Hello!
This month's edition of GOOD PLAN is all about simple ways to focus on what really matters to you. It covers a four step process for creating a monthly overview, giving yourself bonus points to tackle task gremlins, behind the scenes of my own efforts to simplify and focus, and an example of some simple organization in action.
If something in this newsletter helps you, I'd love to hear about it! Reply to this email and you'll land directly in my inbox.
On to the letter—
Planning
Creating a Monthly Overview
The newest addition to my personal planning process is to create a monthly overview. It's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of a day or what you have going on in a single week and find yourself way off track from where you meant to be. A simple monthly overview can help you orient to what is really important, without micro managing everyday.
You can do this within your planner, in a doc, or in your notebook of choice. I like being able to put mine up on the wall near my desk, so that I see it before I sit down at the computer.
Here's what I include in my monthly overview:
The Vibe - What energy am I trying to cultivate or embrace this month? Despite it being at the top of the document, this is actually the last thing I fill in.
Monthly Priorities - What are the 3-5 most important things I want/need to do this month? These may be a specific goal to accomplish, or more of a high level intention.
Priority Tasks - What 3-5 tasks do I need to complete this month? These are usually directly tied to my Monthly Priorities, but could be a stand alone task if there is something important I want to highlight.
Important Dates - What is happening this month? I include things like deadlines, days off, and personally significant dates (like a friends' graduation). These are dates that I want to keep in mind ahead of time, as opposed to basic appointments (but include whatever information is useful to you!).
As I accomplish things or significant dates pass, I like to highlight them on my overview to signal to my brain that that line item has been fulfilled.
Mindful Productivity
Bonus Points
I've worked hard to make my to-do lists realistic and supportive rather than a product of toxic productivity culture. But there are still some tasks that can throw everything out of whack—these gremlin tasks are things I want done but don't particularly enjoy because of inconvenient steps like driving somewhere unfamiliar or using seldom-needed supplies. They need to be done eventually but lack a hard deadline (so they're easy to put off).
My process used to be: write them on my list, don't complete them, feel bad, be mean to myself, avoid doing anything. (Not great)
To break this cycle, I started a Bonus Points list for those gremlin tasks I wish would magically get done. By reframing these tasks as extra (and worthy of special recognition), I found myself tackling them when I wanted a dopamine hit.
Its truly the most low effort version of gamification, but adding this little hit of joy to my routine has been incredibly effective. There are still lingering gremlins, but now if a task stays on the list for weeks, it doesn't immediately feel like a failure (be Bonus Points are optional!).
You can see a 'Bonus Points' list example in the #planspiration section!
Behind the Scenes
Simplifying and Aligning
I recently created a very simple map of my "business ecosystem" which included Open Concept Agenda alongside other offerings and projects. For each offer, I wrote the following:
Type of offer/project (e.g. newsletter, physical product, live group)
Any relevant subcategorization
One sentence summary (the elevator pitch)
Themes of the offer/project
What this made very apparent was that I have a lot of areas of thematic overlap, but currently everything lives within its own silo (which ultimately creates more work for me).
For instance, I have another newsletter called Body of Work which is personal reflections at the intersection of process, productivity, and self-making. While Body of Work has a more personal angle than the newsletter you're reading now, both of them are about finding human-centered ways to get things done and feel good about how we spend our time. It wouldn't serve either offering for me to just mash these two newsletters together, but in the long run having two similar but slightly different newsletters also doesn't make sense.
My challenge now is to find a way to simplify and align my offerings so that it's easy for people to find what they want and easy for me to market and produce. I will let you know how it goes!
#planspiration
Task Categories & Pops of Personality
Why I wanted to share this example:
Breaking your to-dos into category buckets can help you match tasks to your energy or time available. This example uses the categories "work" "personal" and "bonus points" but you could also break tasks up by time commitment or type of activity.
Even if you're not into stickers or some who likes a lot of decoration, incorporating pops of personality and visual interest can help make looking at your planner more pleasurable! The moth on this page is actually a magazine cut out pasted in with a glue stick!
just ordered an open concept planner 😁