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TIm I'm grateful to you for sharing this insightful clip but is there a way to to become productive by creating a focus zone in our mind on will [or on damand]?
It's not just time. It's energy. Not all hours are equal because some hours you're very alert and some you're tired and get less done in that time slot.
There’s a good app called Rise that tells you when you’re energy will be peaking and dipping throughout the day. It’s a bit expensive though but it’s been pretty useful for me
I completely agree. It reminds me of the great book, 'The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal', by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.
I can’t imagine living a life where everyday is scheduled and structured like this. Why this endless chase for being the most productive person in the world. I love you Tim. I’ve been around since you wrote 4 hour work week but after waking up one morning losing my vision in one eye the way you see the world changes (ha see what I did there) I’m still about 75% blind in one eye and it makes my day to day life very difficult but I’ve never been at more peace than I am now. I don’t care about politics, religion, sports, pop culture, television, and really society as a whole and it’s unbelievably liberating. Again, no disrespect towards Tim and his guests but people jump off the rat wheel. Being more busy, and having more money won’t make your life more fulfilling. Your time and peace are the only thing of true value. Please don’t wait for life to teach you this the hard lesson such as it did me. Slow down and enjoy the ride. The ride is short.
Having a structure and wanting to be more productive with tools does not mean being on rat wheel or having not fulfilling life. Often it gives more freedom and joy. If it gives more stress for someone, then something is wrong in other place or these are not solutions for the particular case.
This is just time management putting intention to your choice of actions, which you'll get the most out of life. As the guest said schedule 50% slack time. If you're able to get the essentials done then you can meditate or finger paint whatever you chose. Time is the most precious thing we have, it's your life, your time, so block it the way YOU would like it.
"The calendar is the to-do list." That's a very interesting point. It makes me think of how, when I was in college, I never felt particularly stressed about getting all of my work done, even though I didn't have an elaborate time-management system in place. However, once I entered the workforce, I began to feel much more stressed about getting all of my work done, even though it's not a particularly large amount of work. I always chalked this difference up to the fact that the stakes are higher in the workplace than they are in the classroom. If I forget to do an assignment, I get an average grade. If I forget to do my work, I get fired. Now, after listening to this, I think it was relatively easy to manage my school assignments because I simply followed the syllabus for each class--the calendar was the to-do list. The syllabus lists every assignment for the class and when each is due, and I had a pretty good sense of how long it would take me to read a chapter of the textbook or solve a problem set or write a paper. So I never needed a time-management system for school because I could just look at the syllabus, see when a task needed to be done by, estimate how long it would take, and block off some time to do it in my mind. Great insight!
Yes, for me the same. School was in that sense easy. Clear expectations and a result of how good it went, from the exam. In work life, it’s much more unclear on how you are evaluated and the schedule for the activities.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🗓️ Replace your long to-do list with scheduled calendar tasks. 00:28 🕒 Use your finite time wisely; your calendar is the real constraint. 01:38 🗓️ Aim for about 50% open space in your daily schedule. 02:44 📅 It's easier to pull tasks forward than deal with a cascading scheduling problem. 03:11 🏭 Slack in your schedule is essential for effective operations. 04:32 🚫 Skip the to-do list and schedule tasks directly in your calendar. 05:15 📧 Avoid using your email as a to-do list; schedule email tasks. 06:36 📅 Use your calendar to manage time-sensitive tasks and reduce stress. Made with HARPA AI
I have borderline personality disorder and simply using my calender as my to do list has decreased my anxiety levels so much. I have been doing this for half a year now and it is incredibly helpful and made me become way more productive while also dropping fewer balls. Great interview!
"Personality disorder" is made up for 99% of the people diagnosed with it, to sell drugs and ongoing treatments that do nothing. Anxiety is the manifestation of your underdeveloped skills to deal with even the slightest challenges in modern life. It's a ready-made and packaged excuse. It's a combination of energy that you haven't created outlets for (like sports or other physically demanding activities), possibly poor diet and sleep, and a lack of activities that challenge you mentally in a relatively safe environment, such that your brain is able to fail and learn and grow to be a stronger, more resilient, self-reliant person.
Absolutely, the idea of "The calendar is the to-do list" is more effective for those with static schedules. For those involved in a dynamic environment with frequent changes, impromptu calls, and shifting priorities, to-do apps with integrated calendars are invaluable. They offer the flexibility to adjust tasks based on the ever-changing nature of meetings, ensuring tasks are not overshadowed by unpredictable schedules.
Time blocking just doesn't work for me for this very reason, it's not flexible. To-Do lists work because I can already estimate in my head how long it may take and do things in order of importance without needing to mark somewhere that from 10:15-11:45 next month I will need to time block a task. With my ever changing schedule, I have no idea if I even have time for that task next month.
I so have adhd. ;) I had to actually use a timer and track how long it takes to do annoying tasks and busy-body things- like work-related, business and admin- and then realized a lot of things were not as daunting as I thought- (unless I procrastinate until there’s a billion of them) but then when it comes to creative projects in the kitchen/garden or with organizing my closet or whatever- I have to set time limits* because I’ll get into hyper focus and just lose 3 hours. Gah! When it came to getting somewhere, my estimate was always about 50% less than it actually took. It wasn’t easy at first but I learned to double what I thought it would be and say that- to my surprise people found it completely reasonable! lol it’s really a thing- I hope this helps you find the way to figure out yours
This approach encourages the approach of being in motion... rather than taking action. Following what he describes may cause users to spend more time planning than actually getting the task done. I use a similar approach but not to the degree of putting everything in my calendar. MS Quick Steps is your friend. "Triage" your inbox and only perform the following actions. 1. Do it now (reply now) 2. Do later (Urgent) 3. Do later 4.Archive/Delete This quickly clears your triage inbox allowing you the time to then work on the Urgent (do it later) and other (do it later). If deem necessary you can schedule time in calendar with specific emails. The other thing we should consider (depending on job role) is our work day schedule should not be determined by what and how many emails we get. I usually start the day with initiatives I have and actions I need to take before looking at what others need from me. Each to their own...
For years I’ve complained that to do lists don’t take time into account and are therefore very misleading if used to measure actual workload. This approach solves the issue in an understandable, easy to implement manner. All you need is consistency and, as it’s the case with habit forming, a few weeks of conscious changes. I’m doing it!
I like to mix them... create a list at first, then add the time to the items, then every 2 weeks (a "sprint") I drag items I want to do into place where I can do them. Feels great to check these items off in a timely manner instead of just having a never-ending, never-moving list!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 🗓️ Effective Time Management - The common problem of people having long to-do lists and not enough time. - The importance of allocating tasks to your calendar based on estimated time. - Why having open space in your daily schedule is crucial. 03:11 📅 The Concept of Slack - The concept of slack in time management, inspired by manufacturing. - Why having slack in your schedule is essential for adaptability. - How to balance open space in your calendar while scheduling recurring tasks. 05:27 📧 Managing Email Effectively - Using your email as a to-do list and its drawbacks. - How to transform email tasks into scheduled calendar events. - The stress-relieving benefits of clear scheduling for email responses. Made with HARPA AI
I’ve been working under this method for about 6 months and there really is no substitute for the clarity it provides. I wish I didn’t have to use a 3 tool stack to do it but at least it works!! Great insights here
If you are using gmail you can actually create a task right from the email and it will add it to google tasks + google calendar with a direct link to the email
@@joeyharshaw3874 time tracking, project management and calendar. for sure can be done by just moving events on a calendar but that is distracting from the actual work. i prefer using tools that auto add tasks to calendars.
I absolutely love this. The calendar as a to-do list is not new for me, however marking an email as done and putting it in the calendar is going to be a challenge. I organize my e-mails in folders and sub-folders, and all undone tasks stay in the inbox until solved. Always worked for me but it can be overwhelming for some people. I also keep an overall status list, updating as necessary - Daily or weekly - depends on the deadlines. Usually is written in a email, updated and sent to the team or just for myself. The important message is: find what works for you and keep improving it so you can spend time in what really matter.
As you said, different systems works for different people. But sorting emails into folders is rarely the most efficient way. Just archive them all. Email clients has so good search functions today.
I ditched the folders and subfolders a while ago. I just have done and delete folders now. Search means I can find anything from anyone in the done folder and delete what I don't need. I just found I got so much anxiety from the growing list of folders and subs and trying to decide what went where.
What I struggle most with when I look at the things i have to do is that it is more of a differential calculus equation than a succinct task list where many things are interrelated and have varying outcomes depending on previous hard to define steps. There is no clear path to achieving any of them and spending time understanding which levers move the most is where most of my time goes. This also results in analysis paralysis.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 📅 *Shift to Calendar: Replace to-do lists with direct task allocation on your calendar, using realistic time estimates.* 01:25 ⏳ *Maintain Open Space: Keep 50% open in your schedule for flexibility, refining estimates over time.* 04:46 📧 *Skip To-Do List: Schedule tasks immediately instead of maintaining a to-do list, reducing stress and ensuring dedicated time slots.* 06:36 🔄 *Close the Loop: Communicate promptly about task allocations to maintain transparency and avoid disruptions.*
I have long supported and defended the use of "buffer" space in the calendar. There will 'always' be extra time needed for already scheduled time blocks 'or' a place to add unexpected meetings or obligations. This was an excellent conversation. I plan to watch/listen again.
There was a plugin for outlook I used in the early 2000s that would take your to-do list and turn it into appointments on your calendar...it was great for making you realise it didn't all fit and choose what to bump. I think it was called timeline...was a long time ago.
On possible problem with this approach: even with 50% slack time, if things come up often and you are not great at blocking time, it seems you will have to spend a lot of time just shifting everything that you have blocked from that point forward, which is awful if you block 2/3 weeks in advance due to many ongoing tasks
As many others have mentioned, the "your calendar is your to-do list" is a nice mentality. But it falls apart if you're not good at estimating how long something will take.
You could double the amount of time each thing would be expected to take in order to build in the necessary flex space. Although, Parkinson's law would suggest trying to spec an internal deliverable within 10-20% of the allotted time and deciding if that is good enough or if it needs rework. So, you don't have to spend 3.5 hours on a memo, and if you do, it won't be disproportionately allocated to formatting and editing, rather than completeness and conciseness.
Doesn't compute for me. Todoist is amazing because if I don't do a task it just automatically rolls over to the next day or I can drag it to a different day in Upcoming view. Calendars are for blocks of time that can't be pushed off. Having that separate in my head gives me permission to not care if I don't get to a task. But if something from my calendar doesn't get done, it means I'm probably not getting paid that week. It's also a lot less stressful because seeing calendar totally packed gets overwhelming.
Agree. I don’t understand how anyone can use the calendar As the todo list. Most busy people have very dynamic days. Priorities are constantly changing. Very confusing to have the calendar as the center piece. Time blocking is fine and efficient, but it need a task management in the background.
Tim you inspired me long ago to measure my time in great detail, 24/7 - and this taught me how long stuff takes. This method menthioned here doesn't work for me - tasks need setup time, and need rescheduling - and have interconnections if involving many projects. This method only works for certain sized tasks - if tasks are bigger, and have dependencies, or involve other teams, it's hard to find the 'linked' task in the Calendar method. But agree a linear to-do list doens't work also - work must be scheduled
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 📅 *Schedule tasks on your calendar with realistic time estimates, avoiding reliance on to-do lists.* 01:51 🕰️ *Aim for 50% open space in your daily schedule to accommodate unexpected events. Refine and reduce this over time as you improve estimating task durations.* 03:24 🔄 *Having slack in your schedule is crucial to prevent issues. Start with 50% open space and adjust as needed for effective operation.* 05:00 📧 *Treat emails as tasks, estimate time, and schedule dedicated blocks in your calendar to respond.* 06:36 🗓️ *Immediately schedule new tasks on your calendar to ensure clarity, reduce stress, and avoid missed deadlines.*
I love what he said about blocking off slack time to allow for (inevitable) disruptors. And instead of having to shift the "I didn't finish" tasks forward all the time, instead pull the future tasks to today when in a good workflow. I'll try it this way. Thank you!
The fact that managers allow people to send tasks to their employees is the problem. Control the flow of information in and out of your department like a North Korean dictator. Destroy anyone publicly that tries to usurp your power by telling your employee to do something (or worse, disguises it as a favor) that isn't on the weekly plan you give your staff Monday morning. Never tell your staff that "the CEO or customer is angry because we are behind." They work for you and do not need to be concerned with pleasing anyone but you. Lastly, don't betray your staff's trust. If you are going to be the protector of your tribe, step out in front and block them from the stones of invading humanoids. There isn't a single business on the planet that can't plan for a week of work and just get it done because the behavior you reward is the behavior you receive. People are rewarding looking busy over getting it done.
I find, with dynamic work, that a combo of calendar and to do lists works best. E.g. you have a broad theme in your calendar like ‘work tasks’ or ‘meetings’ or ‘correspondence’ and then you have a separate bullet point list for each of those themes. You then simply tackle the bullet points as a matter of priority. As an easy-to-understand example, take going to the gym. “Gym”, would be in the calendar, and then there would be a list of exercise’s within that theme that you would tick off. This gives you more flexibility I find and prevents you from constantly having to calculate how long particular, sometimes granular, tasks are going to take, which if they are novel, is basically impossible.
I really liked the advice on finding a balance between things I have planned and surprises that pop up. Setting aside certain times for checking emails, instead of just going through them as they come, was a smart tip. I never thought about adding some extra time in my plan for things I didn't expect, but now I see how helpful that can be. Thanks for sharing these straightforward steps-- they've inspired me to change the way I organize my day!
Interesting approach! I have tried SO MANY ways to track projects, to do lists, calendar planning. When I get BUSY BUSY.. all of these go right out the window and it is literally which fire to put out first. I am extremely organized BUT sometimes I get paralysis by analysis and I don't know how to get out of that phase. I usually move my emails that require work to be completed to a calendar entry, but for "adminstrative" work that is where they are NEVER ending and if I had to add them in as a recurring block, there would not be a single space that shows as "nothing to do" ... that would be REALLY stressful. The idea sounds great, but not sure how it would help me.
I ditched my to-do list. And most of the time I work with my calendars blocker. For me it's still most of the time the best way to get things done. Because you start to timebox tasks or projects.
I've been doing something like this for awhile now! In my personal variant, I have a "review your action items from email and onenote" calendar block that I do on one day and then slide it over a day or two to trigger me to do it again on whatever cadence feels appropriate. Sometimes I slide and repeat the task daily, sometimes I move it 3/5/7 days out depending on the frequency of meetings I'm leading.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 *📅 Rethink your to-do list: Instead of piling tasks, allocate them in your calendar realistically.* 00:43 *🕰️ Understand finite time: Your calendar represents your finite time, not an infinite to-do list.* 01:51 *🔄 Optimize for flexibility: Aim for around 50% open time in your day to accommodate unexpected events.* 03:24 *⏱️ Gradually reduce slack: Over time, refine your schedule to reduce slack while maintaining effectiveness.* 06:22 *🗓️ Use your calendar as your to-do list: Place tasks directly into your calendar, relieving stress and providing clarity.* Made with HARPA AI
La idea clave del video es que el uso del calendario para anotar las tareas, en contraste a una lista de tareas, puede ayudar a mejorar el manejo de tiempo, priorización efectivo y reducción de estrés.
In that case, you might want to look into a diversified portfolio. Stocks for growth, bonds for stability, maybe even some real estate. It might also be worthwhile to consult with a financial advisor. They can help tailor a strategy that aligns with your goals.
Yea, this method has made me quite productive. Been using it for few years. Color coding do differentiate style of work. So now I am able to pull of 12h days of stuff because some "work" is actually recharging. I do feel like I need to build custom tool to automate planning, right now I have a hourly weekly task to go over adjust next 2 weeks of activities and meetings. And often I need to readjust stuff. Outlook currently requires a lot of manual changes. In addition I do hourly work for different networks or contracts so would be nice if it automatically includes that also in calendar. But yeah calendar planning is very helpful skill to have
That methodology works for some cases, but what if your tasks involve dependencies with other tasks of yours or other people's? What if you can't quantify the amount of time until you receive other piece of information? How do you track urgency of a task? I do block my calendar for certain things, but there's a lot of stuff that is just not schedule-able (if that's a word)
It took me 9 years of a chaotic calendar and so many lost hours to come up with a time management system aligned with what you're saying; now I'm much more productive, things are getting done, and I'm happy
Thanks for the share... I have been using this method for many years and last year, I taught it to a colleague. She has subsequently informed that her stress levels have gone down because she has better control over the tasks to get done. I also colour-code the various items according to which department the item belongs. This also helps when we have to draw up monthly reporting on time spent working for the various departments, yes, the managers ask for some strange information.
Sounds about right to me. Whenever I try to calendar-schedule every minute of any given day, I'm lucky to get half done despite being actually productive the whole day (or at least being busy and feeling productive). This video has already reduced my stress as I thought I was just an undisciplined scatter brain ..well I'm probably still an undisciplined scatter brain just not as bad as I thought.
This is awesome, I definitely need to do this. I don't use the estimate time feature in ClickUp Enough, and I have ADHD so I need to get better at estimating. I love the idea of giving extra slack and slowly getting better at estimating until you know better.
I really am loving this approach. I have been doing my own little research on how to get my life together. Always overwhelmed in all--in-one platforms, different apps for different thing. "the calendar is your to do list" is spot on. Since everything is always dated and timed, might as well fully utilise what provides us date and time. Let's see how this goes for me. Hope works for other wanderers such as myself. Cheers!
wow you would think these bros are like super uptight and uncool because they're so organized and professional but the way they just chillax in the cross legged sitting pose is so vibed out!!! you can tell these guys are cool as it gets!
i have been doing this email to schedule trick, and I use a scheduled send to forward myself those emails on the right day so i have the details at hand without looking for them. I will incorporate the addition of slack time and stop feeling yucky because I am forwarding items to and infinite number of tomorrows. time is finite. Being realistic about that is necessary.
I don't disagree with "4 hours of quality work is way better than 8 hours of mediocre work," but way I understood the 50% point was not that it was about working for only 4 hours. Rather, if you plan your work in such a way that you only fill 4 hours of your calendar, then those "4 hours" of planned work will probably take you 8 hours. And, when it doesn't take you 8 hours, then you can start pulling tasks forward.
Yeah it's cuz the dumb managers are usually the most insecure people. They want to feel like they're in control, and leads to mandating bad policies like "you must attend every team meeting". Trust me. Managers have the worst insecurities loool
I wonder what you'd be doing if you can't work on the things you scheduled for today. Do you manually have to move and reschedule everything? How do you make sure you don't forget stuff? In a todo list these tasks would be marked as overdue, but not so in a calendar
Things will always pop up on most days whether it is external or internal. Good approach with the 50% as it's attainable and less stress on a day to day basis.👍
I just love taking advice from people who set the agenda for the organisations they run, rather than those who have to deal with the consequences of those decisions…whilst this approach looks good, it still seems like we’re listening to the wrong person. 🙄
I don’t see how this works for someone working in a corporate environment, especially remotely, where meetings are happening all day long. Throw in raising school age children who have activities.
I do this in todoist. Each day has up to 10 items, and the currebt day can have 20. At the end of the day i roll over what's not done and rebalance my schedule for the next week to make sure its still 10 each day. I have days that I do certain categories, so those tasks are subtasks (medical day has subtask of reschedule appt, etc) (financial day has call financial advisor for taxes etc) so that catehory counts as one item. That keeps it organized and puts pressure to do that one-time thing that day of the week if I can't put it off. I do this at work too. Website things Monday, Proposals Thursday, Analytics Friday.
What have ya’ll found is the best to-do list/calendar that allows the ability to drag-n-drop task blocks into the calendar? Is there one that allows us to create the tasks and leave them in a pile then Tetris them into the calendar?
In Todoist an email can become a task. Then by the use of durations and linking to Google calendar the result is very similar to what is suggested here.
Populating a calendar takes so much time and defeats the object. Just write out your tasks as simply as possible. Chase subject X Upload document B to sharepoint Sign off documnet z As simple as you possibly can! I see the to-do list as a reminder only. The execution of completing the items on the to-do list is dependent on how efficiently you can do your job. I see so much inefficiency in people each and every day.
Or as we like to say in our house, "if it's not on the calendar, it doesn't exist". We evolved from a paper calendar hanging up in the kitchen to digital calendars as our family matured and had their own schedules. Families, running efficiently, are just small businesses! ;)
Dated a girl in college whose dad treated her like an employee relative to budgeting, scheduling, etc. She went on to resent him. Enjoy your small business!
thanks for the sharing! I believe there are some valid points in which you shouldnt lump all your to-do list in 1 go, but rather just as james clear stated in atomic habits to start small. Leave gaps in between for breather is brilliant! however i disagree with email management. It is way simpler to prioritize maybe 3major task and allocate the estimated time to complete them rather than slotting them in your calendar. It sounds restrictive to lock on that task at a particular time. I am from Asia and the working culture here is hectic. With all the scheduling all my task would be postponed and half my time spend on rescheduling. I believe a simple to-do list is the solution, at least for daily >8-hour engineering work that I'm struggling to complete task in time.
I’m not good enough with softarware to pull this off and instead block days with compartments. Only 8 hours of work-but interrupted. To-dos get assigned number of blocks. I am far from optimal, but doing ok.
I've recently started to do this with certain types of work. It's super helpful and really helps you stay grounded in what you realistically have time for.
Its just clarifying what you have to do in regards to email. Its like that with any new project you take on. There are always things you don't anticipate no matter how good you are at planning. I usually use a combined digital version of steven covey's system and GTD. But yeah adding slack into everything pretty much a given.
If you use Microsoft Outlook, it lets you flag an email as to do and it displays on the task pane. Then I used to drag the task in the calendar, with that I provision time to execute the task.
Interesting approach. I was thinking... How about tasks that take more than a couple of minutes (so you can't do it right now) and less than half an hour?
The advantage of this is taking responsibility for yourself. If you only have a todo list, it’s easy to say, I will do this other thing instead, and you don’t know when to start. You let yourself down. In the calendar, you assert your integrity, and put yourself first, before others. Otherwise someone else will tell you what to do, and when. Some people even have a “don’t interrupt, I’m thinking” activity in their calendar or at their space. That’s living with integrity for sure.
I need somebody who's used this system to tell me how you actually made it work 😂 I've tried multiple times and end up missing tasks because as soon as one day goes wrong and I forget to move the task to the next, the calendar moves on it's gone forever. I have a hard time using it for projects as well! I can break down a project, but putting every task on the calendar a month out with assumptions of how long it'll take is just impossible when you don't even know everything the project will require. If I could make it work, it could be a game changer!
I have a similar way of getting my tasks sorted out. I use colour codes and categories for different tasks: KILL TASKS are read in the calendar, and they are those things I must do at that time (usually today or tomorrow), or that thing will kill my progress; then I have green DRILL TASKS for the work that requires thinking (drilling deeper) and require more mental bandwidth; I also have blue FILL TASKS that come from external requests and pressure (typically meetings, webinars, conferences, etc) and usually are fixed dates and times that I often cannot change but accept or decline; and finally I have purple NILL TASKS that are those nice to do but not directly connected to any project or process I need to follow (Nill tasks) can often turn into DRILL when I come up with a new idea or concept. I haven't use to-do lists ever because they are depressing and feel like work. KILL, DRILL, FILL, and NILL are like a game and easy to remember and apply. I can see at one glance my week and if it has too much red or any other colour, I know that my work-life balance is not right. A good rhyme saves you time.
is he refering to 'work in progress' limits or short 'wip limits' when he talked about this 'slack' is comming out of manifacturing? it refers to overutilization of resources in a pipeline and how to avoid negative effects to the flow of things
Great advice. My email causes me so much stress. I stopped allowing my contacts to email me. Text only now. I’m glad though that I’m retired and don’t have a to-to list. My life is simplicity and peaceful after a big career.
Interesting, I clear my e-mails creating them into tasks, never thought of putting them straight into a calendar. I am paranoid I will not adhere to the calendar and lose the task forever if it isn't in a list though. I guess that fear might drive me to adhere to the calendar haha.
Sam mentioned adding a link to an email onto the calendared block...anyone know a way to do that in Outlook? I cannot find a way to get such a link in Outlook...would be SUPER helpful.
Calendar as the to *GET DONE* List, nice. There's also the option with most email providers to remind you to follow up on emails which can be useful, but with the calendar idea, that can be consolidated into just your calendar, so things are streamlined even more...Nice.
This sounds interesting. However, what if it's part of a larger project with multiple steps? For example, I want to future-proof my film work. This involves several steps that span several months. From consolidating backups, and making exports, to proper archiving ... or many other projects like this? Since I have to chip away at this as I don't just stop being a parent or working as a filmmaker to finish this in one large chunk, how does one simply put this in your schedule?
My Relative had a day off, the next day they opened their's e-mail, they had 90 unread e-mail. Some of them contained pdfs which is essential for their work. That day they mostly read mails and went to meetings (which also mentioned the informations from the pdf) Unreal....
15% of the day or of the awake time as slack? (3,6h vs 2,4h) makes a lot of difference to me. or not? because in the end where is that time supposed to be? the only thing i like about this is the take that a day has a finite amount of time: 24 hours - 8 hours sleep = 16 hours - 8 hours work = 8 hours (already crazy that with these 2 big super-mandatory things - for the average human -, its just a single digit.) - 1/2 hour shower = 7,5 hours - 1/2 hour toilet all day added up = 7 hours ( i take shits that long alone so yeah - male btw :P) - 2 hours driving to and back from work place = 5 hours (some people save this time but if you add in organizing your stuff for work or preparation after work, a train not coming or you getting stuck in the road etc. its IMO pretty accurate for the average person) - 1 cooking/ hour eating / dishwashing = 4 hours (and 1 hours is already generous since thats about the time alone i need to eat my giant as bowl of salad i do on OMAD without preparing it and washing the dishes) - 1/2 hours daily training (sport) to stay physically well = 3,5 hours (notice, thats already 15% of the ENTIRE day which is supposed to be slack?) - 1/2 masturbating or sex if you have a partner = 3 hours (change my mind, but this is mendatory :P keeps your hormones balanced/ your Oxytocin towards Partner high and is a good stress leave/ adds another half an hour for a total of one hour of "sport") 1/4 hour average daily cleaning the house = 2,75 hours 1/4 hour average daily shopping ingredients for life supply = 2,5 hours so you are left with about 3 hours roughly +- the fact that you cant teleport, you partner might want foreplay or cuddle after the sex or you gotta search up some good korean hentai pornwha, etc. all those tiny things that add up over the day just doing the aboth ^^ and now we still dont have: - hobbies - friends - learning new stuff like a language, PC skills, etc. - trouble shooting of stuff that doesent work/ is broken/ etc. (PC component dead, data got deleted, Car frozen in winter, illness so you are less productive or have to catch up afterwards, headaches so you cant work (efficiently) - birthdays, phone calls, family reunions, people getting married, and all the social shit you have (or want to, depending on age and person) attend to, to not become a hermit. - bureaucrzy stuff (mails, filling forms, renewing passport, checking bank account balance and transmissions, organizing passwords, staying up to date with politics so you can actually make use of your democratic right to vote the least evil choice presented, asking for permission (workplace), etc. - exams if you are a student. basicly takes all the rest of your daily time. - finding new stuff (music, new wallpaper, new pair of clothes, new programm to use more efficiently for whatever you do, new PC screen, etc.) - imagine you have children who need stuff done hahaha. gl. drive them to friends, attend to their problems, teach them, feed them, do homework with them, etc. etc. so yeah IMO the only option you have to not die of overworking is being a desocialized single person who lives in a rundown (not cleaned regulary) home and works homeoffice, while not procreating and ending your celline where you stand after your unavoidable social death makes it impossible anyway.
Why choose between a To-do List and a Calendar, when you can have the best of both worlds? Our tool lets you schedule tasks with drag & drop while leveraging AI for both scheduling and rescheduling. That talk was on point!
what's missing from to do lists is the person's ability to prioritize, estimate work required, dependencies etc. a great time mgmt and project mgt course helps.
Hi, I've a question. Let's assume I have a calendar filled for this week and, let's say, half of the next week. Now, I'm getting a very urging task that will take 5 hours. I need to shift all my scheduling. If this happens all the time, this is a lot of work to sort all scheduling out all the time. How do you handle it?
I was looking for a tool that could take to do into sub Bullets / btrakedowns and I could map branches/ sub branches ‘ chunks of the tree to the calendar. Anyone?
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TIm I'm grateful to you for sharing this insightful clip but is there a way to to become productive by creating a focus zone in our mind on will [or on damand]?
It's not just time. It's energy. Not all hours are equal because some hours you're very alert and some you're tired and get less done in that time slot.
Exactly
Damn straight! What about those of us healing from various traumas?
Absolutely.
There’s a good app called Rise that tells you when you’re energy will be peaking and dipping throughout the day. It’s a bit expensive though but it’s been pretty useful for me
I completely agree. It reminds me of the great book, 'The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal', by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz.
I can’t imagine living a life where everyday is scheduled and structured like this. Why this endless chase for being the most productive person in the world. I love you Tim. I’ve been around since you wrote 4 hour work week but after waking up one morning losing my vision in one eye the way you see the world changes (ha see what I did there) I’m still about 75% blind in one eye and it makes my day to day life very difficult but I’ve never been at more peace than I am now. I don’t care about politics, religion, sports, pop culture, television, and really society as a whole and it’s unbelievably liberating. Again, no disrespect towards Tim and his guests but people jump off the rat wheel. Being more busy, and having more money won’t make your life more fulfilling. Your time and peace are the only thing of true value. Please don’t wait for life to teach you this the hard lesson such as it did me. Slow down and enjoy the ride. The ride is short.
Thank you. You're a voice of sanity.
Having a structure and wanting to be more productive with tools does not mean being on rat wheel or having not fulfilling life. Often it gives more freedom and joy. If it gives more stress for someone, then something is wrong in other place or these are not solutions for the particular case.
It takes a lot of good people working really hard all the time to provide a decent life for those who aren’t able to provide for themselves.
I got ADHD bro, if I dont structure my day like this I wont do anything that I really want to, even not work related things.
This is just time management putting intention to your choice of actions, which you'll get the most out of life. As the guest said schedule 50% slack time. If you're able to get the essentials done then you can meditate or finger paint whatever you chose. Time is the most precious thing we have, it's your life, your time, so block it the way YOU would like it.
"The calendar is the to-do list."
That's a very interesting point. It makes me think of how, when I was in college, I never felt particularly stressed about getting all of my work done, even though I didn't have an elaborate time-management system in place. However, once I entered the workforce, I began to feel much more stressed about getting all of my work done, even though it's not a particularly large amount of work. I always chalked this difference up to the fact that the stakes are higher in the workplace than they are in the classroom. If I forget to do an assignment, I get an average grade. If I forget to do my work, I get fired.
Now, after listening to this, I think it was relatively easy to manage my school assignments because I simply followed the syllabus for each class--the calendar was the to-do list. The syllabus lists every assignment for the class and when each is due, and I had a pretty good sense of how long it would take me to read a chapter of the textbook or solve a problem set or write a paper. So I never needed a time-management system for school because I could just look at the syllabus, see when a task needed to be done by, estimate how long it would take, and block off some time to do it in my mind.
Great insight!
Schedule it..
Well said!
Yes, for me the same. School was in that sense easy. Clear expectations and a result of how good it went, from the exam. In work life, it’s much more unclear on how you are evaluated and the schedule for the activities.
Whoa, great insight there! Great application of theory/method.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🗓️ Replace your long to-do list with scheduled calendar tasks.
00:28 🕒 Use your finite time wisely; your calendar is the real constraint.
01:38 🗓️ Aim for about 50% open space in your daily schedule.
02:44 📅 It's easier to pull tasks forward than deal with a cascading scheduling problem.
03:11 🏭 Slack in your schedule is essential for effective operations.
04:32 🚫 Skip the to-do list and schedule tasks directly in your calendar.
05:15 📧 Avoid using your email as a to-do list; schedule email tasks.
06:36 📅 Use your calendar to manage time-sensitive tasks and reduce stress.
Made with HARPA AI
Thanks for that. What prompts do you use for the Harper AI
Go away AI
Thank you
❤❤
Now all we need is a dropdown for each part that offers a brief synopsis for those of us who want a little extra.
I have borderline personality disorder and simply using my calender as my to do list has decreased my anxiety levels so much. I have been doing this for half a year now and it is incredibly helpful and made me become way more productive while also dropping fewer balls. Great interview!
"Personality disorder" is made up for 99% of the people diagnosed with it, to sell drugs and ongoing treatments that do nothing.
Anxiety is the manifestation of your underdeveloped skills to deal with even the slightest challenges in modern life. It's a ready-made and packaged excuse. It's a combination of energy that you haven't created outlets for (like sports or other physically demanding activities), possibly poor diet and sleep, and a lack of activities that challenge you mentally in a relatively safe environment, such that your brain is able to fail and learn and grow to be a stronger, more resilient, self-reliant person.
Absolutely, the idea of "The calendar is the to-do list" is more effective for those with static schedules. For those involved in a dynamic environment with frequent changes, impromptu calls, and shifting priorities, to-do apps with integrated calendars are invaluable. They offer the flexibility to adjust tasks based on the ever-changing nature of meetings, ensuring tasks are not overshadowed by unpredictable schedules.
Do you have some suggestion of todoapps with integrated calendars that are good?
I like Todoist for that
I agree with @grootjebbink. Todoist is great@@deltastarlight5111
Time blocking just doesn't work for me for this very reason, it's not flexible. To-Do lists work because I can already estimate in my head how long it may take and do things in order of importance without needing to mark somewhere that from 10:15-11:45 next month I will need to time block a task. With my ever changing schedule, I have no idea if I even have time for that task next month.
I totally agree with this. It dependes on the nature of your work. It's a super idea for some roles.
Love this approach. It is shocking how wrong I can be with ADHD about how long things will take
Relatable! I always feel the need to organise my life but then get lost in the organising process.
Levi Allen! I’m a huge fan. I’m a videographer / TH-cam channel / filmmaker. Funny seeing you here. Loved ur new doc.
Same
I so have adhd. ;) I had to actually use a timer and track how long it takes to do annoying tasks and busy-body things- like work-related, business and admin- and then realized a lot of things were not as daunting as I thought- (unless I procrastinate until there’s a billion of them) but then when it comes to creative projects in the kitchen/garden or with organizing my closet or whatever- I have to set time limits* because I’ll get into hyper focus and just lose 3 hours. Gah! When it came to getting somewhere, my estimate was always about 50% less than it actually took. It wasn’t easy at first but I learned to double what I thought it would be and say that- to my surprise people found it completely reasonable! lol it’s really a thing- I hope this helps you find the way to figure out yours
same! just stared doing this and it helps so much
This approach encourages the approach of being in motion... rather than taking action. Following what he describes may cause users to spend more time planning than actually getting the task done. I use a similar approach but not to the degree of putting everything in my calendar. MS Quick Steps is your friend. "Triage" your inbox and only perform the following actions. 1. Do it now (reply now) 2. Do later (Urgent) 3. Do later 4.Archive/Delete
This quickly clears your triage inbox allowing you the time to then work on the Urgent (do it later) and other (do it later). If deem necessary you can schedule time in calendar with specific emails.
The other thing we should consider (depending on job role) is our work day schedule should not be determined by what and how many emails we get. I usually start the day with initiatives I have and actions I need to take before looking at what others need from me.
Each to their own...
For years I’ve complained that to do lists don’t take time into account and are therefore very misleading if used to measure actual workload. This approach solves the issue in an understandable, easy to implement manner. All you need is consistency and, as it’s the case with habit forming, a few weeks of conscious changes. I’m doing it!
I like to mix them... create a list at first, then add the time to the items, then every 2 weeks (a "sprint") I drag items I want to do into place where I can do them. Feels great to check these items off in a timely manner instead of just having a never-ending, never-moving list!
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 🗓️ Effective Time Management
- The common problem of people having long to-do lists and not enough time.
- The importance of allocating tasks to your calendar based on estimated time.
- Why having open space in your daily schedule is crucial.
03:11 📅 The Concept of Slack
- The concept of slack in time management, inspired by manufacturing.
- Why having slack in your schedule is essential for adaptability.
- How to balance open space in your calendar while scheduling recurring tasks.
05:27 📧 Managing Email Effectively
- Using your email as a to-do list and its drawbacks.
- How to transform email tasks into scheduled calendar events.
- The stress-relieving benefits of clear scheduling for email responses.
Made with HARPA AI
I’ve been working under this method for about 6 months and there really is no substitute for the clarity it provides. I wish I didn’t have to use a 3 tool stack to do it but at least it works!! Great insights here
If you are using gmail you can actually create a task right from the email and it will add it to google tasks + google calendar with a direct link to the email
What stack? Can’t you just use google?
@@joeyharshaw3874 time tracking, project management and calendar. for sure can be done by just moving events on a calendar but that is distracting from the actual work. i prefer using tools that auto add tasks to calendars.
f@@joeyharshaw3874
I absolutely love this. The calendar as a to-do list is not new for me, however marking an email as done and putting it in the calendar is going to be a challenge. I organize my e-mails in folders and sub-folders, and all undone tasks stay in the inbox until solved. Always worked for me but it can be overwhelming for some people. I also keep an overall status list, updating as necessary - Daily or weekly - depends on the deadlines. Usually is written in a email, updated and sent to the team or just for myself. The important message is: find what works for you and keep improving it so you can spend time in what really matter.
I need to put it on paper, or it exists in fantasy land.
@@matthewdietzen6708 I like to put it on paper when I have to memorize something, it’s very helpful!
As you said, different systems works for different people. But sorting emails into folders is rarely the most efficient way. Just archive them all. Email clients has so good search functions today.
I ditched the folders and subfolders a while ago. I just have done and delete folders now. Search means I can find anything from anyone in the done folder and delete what I don't need. I just found I got so much anxiety from the growing list of folders and subs and trying to decide what went where.
What I struggle most with when I look at the things i have to do is that it is more of a differential calculus equation than a succinct task list where many things are interrelated and have varying outcomes depending on previous hard to define steps. There is no clear path to achieving any of them and spending time understanding which levers move the most is where most of my time goes. This also results in analysis paralysis.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 📅 *Shift to Calendar: Replace to-do lists with direct task allocation on your calendar, using realistic time estimates.*
01:25 ⏳ *Maintain Open Space: Keep 50% open in your schedule for flexibility, refining estimates over time.*
04:46 📧 *Skip To-Do List: Schedule tasks immediately instead of maintaining a to-do list, reducing stress and ensuring dedicated time slots.*
06:36 🔄 *Close the Loop: Communicate promptly about task allocations to maintain transparency and avoid disruptions.*
I have long supported and defended the use of "buffer" space in the calendar. There will 'always' be extra time needed for already scheduled time blocks 'or' a place to add unexpected meetings or obligations. This was an excellent conversation. I plan to watch/listen again.
There was a plugin for outlook I used in the early 2000s that would take your to-do list and turn it into appointments on your calendar...it was great for making you realise it didn't all fit and choose what to bump.
I think it was called timeline...was a long time ago.
On possible problem with this approach: even with 50% slack time, if things come up often and you are not great at blocking time, it seems you will have to spend a lot of time just shifting everything that you have blocked from that point forward, which is awful if you block 2/3 weeks in advance due to many ongoing tasks
Agreed
As many others have mentioned, the "your calendar is your to-do list" is a nice mentality. But it falls apart if you're not good at estimating how long something will take.
Or when you can't keep doing the same task 2 hours in a row.
Or if there's a lot of variance in how much time it takes. Yay chronic conditions with low energy and brain fog days...
Just do it, you’ll learn.
You could double the amount of time each thing would be expected to take in order to build in the necessary flex space. Although, Parkinson's law would suggest trying to spec an internal deliverable within 10-20% of the allotted time and deciding if that is good enough or if it needs rework. So, you don't have to spend 3.5 hours on a memo, and if you do, it won't be disproportionately allocated to formatting and editing, rather than completeness and conciseness.
love Parkinson's law. "Work expands to the time allotted." Which is why I never start early or expect someone else to.
Doesn't compute for me. Todoist is amazing because if I don't do a task it just automatically rolls over to the next day or I can drag it to a different day in Upcoming view. Calendars are for blocks of time that can't be pushed off. Having that separate in my head gives me permission to not care if I don't get to a task. But if something from my calendar doesn't get done, it means I'm probably not getting paid that week. It's also a lot less stressful because seeing calendar totally packed gets overwhelming.
Agree. I don’t understand how anyone can use the calendar As the todo list. Most busy people have very dynamic days. Priorities are constantly changing. Very confusing to have the calendar as the center piece.
Time blocking is fine and efficient, but it need a task management in the background.
This usually how I do it
Tim you inspired me long ago to measure my time in great detail, 24/7 - and this taught me how long stuff takes. This method menthioned here doesn't work for me - tasks need setup time, and need rescheduling - and have interconnections if involving many projects. This method only works for certain sized tasks - if tasks are bigger, and have dependencies, or involve other teams, it's hard to find the 'linked' task in the Calendar method. But agree a linear to-do list doens't work also - work must be scheduled
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 📅 *Schedule tasks on your calendar with realistic time estimates, avoiding reliance on to-do lists.*
01:51 🕰️ *Aim for 50% open space in your daily schedule to accommodate unexpected events. Refine and reduce this over time as you improve estimating task durations.*
03:24 🔄 *Having slack in your schedule is crucial to prevent issues. Start with 50% open space and adjust as needed for effective operation.*
05:00 📧 *Treat emails as tasks, estimate time, and schedule dedicated blocks in your calendar to respond.*
06:36 🗓️ *Immediately schedule new tasks on your calendar to ensure clarity, reduce stress, and avoid missed deadlines.*
Tim, you are at your best when you're being your natural self. I love it. Great job working through this with Sam!
I love what he said about blocking off slack time to allow for (inevitable) disruptors. And instead of having to shift the "I didn't finish" tasks forward all the time, instead pull the future tasks to today when in a good workflow. I'll try it this way. Thank you!
The fact that managers allow people to send tasks to their employees is the problem. Control the flow of information in and out of your department like a North Korean dictator. Destroy anyone publicly that tries to usurp your power by telling your employee to do something (or worse, disguises it as a favor) that isn't on the weekly plan you give your staff Monday morning. Never tell your staff that "the CEO or customer is angry because we are behind." They work for you and do not need to be concerned with pleasing anyone but you. Lastly, don't betray your staff's trust. If you are going to be the protector of your tribe, step out in front and block them from the stones of invading humanoids. There isn't a single business on the planet that can't plan for a week of work and just get it done because the behavior you reward is the behavior you receive. People are rewarding looking busy over getting it done.
Sir, what is your role, what industry and how many people you lead?
@@dubakgive them time. They’ll make something up 😂
I find, with dynamic work, that a combo of calendar and to do lists works best. E.g. you have a broad theme in your calendar like ‘work tasks’ or ‘meetings’ or ‘correspondence’ and then you have a separate bullet point list for each of those themes. You then simply tackle the bullet points as a matter of priority.
As an easy-to-understand example, take going to the gym. “Gym”, would be in the calendar, and then there would be a list of exercise’s within that theme that you would tick off.
This gives you more flexibility I find and prevents you from constantly having to calculate how long particular, sometimes granular, tasks are going to take, which if they are novel, is basically impossible.
I completely agree with you! This is the best approach in my opinion.
I really liked the advice on finding a balance between things I have planned and surprises that pop up. Setting aside certain times for checking emails, instead of just going through them as they come, was a smart tip. I never thought about adding some extra time in my plan for things I didn't expect, but now I see how helpful that can be. Thanks for sharing these straightforward steps-- they've inspired me to change the way I organize my day!
Interesting approach! I have tried SO MANY ways to track projects, to do lists, calendar planning. When I get BUSY BUSY.. all of these go right out the window and it is literally which fire to put out first. I am extremely organized BUT sometimes I get paralysis by analysis and I don't know how to get out of that phase.
I usually move my emails that require work to be completed to a calendar entry, but for "adminstrative" work that is where they are NEVER ending and if I had to add them in as a recurring block, there would not be a single space that shows as "nothing to do" ... that would be REALLY stressful. The idea sounds great, but not sure how it would help me.
I ditched my to-do list. And most of the time I work with my calendars blocker. For me it's still most of the time the best way to get things done. Because you start to timebox tasks or projects.
I've been doing something like this for awhile now! In my personal variant, I have a "review your action items from email and onenote" calendar block that I do on one day and then slide it over a day or two to trigger me to do it again on whatever cadence feels appropriate. Sometimes I slide and repeat the task daily, sometimes I move it 3/5/7 days out depending on the frequency of meetings I'm leading.
These clips are awesome! Even when I already listened to the full episode. Going over the main points.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
00:00 *📅 Rethink your to-do list: Instead of piling tasks, allocate them in your calendar realistically.*
00:43 *🕰️ Understand finite time: Your calendar represents your finite time, not an infinite to-do list.*
01:51 *🔄 Optimize for flexibility: Aim for around 50% open time in your day to accommodate unexpected events.*
03:24 *⏱️ Gradually reduce slack: Over time, refine your schedule to reduce slack while maintaining effectiveness.*
06:22 *🗓️ Use your calendar as your to-do list: Place tasks directly into your calendar, relieving stress and providing clarity.*
Made with HARPA AI
La idea clave del video es que el uso del calendario para anotar las tareas, en contraste a una lista de tareas, puede ayudar a mejorar el manejo de tiempo, priorización efectivo y reducción de estrés.
I recently came into some inheritance money, and I'm at a bit of a crossroads. Any advice on how to best invest it?
That's fantastic, First off, have you considered your financial goals and risk tolerance?
Good point. Knowing what you want to achieve and how much risk you're comfortable with will guide your investment choices.
Also, what's your time horizon? Are you looking for short-term gains or thinking more long-term?
Well, I'm thinking more long-term. Maybe use it for retirement or something substantial down the road.
In that case, you might want to look into a diversified portfolio. Stocks for growth, bonds for stability, maybe even some real estate. It might also be worthwhile to consult with a financial advisor. They can help tailor a strategy that aligns with your goals.
Highly suggest Oliver Burkeman’s 4000 weeks which covers exactly this and much more on how to frame time management
Yea, this method has made me quite productive. Been using it for few years. Color coding do differentiate style of work. So now I am able to pull of 12h days of stuff because some "work" is actually recharging.
I do feel like I need to build custom tool to automate planning, right now I have a hourly weekly task to go over adjust next 2 weeks of activities and meetings. And often I need to readjust stuff. Outlook currently requires a lot of manual changes.
In addition I do hourly work for different networks or contracts so would be nice if it automatically includes that also in calendar.
But yeah calendar planning is very helpful skill to have
Have been doing this for 3y now for work, even implemented it into my personal life and family schedule/ planning 👌
That methodology works for some cases, but what if your tasks involve dependencies with other tasks of yours or other people's? What if you can't quantify the amount of time until you receive other piece of information? How do you track urgency of a task? I do block my calendar for certain things, but there's a lot of stuff that is just not schedule-able (if that's a word)
It took me 9 years of a chaotic calendar and so many lost hours to come up with a time management system aligned with what you're saying; now I'm much more productive, things are getting done, and I'm happy
I don’t disagree. Some of the to-do list needs to be off loaded to a calendar
Thanks for the share... I have been using this method for many years and last year, I taught it to a colleague. She has subsequently informed that her stress levels have gone down because she has better control over the tasks to get done. I also colour-code the various items according to which department the item belongs. This also helps when we have to draw up monthly reporting on time spent working for the various departments, yes, the managers ask for some strange information.
Sounds about right to me. Whenever I try to calendar-schedule every minute of any given day, I'm lucky to get half done despite being actually productive the whole day (or at least being busy and feeling productive). This video has already reduced my stress as I thought I was just an undisciplined scatter brain ..well I'm probably still an undisciplined scatter brain just not as bad as I thought.
This is awesome, I definitely need to do this. I don't use the estimate time feature in ClickUp Enough, and I have ADHD so I need to get better at estimating. I love the idea of giving extra slack and slowly getting better at estimating until you know better.
I really am loving this approach. I have been doing my own little research on how to get my life together. Always overwhelmed in all--in-one platforms, different apps for different thing.
"the calendar is your to do list" is spot on. Since everything is always dated and timed, might as well fully utilise what provides us date and time.
Let's see how this goes for me. Hope works for other wanderers such as myself. Cheers!
wow you would think these bros are like super uptight and uncool because they're so organized and professional but the way they just chillax in the cross legged sitting pose is so vibed out!!! you can tell these guys are cool as it gets!
Outlook has a function to save an email as a task and you can assign a deadlinew with reminders to it.
This is theory of constraints from Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt's book "The Goal".
I was looking in the comments for this! Absolutely
i have been doing this email to schedule trick, and I use a scheduled send to forward myself those emails on the right day so i have the details at hand without looking for them.
I will incorporate the addition of slack time and stop feeling yucky because I am forwarding items to and infinite number of tomorrows. time is finite. Being realistic about that is necessary.
That 50% declaration made a whole legion of bosses cringe. But 4 hours of quality work is way better than 8 hours of mediocre work.
I don't disagree with "4 hours of quality work is way better than 8 hours of mediocre work," but way I understood the 50% point was not that it was about working for only 4 hours. Rather, if you plan your work in such a way that you only fill 4 hours of your calendar, then those "4 hours" of planned work will probably take you 8 hours. And, when it doesn't take you 8 hours, then you can start pulling tasks forward.
Yeah it's cuz the dumb managers are usually the most insecure people. They want to feel like they're in control, and leads to mandating bad policies like "you must attend every team meeting". Trust me. Managers have the worst insecurities loool
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! This is the way! Great interview Tim and excellent teaching Sam!
This was a breath of fresh air. Well said, well cut. Thank you very much.
I wonder what you'd be doing if you can't work on the things you scheduled for today. Do you manually have to move and reschedule everything? How do you make sure you don't forget stuff? In a todo list these tasks would be marked as overdue, but not so in a calendar
This video is on my "To-Do list. I will be back
Things will always pop up on most days whether it is external or internal. Good approach with the 50% as it's attainable and less stress on a day to day basis.👍
Yes! Perhaps that’s the best takeaway!
I just love taking advice from people who set the agenda for the organisations they run, rather than those who have to deal with the consequences of those decisions…whilst this approach looks good, it still seems like we’re listening to the wrong person. 🙄
I don’t see how this works for someone working in a corporate environment, especially remotely, where meetings are happening all day long. Throw in raising school age children who have activities.
Ok this was super helpful and great questions re-subscribed
I do this in todoist. Each day has up to 10 items, and the currebt day can have 20. At the end of the day i roll over what's not done and rebalance my schedule for the next week to make sure its still 10 each day. I have days that I do certain categories, so those tasks are subtasks (medical day has subtask of reschedule appt, etc) (financial day has call financial advisor for taxes etc) so that catehory counts as one item. That keeps it organized and puts pressure to do that one-time thing that day of the week if I can't put it off. I do this at work too. Website things Monday, Proposals Thursday, Analytics Friday.
What have ya’ll found is the best to-do list/calendar that allows the ability to drag-n-drop task blocks into the calendar? Is there one that allows us to create the tasks and leave them in a pile then Tetris them into the calendar?
I use automatic callendar (skedpal,motion)
It really helped me in planning things and now my stress has reduced 😅...Thank you so much 🎉
In Todoist an email can become a task. Then by the use of durations and linking to Google calendar the result is very similar to what is suggested here.
Populating a calendar takes so much time and defeats the object.
Just write out your tasks as simply as possible.
Chase subject X
Upload document B to sharepoint
Sign off documnet z
As simple as you possibly can!
I see the to-do list as a reminder only.
The execution of completing the items on the to-do list is dependent on how efficiently you can do your job. I see so much inefficiency in people each and every day.
Or as we like to say in our house, "if it's not on the calendar, it doesn't exist". We evolved from a paper calendar hanging up in the kitchen to digital calendars as our family matured and had their own schedules. Families, running efficiently, are just small businesses! ;)
What a thoroughly disgusting concept.
Dated a girl in college whose dad treated her like an employee relative to budgeting, scheduling, etc. She went on to resent him. Enjoy your small business!
Life is not about Quantity but about Quality. Quality of life contains Truth, positivity and heartfelt honesty in a safe environment.
you may have just saved my life!!!! thank you.
thanks for the sharing! I believe there are some valid points in which you shouldnt lump all your to-do list in 1 go, but rather just as james clear stated in atomic habits to start small. Leave gaps in between for breather is brilliant! however i disagree with email management. It is way simpler to prioritize maybe 3major task and allocate the estimated time to complete them rather than slotting them in your calendar. It sounds restrictive to lock on that task at a particular time. I am from Asia and the working culture here is hectic. With all the scheduling all my task would be postponed and half my time spend on rescheduling. I believe a simple to-do list is the solution, at least for daily >8-hour engineering work that I'm struggling to complete task in time.
I’m not good enough with softarware to pull this off and instead block days with compartments. Only 8 hours of work-but interrupted. To-dos get assigned number of blocks.
I am far from optimal, but doing ok.
I've recently started to do this with certain types of work. It's super helpful and really helps you stay grounded in what you realistically have time for.
Its just clarifying what you have to do in regards to email. Its like that with any new project you take on. There are always things you don't anticipate no matter how good you are at planning. I usually use a combined digital version of steven covey's system and GTD. But yeah adding slack into everything pretty much a given.
I love that you are both sitting, shoeless, cross-legged up on the seats.
It actually really turned me off. Isn't that strange how differently people react to things like that?
Try this: Put on one task a day
And let everything else be spontaneous (except appointments)
If you use Microsoft Outlook, it lets you flag an email as to do and it displays on the task pane. Then I used to drag the task in the calendar, with that I provision time to execute the task.
"The calendar is the todo list" - This is the way.
Interesting approach. I was thinking... How about tasks that take more than a couple of minutes (so you can't do it right now) and less than half an hour?
Schedule 15 minutes.. 10 minutes..
Have a 30min to 1hr timeblock thats for batching quick tasks(1-15min)
@@user-lu7np4cg1t And would you use a To Do list to keep track of those? 😉
I would personally do tasks that are under 10 minutes right away.
The advantage of this is taking responsibility for yourself.
If you only have a todo list, it’s easy to say, I will do this other thing instead, and you don’t know when to start. You let yourself down.
In the calendar, you assert your integrity, and put yourself first, before others. Otherwise someone else will tell you what to do, and when.
Some people even have a “don’t interrupt, I’m thinking” activity in their calendar or at their space. That’s living with integrity for sure.
So helpful to skip to do and treat email like an inbox for calendaring.
I need somebody who's used this system to tell me how you actually made it work 😂 I've tried multiple times and end up missing tasks because as soon as one day goes wrong and I forget to move the task to the next, the calendar moves on it's gone forever.
I have a hard time using it for projects as well! I can break down a project, but putting every task on the calendar a month out with assumptions of how long it'll take is just impossible when you don't even know everything the project will require.
If I could make it work, it could be a game changer!
I have a similar way of getting my tasks sorted out. I use colour codes and categories for different tasks: KILL TASKS are read in the calendar, and they are those things I must do at that time (usually today or tomorrow), or that thing will kill my progress; then I have green DRILL TASKS for the work that requires thinking (drilling deeper) and require more mental bandwidth; I also have blue FILL TASKS that come from external requests and pressure (typically meetings, webinars, conferences, etc) and usually are fixed dates and times that I often cannot change but accept or decline; and finally I have purple NILL TASKS that are those nice to do but not directly connected to any project or process I need to follow (Nill tasks) can often turn into DRILL when I come up with a new idea or concept. I haven't use to-do lists ever because they are depressing and feel like work. KILL, DRILL, FILL, and NILL are like a game and easy to remember and apply. I can see at one glance my week and if it has too much red or any other colour, I know that my work-life balance is not right. A good rhyme saves you time.
is he refering to 'work in progress' limits or short 'wip limits' when he talked about this 'slack' is comming out of manifacturing? it refers to overutilization of resources in a pipeline and how to avoid negative effects to the flow of things
You can also learn how to say no to tasks. Saves you a couple of years.
How would this work with project tasks? How would you keep track of which have been done and which havent?
Great advice. My email causes me so much stress. I stopped allowing my contacts to email me. Text only now.
I’m glad though that I’m retired and don’t have a to-to list. My life is simplicity and peaceful after a big career.
Interesting, I clear my e-mails creating them into tasks, never thought of putting them straight into a calendar. I am paranoid I will not adhere to the calendar and lose the task forever if it isn't in a list though. I guess that fear might drive me to adhere to the calendar haha.
Sam mentioned adding a link to an email onto the calendared block...anyone know a way to do that in Outlook? I cannot find a way to get such a link in Outlook...would be SUPER helpful.
Excellent and very helpful! Thanks!
When your tasks/priorities can shift at a moments notice, this system would be difficult you use. Maybe that’s the open space idea.
Calendar as the to *GET DONE* List, nice.
There's also the option with most email providers to remind you to follow up on emails which can be useful, but with the calendar idea,
that can be consolidated into just your calendar, so things are streamlined even more...Nice.
"the calendar is the to do list" - brilliant!
Blessings from Taiwan
Very USEFUL advice🤓
God bless you @Tim Ferriss 😇🥰
Jesus loves everyone 😇😘
This sounds interesting. However, what if it's part of a larger project with multiple steps? For example, I want to future-proof my film work. This involves several steps that span several months. From consolidating backups, and making exports, to proper archiving ... or many other projects like this? Since I have to chip away at this as I don't just stop being a parent or working as a filmmaker to finish this in one large chunk, how does one simply put this in your schedule?
My Relative had a day off, the next day they opened their's e-mail, they had 90 unread e-mail. Some of them contained pdfs which is essential for their work. That day they mostly read mails and went to meetings (which also mentioned the informations from the pdf) Unreal....
15% of the day or of the awake time as slack? (3,6h vs 2,4h)
makes a lot of difference to me. or not? because in the end where is that time supposed to be?
the only thing i like about this is the take that a day has a finite amount of time: 24 hours
- 8 hours sleep = 16 hours
- 8 hours work = 8 hours (already crazy that with these 2 big super-mandatory things - for the average human -, its just a single digit.)
- 1/2 hour shower = 7,5 hours
- 1/2 hour toilet all day added up = 7 hours ( i take shits that long alone so yeah - male btw :P)
- 2 hours driving to and back from work place = 5 hours (some people save this time but if you add in organizing your stuff for work or preparation after work, a train not coming or you getting stuck in the road etc. its IMO pretty accurate for the average person)
- 1 cooking/ hour eating / dishwashing = 4 hours (and 1 hours is already generous since thats about the time alone i need to eat my giant as bowl of salad i do on OMAD without preparing it and washing the dishes)
- 1/2 hours daily training (sport) to stay physically well = 3,5 hours (notice, thats already 15% of the ENTIRE day which is supposed to be slack?)
- 1/2 masturbating or sex if you have a partner = 3 hours (change my mind, but this is mendatory :P keeps your hormones balanced/ your Oxytocin towards Partner high and is a good stress leave/ adds another half an hour for a total of one hour of "sport")
1/4 hour average daily cleaning the house = 2,75 hours
1/4 hour average daily shopping ingredients for life supply = 2,5 hours
so you are left with about 3 hours roughly +- the fact that you cant teleport, you partner might want foreplay or cuddle after the sex or you gotta search up some good korean hentai pornwha, etc. all those tiny things that add up over the day just doing the aboth ^^
and now we still dont have:
- hobbies
- friends
- learning new stuff like a language, PC skills, etc.
- trouble shooting of stuff that doesent work/ is broken/ etc. (PC component dead, data got deleted, Car frozen in winter, illness so you are less productive or have to catch up afterwards, headaches so you cant work (efficiently)
- birthdays, phone calls, family reunions, people getting married, and all the social shit you have (or want to, depending on age and person) attend to, to not become a hermit.
- bureaucrzy stuff (mails, filling forms, renewing passport, checking bank account balance and transmissions, organizing passwords, staying up to date with politics so you can actually make use of your democratic right to vote the least evil choice presented, asking for permission (workplace), etc.
- exams if you are a student. basicly takes all the rest of your daily time.
- finding new stuff (music, new wallpaper, new pair of clothes, new programm to use more efficiently for whatever you do, new PC screen, etc.)
- imagine you have children who need stuff done hahaha. gl. drive them to friends, attend to their problems, teach them, feed them, do homework with them, etc. etc.
so yeah IMO the only option you have to not die of overworking is being a desocialized single person who lives in a rundown (not cleaned regulary) home and works homeoffice, while not procreating and ending your celline where you stand after your unavoidable social death makes it impossible anyway.
Okay this has opened my mind.
0:53 it would give me even more stress if my calendar looks like this 💀💀
Why choose between a To-do List and a Calendar, when you can have the best of both worlds? Our tool lets you schedule tasks with drag & drop while leveraging AI for both scheduling and rescheduling. That talk was on point!
Daily task planners do provide insane value by helping you to visualise your day in time blocks. Helps with discipline and focus as well.
question, where do you store your thoughts and tasks prior to scheduling them on your calendar
Is there a microsoft outlook tool that can easily "add the email link" to your calendar or teams schedule?
what's missing from to do lists is the person's ability to prioritize, estimate work required, dependencies etc. a great time mgmt and project mgt course helps.
Hi, I've a question. Let's assume I have a calendar filled for this week and, let's say, half of the next week. Now, I'm getting a very urging task that will take 5 hours. I need to shift all my scheduling. If this happens all the time, this is a lot of work to sort all scheduling out all the time. How do you handle it?
I was looking for a tool that could take to do into sub Bullets / btrakedowns and I could map branches/ sub branches ‘ chunks of the tree to the calendar. Anyone?