in my progress thread in the form of a sort of weekly Scrum. I keep my planning in One Note, broken into phases (which you can see in the first post of my thread). Each week, I am deciding an area of focus (my own 1 week sprint), keeping in mind that my first goal is launch. I refuse to work on anything that is listed in a phase later than Launch, even though many of them would be easier or more fun - all my activity comes from tasks I've listed in the Launch phase. As I add tasks, I carefully consider whether it's really critical for Launch or whether it goes in another phase. (These phases are really like Releases, which I didn't get into.)

There are other nuances I won't get into, such as how to use a burndown chart, how to add in missed tasks you realize are necessary to accomplish the sprint items, and the role of business (i.e., your) signoff. I'm really just throwing this down on paper, so ask questions if I can clarify anything. Also, I'm sure others here have plenty of experience with Agile as well and can chime in.

I'm stuck at work while software is being installed, so I had the time to devote to this. And I'm a fast writer. I hope it's helpful!

 

[eliquid]

I also like to make sure the things I put on my tasks list are actually things that need to be on them...

One way I do this is to ask myself, IN THIS ORDER, these things:

1. Can I just delete it?

Do I really need to give any attention to this? In the grand scheme of things, is this really important for me to pay attention to it?
​

2. Can I delegate it?

Do I honestly need to do it? Can someone else do this at least 75% as good as me?
​

3. Can I automate it?

Generally this is reserved for things that need touching more than once. However, I might be able to automate things like FAQs or doing a quick video about something related to customer service, etc. Some times, this can be delegated as well.
​

4. Can I put it off to later?

Most things don't need attention now and can wait until tonight or the weekend or some other day.
​

5. Does it get me to a goal I have?

Whats left is probably something I need to do personally, but is it just a task or a step to one of my goals in the future? If its a step to a goal, it gets highest priority and becomes my "frog" for the day I need to eat.​

Knowing what an Eisenhower Box is plays into this a bit:

​

 

[JAJT]

Something I've been doing recently that I really like in Chrome: Pinning Tabs

Pinning tabs are basically smaller, always open tabs in Chrome (until you close chrome):




I always keep google calendar open and now I keep Trello open.

I keep both a Personal board and a Business board in Trello and REALLY hate switching back and forth between boards in this program but I found you can just open up a new board in a new window, so now I keep both opened and pinned at all times. I can just click the one I want and I'm there - no switching back and forth involved.

 

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[RHL]

I've given it another shot and still really don't see any improvement over my trusty combination of Paper/Pen + Wunderlist.

Still gonna give it a go for the rest of the week.

Can I offer an analogy? Two guys go on a diet. One has been lifting and working out his whole life. The other isn't obese, but is pudgy and out of shape.

The fit guy is brutally hungry all the time, he's had to cut out almost all refined sugars, every beverage but water, and the cravings are terrible.

The pudgy guy stops eating candy, alcohol, and soda. He misses it a bit but hardly notices.

After 30 days, the fit guy loses 6 pounds The pudgy guy loses 20.

Any time you make a positive change, the results are going to seem way more dramatic when you go from zero to something they they will when you go from something to a slightly more refined something. A $50 bottle of wine tastes way better than a $6 bottle. But a $200 bottle probably isn't that much different than a $50.

 

[LightHouse]

Chris, do you just drag and drop 3 tasks from your inbox to the today column each day?

So since i am adding throughout the day, there is always something on there already, but in the morning if there is less than three I fill it up after looking through the inbox.

This method has helped me MOVE though work and tasks like crazy. My biggest issue before this was that there was so many major and minor things, that half the time spent was thinking about what i am forgetting and trying to remember things.

 

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[biophase]

Here is my Trello board. Plain and simple. I like to have everything on one page. I have no comments on any of the cards.

I use the far right column to keep track of what is coming from China. Else I forget until a truck shows up at the warehouse. lol
The green is the factory name. The cards under are what I ordered. The last card is what the cost is and what I've paid. I should probably add another card for due date.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I was going to post this in its separate thread but I'm not sure if it warrants it. (If it does Ill move it)

A productivity tool I found incredibly helpful is SizeUp -- it splits your monitor into areas so windows can automatically resized to fit.

http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/
(There is similar software as well -- size up can be demo'd and its license is just a few bucks -- well worth it.)

I work with 3 monitors, but even I feel that isn't enough.

With Size up, I feel I can manage the monitor real estate with ease. I used to flip thru various windows, have to move browsers and around, etc -- this fixed that issue and really helped productivity.

This is my right side monitor -- it holds a thesaurus, my iTunes, Google search, and the forum. Of course you can make the windows whatever you want.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I tried Trello and didn't like it.

The tasks don't wrap to the page and instead the page warps on into infinity causing a perpetual scrolling need. Any way to change this? I spent 30 minutes trying to find a fix and none was found. I saw other people complain about the same shit.

I deleted my account thereafter.

 

[LightHouse]

So @LightHouse I really like what I'm seeing here. I'm in desperate need of an organization system.

My question is this: If everything that takes longer than 10 seconds is added to the inbox, how do you possibly manage to shrink the inbox? Or maybe you don't, and you just do the important things, and that's the point of the whole system. Can you share how many tasks are in your inbox now?

For example, you have a task on your trello board "add msrp and reshoot picture". This could be a 10minute task. Why not just tack it on as a quick 4th thing?

Or do you complete your 3 mandatory things a day, and then knock out some unscheduled bonus ones with whatever extra time you have afterwards? Where do you fit in daily tasks, like "check email"?


Do you start a new one of these every month, or do you just let the finished column go on forever and ever?

So the Today list is fluid. It's not as though i only do three things a day and I am done. In fact it is very very far from that. My list is constantly moving. So if the opportunity opens up to re-shoot those photos, once something else comes off the today list I can ad it on there and get that done as well.

I tend to try to group task types together to avoid a switching penalty as much as possible. A switching penalty is when your mind is changing from one line of thinking to the next, what you might think takes you only a few minutes, actually implicates maybe 45 minutes of lost focused time making you far less effective during the day.

In the mornings i go through email, and typically all those tiny tasks get done at that time as well.

 

[LightHouse]

So do you keep track of the project/goal that a task is related to?

Hey Mark, That can be as easy as color coding the goals or projects to the task. Like so

You can also type on labels to name them in expanded view and you can have more than 1 label per card. So if your organize them right, the left color can be the priority and the next color can be what it relates to.

Personally i note which is which in each card with abbreviation and the rest i simply know.

 

[biophase]

My board only has 4 columns

Completed, in progress, to do, current import orders.

 

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[LightHouse]

We are going to have too many presentations submissions next year if half the board is on the system for the next year.

In about 2-3 weeks, anyone that's moved to it will have cleared out all the BS stuff, and will start thinking, "shit... what's next?"

 

[Iwokeup]

You know, this thread has been GOLD in many ways.

I was just listening to Ezra Firestone talk, and how he's got multiple multi-million businesses, and clearly he can't be running each of them on a day to day basis (he even says so).

And this has gotten me to thinking that, just as much as we talk around here of Mindset, Health, Execution (versus Wantrecution)...a MAJOR and under discussed facet of explosive growth and success is implementation of SYSTEMS to free yourself of distraction, etc.

This thread ought to be a double gold or platinum status, just for this discussion.

Edit: I do believe that you need to, at the beginning and in the absence of experience, actually work in the biz before you start developing your systems...otherwise, IMHO it becomes an excuse to be lazy....

 

[Vigilante]

Marked noteable. [HASHTAG]#goldwatch[/HASHTAG] because I know how many high achievers have adopted your thought process and the system

 

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[AndrewNC]

So I think it may be time to get rid of the old system of tasks...wait, where is it?



Time to start filling these in with my own things.

 

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[StompingAcorns]

I just realized I have been implementing another tip I picked up - I think it was from my favorite book around clutter clearing, Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui (I can take or leave the Feng Shui part, but the clutter advice is awesome).

I'm actually a pretty neat person. Still, I tend to leave stuff out where I can see it, to remind myself that it needs to get done - papers and folders in a to-do stacks on my desk - multiple, open tabs in two browsers for things I want to go back to - seeds and plants on the kitchen counters waiting to be planted - stacks of things waiting to be gone through - stacks of books I want to read - a stack of pictures that need to be hung - and so on. And this is in addition to all of the various lists I keep.

The book made me realize that this is a constant drain on my subconscious mind and energy. My mind takes it all in, every day, as I am around or walk past these things, which is what I wanted, right - a subconscious nag and reminder to get this or that done. It's like being nagged constantly all day, every day. This even applies to reminders I tend to set up on my calendar to make sure I don't forget to do this or that. Poke. Poke. Poke. I am aggravating the shit out of myself, poking and nagging myself every day with all these reminders!

So lately, I have done a few things to get all of this stuff out of sight and rely completely on my planning system - aka, the 3 things for today - to focus my attention.

• Put filing to be done and bills to be paid in a file caddy (whatever those desktop things are called that have a few slots for various papers)
• When I bring the mail in, go through it right away and file either in the caddy or the round file (trashcan)
• Created a Working file folder and dropped all of my in progress paper things in there, in a drawer, out of sight
• Closed all browser tabs except the one I'm currently working in
• Filed all electronic files from the desktop into folders, leaving only shortcuts to things I access frequently on the desktop
• Put stacks of things that are mini clutter clearing projects into boxes with lids and put the boxes away
• Removed calendar reminders, and incorporated them into my paper planning system
• Put all books on bookshelves, and keep a list of inspirational reading I want to do
• Created any lists needed within my planning system (e.g., list of books to read; list of clutter clearing projects, list of maintenance items; etc.)

Now the idea is that, when I'm about to work on something, I go get that file or that pile or that book, and that is the only thing on the desk or in front of me, to be done.

On my office desk, I also keep an open, bound notebook to jot reminders and notes as I'm on calls. I keep an electronic list of what I'm working on (which doubles as a status report as needed), and I close all documents except email and what I'm working on (responding quickly to certain emails is necessary in some of my projects).

I haven't quite mastered all this yet, but these changes are definitely helping. Posting in case it helps someone else.

~SA

 

[Ronak]

I started using the system-- here are a few things I really appreciate about the system

-the ability to take pictures on the app and upload them to my board directly..
Sometimes I prefer pen and paper for brainstorming and mapping things out...this way I can continue to do that and still have everything in one place.

-The ability to add notes via the comment section. This replaces the need to sift thru multiple hand written notes, emails, and notepad files. The search function helps me pull up the notes easily when I need to find something specific.

-Being able to forward and email directly to my board. If I get an email that requires some me to do something, I can simply forward it to my board, and it will show up, complete with attachments! On the main menu, click more, and email to board settings. Choose where it should go on the board, copy the email address, and add to your address book under trello. then, simply forward to trello and bam!


Thanks @LightHouse for pointing me to this system. It's simple to use and understand, and it just works! Rep for you....

 

[Iwokeup]

So, extending the goodness...

I've come up with a way to (hopefully) eliminate Email btwn me and the contractors, and also to help keep track of various projects/issues within ONE SPACE. I've attached a copy of my framework (with detailed instructions) so that anyone else can use and implement for themselves.

Good luck!

 

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[StompingAcorns]

@LightHouse and the others, thanks for this thread! And the samples - visuals really help. There were a couple of things I needed to hear.

I've tried every goal setting app on the planet, and I've used Trello at work and home. I recently switched to a paper and pen system called bullet journaling. (When I first saw it, I thought, no freaking way, that's stupid. But here I am.) I am using OneNote to organize my business - all the planning along with all the content. I use the bullet journal (in a plain notebook) to manage my daily tasks (business and personal) and my time based planning.

What you are doing TODAY - The idea of Kanban + The One Thing:

This is where I've been messing up big time. Yesterday, I had 9 things on my list and got 5.5 of them done. Today I had 14 things on my list and got 8.5 of them done. This is the biggest issue I've encountered with most systems I've tried. I like this approach and will start using it - this should help me immensely! Rep+!

Things Waiting - Don't Stop Your Flow:

I love this - I need it more at work than in my business right now, though. Like herding cats around there sometimes.

@AllenCrawley, The One Thing book and this question are awesome, and I like the way you've incorporated it. Thanks for sharing!

@Eskil, I like your labels - I can see how this would be tremendously effective with filtering. I have used filters in Trello, and they help a lot.

One new idea/tweak

This idea is for the GSD system (awesome name!) that is related to your Someday list. In addition to the lists/planning I keep for my goals, Reading List, and so forth, I keep two other lists in my journal - I call them Must Do and Should Do. Something goes on the Must Do only if it's not related to my goals and there are dire consequences, like paying taxes or monitoring a health situation. I check that list about once a month to see if there is something I need to be sure and schedule. Everything that is not related to my goals, and not in the Must Do list goes on the Should Do. This includes things I want to do, like take dance lessons or buy a car, and things I feel I should be doing, like updating my resume or monitoring my credit score. I check the Should Do list about once or twice a month; but I know in the back of my mind that even if I never looked at it again, I would experience little to no consequences from it. If, for example, my car were to get wrecked or break down beyond repair, buying a car would become a Must Do item.

Question

@LightHouse, @AllenCrawley, @Iwokeup, or anyone else, how do you manage repetitive tasks? I like to include, for example, workouts on my daily to-do - for the satisfaction of checking it off and also to track my consistency in working out. Are they on a separate personal board, so it goes on your Daily 3 for that board? And ff you have, for example, 4 boards, do you have a daily to-do list of 12 things (3 each)?

 

[Andrew W]

As of right now I don't have very much rep and am particularly new to this site. But this thread has actually made a difference in my life so I thought a little success story might help. Let's start with where I was before: lazy, unmotivated but most importantly, I was a serious procrastinator. Some of you might be thinking, "Come on, it can't be that bad." But it was. I was forgetful, and unreliable. People began to think of me as someone they shouldn't trust. My grades were suffering (I'm a student so right now that's the priority), and my relationships were too. What do people start doing when you are an unreliable, lazy, procrastinator? They stop asking you for things. Sound great right! Wrong. This reputation was bleeding into all avenues of my life, and I decided enough was enough. The only way to stop being thought of as an unreliable guy was to become... well, reliable. So I researched.

Hours and hours spent clicking away at every link that might show me the "simple trick" or "hidden secret" that I was missing. I ended up here. I spent a while reading most of the GOLD Threads and figured I might glean some valuable information from the site. It was an instant bookmark. Then I came across this thread. I thought, "the title is too clickbaity, this probably won't work." Just about to give up, I give it a read. And you know what, I thought, "This might actually work." So I went and downloaded Trello, and the application called Pomello and gave it a try. Let me say, I've been more productive in two days than in the past two months. I'm not joking.

So blah blah blah, a success story. Why am I writing this comment? It's for one purpose. The things on this forum work. Now I can only advocate for this post but with such a massive increase in productivity, what can the rest of this site offer? Will each of the threads here offer this much value? I hope so!

TL;DR: I found this method, I finally decided to use the method, it worked extremely well, it might work for you too.

Tools Used:
Trello, Trello-Calendar Sync, Pomello

 

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[Iwokeup]

I tried Trello and didn't like it.

The tasks don't wrap to the page and instead the page warps on into infinity causing a perpetual scrolling need. Any way to change this? I spent 30 minutes trying to find a fix and none was found. I saw other people complain about the same shit.

I deleted my account thereafter.

So yeah, that can be an issue, especially with smaller screens.

I had honestly tried Trello several months ago (after hearing Pat Flynn go on and on about it) but didn't like it because it wasn't nested within a SYSTEM.

Now that I have the SYSTEM in place, it rocks.

*shrug*

 

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[Jamie T]

Have you tried "productivity" systems but fail to keep up with them or use them over time?

Yes. I used to use David Allen's GTD system with Evernote.

@LightHouse Thanks for sharing this. I'll implement it and post how it goes.

I actually signed up for Trello after the summit with the intent to set something like this up (never got around to it).

*Note: I am not selling you shit

*Puts credit card back in wallet...