Planning and Execution
My main strategy to get things done is to separate two main modes of action: Planning and Execution.
I plan by figuring out what needs to be done, in what way, and when I will do it. I then execute the plan and actually do the work.
I feel that it is important to separate the act of planning and execution because they are quite opposite in modes of thinking:
- Planning requires you to see the whole picture. You want to think about things broadly and across a larger period of time.
- Execution requires you to focus in on the present. You want to think about what you are doing right now and tune out any distractions.
Trying to do both at the same time disrupts the flow state in both of those processes.
My whole productivity system works on this principle.
I keep a To-Do list app, but in a way that is using it “wrongly”. Typically, To-Do list apps have a feature where you can note the due date of a task and you can filter by what things are due today, tomorrow, or this week. I don’t use this feature in this way. Instead, I use it to keep track of what I want to accomplish in any specific day. So, when a task comes up, I jot it down, plan to do it on a certain day (or plan to think about it later on a specific day), and I can pretty much forget about it because I know that I will be reminded of it when the time comes.
I learned that this is similar to the “Tickler File System”.
Based on my To-Do list, I use time blocking to designate when and what I want to work on in a specific timeframe. This requires some estimation skills.
I have my To-Do list remind me of what I wanted to do in any given day, so I don’t even need to decide what I need to do, just when I am going to do it.
When time comes to do the work, I can do it without fearing that I don’t have enough time to do everything that I need to do today. I don’t need to take the time to decide what I need to do because I already figured that out. Of course, flexibility is needed for things that pop up but barring that, I know what I need to do because it is already planned.
All of this is very idealistic and things often don’t go exactly to plan, but I think that it is a good framework that I can structure the day with.
In life, there are times for thinking and times for acting. Try not to do both at the same time and life makes a whole lot more sense.
I love talking about productivity because for people who think about this kind of stuff, everyone’s system is unique in its own way that works for them. Everyone’s systems brings something to the table that you have never considered before and it is a window to their mind and how it functions.