• Context
• Systems I trust
• My current system
• Tools
• Weekly planning
• Priority levels
• Projects board
• Principles and frameworks
• The Eisenhower Matrix
• Making the list is worth it
• Be guided by necessity or opportunity
• Recall > Retention
• Delegate to tools
• Wrap up

Context

A question that I’m asked with some regularity is, how do I keep all of the projects and priorities I’m supporting in a given time frame in my head? My answer is that I don’t keep it in my head. In order to keep all the plates spinning, I rely on systems of organization so that I don’t have to rely on memory (because memory is fallible) and aide me in organizing information and tasks over the near, medium, and long terms.

In this post, I’ll dive into the systems I leverage to manager information and tasks, the tools I use to do so, and the principles/framework that guide the evolution of those systems over time.

I make no claims of being a productivity expert. In sharing, I hope readers will gleam ideas for iterating on their own systems.

Systems I trust

There exists a polarity between getting organized and getting things done.

Too much time spent organizing eats into time that would be better spent actually getting things done. Too little organization, however, and commitments start to be missed, balls get dropped, etc.

So the aim is to be organized enough that I can trust my system.

The criteria for a trust worthy system is:

• Important work and relevant context gets captured
• Captured work gets done and context retrieved while still timely and relevant
• Work and context that are neither timely nor relevant do not create distraction

I judge the success of the system by:

• A sense of closing cognitive loops. I can put info into the system and let it go because I know I’ll be able to retrieve it when relevant
• The absence of moments of, "oh 💩! I forgot about that!”
• Low friction, lower overhead: I can get in, get up to date, and get going

I’ve outlined the principles and frameworks that have informed the development of my personal knowledge management system as well how my current system works in practice. Either section serves as a valid starting point and therefore can be read non-linearly.

My current system

Principles and frameworks

Wrap up

This system is how I set myself up for success week over week. After years of iteration, I have a system that allows me to start my days and weeks with

• A sense of what I should continue to focus on
• A sense of what should come into focus
• A sense of what to accomplish each today to add up to overall success
• The ability to track progress over time
• A single source of truth where I can place information with trust that I can recall it when needed