Future Notebook
Here’s a little life-hack (I know. I’m shuddering too,) that has raised my productivity by a reasonable amount.
It gets rid of procrastination.
It allows you to plan for the future without it getting in the way of what you need to do right now.
What Do I Do?
Buy a simple £2 notebook and write on the front “Future Plans.”
Whenever your brain goes on a tangent, instead of indulging procrastination, do some basic research and file it away for another day. Sometimes the “other day” will be specific. Sometimes it won’t and you’ll write a start date in your diary.
Here’s the basic information you need:
- How,What, Where, When, Why
- Cost
- Challenges
- Other Stuff To Research
- (Start Date)
That’s it.
You fill in that information, and then go about what you’re supposed to concentrate on.
Oftentimes, ideas get stuck in our head and aren’t helpful. Sometimesit leads to stress (When will I ever find time for the gym?) and sometimes it leads to day-dreaming and wishing you life away (What’s the best beach to go to for when I’m RIPPED TO SHREDS?)
None of this is helpful and the longer we spend daydreaming, the further away our goals get.
On the other hand, you don’t want to “forget” a goal and then have to think about it twice. That wastes time in a different way.
So we make a compromise and spend a few minutes planning our future project, and then we release it form our minds with the aid of a cheap notebook.
Let’s Take An Example
I build niche websites.
This hobby sometimes takes up too much of my time, and sometimes too little.
What’s important though is that I don’t let the niche sites take over my working life. There’s a ceiling on returns that doesn’t exist for some of the other stuff I do.
Yet every so often I’ll come across a great idea. It’ll check out after a few minutes of searching for competition, demand and affiliate programs.
In essence, I have a GO project.
Yet when I’m trying to build up something else that’s got a higher expected return, I don’t want to concentrate on the niche site, no matter how good it is.
So I go into the “Future Projects” notebook and write the niche site project down.
I write that the cost is a domain name and (hosting.)
I make a note of the topics, products and everything that I’ll write about.
Things to include are basically the cost, the time commitment and the challenges.
This is probably project management for complete morons, so you might want to check out a project management system for a better process, but it works so far.
For a niche site, you’ll have something like:
Cost: $50
Time: 20-40 Hours
Challenges: Competition/Long Term/Need To Get Products?
Then here’s the thing that binds the system together: Close the notebook.
No excuses. No further research. Don’t worry about the changing landscape.
That’s it. Close the book and get on with your major work again.
This Isn’t Just For Work Projects
Let’s say you need to focus on your health. You’re cranky and creaky and your flexibility isn’t what it was a few months or years back.
But you’ve got a project due in six weeks and the chance of promotion if the project goes well.
Most “lifestyle designers” would recommend you work on everything all at once. Hit the gym, get a tan, change your wardrobe and excel at your job… whilst building a business on the side.
This is not likely to work.
Instead, grab your future notebook.
Do a brief search for a flexibility program that works. Look into what the costs and times are.
Write the information in your book, and then close it.
Then go to your regular diary (you have one, right?) and flip to the day after your project is due complete. Mark in your diary the flexibility program and indicate you’ve already planned it.
You can do this with any project; a holiday to Venice, a new exercise program, switching to a new diet or trying to complete a new computer game.
All you’re doing is planning for the future after all.
Why This Works
Human beings can only carry so much stuff in their head at one time. We’re always putting stuff off; going to the dentist, starting a new diet or setting up a savings account.
Delaying things is a natural part of keeping on topic.
With a simple notebook, you can make this a conscious process.
You’ll concentrate more because a five minute detour won’t turn into a ten-week failed experiment or some unfulfilled ambition.
Plenty of people dream of travelling. They’ll spend hours browsing sites and watching food shows about Chinese cuisine or travel videos from Italy or whatever. But they never go, because they’re not concentrating on their goals.
Instead, they should just write in a notebook:
Flights: £200
Hotel: £40 a night
Places To Go: Museum
Restaurant
Tourist Spots #1-3
Etc.
Total Cost: £800
When To Go: June?
Other Stuff To Research: Insurance, Schedule, What To Watch Out For
Then they can close the book with that quick future plan stored and get back to earning the money to make their holiday a reality.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t some revolutionary new formula for life success that’s going to light the world on fire.
It is a method that you can use to plan for the future, halt procrastination in its tracks and save time whilst concentrating on the work you’re supposed to be doing.
In short; get a notebook and whenever something you want to do is holding your attention for more than a moment, create a miniature plan, write it in your notebook and leave it to come back to later.
Oh, and a final step; let me know how you get on.