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

[LightHouse]

I've been using Trello for a while and it really works. I have an additional bin for "Daily / Weekly Tasks". My VA runs these and they are color-coded in order of priority too.

If you're using Slack then you can integrate all this via the API. Shit gets real quickly!

@LightHouse - do you have a follow up process for all tasks in the "Wait / In-Progress" bin? At the moment, I rely on my VA to get into a routine but I need something a bit more robust.

Thanks.

My wait bin is usually waiting on a response for something. So no not really, it's usually not anything that should stick there for a long time so i feel most of the time things should move off. I have had things that seemed to linger and I realized that ultimately they were cards that were too broad or really were just rolling reminders and weren't actual tasks.

 

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[LightHouse]

Those of you that have started using it since this was posted. How is your progress? How has it changed things?

(let's hear both good and bad, so if you stopped using it, tell us, and tell us why)

 

[Jamie T]

Those of you that have started using it since this was posted. How is your progress? How has it changed things?

(let's hear both good and bad, so if you stopped using it, tell us, and tell us why)

It's been great to keep all the stuff I have to do in one place and staying organized.

I quickly realized that I had to break my tasks down into smaller tasks. Sometimes the tasks have multiple things to do within itself.

I do find that I end up working from the inbox instead of the "today 3". In other words, I don't always have tasks in the "today 3". I kind of skip around to different things still.

It has definitely helped put things in perspective. There were tasks in my "someday / maybe" that I was prioritizing over other more important tasks before I started using this.

And, I accomplished a few goals faster than I expected.

 

[Sanj Modha]

Amazing system @LightHouse! I feel I've levelled up my Trello game.

If you're not using this...punch yourself in the face and get started now!

 

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[sharkas]

Thanks you a lot, I put some time this morning to set it up and read the posts on this thread. Very nice. I will tell you at the end of the next week how it has been so far.

 

[JordanS]

It's been great to keep all the stuff I have to do in one place and staying organized.

I quickly realized that I had to break my tasks down into smaller tasks. Sometimes the tasks have multiple things to do within itself.

I do find that I end up working from the inbox instead of the "today 3". In other words, I don't always have tasks in the "today 3". I kind of skip around to different things still.

It has definitely helped put things in perspective. There were tasks in my "someday / maybe" that I was prioritizing over other more important tasks before I started using this.

And, I accomplished a few goals faster than I expected.

I currently do this alot. I want to get a bit more organized so I can stick to plans, but I end up all over the place.

 

[Enonir]

Unfortunately, they don't have a native Mac app

I use Xccello - native OSX (10.8 and higher) app for Trello,
daily functions works like a charm.

 

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[BellaPippin]

I'm a pen & ink stationary/paper/planner lover and I'm really tempted to make it a white board with magnetic kanban cards and hang in on my kitchen haha. Will try Trello!


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[The Grind]

If you guys think Trello is a game changer for GSD...

Not to kill the mood of this positive thread or anything.

But Trello is a lost 9 year old boy compared to a real project management software tool like Teamwork or Active Collab.

Trello is cool, it's free, you can do a lot of shit with it.

If you want to 10x what trello can do, spend the 25 / month.

But at the end of the day, if it's working for you, and you are actually USING it, then keep doing it.

 

[tpf]

Trello with GSD is working for me. I recently implemented GSD and have seen a distinct bump in my productivity.

 

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[jujumac]

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

I'm just starting this thread, and this may have been answered... but just in case it hasn't I use a Chrome extension called
'Card Color Titles for Trello' which makes the label name visible on the front of the card.

 

[Trud09]

Great stuff. Thank you Lighthouse I implemented the system earlier this week. I wanted to read the whole thread before commenting. Found some great comments in here to help my business.

I hope this is a long term solution instead of a quick fix to my disorganization.

The only other big disorganization I am not quite sure how to tackle is my email. Do you let emails interrupt your flow? Do you have a scheduled time to do all your emails? Is there one place where you do all your emailing?

With my multiple businesses, I have multiple emails. I am hoping to have a good system for dealing with this.

 

[LightHouse]

Great stuff. Thank you Lighthouse I implemented the system earlier this week. I wanted to read the whole thread before commenting. Found some great comments in here to help my business.

I hope this is a long term solution instead of a quick fix to my disorganization.

The only other big disorganization I am not quite sure how to tackle is my email. Do you let emails interrupt your flow? Do you have a scheduled time to do all your emails? Is there one place where you do all your emailing?

With my multiple businesses, I have multiple emails. I am hoping to have a good system for dealing with this.

I work in my email a lot, but I know folks who successfully timeblock for it. You really just need to try different things until you find the most efficient solution.

As for multiple emails, I have several as well. I use gmail labs multiple inbox to have them all in a single area. I also have an expansive list of filters set up so the email I get is either informative or actionable. Whenever new junk or worthless email comes in, I unsubscribe or create a filter for it right then.

 

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[The-J]

I've been using this board for about 5 months now. It's still working quite well for me.

Most of the issues I'm having with to-do lists in general come from personal habits. For instance, I will only look at this list when I am mentally ready to work. So procrastination has become focused toward looking at the list. Fixing that might be impossible; however, having narrowed procrastination down to looking at a list is a pretty positive change, in my opinion.

I may add additional boards to fit my needs. For example, a "One Thing" board that needs to get done first.

Now that I'm working quite regularly with contractors, I need to have a way to keep them on task. Since this integrates with Slack seamlessly, setting that up seems to be a no-brainer. My Slack is already set up, it just needs to be loaded.

 

[NewJamesBond]

I've been using this system for a few days and it has been incredibly effective. I should have tried doing this sooner. It literary makes life so much easier. I love being able to just dump a huge list in the to-do's and then segment into my daily actions. It is working so well for me. Thanks @LightHouse

 

[NewJamesBond]

@LightHouse Been using this system for about 1 month... Absolutely love this system! Thanks again for this post.

 

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[NewJamesBond]

Now I'm using this system with my clients. It's official you have changed my life @LightHouse

 

[LightHouse]

Great to hear! Still going strong for me as well. Glad it could be of high value for others as well.

 

[TheUnum]

Kanban seems like a pretty neat concept. I can personally attest to feeling overwhelmed when thinking of all the things I want to do. Going to give this a try!

 

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[LightHouse]

Some folks were asking me where this was recently to re set it up, so here it goes.

 

[Polarbeans]

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


(** This is a modified version of what i started with from Victor Savkin, link here)

Wow! Really laid out and great!

I'm using Trello already so this will be an upgrade for me for sure! - Thanks!

Do you mind to share how you deal with repeating tasks? Such as doing the same thing every day

 

[Jon L]

I've tried a number of systems, including one that is similar to this. None of them seem to stick for any length of time (maybe at most a month or two).

I'm curious: for the people that started using this months ago, are you still using it? What made it stick?

 

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[Snoophek]

Have you guys tried habitica? It approaches the topic in a lighthearted manner and is great for anyone who likes to see tangible results. I mean, where else can you buy gear for your little hero with money you earn from doing tasks?

 

[G-Man]

Those of you that have started using it since this was posted. How is your progress? How has it changed things?

(let's hear both good and bad, so if you stopped using it, tell us, and tell us why)

I tried,... and scrapped it. I think it's no failure of the system, though, and to be fair, it did make Trello more useful than when I tried to use it without GSD.

My current system is back to just keeping notes in evernote, and using a pad I rip the pages out of everyday for a to do list. I think I'm just not cool enough for computerized systems. There's something about writing something down, crossing it off, ripping it out and throwing it away that motivates the chimpanzee portion of my brain.

 

[LightHouse]

I tried,... and scrapped it. I think it's no failure of the system, though, and to be fair, it did make Trello more useful than when I tried to use it without GSD.

My current system is back to just keeping notes in evernote, and using a pad I rip the pages out of everyday for a to do list. I think I'm just not cool enough for computerized systems. There's something about writing something down, crossing it off, ripping it out and throwing it away that motivates the chimpanzee portion of my brain.

Ruling things out is better than ruling things in. Great you tried, and further solidified the system that works for you!

 

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[LightHouse]

Wow! Really laid out and great!

I'm using Trello already so this will be an upgrade for me for sure! - Thanks!

Do you mind to share how you deal with repeating tasks? Such as doing the same thing every day

I don't have those in the system. I think functionally I just do those things automatically and have no reason to write them down. Not everyone is the same though.

 

[jpanarra]

Came across this post a few weeks ago, This has been a major lifesaver for me. I am easily distracted by many different things, and I tend to jump around on several different topics and starting things without finishing them.

Also what helped me big time is that I have a lot of things I repeatedly do every day so I can easily slide a task that I finished for the day to the completed column to feel the sense of accomplishment. And then when morning comes, and I have to do the same routine I just put it back. In fact, this might be a great way to grow a habit, I'm noticing that I don't need to reference to Trello to do one of the tasks and I just leave it off now, and I have no problem finishing the said task.

 

[Nomangee]

Thanks LightHouse for the detailed system. I have also used pen&paper before and since this year wunderlist,
but I see the huge advantage here, so going to implement it today and will come back to report.

If anyone has the problem of having too many tabs open at a time, which I have due to different reasons for my projects etc.
I have found a chrome app, which is called onetab, who greatly reduces the clutter. It's still not perfect at all and would know already 3 things that could be improved to make it better, at least for me, but it already helped a ton.

Btw if anyone wants to code such an app, I have really great ideas to make the workflow a lot smoother.

 

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[Greg R]

B_U_M_P!

 

[Formless]

I used this system for a month and loved it . Eventually, I stopped using it for 2 reasons:

1) Even if I had a list of things to do in Trello - I couldn't stop thinking about them during leisure time. This is not a problem with the system - but with myself.

2) I despise touchscreens, and the majority of my use with Trello has been phone based.

The system WORKS though, and I will probably use it again as I get back to client-work in the new year.