Whatever rules, systems, principles you use to figure out what to do with your time at work.
Three key properties: capture, configure, control
Capture
Have a place to store all the information you need. A trusted place, like this Obsidian vault! Get stuff out of your head. In David Allen’s GTD system you want full capture so that you don’t have to keep remembering things.
Don’t just write down your commitments, but also your reviews (I have quarterly reviews in Obsidian but could maybe have weekly plans here too).
Configure
How do I manage the information collected? By role, by project, etc.
Control
Instead of being reactive (looking at your inbox), you want to make a plan in advance that uses your time efficiently. Daily, Weekly, Quarterly.
Quarterly planning
What are the big-picture objectives? What do I want to achieve, which projects to dedicate myself to?
Weekly planning
Where can I fit in the key activities this week? Any obstacles (meetings, travel, other scheduled things etc) that I need to address?
- Check big-picture ambitions for the quarter
Daily planning
By the end of each workday I plan the next one:
- Time-blocking: Each hour, what should I be doing?
- Re-arrange tasks that were not completed
- Clear out inboxes and capture info
- For projects I’ve been working on that day:
- Capture current status (in project README or task board)
- Write down details I might forget the next session
- Write down next steps
Bonus: Constrain
What gets onto your plate in the first place? Here you can have processes that reduce the unscheduled back and forth. Office hours, standard procedures for repetitive tasks (like a weekly report).