Hookmark provides the connective tissue. (Disclosure, I am one of its developers)
1 Like
I get where you’re coming from, Steve. When I retired 10 years ago, I too felt the problem of the “blank slate.” When you have a traditional “fall off the edge” retirement, you go from being busy, respected, status, having an identity and purpose, a social life at work, to nothing. It’s one of the toughest transitions in life.
-
One thing you might want to do is set up some routines to help with that scary sense of a blank slate. For instance, schedule regular times and days for some of the activities you’d like to do, like exercise, reading, etc. It helps to give a sense of order and purpose to otherwise blank days. As you get further into retirement and follow your curiosity, you’ll add more and more activities. Or not.
-
If you have a “blank slate” right now, what do you need a productivity system for? It’s not something you ‘should’ have on it’s own. Rather, it’s a tool that you use to bring some order, reminders, etc. to yourself so that you do the things that are important to you.
I use a productivity system that’s designed to help me do what I think is important. For purposes of the Productivity Field Guide, I have a system for doing quarterly reviews, and then attempt to stay on the track on want to be on by doing with monthly and weekly reviews.
To remind me to do the tasks I want to do (both project related and habits I’m working on), I use a task manager, Reminders. I use the NotePlan app to hold my quarterly, monthly, and weekly reviews, along with my list of roles and Arete statements. NotePlan also integrates with reminders and provides a place for notes and a calendar. I use templates in NotePlan for my daily planning each morning. I list “Possible tasks,” “Today’s Tasks” and one “Primary Task” I inted to do that day. I don’t time block in advance for most of these, but pick them as I go through the day depending on how I feel and what I want to do. You don’t need to use NotePlan to do these things; I didn’t for a long time and instead depended on several apps.
-
There is no simple upfront solution to the question of what productivity system works best for you, because you’re different from everyone else. There is no quick substitute for figuring out what needs you have, educating yourself about what’s out there to help, then trying things out and finding what works best for you.
-
I think there are several reasons why people bounce back and forth so much from complex to simple systems. An overly complex system often does not last; it’s discouraging, frustrating, and often takes way too much time and effort to manage.
It’s normally a mistake to go for the most feature-rich and complex productivity tool. If you have a blank slate, why do you need the most complex task manager on the market, Omnifocus? What you want to look for is the most simple tool you can find that you like, and does what you need it to do, and no more. As David calls it, the “Goldilocks” tool for you.
I hope this helps. If you’d like to talk, write me at Jim@originalmacguy.com and let’s set up a time and date.
Jim
6 Likes