Write It Down.

I write almost everything down. Almost to a fault.

For me it’s the only way to effectively offload all the thoughts and to-do’s floating around in my brain so I can actually get through the day.

If I don’t then I’m stuck thinking about those next 2 or 3 things I was supposed to do, and usually I’ll forgot one or two of them by the time I’m ready to do them.

So I keep a journal, as you can see here. It’s a simple, blank, grid-ruled, 5×8” journal that. Each pair of pages represents a new week, I draw lines to divide the left-side page into days of that week, and use the right side for general notes. This is my favorite way.

TBH I’ve tried so many other ways of keeping track of thoughts and to-do’s over the years — simple planners, really-fancy ‘mindful' daily journals, spreadsheets, Notion, Apple Notes, calendar reminders.

All of their virtues and benefits, but there’s one problem in common with all of them: Friction.

Friction is the #1 killer of proper management. Simply because you can only manage what you measure, or in reality what you can write down. And if it takes too much work to document something, eventually you just won’t — even if the extra work is marginal.

I’ve always found the least marginal way to be keeping a blank notepad, without any guardrails or formatted pages — then I have the freedom to capture whatever I want.

Sometimes I’ll write it down then I’ll forget where I put it. That is one of the down sides of going non-digital, you can’t just control-F to search for where you put it. But I’ve realized that sometimes it’s not actually about finding it at all; the simple act of physically writing it is enough to trigger some extra subliminal mental processes.

They say the goals you write down are 42% more likely to get accomplished.

And I believe that. Not because writing them down changes anything about the universe. But because writing forces you to solidify the concept, and repeatedly run it through your head when you look back on it. It’s a simple game of information availability.

My Fool-Proof To-Do List Method:

Of course you don’t need to write down everything. But if you were to write things down, I think the most useful method is a to-do list like this:

• Pick 3-5 things you want to get done tomorrow and write them down

• Number them from most to least important

• Mark how long you think each will take (can even block this on the calendar)

Then, tomorrow you simply start with #1 and work on it until it’s done. Keep the mindset that if you only get number 1 done, that day is still a success. Move on to the next from there, and repeat — if you only get 1, and 2 done that day it’s a success.

Importantly, you should never have more than 5 things on your daily to-do list. And you should never get discouraged if you don’t get all 5 done. You should always try to start with #1.

Once you finish them, check them off and mark how long they actually took. This will help you refine your estimation processes going forward until you’re a master time blocker.

Finally, separate from your to-do list, you’re allowed to have a wish list of other things that would be nice to get done. Things like doing the dishes or getting a haircut or emptying your inbox or whatever. These are things you’re allowed to do as procrastination as you avoid your to-do list.

That way you are actually productive when you procrastinate. Procrastination is really only bad when it’s time wasted. But sometimes you simply need to mentally push off the big things or add a break in between them, and if you’re going to you might as well fill them with other "good things”

Anyways, hope that helps.

Writing down to-do lists is one of those things everyone does, and each has their own method for doing so. For some it’s a list of a million things in their head. Props to you if that’s how you do it, because I couldn’t function that way.

For me there’s only one way: writing it down.

Peace,
Ramsey