Malibu2 said:
My process:
1. I keep a yellow legal pad at my desk daily. Random to dos go there. Emails with follow ups that I can't do right now go there too.
2. When I'm not at my desk "Hey Siri, add X to reminders".
3. 4:30 every workday I take Siri reminders and put them on my legal pad. Legal pad to my online to do list (Trello). When done I file everything on my desk, set my agenda for the next day with One Thing task and nice to completes, and any last emails.
Pen and paper is how my brain works. Some of my processes are logistically inefficient but I do it anyways because physical medium is magic voodoo for me. My 4:30 habit i credit to being the single best thing that has kept my desk organized, me on track, and brain clutter free. Desk organization and tidiness I have also found to be an underrated but very powerful tool. Clutter gives me anxiety and lack thereof is calming and productive.
I had a similar process when I was in corporate. I was in meetings 8:30-5,6,7 every day so I carried a nice Montblanc notebook (it was a gift) that I would jot action items in throughout day. At the end of the day (or at least on Fridays at end of week), I would transfer all action items to Outlook and then plan the next day or week if it was Friday.
Not in corporate anymore so my action item list is much less chaotic. I started using Todoist and adopted their planning cycle using their built-in templates. At the end of each day, I review what's left and move it to next day and look ahead to next day to see what's already on there and adjust, if necessary.
Every Sunday I review my entire Todoist Project list and make any changes or updates that need to be made. I pretty much have my entire life in there at this point. One of the better tools I've used although Outlook+OneNote worked ideally for me at corporate because we were a MS shop, and it all works together nicely. I just don't need that additional complexity right now.
That scanner works miracles. My desk no longer has any paper. I removed my physical inbox totally as it's not necessary anymore. If I get any paper that I need to keep, I scan it immediately and trash it.
