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Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

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Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#111

Post by blowski »

sigi45 wrote: post #45
b6 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get what you mean, but I think it's interesting to think about the seemingly simple question "do you believe in the power of prayer?" My reflex was just to say no, because I don't think anyone hears you and offers help. On the other hand, I believe strongly in the power of thinking and visualization of goals, and isn't that a lot of what prayer is?

As per definition "Prayer (from the Latin precari "to ask earnestly, beg, entreat")[1] is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication." i would say no. If you talk to yourself/think about your life, i would call it something like 'time for self reflection' or something but not prayer.

What you're talking about is 'intercessionary prayer', which is one type of prayer recognised by Christian theologians. There are also 'affirmation prayers', 'prayers of confession', amongst others.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#112

Post by travis_d_ray »

LVB wrote: post #97
imranq wrote: post #60

Advice from my physics professor: make a detailed plan and then discard the plan and do what you feel. This doesn't mean the plan was unnecessary...rather the plan carves out the neural pathways in your mind. The feeling part is important too since if I am so rigid then I am going to be crushed by the randomness of life.

"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower I used to hear this a lot from one of my better bosses. I agree with it. It is, however, important to capture "planning". Any form is fine, whether scribbles or a list or a picture of a whiteboard. Trying to organize the raw info was usually a waste of time, but having it accessible as a reference wasn't.

The first casualty of any war is the plan.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#113

Post by erelde »

nzjrs wrote: post #98
erelde wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ok. That's a weird detail to bother hipsterbragging about. > "Successful people have better things to do than arguing on reddit/hn"

That wasn't arguing. This is arguing.

"An argument isn't just contradiction."

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#114

Post by erikb »

My tips:

A) the next step is more important than the final goal. Always work on having a next step not for immediate work, but for what you do after finishing something.

B) Coop with others who are important to achieve your goal, who share your goal, or who have your well being as one of their goals (i.e. life partner). Have regular meetings, e.g. once a month, with that topic. Meeting to eat something with the goal as headline helps to start talking about status updates.

C) Have multiple goals. Often we get stuck at one goal, but at the same time opportunity at another goal opens. It is inefficient, but that's life. Usually we don't have to work hard to figure out multiple goals. Health, family, language learning, holidays. There are already goals in your head you may not currently think about.

The rest basically happens on its own. E.g. if your "next step" is too complicated, you can't explain it to your wife in your monthly "goal X dinner". If you can't progress with "goal X" you will automatically switch to "goal Y" out of laziness and frustration.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#115

Post by obfuscatedgeek »

Been trying to do this, tis year and currently using Trello.

Current organization is 52 list mentioning every week and every week has 8 cards.

First 7 cards are individual days of the week, every day card includes a checklist in trello and the eight card is target for the week. Depending on the schedule 1 entry from the target card is made into a checklist item in any one of the day card.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#116

Post by joyeuse6701 »

Passion planner or bullet journal methods worked for me. Passion planner asks the good, tough questions that get you moving with your project, breaking down from years, to months, to weeks. Bullet journal is much more flexible, forgiving, but not as effective. One can incorporate passion planner ideas and questions into a bullet journal, you just have to do it manually.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#117

Post by turc1656 »

awjr wrote: post #108

I have a trello board with the following columns: "Good intentions" :- Things I think I'm going to do. I investigate then put in other columns. "Next Up" :- Need to have a go at next. "Working On" :- Actively doing. "Done/Dead" :- Things that I did as well as things I failed at or discarded. "Follow Up" :- Something happened, so need to wait on something/someone to then allow me to continue. "Asleep" :- Sometimes thi…

Thank you for this. This sounds like a solid approach that I can benefit from.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#118

Post by gspetr »

travis_d_ray wrote: post #112
LVB wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower I used to hear this a lot from one of my better bosses. I agree with it. It is, however, important to capture "planning". Any form is fine, whether scribbles or a list or a picture of a whiteboard. Trying to organize the raw info was usually a waste of time, but having it accessible as a reference wasn't.

The first casualty of any war is the plan.

He who fails to plan, plans to fail.

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#119

Post by lukaszkups »

Recently I've found a TODO app that doesn't suck and is multi-platform (windows phone and linux included) - short review here: http://lukaszkups.net/2017/02/07/Shortie-2-I-ve-finally-foun...

tldr;

TODOist

Also, I've written what I do to be more productive: http://lukaszkups.net/2017/01/29/In-search-of-the-Golden-Gra...

Enjoy!

Re: Ask HN: What do you use to align your daily todos with your long term goals?

#120

Post by Jtsummers »

andthenrobots wrote: post #100

I have never in my life made long term plans and I don't know many people that do. Maybe making long term plans is a cultural thing? Despite not having a plan, life seems to work out just fine. For those that do cherish long term plans: don't you get fed up with the perpetual feeling of "being not quite there yet"?

Never? You never planned to start and finish university? You never planned to make a large purchase (like a home)? Never planned a project that was going to take longer than a few months, possible requiring years of time? Never had a long-term relationship, which often requires identifying shared or compatible life-goals to make it sustainable?

At some point, like budgeting your income, planning has the effect of reducing the rat-race feel of life. I always had enough money, but once I started budgeting it, I had an abundance of it (recognized needless spending, directed my goals more effectively). Losing weight was a long-term goal for me, I got there, and then it become a long-term goal of being truly fit, not just a healthy weight but a truly healthy body, which is a lifelong commitment.

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