Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#51

Post by taneq » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 12:48 AM UTC

avaer wrote: post #2

As far as work, I make sure to always finish my day with a thing or two half-started. I find the itch to finish these is far more powerful as a progress driver than a completed checklist that gives me mental permission to relax. Granted, this is definitely not the ticket to work-life balance if that's what you're looking for.

When I really need to be productive on multiple fronts simultaneously, I use a version of this. At the end of each day I'll write down a 'plan for tomorrow' with the items I plan on working on. This is a deliberately ambitious list, so I don't expect to finish everything. This gives me flexibility in case items are blocked, and makes sure if I have a really good day I still don't run out of tasks. The task list then gets updated as tasks are finished or blocked, and the unfinished tasks form the start of the next list.

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#52

Post by cbanek » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 12:48 AM UTC

I've always been a fan of old school RPGs, so I like using habitica. You put in your tasks, and when you do them, you get gold and experience to buy items and level up. If you don't do them, you lose health. It makes it like a game.

https://frinkiac.com/video/S03E04/YYBQ9RpVADU0UvixOi_GW4i2E8...

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#53

Post by logicallee » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 12:53 AM UTC

jaggederest wrote: post #10

tomjen3 wrote: post #8

I tried doing it as a 30 day challenge. Those were by far my most productive days -- probably because taking a couple of minutes to figure out what was the most important to do that day meant I knew what to focus on.

Just curious, why didn't you stick with it?

Well, you can already deduce one fact regarding your question from OP: a 30-day challenge that brings its user a clear and obvious benefit does not work (at least, we know it does not work 100% of the time) as a way to introduce and stick with a productive and positive habit, even where the burden of that habit is low.

Some other way, different from a "30-day challenge" must be used to introduce the habit, because this method does not work (or at least does not work 100% of the time).

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#54

Post by ISL » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 12:59 AM UTC

TaskWarrior, sync'ed across several machines through inthe.am, isn't perfect, but it has made my life better.

Start simple, as a to-do list, then add complexity if you need it. The documentation is sufficient. Tagging, projects, and priorities are all interesting/useful.

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#55

Post by dredmorbius » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 1:09 AM UTC

Pile of Index Cards, and a very loose set of goals / tasks.

https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/u4dgr0tkxk4tk9npuvex5a

I find the physicality of cards is highly useful. I could use a better set of categories for specific activities, but that requires some changes to working space and desk.

I'm coming to rebel against a tremendous amount of electronic and online tools, as well as find the merits of not only pen-and-paper based systems, but of the critical utility of a dedicated office and work space.

Not that I'm fully there yet, but the highly-mobile, transitory, digital, and ephemeral mode (which I've attempted, for several decades) simply isn't suited to in-depth work.

Which becomes patently obvious when reading much of that written by those who espouse that.

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#56

Post by jpster » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 1:25 AM UTC

No, but one thing that has helped tremendously: at the start of every day I figure out the total hours that I will work. Then I make a list of tasks I want to get done and put a guesstimate of how long each should take me. I start with the most important task and use timer-tab.com on stopwatch mode to see if my guesstimate was right. Sometimes things take longer than I've guessed, but it's consoling to know I'm making progress on the most important thing that day, even if it's the only one. When I finish a task a bit quicker than I've estimated, it's a great feeling. Whatever is undone just goes on the following day's list.

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#57

Post by odonnellryan » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 1:57 AM UTC

_iwgf wrote: post #31

cbcoutinho wrote: post #16

I use the bullet journal system, which is essentially a way to structuralize a notebook. Instead of removing redundancy, it embraces it. 1. Make yourself a very brief year plan 2. Every month refer to year plan and go into detail as needed for that month. 3. At the beginning of every week, make a plan while referring to the month plan. 4. In the morning give yourself a daily plan or keep notes to help stay on track.…

> if you're interested in learning about bullet journaling, stay away from Instagram, pintrist, and tumblr - people have a tendency to turn this amazing productivity tool into an art contest, and it only gives the illusion that the barrier to entry is higher than it really is This is exceptionally good advice for any kind of organizational system. It's really easy for me to get down on myself for not creating these r…

I use bullet journal, basically, but I just write my points at night for the next day (I find it too hard to get started in the mornings if I have to make a list, by the end of the day I know everything I want to do the next).

It's just a damn mess of scribbles and dots, to be honest. But it works great.

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#58

Post by rayiner » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 2:12 AM UTC

terminalcommand wrote: post #19

For the last 3 years I've been trying to find a way to organize my life. Before that I was in a rebellious phase, I didn't believe in time management and plans. I thought they caused stress and inefficiency. I thought there was enough time for everything. However, then I crashed and realized that professionalism and proper planning have their place. But I could not and cannot manage to adopt a system. I tried org-mod…

The thing to realize is that you are planning, you're just keeping it all in your head instead of writing it down. That can often work, but one of the things I found when I started formal planning is that getting all those tasks out of your head onto paper actually relieves stress and increases efficiency. At least for me, I found that it causes a lot of unconscious anxiety to have that stuff in your head. I realized that when I was relaxing I was actually unsettled, going through in my mind whether I was forgetting something. And when switching tasks, it takes a lot of time to sort through your mental task list to figure out what to work on next.

What made it "stick" for me was getting an Apple Watch. On one hand I can add a reminder trivially with Siri. On the other hand, I can put my tasks on my watch face so I'm constantly reminded to actually check and maintain my list. Obviously, YMMV, but for someone who has struggled with organization since I was a kid, that was a game changer.

As for the point about minor tasks: little tasks will often go away, but that doesn't meant here are no consequences. One of the things that made me get a formal task management system was my wife getting sick of me blowing off household todos. Not because I wasn't doing my fair share of the actual grunt work like cooking, etc., but because by blowing off all the little things I was by default making her do all the task management and planning.

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#59

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 2:16 AM UTC

dsr_ wrote: post #27

terminalcommand wrote: post #19

For the last 3 years I've been trying to find a way to organize my life. Before that I was in a rebellious phase, I didn't believe in time management and plans. I thought they caused stress and inefficiency. I thought there was enough time for everything. However, then I crashed and realized that professionalism and proper planning have their place. But I could not and cannot manage to adopt a system. I tried org-mod…

"Most things that I perceive as tasks are either not important in the end, or they go away. The ones that remain receive my undivided honest attention and in the meantime I procrastinate." Every honest organization system is trying to teach you that very point. You can amass an infinite tasklist in finite time, but only the important things matter. It's much better to accomplish one important thing in a day than twen…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Do you plan your next day ahead?

#60

Post by camel_gopher » Sun, Jun 18, 2017, 4:35 AM UTC

First task of my day is to fill out my calendar. So at least I have an idea of what I should be working on. That way I can focus on execution, instead of spending all day on hacker news.