JOURNALING
I use a modified version of the note-taking method called Bullet Journaling, which was invented by Ryder Carroll. I've been using Ryder's system since 2015. I've used all sorts of formats (small pocket notebook, larger format notebook, and digital using the Apple Pencil). I go back-and-forth between lined, hardcover Black n’ Red notebooks and plain or dot-gridded Leuchtturm1917. Black n’ Red has the best paper, in my opinion, and the wide rule makes quick work of notetaking in meetings or while reading. Leuchtturm1917 is, in some ways, more functional with its plentiful and pre-numbered pages, bookmarks, elastic closure, and pen loops (I always install two). Both are sturdy enough to be jostled around on my bike. I write notes with a Pilot Vanishing Point with Pilot Namiki cartridges. I prefer Noodler’s Bernanke Black ink, but I have to refill too often because I write a lot. The bullet key Ryder recommends handles nearly everything I need and so that's what I use, too. However, I have used a caret-style bullet (^) to indicate when I’ve moved something over to my digital system (see below). I advocate for a plainer, simpler method instead of the multi-colored, sticker-clad sort you'll see if you go Googling.
While I used to manage everything in my bullet journal, I currently use it exclusively as a rapid logger. I take meeting notes with it, read with a pen in hand, and jot down things I want to synthesize in my Zettelkasten (more below), draw diagrams, plan projects, and note to-do items as they occur to me, journal sometimes. To me, my bujo is a temporary storage device that is always with me and enjoyable to use (because of the nice paper and pen). I offload the task management and knowledge management bits to digital tools, mostly. I’ve experimented with digitizing my journals, but I haven’t yet found a reliable way to revisit them.
I also use Roam Research in fits and starts to capture thoughts and ideas about my projects. This is very powerful when I commit to it, but it lacks charm and generates a lot of noise, too. I’m currently on the fence on how helpful Roam is with time and task management.
TASK MANAGEMENT
I have complex feelings about task management. At the heart of those feelings is a frustration that to be on top of things requires me to use software that doesn’t treat my work with the nuance and structural creativity it needs. This misalignment causes me to switch programs a fair bit, which is a waste of time on the one hand and kind of fun on the other.
I use Omnifocus when being on top of things is my priority. I use other tools when I need a system to flex with the work I need to do. Sometimes this is pen and paper, sometimes a whiteboard or post-it notes, sometimes a word-processing tool like Scrivener or Google Docs, sometimes Trello if the work requires others, and sometimes the latest and greatest product that seems like it will fix everything and never does.
Lately, I’ve been playing with Analog, which is a designerly system of notecards that stares at you all day, reminding you of the tasks you’d hoped to accomplish.
My ideal system would allow for a middle-state of progress. I discovered this technique in Adam Savage’s book, Every Tool’s A Hammer, and I find it informative and motivating.
I also wish task management software allowed me to estimate the work I need to do in pomodoros (more below). I find this a more effective unit than minutes or hours because I’ve worked for so long in 25-minute chunks that I have a decent sense of how long most tasks will take me. For example, I’d love a tool that gave me this sort of visual representation:
By glancing at the boxes on the left, you can easily see that I’ve done two items, am working on one, and have several yet to do. The circles on the right indicate my estimates for how many Pomodoro sessions each item will take and which are completed so far. I sometimes create a system that affords this functionality in Scrivener. I use the emoji app, Rocket, to easily type the square boxes. This approach also gives me the ability to easily add a note or a link or a bulleted list under any item, and those things can have to do’s in them, or be purely informational.
There are a couple of ways I use Omnifocus that I feel are worth sharing. The first is my “Be a Good” folder. I create a project for various roles I have and put to-do items in that as they occur to me. I’ve done this for several years and it always surprises me how effective it is for a lot of the little things that we do that aren’t projects but are, actually, part of the project of being the person we want to be in the world.
I also tag certain notes “Reference” so that I can make notes to myself about a project and easily find them when I’m working on things. I put the tag on hold so that I can easily filter it from certain perspectives.
I also use a “Doing” tag and have that displayed in the Forecast view. I know there are many methods for utilizing a tag in this view, such as “Radar” or “Today", but “Doing” works best for me and how I think about my work. I can see the item listed in the view for the day, but don’t need to check it off. It’ll be there for me tomorrow without any need for hacky repeating tasks, which is what I used to do.
ACCOUNTABILITY
Every week, either on Friday or Sunday, I complete a weekly review of all my projects and plan which tasks I’d like to accomplish in the week ahead. I have all sorts of ways to do this and they change frequently. However, at the heart of my review is a look at my calendar. I scan the last week to trigger things I might need to follow up on and the next two weeks to trigger things I might need to prepare for.
On Sunday evenings, my wife and I do a “House Meeting” and walk around our property discussing the things we’d like to do. We keep that list on paper that we both can reference and we use the Savage method mentioned above. It works great.
Every day, I email a friend who is in a different Ph.D. program and let him know my plans for the day and how I did yesterday and he does the same.
I have been using a time-management strategy called Pomodoro Technique to cope with procrastination since 2011. These days, I complete poms with a group of fellow Ph.D. students in a private Slack channel using emojis. We can work together that way and it provides a sense of accountability for continuing (what we call) a pom-train.
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I use a couple of tools to time my pomodoros: a Time Timer and the app Be Focused, depending on my working environment and my mood.
REST
Every week, my wife and I observe Sabbath from sundown on Friday evening to sundown on Saturday. We start with a ritual of lighting candles, drinking wine, and discussing the week over a special meal. We follow a set of “rules” we made, including no screens, no work, no entertainment, no purchasing, and doing plenty of restful, fun, creative, and social things that bring us closer to ourselves, each other our community.