This forum has given me a lottttt of value over the years, and this is my attempt at paying it forward. If this post is useful to just one person I'll be really happy.
I've seen a couple of successful fastlaners openly discuss their processes to be hyper-productive and becoming efficiency ninjas- The GSD system being the most popular one.
But here's the thing, what works for them probably will not work for you. That's because their process was built specifically for them and their business. Not you.
And maybe it's just me but for the longest time, I always took their instruction to heart. It was always an all or nothing game. So when lighthouse showed his productivity system. I felt like the only way to get things done was to use it exactly as he did
When SinisterLex taught me how to make an income freelancing by providing value. I became a copywriter
It was only after, if found [some] success, that I realized that the best approach is to
The advice on this forum is pure gold, I cannot even describe in words just how much valuable info is on here. But all of it is anecdotal. It may not work for you and you have to accept that.
I tried to freelance on upwork for a really long time as a copywriter but after not finding much success, I tried to get clients through cold-calling. I changed my niche. Changed my messaging.
The point is, I tweaked my business till it got the results I wanted. I wasn't just stuck on upwork and blaming Lex.
It's just like when you paint, you might all be drawing the same basket of fruits but each artist has to apply the strokes differently.
My Productivity System
With that said I want to jump into the system, I use to get my work done AND focus on the right kind of work.
I have taken a lot of inspiration from the GSD system and MJ's productivity system(on the INSIDERS forum) and kind of tailored it to my needs. Hopefully, you guys find it useful
I wanted to keep things as simple and effortless as possible.At its core are just 2 apps: Google Keep and Google Tasks
Google Tasks
Any task that takes more than 5 minutes goes here. Plain and Simple. Since the task app directly syncs to your gmail, any emails I need to get back to can easily be added as a google task
Similarly, if I add a due date, it's going to sync with my calendar which works great as I can easily plan things.
Overall, google tasks works like a brain dump and keeps my head clear.
The way I organize the tasks is something like this
<CATEGORY>: <TASK>. So a blog article from my client "Andy" would look like "Andy: Blog Article"
Google Keep
I have divided the app into 5 notes
The Monthly Goals Note, will be just one goal to achieve by the end of the month I will take that gets me closer to my yearly goal
Similarly, the weekly goal is "The one thing I can do that will bring me closer to my monthly goal"
And finally, the daily goal or my one thing is the single most important thing I can do to get me closer to my weekly goal.
I find that breaking a huge yearly dream, into months and then weeks makes it seem a lot more achievable. (Not sure if I got it from the GSD method or came up with it on my own)
Another great advantage of breaking down your goals is that it lets you see your progress.
Finally, the primary goals note is a checklist of 3 things, I hope to complete by the end of the workday.(stole this from GSD) Once the tasks are complete, I pick 3 more tasks and repeat.
Some Common Pitfalls
Additionally, I have a secondary goals note for any chores and a good habits note for some habits I'm trying to enforce.
I prefer the google keep and tasks option over a tool like trello because it is a lot more lightweight- My goal was to minimize the effort it took to plan tasks. Trello felt like a really intensive solution to me.
Keep and Google Tasks are extremely minimalistic apps with no extra features. They sync across all my google products, so I can add my task directly from my Gmail
Most importantly, it works for me.
I know this article was really long and if actually managed to read the entire thing. I hope it was useful. You could try out the software and hopefully its useful to you.
TL;DR: Don't blindly follow advice on this forum, use your head.I use google keep and google tasks to get work done. Try it out and see if it helps you boosts your productivity.
I've seen a couple of successful fastlaners openly discuss their processes to be hyper-productive and becoming efficiency ninjas- The GSD system being the most popular one.
But here's the thing, what works for them probably will not work for you. That's because their process was built specifically for them and their business. Not you.
And maybe it's just me but for the longest time, I always took their instruction to heart. It was always an all or nothing game. So when lighthouse showed his productivity system. I felt like the only way to get things done was to use it exactly as he did
When SinisterLex taught me how to make an income freelancing by providing value. I became a copywriter
It was only after, if found [some] success, that I realized that the best approach is to
- Actually take action
- Using your brains
The advice on this forum is pure gold, I cannot even describe in words just how much valuable info is on here. But all of it is anecdotal. It may not work for you and you have to accept that.
I tried to freelance on upwork for a really long time as a copywriter but after not finding much success, I tried to get clients through cold-calling. I changed my niche. Changed my messaging.
The point is, I tweaked my business till it got the results I wanted. I wasn't just stuck on upwork and blaming Lex.
It's just like when you paint, you might all be drawing the same basket of fruits but each artist has to apply the strokes differently.
My Productivity System
With that said I want to jump into the system, I use to get my work done AND focus on the right kind of work.
I have taken a lot of inspiration from the GSD system and MJ's productivity system(on the INSIDERS forum) and kind of tailored it to my needs. Hopefully, you guys find it useful
I wanted to keep things as simple and effortless as possible.At its core are just 2 apps: Google Keep and Google Tasks
Google Tasks
Any task that takes more than 5 minutes goes here. Plain and Simple. Since the task app directly syncs to your gmail, any emails I need to get back to can easily be added as a google task
Similarly, if I add a due date, it's going to sync with my calendar which works great as I can easily plan things.
Overall, google tasks works like a brain dump and keeps my head clear.
The way I organize the tasks is something like this
<CATEGORY>: <TASK>. So a blog article from my client "Andy" would look like "Andy: Blog Article"
Google Keep
I have divided the app into 5 notes
- Yearly Goal- Set to repeat every 17th December(I don't know why, but for some reason, I decided that I'm going to set my goals for the following year on 17th of December and it's always been like this=)
- Monthly Goal: Set to repeat on the 1st of every month
- Weekly Goal: Set to repeat every Sunday
- My One Thing For the Day: Set to repeat daily at 8 pm
- Whom Did I help today: Set to Repeat every day at 8 pm
- Primary Goals
The Monthly Goals Note, will be just one goal to achieve by the end of the month I will take that gets me closer to my yearly goal
Similarly, the weekly goal is "The one thing I can do that will bring me closer to my monthly goal"
And finally, the daily goal or my one thing is the single most important thing I can do to get me closer to my weekly goal.
I find that breaking a huge yearly dream, into months and then weeks makes it seem a lot more achievable. (Not sure if I got it from the GSD method or came up with it on my own)
Another great advantage of breaking down your goals is that it lets you see your progress.
Finally, the primary goals note is a checklist of 3 things, I hope to complete by the end of the workday.(stole this from GSD) Once the tasks are complete, I pick 3 more tasks and repeat.
Some Common Pitfalls
- Not making your goals big enough. You want to pick a goal such that if it is the only thing you do. It becomes a successful day/week/month/year.
- Picking unrealistic goals. On the other hand, you want to make your goals you can realistically expect to reach. Otherwise, you will just find yourself demotivated as you don't meet your checklists
- Giving up on your goals. This may be relevant to only me but I find that I tend to always chase the next shiny object. So that's why I don't let myself change my goal for the entire year. This way even if I am tempted to try a new business, I need to first achieve the goal I have set for myself.
- Not being congruent. I try extra hard to make sure that my goal is really important to help my yearly goal. It is very easy to get trapped in action faking here. So you want to focus on ensuring that what you do is actually helping you.
Additionally, I have a secondary goals note for any chores and a good habits note for some habits I'm trying to enforce.
I prefer the google keep and tasks option over a tool like trello because it is a lot more lightweight- My goal was to minimize the effort it took to plan tasks. Trello felt like a really intensive solution to me.
Keep and Google Tasks are extremely minimalistic apps with no extra features. They sync across all my google products, so I can add my task directly from my Gmail
Most importantly, it works for me.
I know this article was really long and if actually managed to read the entire thing. I hope it was useful. You could try out the software and hopefully its useful to you.
TL;DR: Don't blindly follow advice on this forum, use your head.I use google keep and google tasks to get work done. Try it out and see if it helps you boosts your productivity.
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