Here’s the January 2022 goals doc for reference: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive But it’s nice to be able to glance over to make sure I’m on track for the month. It is not designed for task management (I use Reminders for that). The monthly goals doc is just a high-level reference document. Here’s the 2022 Outcomes & Milestones doc for reference ( outcomes = high-level goals, milestones = specific outcomes required to achieve the high-level goals). They are not like Notion’s databases (it’s just a visual table-you can’t do any functions, calculation, filtering).īut they’re great for something like goal-setting where I just want to list out a bunch of goals. This is where I put my annual/quarterly/monthly goals.Ĭraft allows you to use Tables. Some of them will turn into areas and projects (more on that soon). Then, I’ll periodically jump in and refine/develop those ideas. But I will write down content ideas, business ideas, and so forth.
The Lab is like an “Inbox” in the sense that it’s where I throw ideas down. Reading this first thing every morning helps keep me in the right lane. (I stole some of this from Taylor Welch’s training on goal setting and outcomes, btw). I check the Startup Routine doc every morning. These are notes that I’ll visit on a daily basis (or thereabouts). It contains links to a bunch of other notes inside Craft. This includes Sam Matla Daily, and Startup Routine (which is my morning routine) The first section of my Craft setup includes three folders. I’ll write a more detailed article on how I’m using Craft, but here’s the gist… OS + The Lab + Goals I’m bullish on future development, and expect it to only get better. I’ve used Evernote, Roam, Notion, Google Docs, Apple Notes, Bear, Obsidian-you name it.Ĭraft is by far the most beautiful note-taking app I’ve ever used. Why & How I’m using Craft for note-taking in 2022 Craft (notetaking, writing, ideation, resources).My Productivity System for 2022Īfter trying a bunch of approaches, I’ve nailed down my productivity system to three (and only three) apps: Don’t procrastinate on doing the important work by building out a “better” system. They only need a task manager, notebook, and calendar.īe honest about what you actually need. Hey, if you enjoy doing it and it doesn’t harm your productivity then go ahead.īuBut most people don’t need a complex arrangement of tables, databases, pages, filters, and so forth. It’s an awesome tool, and I’ve seen some crazy shit built in the app…ĭoes it help you do better work? Or does it just feel good to build that stuff out? I’ll hit a nerve with my point about building complexity in Notion. I wouldn’t think about trying to make it better, I’d simply use it. I wanted to build something that would become second nature. Trying to make one tool do the three jobs.I don’t want to get caught in the trap of sharpening the axe after it’s sharp. It’s a habit of mine to tweak, tweak, and tweak some more. Using a tool that was more complex and complicated than I needed.In designing my productivity system for 2022, I wanted to avoid: You get the idea.Īnd sometimes- if you’re lucky-this stuff might make you more productive. You can build insane workflows, set up complex task management databases. One of the issues with apps like Notion, Roam, Obsidian, is that they are open-ended. It's like the equivalent of bullet journalling where (usually) women will spend hours drawing on the pages instead of doing their work.- Sam Matla January 14, 2022 Guys will spend 420+ hours modifying their Notion templates and databases instead of getting actual work done. The Best Productivity System Is The One You Don’t Tweak 24/7 And while I love the app itself, task management is not what it’s made for.Ī system that leverages specific tools for specific jobs beats a system that forces a single app to manage everything. I also found that I spent too much time “building” the system instead of using it. I tried handling everything in Notion, but found that the calendar system let me down. In the past, I’ve tried making single apps do all these three things. Manage tasks and projects (task manager).Store information, resources, ideas, thoughts (notebook).There are three things that a productivity system must do: The 3 Requirements of a Productivity System It’s not like I haven’t gone through the whole “it’s time to reset” thing before (and no, I’m not talking about the WEF version). In December, I decided to completely revamp my system.īut I needed to do it right. I’d forget important tasks-especially commitments to other people.