I think that this combination is great for people with ADHD that can cause one highly compelling task or technical issue to take them over for days so that mundane tasks don't get done (or even noticed) for that period. At least it is for me.
I wonder if there is a way to send SMS based on Google or iOS calendar items? A simple Google Workspace plugin (not a browser plugin - actually for the Google system itself) could be super useful!
edit: In regards to this actual system itself I do like what is going on here but I have trouble justifying a whole new format when a simple paper notebook and pen could accomplish much of this. And the notebook also ends up being highly portable.
I do like however having this vertical card holder gizmo - I may just try to replicate this with some kind of magnetic system that holds my notebook open to the current page.
I use it to water my plants every 3 days and leave myself future notes like months from now ha.
My phone is on silent too, I use the Android web messages chrome tab so I get pinged on my desktop.
I see that there are 3rd-party solutions for MacOS. MacOS' Mail doesn't have that feature that I'm aware of. (I use a powerbook.)
I actually have a twillio + python SMS setup on a VPS that's extremely reliable, but haven't designed a better interface besides cron which is less than ideal.
How does your system work?
The main process has a little interface with a menu that lets you input a task, view tasks, search for tasks by text string, etc. (I did do some work on it; it wasn't just a 10-minute project! But what the heck, I've needed something that would solve me problem for decades and nothing I found in the marketplace worked (for me)!)
I'm thinking of making a web interface and allowing other people to use it.
I'm 65, and this current system is the result of about 4.5 decades of trying to figure out a system that would work for me, including trying various commercial task lists and reminder systems.
[edited: I wrote more text but deleted it because I don't think it was worth anyone's time to read. :) ]
You can even make the top card stand at a similar angle if you want: take the top card off the stack, bend the edge inward by 120 degrees or so, and tuck that "hook" of the bent card back into the hair tie to stand it upright. You can even put a pen in there. It's great to take to the store for shopping!
I was just wondering how I would make the wood thing, and now you've inspired me to have this system on my desk by the end of the day. Brilliant!
I buy dotted grid index cards and use an old smartphone stand to keep it upright. Total cost is maybe $20 total for a couple years of supply. I use my own notecard template I came up with and bullet journal syntax for each line item. I plan only individual days with notecards. Usually it's one highlight(i'd be happy with my day if done) and three things I want to get done that day.
The benefits of writing things down on paper are insane. It definitely sticks better than apps or websites that provide similar functionality and syncing. I usually use todoist in combination with my notecards. I see the notecard method as my daily "tactics" and a notebook or app as my longer term "strategy".
The process for me is similar to OP: each morning I add tasks to my “Today” list, which can carry undone tasks from the previous day. If you complete the list, you can always add some more tasks.
You can also plan ahead and build a backlog of tasks to do, and just browse through them to add them to your “Today” list.
Simple system, with not many parts, but extendable with Projects, Notes, Repeatable tasks, Reminders… Also integrates with your calendar to keep everything in one place.
Very polished product that can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be (but mostly simple).
I also use a similar process and its easy to backlog things that you know you just won't get to today. I recommend this app to all of my friends and +1 for the commenter above.
[0] https://github.com/alainm23/planner
[1] https://twitter.com/planner_todo/status/1492084099875586049
This is my favorite way to organize a year - a beautiful design, one page to collect everything:
Their Emergent Task Planner kept me on track for years, and I still go back to it when I feel like my day is spiraling out of control. It's a great companion to my existing digital productivity tools.
https://davidseah.com/node/the-emergent-task-planner/
(edit: name correction)
[0] https://davidseah.com/node/the-emergent-task-planner/ [1] https://shop.davidseah.com/
1. Get a small spiral-bound notebook, say 3x5 or whatever is sitting in the supply cabinet.
2. Write today's date on the top of the first page. Write each task on one line on the page. (You only need enough detail to remember what the task is.)
3. As you complete tasks, draw a line through them. It's more satisfying that check marks or whatever.
4. As you add tasks, just write them on the today page.
5. Or, if you know you aren't going to get to them until tomorrow, write tomorrow's date at the top of the next page and put them down there.
6. Or, if you know you can't get to it until Monday, write the dates on the pages in between, one page per day, until you get to Monday and write it there.
7. At the end of the day, look at the list of tasks you didn't get to. Carry them over to tomorrow's page and mark them out on today's. It feels great.
8. Try not to carry too many over to any particular day; after two or three, put the rest on the next day's page. Some days I'm only good for one or two things.
It's all about a) making sure you remember things, and b) making sure you aren't overwhelmed by what you have to do at any one time. (I almost never move a task up.)
We like to say that our biggest competition is pencil & paper.
I guess this is because people have different ways of thinking about goals, tasks and timeframes. For me what works best is a 'week todo' that contains coarser/larger tasks and a daily todo that contains more granular tasks, often sub-tasks of the weekly ones. Adopting this method has made me more productive than I've been in years.
1. Tasks not completed may carry over to the next day, or a backlog if the next day already had something planned in my calendar.
2. Minimal markup to backlog tasks, such as a hard due date (i.e. other people expect it done by this date) and/or an urgency marking.
3. Keep the list on my phone so it is always with me. Having it digital reduces busy work (such as moving tasks between today and the backlog). I don't like using my phone so I don't tend to get sidetracked, thus YMMV with this.
For comparison's sake: a small-ish clairfontaine cloth-bound notebook costs about $10
And these todo cards off Baron Fig for $10 (they have a dot pattern and a todo pattern): https://baronfig.com/accessories/strategist-index-cards
It works like a charm, and can be synced with Dropbox for access from all relevant devices. In theory you can go nuts with it and even create scripts when things change in dropbox, but I haven't seen the need for that.
It is true, however, that there is something about having a piece of paper in front of you that still beats having to physically grab your phone to check stuff (and obviously I don't have devices to spare in order to waste one of them as a glorified picture-frame so that it's in front of me all the time). Which means I've often found myself jotting down notes on paper anyway. So Analog does seem interesting in that regard ...
Did you also once work in a company that was paying hundreds of dollars for SCRUM office utilities? :-)
Now that I think about it, maybe I'll print some content of my article[1] notes onto cards and make a quick buck...
Well, at least there is no obvious sign that something so secret about Analog, that it cannot be told in the video and that you can't rebuild it yourself without paying.
I like it though (if you don't take it quite so seriously)...
[1] https://pilabor.com/blog/2021/04/tips-and-tricks-for-meeting...
* I stack the completed ones, productive days have fat stacks.
* As my desk gets more cluttered by post it notes, it triggers my desire to "clean" my desk, by accomplishing the work.
* I periodically re-assess the utility of the work, which keeps me focused on the most important things.
* Their specific location on my desk is a fuzzy ranking system; the more inconvenient the sticky note, the higher priority. For example, I'll put a sticky note in the middle of my monitor if it's immensely important to more or less prevent me from working on anything else. Other times they can go next to my keyboard, further way on the edge of a desk, and I've occasionally hidden sticky notes (not entirely) behind speakers, if I just need to remember the information but don't want to be distracted by acting on that info just yet.
It's not very portable, but when I'm at my desk it's worked pretty well to keep me on task.
All jokes aside, this looks really well designed and thought out, but the pricing is hard to justify even if you're the type of person who can drop $100 on a block of wood and index cards without wincing, especially if you're the kind of person who is self-aware of their socioeconomic status. I do applaud the creator for giving an overview of how he came up with Analog in the intro video (which includes him mentioning he first found success with index cards).
I do agree with him that it's hard to stay on track when using digital productivity tools. I use a whiteboard I bought at Walgreens, draw a bunch of checkboxes on it, and keep that over my desk, so I can't ignore it.
Good on em if they can make this work. It's genius. For all the wrong reasons.
I started worrying about "my method" when I was 14 and back then my revision time largely involved colouring in new and increasingly complicated revision timetables.
35 years later and I've finally nailed it: stop fannying about with endless "techniques". Stop procrastinating with the latest task fad. Stop buying new software, new hardware, new (lol) blocks of wood and index cards.
Instead, just do. The. Work.
It might involve a notepad, it might involve a task app. But either which way, push the how to the back and bring the do to the front.
Turn off email. Turn off your phone. Turn off notifications.
This is the true way that work gets done.
Of all the getting things done advice, I like breathing the most.
Simple, cost effective, instantly brings you to focus if done correctly, elevates mood, rationalizes behavior. Nothing beats it.
They were the perfect size to fit in my shirt pocket folded in half. And they were effectively free since everybody was getting rid of them.
Sadly, I ran out of my stash about 8 years ago. And now they're not free anymore.
Sorry if this sounds antagonistic, but I'm trying my hardest to wrap my head around a $30/month paper-as-a-service solution.
pen and notebook. I write down my objective for the day and the smaller steps required to accomplish that. Then I just mark down as I go.
no complicated process needed, just do it
But despite this all, I would align myself to your viewpoint just out of principle of having anti-consumerism alignment.
> This is like a caricature of modern day entrepreneurship.
Well, let me refer you to the wild hustle and bustle world of NFTs where you don't even get something physical!
$50 would have been questionable, would have pulled the trigger at $35. Odds are this will end in a pile of other flavor of the week productivity solutions (see bullet journal, panda planner, hipster PDA, moleskines and other notebooks).
That said, I find just switching to a new system keeps me on track for a month or two of productivity boost, then I revert to my old ways.
It was the first productivity/self organisation method that I could stick to. At least in parts.
Nowadays, some 15 years later, I still use it but adapted to my needs. I use it with any notebook I have available. Even if I prefer Leuchtturm 1917.
I don't use the index parts. But I use the markers for task, idea and so on.
I also liked the start of ugmonk. The minimalistic shirts. Or the canvas bag. The I do it myself and build a business with well designed stuff. And a great deal of content marketing.
But this product is imho purely ridiculous.
The bubble symbols...spoiler it's very easy to mark each item with "*", "+", "-", and any other arbitrary symbol with a pen.
Great marketing on this product though, I'm sure many would buy it as a status symbol and make themselves feel better for having such an elegant productivity system.
Personally I don't care about that, but I think it's fine that other people do.
I got one of these at the Atlanta Pen Show a while back: https://nockco.com/cases/fodderstack-xl
In a glorious one-off color: baby blue and hot pink.
* for me it's not a status symbol. I work at home. No-one but me uses or sees my desk. My desk is filled with clutter so you wouldn't notice it even if you did. I doubt my wife has noticed its existence. I don't run around telling people about it unless they specifically mention seeing/wanting something similar.
* it's specifically _not_ for carrying around. it's for sitting on your desk. "easier to carry around" is not a feature for _this_.
* I don't have space on my desk for a notebook standing up. I don't want to use up that much visual real estate. I would hate to have it on my water bottle or anything like that because i use that constantly and that would be damn annoying.
* yes, the bubble symbols are nothing special. but they had to print _something_ there to address the idea of checking of the task and their choice seems perfectly valid to me. I don't think anyone believes they're some revolutionary idea.
* yes, although you didn't say it, i could use standard 3x5 note cards with it. I may do so. It wouldn't really make a difference.
suggesting that folks who buy this are "mak[ing] themselves feel better for having such an elegant productivity system" is unnecessarily derogatory and dismissive.
I seriously doubt that anyone who buys this actually believes it is a "productivity system". It's just a wooden note card stand with some cards that match its aesthetic. I don't think anyone believes they're more functional than a deck of blank 3"x5" cards from the corner store.
I like things that look nice. This looks nice to me. I am also more likely to use something that looks visually appealing to me than something that looks janky. So, i _could_ spend money on a cheap-ass solution, or 3d print some plastic equivalent, but i wouldn't use it long and the result would be wasted money and goods. I've been using this for months and like it very much.
your whole tone is dismissing this as if everyone who bought it is a dupe, too stupid to realize it's something more than it actually is. That's like suggesting that everyone who buys a Rolex with diamonds (or whatever) all over it somehow thinks it tells better time, or will get them to their meetings better, than a cheap quartz watch. I don't think that's reasonable at all.
Liking "nice" things (for whatever your definition of "nice" is) doesn't mean you loose IQ points when you indulge that affinity. Buying nice things you enjoy is not a bad thing. Choosing to surround yourself with items that make you smile is not a bad thing. We shouldn't try to make people feel bad for buying things they like. (ignoring the minimalism / consumerism debates)
