Get you first two months of unlimited classes for FREE: My current organization system is divided between three major apps: a main calendar app, a to-do app and a project planning app. I’ve been using Timepage, Actions and Notion, respectively, for this, but you can use other similar apps of your choice.
- The first part of this process is opening my Timepage app, which is basically a very pretty and functional calendar app, go to my monthly view and add events. In my own personal dictionary, calendar events are basically locked time blocks . As soon as they are added to my calendar, that timeblock can’t be used to schedule tasks. Whether it’s a place I must be, someone I have to hang out with or that gym class I have to go to, any future tasks that I try to allocate to my calendar can’t interfere with those time blocks.
- When scheduling an event, I like to add in as much detail as possible, including exact timeframes, location, contact numbers in case there’s someone I have to call, as well as notes related to that event. I then select the calendar I want to add that event to and that’s it. I simplified my calendar organization and currently have two calendars: a family calendar, where I share events that are relevant to share with my fiancé, and a personal calendar, which has information that is only relevant to me.
After all of my events have been scheduled, it’s time to switch apps and open Actions.
- Actions is an app that simply lets you log tasks. It’s supposed to be simple and fast and it mimics the experience of a to-do list by relying on swipe gestures and individual lists of to-do’s, like you would find in the pages of a notepad. I have four main lists on Actions - a list for work, other for general chores, a list for wedding planning and a list for YouTube projects. These tasks can either be logged indefinitely or scheduled for a specific day. For logging tasks, I go through the same system every time.
- Step number 1: When I open the app, I open my first list and insert anything I remember that I have to do, from very small things like “e-mailing final version of document” to big things like imagining an entire project from scratch. I make sure I open each one of my lists, skim through the tasks that have been logged and not yet completed and then add things I remember I still have to start, improve or complete.
- Step number 2: After all of my to-dos have been added to their corresponding list, I return to the split view and start dragging each task to a certain day of the week. Assigning a time slot for these tasks creates a sense of accountability but most of all, it immediately affects the rest of my day. This is fundamental because the great thing about Actions in my opinion is that it synths perfectly with Timepage.
- There’s a weekly view in the left column that imports all events added to Timepage, even if they come from multiple calendars. Having this overview of your week makes it easy to drag and drop tasks, as you already have a sense of your available time because of your locked time blocks. Managing your way around your scheduled events makes it easier to allocate time dedicated to finish a certain task because there’s an improved perception of how you’ll be spending your time and that will eliminate any need to re-allocate.
All of my events have been scheduled and all of my tasks have been allocated. This means it’s time to look at the bigger picture and this means project planning via Notion. A quick note regarding my understanding of Project Planning, however - although it can include obvious things like creating a new YouTube video series, writing an article or changing my bedroom decor, I also call project planning to major lists that are used for a longer time-span than tasks in to-do lists; for instance, my bucket list and my 30 before 30 list have been included in Notion. The same idea applies to things like my reading list, major meal prepping routines, links for budgeting spreadsheets, etc. Furthermore, Notion also acts as a data repository and it’s a place I use to keep all the random information I don’t want to forget like brainstorming templates, ideas for Christmas gifts, contacts, restaurant recommendations, video exporting settings, submission rules, the list goes on and on.
In other words, after everything is scheduled and allocated, Notion acts as a major (but organized) brain dump. I type down everything I think about: stuff I want to do, stuff I need to remember or stuff that I may do one day in the future and would like to have a place to record in case I forget. Part of this brain dump actually sees the light of day and ends up being scheduled or allocated into tasks; for instance, my self-learning video series was once a page of Notion that I didn’t initially plan to start anytime soon.
F T C : This video is sponsored by Skillshare.
Music by Epidemic Sound:
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