We all hate the mundane: it’s boring and we can’t get into the flow. Your brain is for having ideas, not keeping them. Let’s mute distractions and meet deadlines in a way that takes nearly no effort. Grab a snack and a drink, get cozy on this fresh spring day and let’s go!
The Strategies:
The Busy Kitchen
Everything planned out for the next few days. If you are organized and enjoy having a plan for the week, this is the one for you. It is almost a calendar x To Do hybrid.
The MasterChef
Works great, very portable and little friction to jot down quick tasks. If you have little time or you are on the go often, then scroll down to MasterChef.
The Busy Kitchen:
The Busy Kitchen is a great system created by Jake Knapp. The idea is that you are able to have many tasks on your Might Do, but you can rank them by priority. This eliminates the decision of which task you Might Do next. It is a higher maintenance system and can only be used on paper. There are 4 main parts to the list: The Front Burner, The Back Burner, The Kitchen Sink and Extra Space. The Front Burner is for your highlight. One task only is allowed on your Front Burner. This is your project that you can use your extra space to split it into bite-sized tasks. Your Back Burner is your second most important task and finally your Kitchen Sink is for reminders or tasks that don't fall into your Front or Back Burner. This method is good: it eliminates the need to decide what task you are going to do, but is quite high maintenance, just like a busy kitchen.
Materials: One piece of paper and a pen.
The MasterChef:
The MasterChef is a great system. Simple, versatile and low maintenance. Grab an A5-ish piece of paper, sticky note stack, pencil or pen and CD case or sunglasses case, any small case that can fit a pen. Write your daily highlight on the top of a fresh sticky note stack, your mundane or habit tasks on one side of your paper (you can use two different pieces if you are like me) and your projects or tasks ranking them top priority to lowest priority tasks on the other side of the paper, trying to be as minimal as possible. Stick your highlight on the piece of paper, grab a pen and stow it all in your case. Right, now let me explain: your mundane or one time tasks are just tasks that you can tick off and use for a reminder. Your other piece of paper or other side of paper has your projects with the second most important at the top (the most important has the royal sticky note seat). Your side with your project is the menu. These will replace your highlight once you are finished. I love this strategy and I use it everyday.
Don’t be busy, be productive.
If there is anything that I can leave you with after this blog, it’s that you will feel the need to fill your Might-Do list to the brim. Don't. Don't be lazy, but think how a lazy person thinks, because they know how to get stuff done the fastest, the easiest and they won't add random tasks to their Might-Do for no reason. Keep that in mind.
Thank you so much for reading the blog! I hope you enjoyed it and consider adding subscribe to HJM on your Might Do list. Liam out.
HAJIME