Preplan Your Schedule: Harnessing the Power of the Ideal Week for Effective Planning

Reading Time: 3 minutes Definition of an Ideal Week An Ideal Week is what your week would look like if you had 100% control over your time. It’s intended to be a template for how you’d want a typical week to look. It can be very complete and detailed or not. Some people have very complex and busy schedules. …

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Discover the Anchor Technique: Finding Balance Between Structure and Flexibility

Reading Time: 4 minutes I typically do a daily plan each morning as a part of my morning routine. I review my calendar, task manager, and project list and answer three questions in my journaling app. What are my three main tasks today? What is my number one priority today? And what is my plan for today? Based on …

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Modifying Productivity Systems for a Perfect Fit: Lessons Learned Over Three Years With a Roles-Based System

Reading Time: 7 minutes During the Past Three Years, I’ve Modified My System Recently, I went to a local motel and processed my quarterly review and planning session. For those of you who know David Sparks’ roles-based productivity system, as he discusses in the Productivity Field Guide, the quarterly review and planning session is a crucial part of his …

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Reflect and Plan: Working Through My Quarterly Review and Planning Session

Reading Time: 5 minutes For the past three years, I’ve been conducting quarterly review and planning sessions. These sessions are part of the roles-based intentional living system pioneered by David Sparks, as explained in his Productivity Field Guide. My last session was held the last week of March 2024. Over the years, I’ve made several modifications to my process. …

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Part 10 – Using The Best Apps to Support Your Roles-Based System — Working Through the Productivity Field Guide

Reading Time: 6 minutes In this final post in the “Working through the Productivity Field Guide” series, we will discuss the digital tools you might use to set up and maintain your roles-based productivity system. These tools can help you keep up with your roles and arete statements and streamline quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily review and planning sessions. …

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Part 9 – Establishing Your Shutdown Ritual — Working Through the Productivity Field Guide

Reading Time: 6 minutes Do you have a shutdown ritual when you stop work for the day and plan for the next day? In this post in the “Working through the Productivity Field Guide” series, we will discuss the benefits of a shutdown ritual and when and how to do it. The Benefits of a Shutdown Ritual There are …

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Connecting With My Readers by Writing From the Heart

Reading Time: < 1 minute We live in a world overflowing with content, but much of it is impersonal. More and more text is generated by Artificial Intelligence. AI-generated text is the ultimate in impersonal writing since it’s machine-generated. Whether you’re a writer, artist, entrepreneur, or simply sharing your thoughts with the world, how do you truly connect with your …

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Part 8 – Following Through and Doing the Work— Working Through the Productivity Field Guide

Reading Time: 6 minutes In this post in the “Working through the Productivity Field Guide” series, we will discuss how to follow your daily plans. It’s not enough to make a daily plan; for it to be effective, you must also follow it. Often, that’s not as easy as it sounds. You’d think that you’d be primed to do …

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