Welcome Time Travellers to this weeks Writers Roundup number 2.
In this weeks update, I talk about:
– My productivity hack that works!
– Weekly roundup
– Free App that motivates you to crack on with those daily tasks.
– Weekly Word-count
– Taxes, and more.
Productivity
As some of you may already know, I suffer with really bad working memory, (probably as a result of my epilepsy, although I am currently waiting to hear back from my doctors to see if I have ADHD).
In the meantime, I have been searching for the perfect todo planner gadget to help motivate me and keep me on the right path, before something shiny distracts me.
My plan is to have something that is tactile, that won’t run out of batteries, that is not hackable, and will stand the test of time.
I’ve tried Notebooks, Bullet journals, literally hundreds of different apps, todo lists, planners, motivational tools, zettelkasten, and more, and this year I have decided to try and stick to one thing… so I went back to my trusty Filofax.
However, I am using this in a way I never used to. With all of the building a second brain, and para methods, getting things done, and even trying to create my own method, I have decided to take some of these on board.
So what makes my Filofax different to others? Instead of buying the Filofax premade sheets that cost a lot of money, I make my own. I spend a quid (£1.00) on 100 sheets of 4 x 6 index cards, which serve as the building blocks for the system I have created. I spent £8 on a Filofax hole punch, set it to the lowest setting, and boom, 100 sheets of cheap Filofax cards… but wait, there’s more!
I have even included an electronic tracker in the zip up section, that notifies me when I leave my Filofax behind.
I wanted to log what I have done, and also quickly add appointments in chronological order.
Each sheet gives me enough room to write personal appointments, and notes etc on the front, in typical bullet journal style, and the back of the sheet is for all of my business and work tasks, and notes.
The beauty of this method is, I get to plan for the future and not waste any paper. For example, this week I have planner sheets for Today, Wednesday, and Sunday… with no spaces in between. This is where the Filofax system excels… I can add planner sheets for extra stuff that creeps into my diary so that I don’t overload myself, or my Filofax. But there’s more… I can actually add notes on their own sheets, then add them to my zettelkasten (a slip box for collecting and organising notes) and they can be used later on.
Each week, I then remove the last sheets, and add some more blanks (adding last weeks sheets to the zettelkasten box.
So, in a nutshell… I collect and plan in my Filofax, then organise and archive in my zettelkasten. I have now dubbed this… my zettelfax 🙂
How do you stay organised in the busyness of life?
Weekly Roundup
In a lightbulb moment, I pulled out my laptop and brought up the stickies app, then mashed the keyboard for a shill, hammering out ideas for this years goals. I plan to grow my social media, and create more exposure for my books. I also plan on doing something pro-active about my health. I want to spend less time playing Minecraft, and more time learning how to work smart, so that I can push my process further and higher with less effort.
After that, I decided to learn some ways of creating content for social media, and was quite happy with the result, until I realised I had done them all in the wrong format. Oh well.. that’s my first attempt in learning I suppose, and at least I know how to do it now, so I should be able to speed up in future 🙂
What ways are you going to change your future to make your life easier?
Free App that motivates you to crack on with those daily tasks.
I have also downloaded Habitica, a great app that gamifys your life. This app is free, and you start off with a small character who you have to keep alive. As you go through the tutorial, you learn that you need to add your todos, daily tasks, and habits to the app. This is the bit where it gets good. As you complete your physical tasks and todos, your character gains health, and experience, and virtual gold coins. What can you do with these gold coins? So far I have bought a sword, a shield, a hat and a lion (I think) as a pet. My understanding is that as your character gets stronger, you can team up with other “players” and go on quests together, where you all have to complete your daily tasks, to stand a chance of defeating the enemies.
Would you try this app? do you use it already? Please let me know by posting in the comments.
Weekly Wordcount.
Understandably, as my oxygen levels have been low with this respiratory virus, my decision making processes have also been very poor, (it’s taken me three days to write this post) so I decided to take the time off and be arty instead. This means I have not written this week, so my word count is zero. I have however, been laid in bed with my laptop (or as one of my author friends calls it.. the Office), creating some stuff on Canva, which I plan on releasing soon, including the book cover for book 2, and some promo bits.
What have you been up to this week?
Taxes, yay!
Ugh, that job we all love to hate. I haven’t even started these, and they are due at the end of the month. My plan for the new year is to catch up, and start scheduling my taxes for the April period, rather than waiting for the last possible moment in January the following year. It shouldn’t be that hard of a job, given the fact that I am still a new Author, and am still establishing the groundwork for my Author Business.
Books
What am I reading?
My brain fog has really not helped with retaining book knowledge for the past few weeks, but I have picked up a great way of retaining information for future reading. I use an index card as a bookmark, and write down all the bits in the book that interest me, a bit like bookmarking your favourite sections. I can then store that card in my slip box for later.
To finish off
All in all, if it sounds like I am just making excuses, I promise you I am not. This virus has completely flattened us both, and as someone who can usually bat away a cold within a day, I have not felt this poorly in a very long time. Thankfully this is the second day I am out of bed, and although still coughing and wheezing, my wife and I are slowly getting back to full strength.
And that’s all for this week. Feel free to answer the questions at the bottom of each article, and I will be posting again next week, until then, hope you all have a great week.
– Brett