| For me personality matters a lot. I initially tried to adjust to multiple tools now I am adjusting tools to my personality. *Mental shift*: 1. I shifted from deterministic to probabilistic. Being deterministic meant I had to do these tasks. If I didn't, I felt bad about it. Being probabilistic meant that there is a high chance that I would do these tasks but if I didn't that's okay. Probability doesn't account for outliers. 2. I started using my tool as more of a *reminder* as compared to a *guide*. My world is too chaotic sometimes, as I have to attend online zoom meetings, solve bugs and guide junior developers etc. My priorities would change from morning till evening. So, I decided not let a rigid framework control me but let the tool remind me that hey there is a task you jotted down to work on - do you have time to work on it?. I also realized that some tasks dry up or become irrelevant with time as universe take care of themselves. 3. I started planning my weeks before my days. I realized that at a macro level, I can't control my day but I can control my week. So, I make a priority list of what to be achieved at end of this week(abstract goals). Each week is a different page or note in my tool. I do reflective thinking after week end as on what I was able to achieve, what new things came on my plate, what came in between etc. This helped me in marking down my accomplishments. 4. I plan on day level as well but I don't keep admiring my tracker. I realized that after thinking through what tasks need to be done in the morning after looking at my tool planner, I can continue working on them. I mark ticks at the end of day. 5. I jot down bugs solved or programming or business wisdom achieved in the entire day in my notes as well. This helps me to recall easily in case someone asked me - what did you do on that day or week. *Framework*: 1. After a lot of trial and error, I ended up with a modified version of Eisenhower matrix. It generally consists of four quadrants: - Urgent and Important
- Urgent but not Important
- Not Urgent but Important
- Not Urgent Not Important
2. However, I ended up modifying it. I replaced word Important with impactful and added subcategories of simple, medium and hard under each quadrant as follows: - Urgent and Impactful
- Simple
- Medium
- Hard
3. I keep different todo list for different projects and assign priority to projects. I ask myself the following: If someone put a gun on my head and ask me to choose one project priority-wise which one would I choose. Then, choose the second project and on. Of course, I prioritize Urgent and Impactful ones across all projects.*Choice of tool*: 1. I used google calendar, keep, one note etc. Now, I have finally settled on Evernote. Sometimes, I get urges to switch to Notion or Trello as well but Evernote is working for me now. PS: I derive a lot of inspiration from *My Effectiveness* app. You can have a look at it as well: <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.andtek.sev...> |