Cortex 65: Goals Are Dumb
◼
►
so we are over an hour late starting
◼
►
today I'm not recording would you like
◼
►
to tell everybody gray why that is it
◼
►
was a snow day it is snowing in London
◼
►
we we have had enough snow in that it
◼
►
makes a significant difference which
◼
►
it's not a lot of snow for London but it
◼
►
doesn't have to be a lot right for it to
◼
►
make a big difference but it's very cold
◼
►
here right now and there is some snow as
◼
►
always with these things if you post on
◼
►
the internet that your city has snow and
◼
►
things are closing down people from the
◼
►
northern Arctic wasteland will get in
◼
►
touch and they'll tell you about how you
◼
►
don't know or understand what snow is
◼
►
all right that that Europe babe is like
◼
►
this is yeah I know that there's more
◼
►
snow in places that are colder that's is
◼
►
never the question it's it's entirely a
◼
►
question of how economically feasible is
◼
►
it to keep a whole fleet of snow plows
◼
►
at the ready to get your city clear of
◼
►
snow and the answer is if your London
◼
►
where it didn't even snow last year you
◼
►
just don't have any plows right like you
◼
►
have nothing just don't have anything
◼
►
and so then when you do get every two
◼
►
years one inch of snow everything shuts
◼
►
down but most importantly I woke up this
◼
►
morning I saw that there was a lot of
◼
►
I immediately opened up carrot weather
◼
►
and saw that there was going to continue
◼
►
to be a lot of snow and I immediately
◼
►
declared it a gray industry snow day
◼
►
like nope year of order routine
◼
►
establishing in the morning right out
◼
►
the window it goes like it I just ran
◼
►
into the streets and it was great I
◼
►
spent all morning wandering around
◼
►
central London enjoying the snow and it
◼
►
was glorious but I did send you a
◼
►
message as soon as I possibly could like
◼
►
as soon as I popped up in Trafalgar
◼
►
Square I was like oh oh it's not a snow
◼
►
day for relay industries Mike's still
◼
►
gonna want to record the podcast so I
◼
►
sent you a message to try to give you a
◼
►
heads up that I was going to be almost
◼
►
certainly late coming back which I was
◼
►
but I liked that you you attempted to
◼
►
sweeten this by sending me picture up
◼
►
dates every now and then of the
◼
►
interesting things that you will find
◼
►
around London like look look it's so
◼
►
nice you know well III thought you're
◼
►
probably sitting at home yes in the in
◼
►
the real a company that is not having a
◼
►
snow day and having a you know a sad at
◼
►
the office day so I thought I was gonna
◼
►
brighten your morning with pictures of
◼
►
me frolicking in the snow
◼
►
I thought you would enjoy that Mike I
◼
►
did not and have not had a snow day it's
◼
►
been snowing for a few days I have not
◼
►
left the house even though I love snow
◼
►
that there there are a few things in the
◼
►
world that I love more than a naturally
◼
►
occurring than snow because it's so rare
◼
►
for me that like it's a real treat but
◼
►
oh yeah I think throughout this episode
◼
►
there is going to be a theme and the
◼
►
theme of this episode is Mike Mike feels
◼
►
very overwhelmed right now with work so
◼
►
I have a I have a character flaw in that
◼
►
when I feel very busy if I leave the
◼
►
house it's like I have committed a crime
◼
►
like I have to be here and it is the
◼
►
only way that I can feel okay because if
◼
►
I leave I have neglected the mountain of
◼
►
work that I have to take care of so I
◼
►
have not left the house yet I believe as
◼
►
we're recording this today that when
◼
►
Adina comes home she is dragging me out
◼
►
of the house she's bought me a scarf
◼
►
even because she is unhappy with the
◼
►
fact that I have not left the house this
◼
►
week to play in the snow which would
◼
►
bring me great joy but right now I feel
◼
►
like I'm not allowed to do that I too
◼
►
had a mountain of work to do and I know
◼
►
this is a thing that is is very hard to
◼
►
do but I'm always really glad when I do
◼
►
it which is intentional play time or
◼
►
intentional goofing off or relaxing time
◼
►
where instead of what is very easy to do
◼
►
like oh I should be working but somehow
◼
►
I'm a Mario karting I don't know how
◼
►
this happened and as I cannot fully
◼
►
enjoying the Mario Kart
◼
►
because I know that there's something
◼
►
that I should be doing and I'm just sort
◼
►
of here procrastinating a little bit
◼
►
that's the worst because you're not
◼
►
enjoying the activity and you're not
◼
►
getting anything done but that's why
◼
►
this morning is like Oh woke up boom I'm
◼
►
the CEO I'm declaring its a snow day no
◼
►
work can happen on the morning of a snow
◼
►
day so there's no guilt at all nothing
◼
►
nothing is even possibly going to happen
◼
►
and I feel like that that's the best way
◼
►
to enjoy a thing is is to mentally
◼
►
cordon it off as work can't possibly
◼
►
happen while it's snowing outside
◼
►
everyone knows that so there's no
◼
►
there's no guilt because I couldn't be
◼
►
answering emails this morning it just it
◼
►
well annoys me the most is that I feel
◼
►
like I had gotten good like better at
◼
►
that like I feel like I had gotten a lot
◼
►
better at being able to say to myself
◼
►
you know what I'm gonna sit down and
◼
►
play Nintendo for a while and it's gonna
◼
►
be great I gonna but that we I've been
◼
►
going through some transitions
◼
►
business-wise this year that seemed to
◼
►
have upended everything I think that my
◼
►
company is at a stage now where it's
◼
►
there's just some changes happening like
◼
►
we're old enough that just different
◼
►
types of things are going on it's all
◼
►
good stuff like all of this work this
◼
►
additional work is being generated
◼
►
because of good things and the stress
◼
►
that I'm going through is because of the
◼
►
additional work not that anything bad is
◼
►
happening right like it's that kind of
◼
►
stress it's an overworld witness rather
◼
►
than a desperation type stress so I and
◼
►
I have not yet adjusted to this new
◼
►
world and right and I'm and I am trying
◼
►
to do some things to help me adjust but
◼
►
right now I'm not doing a very good job
◼
►
with it I'm sorry to hear that Mike
◼
►
overwhelmingness is maybe one of the
◼
►
much more harder things to deal with
◼
►
because it is that that it's just that
◼
►
cloud that feeling of oh there are so
◼
►
there are so many things it's it's very
◼
►
hard to get a handle on but you know I
◼
►
really think Edina needs to take you on
◼
►
yeah yeah I know I know it's tricky let
◼
►
me tell you actually let me tell you
◼
►
about something that I started doing
◼
►
which I'm hoping will help with this
◼
►
mm-hmm I have started a journal okay I'm
◼
►
gonna need I'm gonna need a lot of
◼
►
details on what this means to you yeah I
◼
►
know because it's that because I'm a you
◼
►
know I've basically gone anywhere from
◼
►
dear diary to like writing down minute
◼
►
by minute what I'm doing right is it is
◼
►
a all-encompassing term which these days
◼
►
means more and more and more so I have
◼
►
in the past looked at journaling systems
◼
►
I am a big pen and paper nerd I've
◼
►
mentioned this on the show before but
◼
►
this is a thing that really is one of my
◼
►
big loves in life is pen and paper I
◼
►
have an entire podcast dedicated to it's
◼
►
called the pen addict and I will put a
◼
►
link in the show notes in case people
◼
►
are interested we are about to hit our
◼
►
300th episode it is a longest-running
◼
►
show that I have ever done does there's
◼
►
this weekly so you know like a lot of
◼
►
pen and paper news so that's the thing
◼
►
that I love very much so I've been very
◼
►
aware of journaling systems you know
◼
►
it's bullet journal is a big one right
◼
►
and I actually know the guy who made it
◼
►
his name is writer Carol and he's a
◼
►
great guy and we've kind of been going
◼
►
along with his journey over the time
◼
►
that he created the bullet journal cuz
◼
►
we first found out about it before it
◼
►
right the gute was just beginning and
◼
►
now it's like a huge huge deal yeah but
◼
►
I also bullet journal in my mind at
◼
►
least from what I know of it bullet
◼
►
journal is not a journal at all it's a
◼
►
task management system this is why when
◼
►
you say you started a journal I feel
◼
►
like I need to know what it is that
◼
►
you're talking about exactly so this is
◼
►
it right like this is it that the term
◼
►
journal means so much now but I said
◼
►
like I have looked into bullet
◼
►
journaling and I was considering it as a
◼
►
thing but it didn't do for whatever
◼
►
reason it wasn't doing what I wanted it
◼
►
to do and then a couple of weeks ago I
◼
►
had a call with mining your friend mr.
◼
►
David sparks and he was telling me that
◼
►
himself but decided to just create his
◼
►
own system which focused on things that
◼
►
mattered to him and I was like oh okay
◼
►
that's that's probably what I should do
◼
►
like why focus on somebody else's system
◼
►
when I don't I don't need a to-do list
◼
►
mm-hmm on paper like I already have one
◼
►
of those right so I figured I'm gonna
◼
►
focus on what I want to do and I have
◼
►
been keeping this journal for just over
◼
►
a week and every day I sit down at one
◼
►
point and I write out the headings of
◼
►
the things that I want to focus on in
◼
►
that day and then later on in the
◼
►
evening I'll kind of complete it so let
◼
►
me tell you what my system includes okay
◼
►
so I sit down with a double-page in a
◼
►
notebook and I write down a bunch of
◼
►
headings one of them is priorities one
◼
►
of them is called one good thing I have
◼
►
one bad thing what did I learn what am I
◼
►
looking forward to and then what pens
◼
►
did I use this is also a way for me to
◼
►
use my pens more which is nice but so
◼
►
yeah so priorities right okay let's run
◼
►
through these let's run through these
◼
►
priorities this is in essence like to
◼
►
dues but they are much broader and much
◼
►
more simple so like every day I may have
◼
►
10 tasks say that I want to a my to-do
◼
►
list I want to complete right in
◼
►
introduced but they don't actually all
◼
►
need need need to be done today right
◼
►
like that's not how my system works
◼
►
sometimes sometimes I have to do is in
◼
►
my my project manager in todoist knowing
◼
►
that they won't be done today but I can
◼
►
do a little bit of work towards them
◼
►
today and then reschedule them right but
◼
►
my priorities are the things that by the
◼
►
end of the day today I will have a
◼
►
hundred percent wanting to complete
◼
►
these things so then when I'm coming to
◼
►
the end of my day and I'm looking at two
◼
►
duis and I'm moving seven tasks to
◼
►
tomorrow and I get that feeling of like
◼
►
do anything today I can refer to my
◼
►
journal and tick off the things that
◼
►
I've done and be like old these were the
◼
►
things that I actually achieved I set
◼
►
out to achieve the most important things
◼
►
that I needed to do today mm-hmm so it's
◼
►
like a it's like a it's like a sublist
◼
►
it doesn't bear any kind of control over
◼
►
my actual to-do list system it's more
◼
►
like it's more like pie in the sky type
◼
►
stuff right like these are things and I
◼
►
want to do and they can even be non-work
◼
►
things and they are a lot of the time
◼
►
not work things stuff that I wouldn't
◼
►
actually have in my to-do list but so
◼
►
like I'm gonna write one in right now as
◼
►
we as we're talking cuz I add to my
◼
►
journal throughout the day and it's
◼
►
gonna say go out in the snow that's
◼
►
gonna be added to my priorities list for
◼
►
today and then later on we'll go out in
◼
►
the snow but that's never gonna find its
◼
►
way into the duyst because it's not part
◼
►
of my system all right yeah and it also
◼
►
doesn't in the structure of using
◼
►
something to manage projects it doesn't
◼
►
really make sense to make a project
◼
►
which is called Mike is exposed to snow
◼
►
because it's good for his mental health
◼
►
exactly an action which is called go
◼
►
outside all right like that doesn't make
◼
►
it it's too heavy weight right it's way
◼
►
too heavy wait what let me rephrase it
◼
►
it's not good for the way that I have my
◼
►
system some people may do that right but
◼
►
that's not that doesn't work within the
◼
►
way that I think about tasks right but
◼
►
when I'm looking at like my priorities
◼
►
for today then yeah maybe that works so
◼
►
then I have one good thing on one bad
◼
►
thing so every day I but try them write
◼
►
down one good thing that happened and
◼
►
one bad thing that happened and I
◼
►
included the bad thing because I
◼
►
included the good thing I didn't want
◼
►
this to just be like an idealistic view
◼
►
of my life because bad things happen
◼
►
right and I didn't want this dis journal
◼
►
to just be like Oh everything right it's
◼
►
not like that it's not how life is okay
◼
►
so already we're getting into a little
◼
►
bit of a different function of this for
◼
►
you which is the idea that this is a
◼
►
thing like a traditional dear diary that
◼
►
as a record of what was going on in your
◼
►
life right that's that's why the one bad
◼
►
thing is there because it lets you know
◼
►
what's going on I highly doubt that I
◼
►
will even keep this journal when it's
◼
►
finished like I'm not harvest the stuff
◼
►
like this it's more just as a way for me
◼
►
to reflect on something so like by
◼
►
it's like acknowledging a thing happened
◼
►
or a thing didn't happen and honestly
◼
►
like the one good thing none of this
◼
►
stuff has I don't feel like it ever has
◼
►
to be completed right if I don't have a
◼
►
bad thing I'm not gonna write it I think
◼
►
I'm not gonna magic something up but the
◼
►
idea for me is more just like a way to
◼
►
just reflect on things a little bit more
◼
►
just so I can focus on like what good
◼
►
things did happen today and my idea for
◼
►
this is like moving into the future if I
◼
►
feel like I've had a really bad day
◼
►
why don't I try and think about if there
◼
►
was a good thing and it might help me
◼
►
feel a little bit better and the reason
◼
►
I'm doing this is because of one of the
◼
►
things I learned about myself through
◼
►
time-tracking of understanding I feel
◼
►
like I've been very busy what the
◼
►
numbers say hmm sometimes the numbers
◼
►
say no you haven't so then it's like
◼
►
okay well let me try and think about
◼
►
that why do I feel this way if I have
◼
►
something that tells me it's not this
◼
►
way so it's like I might feel really bad
◼
►
today but maybe that's just the last
◼
►
half an hour mm-hmm as opposed to the
◼
►
entire day so that's kind of what the
◼
►
one good thing one bad thing is is meant
◼
►
to be for like acknowledging that there
◼
►
is both but also giving me a way to
◼
►
think about what my day was actually
◼
►
like because I don't know is this about
◼
►
myself that like I can have a perfectly
◼
►
good day but then things can ruin it
◼
►
like something happens in and I'm in a
◼
►
bad mood right and I am I'm very aware
◼
►
of this and believe that I think I would
◼
►
be overall more happy if I didn't dwell
◼
►
as much so this is kind of me trying to
◼
►
curtail that a little bit by having more
◼
►
of a structure more of a system around
◼
►
good things that happen and actually the
◼
►
next two parts of the journal also
◼
►
enforced this so one of them is what did
◼
►
I learn and this this serves two
◼
►
functions one of them is basically for
◼
►
the entire time that I have known Adina
◼
►
if she wants to talk if what we want to
◼
►
have a conversation but we don't have
◼
►
anything to talk about you know I could
◼
►
wear hang out hanging out with just
◼
►
chatting she will say to me tell me the
◼
►
three things you learned today and that
◼
►
has always been I've strong exercise for
◼
►
me that I fail at a lot of the time yeah
◼
►
I'm gonna say even even as someone who
◼
►
makes a real effort to try to read and
◼
►
expose himself to different things what
◼
►
are the three things you learned today
◼
►
is a tall order so it's tricky
◼
►
because I know that there are things but
◼
►
I just don't remember them or like at
◼
►
that moment I can't think back to like
◼
►
the specific things that I went huh
◼
►
about today right there must be more
◼
►
than three every day so I've always
◼
►
found this an interesting thing and a
◼
►
thing that I've struggled with but it
◼
►
was I thought it was a nice framework to
◼
►
try and write some stuff down where I
◼
►
try and write down a number of things
◼
►
every day that I have learned but this
◼
►
this is a very open thing where it can
◼
►
be like facts one thing that's changed
◼
►
or even just a thing about myself or a
◼
►
thing that I found interesting like it
◼
►
can be literally anything but it's just
◼
►
three things that have kind of been in
◼
►
my mind today is kind of how I approach
◼
►
this so it can be like something pithy
◼
►
like something that I just think is kind
◼
►
of weird or funny or it can literally be
◼
►
like oh I found out this thing about the
◼
►
crown jewels today you know like so
◼
►
three things that I consider like
◼
►
notable pieces of information for one
◼
►
reason or another that I have
◼
►
over the day and it can be three things
◼
►
it can be six things sometimes it's one
◼
►
thing or two thing right like it doesn't
◼
►
really matter but it's more just what
◼
►
did I learn and it can be any amount of
◼
►
things but I try and aim to do three but
◼
►
most days get like yeah so and this is
◼
►
again another reflection thing like me
◼
►
trying to focus on some stuff that's
◼
►
happened in a day and just trying to
◼
►
note down some some notable items and in
◼
►
the next one is what I'm looking forward
◼
►
to so something that's on the horizon
◼
►
that I'm excited about and I have a
◼
►
little personal rule of I can't repeat
◼
►
the same thing over two days right so so
◼
►
you can't say like I'm looking forward
◼
►
to my upcoming wedding and you can't use
◼
►
that for the next six months it's more
◼
►
day-to-day so like I can have something
◼
►
that I'm really excited about which is
◼
►
happening on Saturday and I could write
◼
►
it on Monday and Thursday for example
◼
►
but it's it's more just like I can't
◼
►
write whatever yesterday it has to be
◼
►
different today mm-hmm and that's purely
◼
►
because sometimes there'd be something
◼
►
happening on Saturday and I would write
◼
►
you in every single day and I feel like
◼
►
that's I'm cheating yeah I think that's
◼
►
that's cheating the the idea of what
◼
►
you're trying to go for there mm-hmm and
◼
►
then the last section is ranked down my
◼
►
pens but you don't need to know any more
◼
►
about that I I want to know much more
◼
►
about okay well one thing is like
◼
►
they're looking forward to I used so I
◼
►
use two pens one pen to write the
◼
►
headings and one pen to write everything
◼
►
else in like the body of everything and
◼
►
I don't use the same two pens in a row
◼
►
either I have to use different pens
◼
►
every day right so this is a mechanism
◼
►
to help you rotate your pens yeah to
◼
►
enjoy my hobby more the image in my head
◼
►
is of a monk typesetting a book you know
◼
►
where they have the uppercase and the
◼
►
lowercase of all of the letters and
◼
►
they're working at a big day like this
◼
►
is my image of you writing out the
◼
►
journal is you have this array of pens
◼
►
neatly stored in front of you and so you
◼
►
just select well from this big this big
◼
►
array of pens is that was that was
◼
►
I typically will go to my office and
◼
►
pick two pens from my kind of top pen
◼
►
selection which I keep on my desk at
◼
►
times and then take those to somewhere
◼
►
else in the house and write out my
◼
►
journal okay all right that's nice yes
◼
►
nice see you move around in the physical
◼
►
yep and then I keep the journal and the
◼
►
body writing pen with me kind of
◼
►
throughout the day and we'll add to it
◼
►
where I need to so you're a week in
◼
►
mm-hmm how do you think it's going it's
◼
►
become part of my routine already which
◼
►
I'm very surprised about I have a daily
◼
►
task in todoist right to complete the
◼
►
journal but it kind of gets to a point
◼
►
in the day where I feel like oh it's
◼
►
journal time they can it's not about me
◼
►
being reminded like and I just feel like
◼
►
oh I need to complete the journal now or
◼
►
one thing that I've been doing is I
◼
►
could get to a point nerd am like what
◼
►
should I do next and like oh I know what
◼
►
oh so you know it is a it is a part busy
◼
►
work exercise right so it's like a work
◼
►
Craster nation type dealio because I'm
◼
►
saying and I'm kind of doing a thing
◼
►
which isn't real work and it's kind of
◼
►
maybe putting off real work for a few
◼
►
minutes but I'd it's also a thing which
◼
►
is helping me think which I like yeah
◼
►
I'm gonna disagree with there I think
◼
►
that's entirely a category of real work
◼
►
in my time tracking system I have a
◼
►
category that I call meta work well and
◼
►
that that's that's what I would classify
◼
►
this kind of thing as is is it work like
◼
►
editing a podcast no but it's work like
◼
►
sorting out your brain and what you're
◼
►
thinking about and what you're paying
◼
►
attention to yeah I know that is a kind
◼
►
of work well I like this you seem to be
◼
►
very hesitant to let this count like I
◼
►
am so this again this has been a trend
◼
►
of my most recent busy time
◼
►
I'm trying to really focus on my to-do
◼
►
list as the work mm-hmm because there's
◼
►
already so much in there I don't need to
◼
►
also consider everything else work as
◼
►
well because then it's just too much
◼
►
it's too much work okay so you don't
◼
►
want it to count as work because you
◼
►
feel like you already have too much work
◼
►
okay yeah then it's not work then it is
◼
►
a personal project of yeah this journal
◼
►
is a counterbalance against the
◼
►
overworking right we're just gonna take
◼
►
this activity out of this arbitrary set
◼
►
of labels and oh look we've lifted it up
◼
►
and we put it down here in this set of
◼
►
arbitrary labels it's different now it's
◼
►
a totally different thing I'm sorry Mike
◼
►
it's not work at all I didn't I didn't
◼
►
mean to you know I know take it all back
◼
►
I take it all back this episode of
◼
►
cortex is brought to you in part by our
◼
►
friends at hover burning your online
◼
►
identity has never been more important
◼
►
and we've hover you find the domain that
◼
►
shows the world who you are and what
◼
►
you're passionate about think about when
◼
►
you want to put something on the
◼
►
internet no matter what it is you've
◼
►
actually kind of got to eventually have
◼
►
a place for just you if you're trying to
◼
►
build something people are gonna want to
◼
►
find out the person behind you right
◼
►
it's why I own Mike Hurley net as well
◼
►
as many other domains and you can bet
◼
►
your bottom dollar I got it over hover
◼
►
why did I get it hover because they have
◼
►
no upsells and a clean user interface
◼
►
they have best-in-class customer support
◼
►
and even with that new wonderful domain
◼
►
that expresses exactly who you are you
◼
►
could set up your own personalized email
◼
►
as well so you can just further enforce
◼
►
who you are on the internet however has
◼
►
over 400 domain extensions to choose
◼
►
from see your options are verging on
◼
►
basically limitless and one that is
◼
►
super helpful especially when you're
◼
►
thinking about talking about who you are
◼
►
on the Internet is the dot me extension
◼
►
this can be used for personal portfolios
◼
►
and it is a great way to stand out from
◼
►
comm or.net websites that are floating
◼
►
around if you're sending a resume for
◼
►
example what about your
◼
►
got me to showcase what you're all about
◼
►
and one of the great things about me is
◼
►
that there are still lots of these
◼
►
domains available so there are more
◼
►
there's there's more chance for you to
◼
►
be able to get your name dot me and you
◼
►
know what's even better dot me domains
◼
►
are on sale at this month at hover for
◼
►
just $9.99 that is a third of 33% of
◼
►
your first gear and if you've never used
◼
►
hover before you can get an additional
◼
►
10% of any of the domain extensions that
◼
►
they offer by going to hover comm slash
◼
►
cortex you can check out their deals and
◼
►
get your new portfolio or personal
◼
►
website up and running today thank you
◼
►
to hover for their support of this show
◼
►
a lot of my busyness is self-imposed and
◼
►
I'm very aware of that and I'm trying to
◼
►
find ways to counterbalance it to kind
◼
►
of counteract it to break my thinking a
◼
►
little bit like I am a busy individual I
◼
►
do have a lot of things going on but I
◼
►
know I'm not as busy as my brain tells
◼
►
me I am right anyway because you do the
◼
►
time track because that's one of the
◼
►
many valuable things about doing yep
◼
►
time tracking so I'm right now I'm just
◼
►
trying to identify what is making me
◼
►
feel this way I mean cuz there are like
◼
►
again there of days this week where I've
◼
►
been working a lot and my time tracking
◼
►
reflects it like abnormal amounts of
◼
►
working hours and that's fine like I
◼
►
understand that I know what's going on
◼
►
it's all good but just the overall
◼
►
day-to-day feeling that I've had for
◼
►
maybe the last two weeks of like this
◼
►
complete of a la madness like I need to
◼
►
try and I need to try and ascertain why
◼
►
I'm feeling this way when a lot of the
◼
►
things that's happening not everything
◼
►
but a lot of the things are on the kind
◼
►
of like the general schedule of things
◼
►
the general kind of flow of time and I
◼
►
have some additional projects and stuff
◼
►
like that but logically they shouldn't
◼
►
be making me feel like how I feel right
◼
►
so I'm just trying to work out what is
◼
►
going on and the only thing I have right
◼
►
now is this journal it's my only
◼
►
yeah so I'm just really focusing on that
◼
►
which is why I wanted to bring it to
◼
►
discuss today you're holding on to this
◼
►
journal real time real time because it
◼
►
is the only thing that it's you afloat
◼
►
in the last ocean of your work that
◼
►
stretches in every direction okay good
◼
►
well I'm going to say that I think it's
◼
►
I'm not going to poopoo your journal and
◼
►
one of the reasons I will not approve
◼
►
your journal is because I have I have
◼
►
done something similar to this and I
◼
►
hope you just feel really hesitant to
◼
►
talk about it because there's something
◼
►
so there's something so touchy-feely
◼
►
about this that I find myself a little
◼
►
bit repulsed but I have I have totally
◼
►
done this kind of thing and I have I
◼
►
have definitely found it a helpful
◼
►
exercise at times so yeah like I'll pull
◼
►
up I'll pull up what it actually looks
◼
►
like for me but sort of like when would
◼
►
it have been now maybe like a year and a
◼
►
half ago now at this point I was sort of
◼
►
going through a bit of a rougher time
◼
►
like you know we we touched upon some of
◼
►
those things like some of the recurring
◼
►
health issues for my wife and a few
◼
►
other things and it's just like not the
◼
►
best time in the world and this was one
◼
►
of the first times I tried this kind of
◼
►
thing because a friend of mine had
◼
►
recommended it to me and he's like
◼
►
listen you're gonna feel really stupid
◼
►
doing this but you should really try it
◼
►
and it's a good idea I was like okay
◼
►
I'll give this a shot and I did like the
◼
►
even the way you're laying out your
◼
►
journal I ended up doing something that
◼
►
was very similar and I felt
◼
►
so dopey about it because it's like okay
◼
►
in your little journal here's what
◼
►
you're gonna do you're gonna write down
◼
►
three things that you're thankful for as
◼
►
like how god am i do am i doing like a
◼
►
gratitude exercise here the answer is
◼
►
yes yes you are doing a gratitude
◼
►
exercise it's like okay fine
◼
►
so I'll write down like three things
◼
►
that I'm grateful for and then sort of
◼
►
like you're talking about what the
◼
►
priorities just three things that I can
◼
►
do that will make the day a good day and
◼
►
then at the end of the day I would just
◼
►
come back to that list see how things
◼
►
had gone and also just again ad like
◼
►
what were some good things that happened
◼
►
during the day right that's all it was
◼
►
it's like a way of starting something
◼
►
answering a few questions
◼
►
setting up the course of the day in my
◼
►
mind with what are the what are the top
◼
►
things that I want to do as opposed to
◼
►
what is the big ball of stuff in my task
◼
►
management system like just pick three
◼
►
things and then simply at the end of the
◼
►
day reviewing the situation and I did
◼
►
this for the first time when I was on a
◼
►
gradation in an undisclosed location in
◼
►
finis Scandia and it was stupidly
◼
►
effective like so effective I can't
◼
►
believe how effective it was at just
◼
►
changing my mental framing and also
◼
►
helping just make it really clear about
◼
►
I only have so much time today what are
◼
►
the things that I really need to do and
◼
►
so I'm gonna try to focus on those
◼
►
things so it's not that far off from
◼
►
what you're doing I did it for a while
◼
►
it is something that I have found nearly
◼
►
impossible to make stick as a part of a
◼
►
regular routine even though it's a thing
◼
►
that I in theory would want to do but I
◼
►
find that I can only really maintain it
◼
►
when I'm in a particular focused or
◼
►
almost somewhat isolated
◼
►
state-of-mind says like i am on a
◼
►
gradation I am on like the corporate
◼
►
retreat for one and I don't know there's
◼
►
I talk about two going on these
◼
►
corporate retreats for one things I
◼
►
always always sounds kind of silly but
◼
►
it is they're weirdly mentally draining
◼
►
and they're they're very mentally
◼
►
intensive and I feel like there's
◼
►
there's something about having this
◼
►
little thing running in the background
◼
►
of like oh you're gonna review a little
◼
►
journal at the end of the day that is is
◼
►
very effective but I have just not been
◼
►
able to make it last because I almost
◼
►
find like it's it's to mentally tiring
◼
►
even though it doesn't seem like it's a
◼
►
but yeah so I've done that I've done
◼
►
that almost every time I go away on a
◼
►
corporate retreat I've sort of over the
◼
►
over the time I have modified it to add
◼
►
a couple of more questions or little
◼
►
little spaces so it's sort of developed
◼
►
into this thing that I now call a like
◼
►
my bookend journal so it's like the day
◼
►
starts and the day ends with looking at
◼
►
just these couple of pieces of paper but
◼
►
yeah it's I never look back at it it's
◼
►
not a thing that's any kind of archive
◼
►
for me it's just entirely a thing that I
◼
►
come on I'm on the trip I have my iPad
◼
►
and the pencil and I just fill it out
◼
►
you know on on on some fake paper that I
◼
►
had designed for me which I mentioned a
◼
►
while back and don't know why did you do
◼
►
I just I just had people stop asking me
◼
►
for the designs the first time around
◼
►
because you said you were gonna share
◼
►
them and you never did III have plans to
◼
►
share them at some point but I just I
◼
►
just realized as I was discussing this
◼
►
what I didn't want you to have in your
◼
►
mind Mike was the romantic idea of me
◼
►
with a quill pen and it really believed
◼
►
that I for one second thought you were
◼
►
doing is an actual pen and paper I don't
◼
►
know what's in your head paper before I
◼
►
a mysterious individual and that I
◼
►
assumed that you were doing it there
◼
►
yeah that's where it still is but I am
◼
►
happy to hear that you have found this
◼
►
kind of thing effective too
◼
►
it is interesting to me that like you
◼
►
seem to speak really high of it but like
◼
►
can't find a way to integrate it into
◼
►
your life on a more permanent basis
◼
►
that's kind of surprising to me like it
◼
►
seems like counter to the types of
◼
►
things that you usually do right find
◼
►
something to be really useful but not
◼
►
like force it here is one of the here's
◼
►
one of the things this actually kind of
◼
►
rolls up into year of order a little bit
◼
►
which is the reason it works when I'm on
◼
►
a gray casian is because I always treat
◼
►
it as I wake up I get some coffee and I
◼
►
sit down with this thing and I have like
◼
►
I have some blank space one of the
◼
►
questions I've added over time that I
◼
►
find useful is just a big big blank area
◼
►
that just says what's on your mind and I
◼
►
just sort of just write some things down
◼
►
just random freeform like what am I
◼
►
thinking about that's nice yeah it's
◼
►
it's surprisingly illuminating to just
◼
►
sit and and have a blank piece of paper
◼
►
in front of you and just wait and see
◼
►
what thoughts surface and just go just
◼
►
write them down and it's almost always
◼
►
just kind of nonsense but very often it
◼
►
will get to the it'll get to things like
◼
►
what you're saying here like I'm feeling
◼
►
overwhelmed but not about anything in
◼
►
particular right it's like oh that's
◼
►
interesting why like let's let's try to
◼
►
figure this out a bit more but on the
◼
►
gradations I treat it as the first
◼
►
activity in the morning and I'm able to
◼
►
work it into a routine then but in in my
◼
►
regular working schedule so like now and
◼
►
I'm I'm back home I'm in London and like
◼
►
before I was going to my previous office
◼
►
and now I am going to the glass cube to
◼
►
create things which I think in my mind I
◼
►
think it is now because I've decided
◼
►
it's that's where creation is going to
◼
►
occur like it's gone from the glass cube
◼
►
to the glass Forge mmm
◼
►
the glass Forge in the year of order
◼
►
like I like these all of these things
◼
►
but it just doesn't fit in the schedule
◼
►
because I know on my regular life the
◼
►
most important thing the thing that I
◼
►
try to optimize for is wake up take a
◼
►
quick walk and then get right to a
◼
►
computer to work on a script for a video
◼
►
like I've got to make that transition as
◼
►
smooth as possible and doing the journal
◼
►
puts me in like a very different kind of
◼
►
mood it puts me in a much more like
◼
►
pensive big-picture mood which is not
◼
►
not the frame of mind for I want to
◼
►
start revving this engine to get some
◼
►
work done and so I like I've just never
◼
►
quite figured out how to make it work in
◼
►
a regular routine for me otherwise so
◼
►
it's it has ended up being just largely
◼
►
like a gradation kind of thing for me
◼
►
and and that's how I use it but that's
◼
►
kind of why I was curious like you're a
◼
►
week into it and I think um I don't
◼
►
think I have ever done it for more than
◼
►
10 or 14 days in a row which is about
◼
►
the longest of the longest gradations
◼
►
and then after that it falls apart very
◼
►
quickly when I get back to my regular
◼
►
life feel like I'm gonna have better
◼
►
luck than you because of the secondary
◼
►
purpose that it serves in my life mm-hmm
◼
►
which is the act like the action of
◼
►
using my pens because that that brings
◼
►
me joy so like I I get something out of
◼
►
it which is separate which is like a
◼
►
feeling of happiness think that being
◼
►
able to act on a pursuit that I love
◼
►
so like that's an additional benefit
◼
►
that I get from this then what then what
◼
►
you would get but I'm happy to hear that
◼
►
is something that you do as well just
◼
►
because then I'm not on my own I'm a
◼
►
little wall right now no I totally get
◼
►
it I totally get it like an if it hadn't
◼
►
been a friend who I feel like is not a
◼
►
very airy-fairy person suggesting it
◼
►
quite strongly I think I never would
◼
►
have tried it in the first place he's
◼
►
like I'm not gonna sit down write three
◼
►
things that I'm thankful for
◼
►
that's dumb but like I said
◼
►
like comically effective comically
◼
►
effective at kind of changing your
◼
►
mental mindset so yeah it it very much
◼
►
works I'm gonna have a book
◼
►
recommendation for you Mike uh uh at
◼
►
this point I know you I know you don't
◼
►
like that you're at you're adding
◼
►
something to the work pile I know I know
◼
►
that I'm adding something to the work
◼
►
but listen never has a more perfect
◼
►
moment come to recommend something and
◼
►
I'm we don't eat we don't even have to
◼
►
commit to it being cortex book club I'm
◼
►
just gonna mention it on the show and if
◼
►
you read it and we want to talk about
◼
►
understand then we can talk about it we
◼
►
don't have to do it there's no
◼
►
obligation here whatsoever Mike like I'm
◼
►
only ever going to read this if it can
◼
►
be a work thing right okay I've really
◼
►
continued to I read books now for work
◼
►
it's the only reason that I would read
◼
►
any book now is to do it for work so is
◼
►
it triggers by Marshall Goldsmith yes
◼
►
yes so you saw this in the show notes
◼
►
documents this is this has been here for
◼
►
a while and I've been waiting to bring
◼
►
it up because on my last gradation a
◼
►
different good friend recommended this
◼
►
book which title the title of of it
◼
►
makes me laugh and it's a book that has
◼
►
a subtitle which is also very self helpy
◼
►
about creating behavior that lasts
◼
►
becoming the person you want to be
◼
►
everything about that sort of repels me
◼
►
from the cover of the book but oh god
◼
►
it's a leopard changing its spots
◼
►
yeah I know right did you get that it
◼
►
took a while right for the visual the
◼
►
visual metaphor there to work its way in
◼
►
yeah I know I was looking at that for a
◼
►
while and I was like what the hell is
◼
►
this cover I don't understand but yes it
◼
►
the cover literally has a leopard
◼
►
changing its spots but I read this on my
◼
►
last gradation which was also at an
◼
►
undisclosed location in finis kandia and
◼
►
I thought it was pretty good like as far
◼
►
as business books go I think this
◼
►
was pretty good and what I specifically
◼
►
wanted to do was let it sit for a while
◼
►
and see if future me was still thinking
◼
►
about it as a thing to come back to and
◼
►
the answer to that has now been yes like
◼
►
I've left it alone for a while and I
◼
►
still keep thinking about it which means
◼
►
okay I want to actually reread it and
◼
►
think if there's anything here to
◼
►
extract for me and it the most
◼
►
actionable stuff is directly related to
◼
►
things that are very similar to doing a
◼
►
daily journal so if you are trying to do
◼
►
a daily journal if you're trying to
◼
►
figure out the edges of what that might
◼
►
be this is this is the book to read to
◼
►
see if there's anything in here for you
◼
►
that might be useful and I want to
◼
►
reread it to see if there's if there's a
◼
►
way that I can modify my much more
◼
►
intensive pensive book and journal into
◼
►
something that's more like a daily
◼
►
action plan book and journal so I am
◼
►
going to reread this I suggest that you
◼
►
might want to listen to it on audiobook
◼
►
and if if you want to we could talk
◼
►
about on a future show but there's no
◼
►
because I will I refuse to add any more
◼
►
work to your big work pile now let's do
◼
►
it let's do it next time let's do it
◼
►
okay alright because it's not that long
◼
►
it's it's a six hour audio book which is
◼
►
about a third of what we usually do so I
◼
►
feel like I can knock that out by next
◼
►
time all right so next episode we're
◼
►
gonna do a claw textbook Club and maybe
◼
►
for the first time it will be something
◼
►
of use to all the freelancers out there
◼
►
you know how important it is to make
◼
►
smart decisions for your business and
◼
►
one of the smartest decisions you can
◼
►
make is to use fresh books because fresh
◼
►
books can save you up to one hundred and
◼
►
ninety two hours with their cloud
◼
►
accounting software for freelancers
◼
►
that's ridiculously easy to use by
◼
►
simplifying tasks like invoicing
◼
►
tracking expenses and getting paid
◼
►
drastically reduced the time it takes
◼
►
for over 10 million people to deal with
◼
►
their paperwork I've used fresh books to
◼
►
send out invoices and it's super easy if
◼
►
I need to send an invoice fresh books is
◼
►
what I'm using two of the things I like
◼
►
when you email invoice a client not only
◼
►
is it easy to do but fresh books will
◼
►
also let you see whether or not the
◼
►
client has seen it this puts an end to
◼
►
guessing whether or not they've actually
◼
►
received it and of course if you know
◼
►
that somebody has received a thing but
◼
►
they have not paid the thing you're also
◼
►
going to want to use fresh books
◼
►
automatic system that sends out late
◼
►
this lets you spend less time chasing
◼
►
payments and more time working on your
◼
►
business so if you're listening to this
◼
►
and you're not using fresh books yet now
◼
►
is the time to try fresh books is
◼
►
offering an unrestricted 30 day free
◼
►
trial for listeners of this show no
◼
►
credit card required all you have to do
◼
►
is go to fresh books comm slash cortex
◼
►
and enter cortex in the how did you hear
◼
►
about a section if you're a freelancer
◼
►
and if you have an invoice that you need
◼
►
to send you need to go to fresh books
◼
►
comm slash cortex and give them a try
◼
►
thanks to fresh books for supporting
◼
►
this show gray the drought is over oh
◼
►
year-long drought of no new Mike early
◼
►
vehicles so sad for the internet come to
◼
►
an end and I haven't you show that I'm
◼
►
very excited about and I want to just
◼
►
tell our listeners about it so they can
◼
►
go and check it out if they want to it
◼
►
is called playing for fun and it's
◼
►
hosted by Tiffany almond and myself it
◼
►
is not the big project that I've been
◼
►
teasing that is still in the offing this
◼
►
is the problem when people know that
◼
►
you're working on some kind of big
◼
►
project yeah is that they think
◼
►
everything's a project right oh he just
◼
►
tweeted it was that the big project no
◼
►
it was not I'll be working on this tweet
◼
►
for four years I'm still the big project
◼
►
is still kind of like being slowly
◼
►
chipped at every few days I will have a
◼
►
thought or I can idea and like I'm just
◼
►
ever so slowly flashing their hours to
◼
►
see if it's a thing that I'm going to do
◼
►
this is a project I'm very excited about
◼
►
every episode me and TIFF pick a video
◼
►
game and we just talk about what we love
◼
►
about the video game nothing else no bad
◼
►
stuff just the good stuff it is a fun
◼
►
happy positive show about things we love
◼
►
we don't talk about industry news
◼
►
we don't necessarily focus on the
◼
►
biggest games the biggest games right
◼
►
now we just pick a game that we love and
◼
►
we talk about it and we just talk about
◼
►
what we love about it and it is a show
◼
►
that is bringing me a lot of happiness
◼
►
because that's all it was about it's
◼
►
just about happiness and I feel like I
◼
►
get to talk about all of the things that
◼
►
I love like that's kind of I've built an
◼
►
incredible job for myself in that I just
◼
►
talk about things that I like right the
◼
►
things I'm passionate about the things
◼
►
that I enjoy in life but I tend to talk
◼
►
about them from a critical perspective
◼
►
right so like with all of the things
◼
►
where I'm talking about Apple stuff for
◼
►
example but even on this show I like to
◼
►
talk about working it's just a passion
◼
►
that I have that is the thing that we
◼
►
both share in just liking to talk about
◼
►
work I also talk about bad things like
◼
►
feeling overwhelmed right right but this
◼
►
show playing for fun we only talk about
◼
►
good things so it only makes you feel
◼
►
good you're never gonna criticize a
◼
►
video game like look I have another show
◼
►
about video games where I criticize
◼
►
video games right this one is just about
◼
►
good things so you can find it at relay
◼
►
that FM / playing for fun or any app
◼
►
that you use or any service that you you
◼
►
should be able to find it there it has
◼
►
the best artwork and music of any show I
◼
►
have ever been a part of it is
◼
►
next-level good so if anything just go
◼
►
check out the artwork so yeah it's
◼
►
called playing for fun please go and
◼
►
listen to it even if you don't like
◼
►
video games because you might just enjoy
◼
►
hearing two best friends talk about
◼
►
something that they enjoy like we have
◼
►
listeners of the pen addict that are
◼
►
like this people write in to us like I
◼
►
I just like hearing the two of you talk
◼
►
about things something that I don't
◼
►
understand so yeah go and check it out I
◼
►
just wanted to spend some time promoting
◼
►
well if you do like video games
◼
►
you should also listen to it as well
◼
►
because whenever TIFF has guested on the
◼
►
ATP podcast and she talks about video
◼
►
games at the end I've always thought she
◼
►
should have a podcast where she talks
◼
►
about video games she plays a lot of
◼
►
she's pretty hardcore the way she plays
◼
►
games is crazy but she's so yeah it's
◼
►
she's she's very hardcore and I've
◼
►
always enjoyed it when she's on ATP
◼
►
talking about games I thought she's
◼
►
talking about games more so you should
◼
►
go listen to it plus TIFF has a great
◼
►
podcasting voice she should do more
◼
►
podcasts so I'm glad she's doing another
◼
►
podcast with you alright let's talk
◼
►
about some year of aura and some this is
◼
►
part of my year of branching out by the
◼
►
way both for those things we've been
◼
►
talking about today I should have framed
◼
►
it as such but both the journal and the
◼
►
new show that's part of branching out
◼
►
cuz these are new things these are
◼
►
things that I haven't done before and
◼
►
I'm branching out by doing those so that
◼
►
that's actually part of my year of
◼
►
Europe branching out see this is the
◼
►
nice thing about your themes mike is is
◼
►
they can be inclusive or exclusive as
◼
►
you desire them to be yep right it's I
◼
►
love the year themes they should have
◼
►
these fuzzy boundaries so much better
◼
►
than goals goals or dumb themes way
◼
►
better and also okay so let's be real
◼
►
for a second if you set a good theme
◼
►
literally anything you do can be applied
◼
►
to the theme so you always feel like
◼
►
you're progressing yeah exactly right
◼
►
it's great I've just made a new show
◼
►
I've done this many times but it's part
◼
►
of my year of branching out because it
◼
►
wasn't something I did last year so I've
◼
►
branched out but I could also say oh
◼
►
it's nothing to do with the theme but
◼
►
I'm gonna say is part of the theme
◼
►
because then I feel like I'm progressing
◼
►
something in my life which is great news
◼
►
no it's fantastic to have in the back of
◼
►
your mind I went through a box with a
◼
►
bunch of computer cables in it and got
◼
►
rid of the ones that I don't need guess
◼
►
year of order advanced a Yalie theme I
◼
►
have brought order to the books
◼
►
yeah this box more ordered oh the
◼
►
cutlery is out of place let me bring
◼
►
year of all of it to the cutlery girl
◼
►
order order in all things big and small
◼
►
Mike right it's great its base it's
◼
►
great I may leave the house today it is
◼
►
part of the year of branching out think
◼
►
that's stretching a little bit obviously
◼
►
any orders in the drawer but yeah yeah I
◼
►
mean that's well within the confines
◼
►
yeah for sure yeah now I guess going out
◼
►
going out for your snow day the snow day
◼
►
is big enough does I think to be you're
◼
►
branching out yeah that's good yeah I
◼
►
no it's not normal in London so again
◼
►
themes big thumbs up goals thumbs down
◼
►
so what's going on in the airavata
◼
►
okay I'm back with OmniFocus yes that's
◼
►
what's going on right now I was I've
◼
►
actually been talking to your co-founder
◼
►
of real afm stephen hackett about this
◼
►
on iMessage a bunch which is the cycle
◼
►
of task management apps of going through
◼
►
these regular cycles of one to the other
◼
►
to the other it seems like stephenson in
◼
►
the bit of uh he's in a bit of a
◼
►
transition as well so we've been talking
◼
►
about it a bit and i knew this was going
◼
►
to happen and I feel like I have I have
◼
►
mentally settled on a metaphor to try to
◼
►
describe this process and I think it's a
◼
►
bit like a forest fire where what
◼
►
happens in life is you start out with
◼
►
things really simple like I'm always
◼
►
telling people hey when you're getting
◼
►
started with task managers just start
◼
►
with a piece of paper you don't even you
◼
►
don't even know what you want you don't
◼
►
need to get distracted by any of the
◼
►
complexity and paper is fine so just
◼
►
write down things did you want a piece
◼
►
of paper and then eventually you realize
◼
►
oh you know what I don't want to keep
◼
►
rewriting these recurring tasks let me
◼
►
try to find something and so you get o
◼
►
to a simple task manager and then you
◼
►
realize there's limitations in these
◼
►
simple task managers and you go to
◼
►
something a little bit more complex and
◼
►
you keep stepping it up and then you do
◼
►
have something that is very complex and
◼
►
like what you're going through now I
◼
►
personally find that at some point I
◼
►
feel this sense of vague
◼
►
overwhelmingness that's hard to pin down
◼
►
feeling like oh I have a whole bunch of
◼
►
things to do and that's when the forest
◼
►
fire comes through and sweeps it all
◼
►
clean all right and you just and then
◼
►
you start over you like you know what
◼
►
I'm just gonna be here with my iPad in
◼
►
my virtual paper and I'm gonna write
◼
►
things down like this for a little while
◼
►
and I feel like it's a healthy cycle
◼
►
because when the fire sweeps through
◼
►
gosh part of what happens is it's a way
◼
►
of discarding a whole bunch of tasks
◼
►
that you were never going to get to
◼
►
anyway I really I really would love a
◼
►
nicer metaphor than the one you know
◼
►
it's an ass isn't that less aggressive I
◼
►
don't like forest fires like you can't
◼
►
we call it like just like the tide comes
◼
►
in and it sweetens everything away from
◼
►
the beach it's working nicer now Mike
◼
►
you with your happy fuzzy life and your
◼
►
happy fuzzy podcasts no it's a forest
◼
►
fire because look I think it's
◼
►
appropriate because it's very easy in
◼
►
your life that I feel like the little
◼
►
tasks they grow up and around sort of
◼
►
just like in a forest like the forest
◼
►
becomes too dense and also the forest
◼
►
you have to realize like the forest fire
◼
►
is healthy for the forest right we're
◼
►
not we're not talking about like Oh some
◼
►
guy in California throws a cigarette out
◼
►
of the window and the whole state burns
◼
►
to the ground like oh it's a sight like
◼
►
a forest fire out somewhere in like
◼
►
Montana or Wyoming right where it's part
◼
►
of the lifecycle of the forest and it's
◼
►
actually required for seed pods to
◼
►
germinate this kind of thing so I feel
◼
►
like at the beginning of the year I went
◼
►
through the forest fire when I was on
◼
►
the gray keishon I stepped up to using
◼
►
things which I totally loved and
◼
►
definitely highly recommend but I knew I
◼
►
was eventually going to go back to
◼
►
something more complicated and then Omni
◼
►
wrote their blog post about what their
◼
►
plan for the rest of the year is and I
◼
►
do like some of the things in there and
◼
►
I thought okay things is kind of running
◼
►
up against the limitation
◼
►
of things and I also do have to say I
◼
►
really appreciate it I wrote the
◼
►
developers one particular question about
◼
►
like Oh could they change a thing and
◼
►
what I really love is unlike most
◼
►
developers who will say oh we'll put
◼
►
that on our list for consideration
◼
►
things wrote back and said no we're
◼
►
never going to do that look great I'd
◼
►
rather know I'd rather know that you
◼
►
never know you know that there's no
◼
►
point waiting yeah exactly and so some
◼
►
of the limitations and things just
◼
►
became too limiting as I'm back into the
◼
►
regular cycle of like regular podcasts
◼
►
and regular work and a whole bunch of
◼
►
other stuff I need something more so
◼
►
anyway long story short I'm back with
◼
►
OmniFocus and so that's what I've been
◼
►
using for the past couple weeks and
◼
►
almost certainly for the next six months
◼
►
it's what I'm going to be using for a
◼
►
while and then the forest fire will
◼
►
sweep through and everything will start
◼
►
all over again about this because you
◼
►
know all right so I'll tell you right
◼
►
now I'm playing with things because they
◼
►
just added this new automation system
◼
►
and it's really interesting and I'm kind
◼
►
of just toying around with it like look
◼
►
amazing I think that ultimately it
◼
►
probably won't make me as comfortable
◼
►
feeling is to do is does but I'm just
◼
►
playing around to it because there's
◼
►
some stuff that it can do which I've
◼
►
wanted to do of a task manager for a
◼
►
while but it didn't exist until now so I
◼
►
I just want to see what that's like so
◼
►
for example one big project that I have
◼
►
is this show and posting this show just
◼
►
from a point of like when the Edit is
◼
►
complete is a two-day process full of
◼
►
lots of things that need to be taken
◼
►
care of and we've using something
◼
►
incredible that Federer friend Federico
◼
►
vtg came up with which I will link in
◼
►
our show notes he created this like
◼
►
natural language passing system in
◼
►
workflow that can hand over a full
◼
►
project into things but it has an icon
◼
►
I've been adapting and tweaking with the
◼
►
workflow to the point where I can get
◼
►
like headings in a project which I've
◼
►
never seen before in any task manager so
◼
►
just like heading who's like one that
◼
►
one that says video one that says
◼
►
posting so it separates out the projects
◼
►
I think I mentioned this last time as
◼
►
these non meaningful dividers that it
◼
►
things have which is lovely which is
◼
►
absolutely lovely because it can break a
◼
►
project up visually rather than just
◼
►
this like sea of items that look exactly
◼
►
yeah it's so nice they in OmniFocus
◼
►
there's a way that I can kind of trick
◼
►
it which is to have these fake sub
◼
►
projects and then have things listed
◼
►
under these fake sub projects and the
◼
►
those aren't real projects in the system
◼
►
but I I do I don't like the the lack of
◼
►
clarity where I'm what I'm looking at
◼
►
the list I have to remember oh that's
◼
►
not really a sub-project it's just a
◼
►
thing that I've made so I can group a
◼
►
bunch of similar things together it's
◼
►
one of the very nice things about things
◼
►
is the visual look of it and when I
◼
►
first saw the headings I thought oh this
◼
►
is dumb I'll never use this and turns
◼
►
out actually one of my favorite things
◼
►
in that app it's the headings is great
◼
►
and it's so visually nice so like I've
◼
►
been playing around with this project
◼
►
this list of tasks and grouping them out
◼
►
and using some of the there's a tool in
◼
►
in workflow called magic variables which
◼
►
was basically making variables like a
◼
►
like a construction set and it means
◼
►
that someone like me can use workflow
◼
►
more simply so what I've been doing is
◼
►
when I set the task when I say I want
◼
►
this project to begin what I want is for
◼
►
x to be entered into a to do manager
◼
►
that a relative's at a time that I
◼
►
started the project so right I want to
◼
►
be able to start a project and be like
◼
►
this thing needs to go off half an hour
◼
►
from the point that I begin and no other
◼
►
system that I've been able to use has
◼
►
been able to do this so I thought to
◼
►
myself oh I can do this in workflow
◼
►
because I can go into workflow and I can
◼
►
say okay by using their kind of date
◼
►
tools what is the current time add 30
◼
►
minutes to that time and then I can drop
◼
►
it into Federico's workflow as a magic
◼
►
it can look at the time that I've
◼
►
selected and been like 30 minutes from
◼
►
now right and and I've been able to
◼
►
piece that together in so I am playing
◼
►
around with this it's just like a what
◼
►
does that look like so then I end up
◼
►
with this multiple day it's not finished
◼
►
yet like this is taking me a while it's
◼
►
multiple day project with everything
◼
►
broken out which is all time relative
◼
►
front this is exactly what I've wanted
◼
►
for this specific project which is
◼
►
posting this show which is one of the
◼
►
like larger projects that I have purely
◼
►
because I just there are a lot of little
◼
►
pieces to it I don't want to get wrong
◼
►
so I have wait I don't do this for other
◼
►
shows because the process is is more
◼
►
simple and it's more streamlined and
◼
►
it's easier to repair if something goes
◼
►
wrong but with our show it's a little
◼
►
bit more tricky because there's also
◼
►
like all of the YouTube stuff and you
◼
►
know if if there's something wrong in
◼
►
the audio it is way harder for me to fix
◼
►
then with my other shows than adjust
◼
►
audio right because I would also have to
◼
►
change the video and like I just so I
◼
►
like to make sure I've got absolutely
◼
►
everything 100% taken care of before I
◼
►
do anything so it's a huge list of tasks
◼
►
and it looks like with this thing's
◼
►
automation I can create a template able
◼
►
project that I can run which will be in
◼
►
a much nicer state than anything
◼
►
OmniFocus has given me and to do this
◼
►
has given me because I've built these
◼
►
projects in both of these other apps but
◼
►
I've never been fully happy about it and
◼
►
it looks like that things can do that
◼
►
and I don't know what this is gonna mean
◼
►
for me but because I'm still playing
◼
►
around of it on this point and the
◼
►
reason I was laughing about all of this
◼
►
is I have I think I have come up with
◼
►
like a grand unifying theory about to do
◼
►
apps okay know to do app will ever be
◼
►
perfect because it is impossible to meet
◼
►
the specific requirements of an
◼
►
user base right everyone uses their
◼
►
to-do app slightly differently even if
◼
►
they follow a system like GTD everyone
◼
►
has their own preferences so like it is
◼
►
impossible to create a perfect to-do app
◼
►
because nobody can ever be satisfied
◼
►
because no one is ever fully satisfied
◼
►
when a new app comes along
◼
►
there's always the promise of maybe this
◼
►
and that's why you move to it and you
◼
►
just keep doing this in the hopes that
◼
►
over time something will become perfect
◼
►
but the funny thing is it never will
◼
►
yeah I mean this is why I've always said
◼
►
like the the market for to do apps is
◼
►
infinite because everybody thinks about
◼
►
things in different ways but there's
◼
►
even there's even more granular problems
◼
►
like one of the things that has been on
◼
►
in my move back to hominid focus when
◼
►
I'm getting the heavyweight stuff set up
◼
►
like I always feel like going going
◼
►
OmniFocus is bringing in the big guns
◼
►
like we're serious now and we're heading
◼
►
into a real serious phase of work yeah
◼
►
but there's a so here's the thing even
◼
►
an an individual user who has a clearly
◼
►
so OmniFocus for me has my projects in
◼
►
it so things like posting podcasts and
◼
►
videos and other clearly work-related
◼
►
stuff I have a constrained use for it I
◼
►
know how to use the system everything is
◼
►
great but even then you don't always
◼
►
want your to-do app to have the same
◼
►
behaviors at different times and so for
◼
►
example when do I want OmniFocus to
◼
►
alert me about something when it's due
◼
►
ahead of time like eat and right then
◼
►
there that immediately throws you into
◼
►
all of these problems of well the app is
◼
►
designed to set alerts when a thing is
◼
►
due so you have to build your whole
◼
►
system around the concept of okay if I
◼
►
I need the due dates to be when I expect
◼
►
the alerts to be right and this is just
◼
►
like behavior in a single app and to do
◼
►
managers are always going to run into
◼
►
that problem of you have to adapt
◼
►
yourself a little bit to however they
◼
►
think of things but like when I was when
◼
►
I was using the things app I was very
◼
►
aware of okay I need to build my system
◼
►
around the way they manage the today and
◼
►
the anytime lists and it's like okay
◼
►
this is great this is fine I can get
◼
►
this to work but you're always going to
◼
►
run up against a moment where you feel
◼
►
oh but I want this thing to appear in
◼
►
the today list in a way that the app is
◼
►
never going to to do it so even within a
◼
►
single app or within a single user
◼
►
you're going to want inconsistent
◼
►
behaviors that are impossible to program
◼
►
for like oh I I do want alerts on
◼
►
deadlines but not for these tasks right
◼
►
but I do want them for those tasks or I
◼
►
want an alert for these things but I
◼
►
don't want to put a deadline on them
◼
►
right so is it it's just a it's a
◼
►
fundamentally impossible area and this
◼
►
is one of the reasons why for years now
◼
►
I have actually used multiple to do apps
◼
►
because I try to categorize different
◼
►
sorts of activities that I'm looking for
◼
►
and this this is why I like the
◼
►
longest-running one now is to do for me
◼
►
the number two do where I use that for
◼
►
what I think of as my starting the day
◼
►
and ending the day in other routines
◼
►
because I can have that app act the way
◼
►
that I want these particular kinds of
◼
►
tasks to be and that app happens to be
◼
►
really great at the ability to say sort
◼
►
of reset a day where it's like oh man
◼
►
I've totally blown off all my routine
◼
►
stuff but I just want to press two
◼
►
buttons to like reset tomorrow and at
◼
►
twenty things just work it's like that's
◼
►
great that's totally fine it works
◼
►
because there's a constrained set of
◼
►
things in that app and they're
◼
►
quarantined from OmniFocus which is a
◼
►
different kind of thing where like
◼
►
resetting a day is a fundamentally
◼
►
impossible thing to do so even even if
◼
►
you're willing like me to go to the
◼
►
mental effort of saying I'm going to
◼
►
division certain kinds of tasks that
◼
►
make sense to put these ones over here
◼
►
and those ones over there you still
◼
►
always run into this problem of we kind
◼
►
of want to do managers to read our minds
◼
►
and show us exactly what we want to see
◼
►
when we want to see it in a way that is
◼
►
impossible to programmatically define
◼
►
and of course it is also very easy to
◼
►
get enticed by the shiny to give it to
◼
►
because I feel like like a brand-new
◼
►
journal or a physical notebook it holds
◼
►
the promise of a better future this
◼
►
episode of cortex is also brought to you
◼
►
by our friends at Casper Casper our
◼
►
company focused on sleep dedicated to
◼
►
making you exceptionally comfortable one
◼
►
night at a time we sleep a lot we sleep
◼
►
so much it actually takes up a third of
◼
►
your life and if you spend a third of
◼
►
your life doing anything don't you want
◼
►
it to be the best that could possibly be
◼
►
that's why you need Casper because their
◼
►
mattresses are designed for humans
◼
►
they're perfectly engineered to soothe
◼
►
and support your natural geometry hey
◼
►
they've got all the right support in all
◼
►
so what goes into making a Casper
◼
►
mattress so darn comfortable while they
◼
►
combine multiple supportive memory foams
◼
►
for a quality mattress there's just the
◼
►
right sink and bounce their mattresses
◼
►
are designed and developed in the US and
◼
►
their breathable design helps to
◼
►
regulate your body temperature
◼
►
throughout the night they have over
◼
►
20,000 reviews online with an average
◼
►
rating of 4.8 stars it's easy to see
◼
►
that Casper is the Internet's favorite
◼
►
mattress and you could be sure of your
◼
►
purchase with Casper with their 108
◼
►
risk-free sleep on it trial they'll
◼
►
deliver directly to your door and if for
◼
►
any reason you don't love it they have a
◼
►
hassle-free return policy I have spent
◼
►
nights on a Casper mattress and have
◼
►
always been very very comfortable you
◼
►
know and they say it's got all the right
◼
►
support in all the right places they
◼
►
aren't joking because those mattresses
◼
►
dad Dan comfortable and I love the way
◼
►
that they come in this fantastic box
◼
►
which is super small it's easy to get in
◼
►
up the stairs it's easy to get into an
◼
►
elevator and then you could just open it
◼
►
up and you let your mattress spring to
◼
►
life in its new home you can get fifty
◼
►
dollars towards select mattresses by
◼
►
going to Caspar ooms - cortex and using
◼
►
cortex at checkout terms of conditions
◼
►
apply once again that is Caspar ooms -
◼
►
cortex and the offer code cortex our
◼
►
thanks to Casper for their support of
◼
►
this show great let's do some ask cortex
◼
►
questions I need to lighten this mood a
◼
►
little bit I need to I need to go out
◼
►
into the world and pick some questions
◼
►
from our listeners to help me right now
◼
►
so that sound good if questions from the
◼
►
help you Mike let's do questions for the
◼
►
listeners gray it always helps me and
◼
►
the first one comes from Chad and Chad
◼
►
says if you were applying for a new job
◼
►
today and had to update your resume
◼
►
what fonts would you choose uh do you
◼
►
have like a preferred font for stuff
◼
►
well no what my brain was just mentally
◼
►
rolling back there is realizing that the
◼
►
last time I put together a resume I was
◼
►
doing it in latex I don't have any idea
◼
►
how I would reset what is that like a
◼
►
letterpress what is that okay Mike
◼
►
anybody who's done a PhD they will know
◼
►
what later oh look at you um if you'd
◼
►
have done a PhD then you'd know no
◼
►
because because obviously you don't know
◼
►
Mike you didn't do a PhD well I didn't
◼
►
do a PhD either right just just to be
◼
►
clear here I closest I got to a PhD was
◼
►
dropping out of a master's course and
◼
►
sorry dr. grey I came across it because
◼
►
when I was a physics student the people
◼
►
who were doing the PhDs introduced it to
◼
►
me and they're like oh hey here's this
◼
►
thing that you can use to write papers
◼
►
and you actually hit precisely what it
◼
►
is it's if you think of the monk who is
◼
►
manually typesetting a book latex is the
◼
►
is the computer version of this so I
◼
►
would say it's like a think of like
◼
►
markdown make markdown ten times more
◼
►
complicated but it has a whole bunch of
◼
►
commands that allow you to produce a
◼
►
thing that looks like it has been
◼
►
professionally typeset latex is a thing
◼
►
that will produce just beautiful
◼
►
beautiful looking documents how is it
◼
►
spelled capital L lowercase a capital T
◼
►
lowercase e capital X so why don't say
◼
►
it lay tech because I get nervous about
◼
►
how I'm supposed to say it because in my
◼
►
head I would always call it late
◼
►
but then people would tell me that I'm
◼
►
pronouncing it wrong and I think it's
◼
►
supposed to be lei tech and I've heard
◼
►
people say la tech I've heard a million
◼
►
different things but all I know is if I
◼
►
ever say it out loud and I say latex
◼
►
then the people who are actually doing
◼
►
PhD starts coughing and they're like oh
◼
►
okay well you don't really know this
◼
►
thing but anyway the reason the reason I
◼
►
was mentally rolling it back is because
◼
►
I would just use a ton of the defaults
◼
►
in this markup language so I have no
◼
►
idea what font that would have picked
◼
►
from it was spitting out my resume so uh
◼
►
I don't know I don't know Chad I would
◼
►
pick I would pick a safe font I think
◼
►
that's I think that's what I would do
◼
►
something nice and safe but presumably
◼
►
in this scenario I would be applying to
◼
►
a school and you just want to convey
◼
►
safety and boredom in that in that
◼
►
resume as a as um as someone looking to
◼
►
get another physics teaching job so
◼
►
you're gonna be like Arial Calibri or
◼
►
yeah times new roman' thats probably
◼
►
which way would go yeah what about you
◼
►
Joe common and Comic Sans let's really
◼
►
just wrap this one up no I I have to
◼
►
figure it out that's like me yeah - I
◼
►
like Gotham and Futura no good they're
◼
►
good the fonts that I like a future a
◼
►
bold mm-hmm and Gotham
◼
►
I think medium I like my favorite so I
◼
►
would try and find something within
◼
►
those typefaces to use in future and
◼
►
Gotham because I like them and
◼
►
especially Gotham it can look just
◼
►
relatively normal looking like future in
◼
►
many styles can be like a little bit too
◼
►
much right you you kind of look like
◼
►
you're really going for a thing but you
◼
►
know that they're my to know my two
◼
►
favorites although I am very very
◼
►
partial to a font in Google Docs called
◼
►
which I use quite liberally on show
◼
►
notes document when there's the thing
◼
►
that we have to talk about that you
◼
►
don't want to talk about so like
◼
►
business stuff is is all written in the
◼
►
creep stuff on which is bad like bloody
◼
►
dreary home right you'll you'll put that
◼
►
at the top of our shared document and it
◼
►
will just say q3 scheduling right
◼
►
because you don't want to convey that
◼
►
everyone understands right it's like
◼
►
this is scary stuff but we have to do it
◼
►
mmm Nathan asked on the topic of the
◼
►
year of order I'd love to hear an update
◼
►
on how both of you deal with email these
◼
►
days especially we're helping your
◼
►
assistants have either of you tried
◼
►
services like missive to let assistants
◼
►
triage your inbox I don't I don't really
◼
►
want to talk about email because because
◼
►
I question for you next I will just say
◼
►
that like you are feeling
◼
►
overwhelmingness one of the things that
◼
►
for me triggered the idea of I need a
◼
►
year of order is that my year of
◼
►
redirection left I'll put it this way it
◼
►
left all of my communications with the
◼
►
outside world in total chaos
◼
►
including my email the number of times I
◼
►
opened my email last year was very very
◼
►
few and so while I have I have many sub
◼
►
projects that are going on in the year
◼
►
of order I want to set up my physical
◼
►
space and then I want to work on my
◼
►
routine and get that really narrowed
◼
►
down but one of the one of the things
◼
►
immediately after that is I need to work
◼
►
my way through this terrifyingly large
◼
►
communications backlog that I have on
◼
►
many fronts across many things so I
◼
►
don't really want to talk about email
◼
►
now I'm gonna have to deal with that at
◼
►
some point later a couple of days ago we
◼
►
and you kind of mentioned in passing I
◼
►
haven't looked to email in months and I
◼
►
just there's like a part of me that's
◼
►
like I can't believe that that is true
◼
►
like you can't mean that like absolutely
◼
►
well I mean sometimes websites will send
◼
►
you verification codes through your
◼
►
email and you need to click on those
◼
►
right and so yeah I've opened email for
◼
►
that sort of thing but as we have
◼
►
discussed as we have discussed in the
◼
►
past though almost almost everything
◼
►
that is of any importance to me now
◼
►
either people just know to contact my
◼
►
assistant directly because it will get
◼
►
them vastly faster turnaround then
◼
►
trying to contact me directly or its
◼
►
things through slack so part of this is
◼
►
a structural problem that I try to limit
◼
►
how much time I spend on administrative
◼
►
stuff and so slack and things coming
◼
►
straight from my assistant are much
◼
►
higher up on the queue of importance and
◼
►
so the hit rate and email has gone way
◼
►
down but I do really mean it that is I
◼
►
have not I have not looked at email in
◼
►
any meaningful way in a very very long
◼
►
time I have an enormous backlog of who
◼
►
knows what in there and it's it is time
◼
►
to it's time to get out the shovel and
◼
►
go through that at some point in the
◼
►
future but not not today not tomorrow
◼
►
but you know later there are so many
◼
►
things that mean you agree upon when it
◼
►
comes to getting what done what our
◼
►
approaches to email yeah yeah polarizing
◼
►
yeah I think about that every time I see
◼
►
an email notification on your watch
◼
►
right and it's like and I would just
◼
►
wanna be clear I totally know that that
◼
►
works for you right and it clearly does
◼
►
but it makes me it makes me sort of
◼
►
smile on the inside every time that
◼
►
we're together in person and I see a
◼
►
little poop and there's the email
◼
►
notification on your watch and it's like
◼
►
this is one area where we live very
◼
►
different lives if I use the application
◼
►
email right now like to do apps
◼
►
ever fully satisfied of email
◼
►
applications but I have it set with all
◼
►
of the preferences on my iPhone and even
◼
►
that basically an inbox like so a list
◼
►
of email you can kind of see in like an
◼
►
inbox view maybe about seven or eight
◼
►
kind of like in at one time if I have to
◼
►
I am very uncomfortable mm-hmm so at a
◼
►
given time there is typically never more
◼
►
than eight emails in my inbox and
◼
►
they're not being hidden like they're
◼
►
being one way or another dealt with
◼
►
mm-hmm we have very very different
◼
►
approaches to email it's really very
◼
►
different in regards to sharing email
◼
►
with people that I work with I would
◼
►
like to try and find a system for this
◼
►
eventually because right now it's a lot
◼
►
of forwarding going on which it's not
◼
►
ideal really oh yeah right I need and
◼
►
it's also with the situation I'm in the
◼
►
way that I've got things working for me
◼
►
it also wouldn't work for me to share my
◼
►
email inboxes they'd be way too much
◼
►
discussion about what email needs to be
◼
►
dealt with by who mm-hmm I want to be
◼
►
able to find an application or a service
◼
►
where you can kind of like assign email
◼
►
but I haven't been happy with anything
◼
►
that I've seen so far maybe one day I
◼
►
would like that but the triaging of my
◼
►
inbox is currently served by my Apple
◼
►
that is my triage assistant is my own
◼
►
little watch and Anil ash asked how do
◼
►
you manage your personal business email
◼
►
do you separate them across different
◼
►
applications or do you keep them all in
◼
►
one app you use unified inboxes I'm just
◼
►
assuming that like it's all goes in one
◼
►
huge bucket for you and it all is not
◼
►
dealt with yeah that's correct one
◼
►
gigantic unlooked at payal yup great
◼
►
even when I've been more on top of my
◼
►
email in the past I've never really
◼
►
found the hassle of multiple inboxes
◼
►
worth it for me again that that's a
◼
►
side-effect of the way I have structured
◼
►
my businesses but I've just I've never
◼
►
found the payoff to be worth it I have
◼
►
everything all go into one place you're
◼
►
gonna find in bots one application
◼
►
personal business email
◼
►
because honestly like email that is
◼
►
personal is not personal really like all
◼
►
of the email that I get will be deemed
◼
►
going to a personal account it's still
◼
►
like transactions and things that need
◼
►
to be checked upon you know like it's
◼
►
never really like my buddy sending me an
◼
►
email people don't email me like they
◼
►
have other ways to contact me right that
◼
►
like it tends to be all work no matter
◼
►
what email address is going to this one
◼
►
comes from Rafael gray has commented a
◼
►
couple of times about taking note of
◼
►
every idea that he has so you can get
◼
►
Muffy's mine and deal with him later
◼
►
how does gray deal with having ideas in
◼
►
bed right before sleeping does he pick
◼
►
up his phone and take notes or does he
◼
►
just let it go and hopes that he
◼
►
remembers the idea the next day okay
◼
►
this is gonna be really unhelpful but I
◼
►
fall asleep very fast so I get into bed
◼
►
and then it's morning so this is not a
◼
►
problem that I really have to deal with
◼
►
you made a we had a disgruntled noise
◼
►
there Mike I'm guessing this is not your
◼
►
situation no it's not my situation is I
◼
►
have to just wait until I can't be awake
◼
►
anymore okay and so I do thank you sleep
◼
►
yes that's why I go to bed at like 2:00
◼
►
a.m. because it's like body can't step I
◼
►
like sleeping hate going to sleep mm-hmm
◼
►
want some sleep inks awesome don't want
◼
►
to stop it but the act of like going to
◼
►
do it I hate it I hate mm-hmm so like I
◼
►
just would do things until I can't be
◼
►
awake anymore there's like this weird
◼
►
thing like in my admirer I feel like I'm
◼
►
just kind of just wasting time like I
◼
►
might as well just be reading Twitter
◼
►
for an hour and wait until like my
◼
►
eyelids are so bad I think everything in
◼
►
my life that would be deemed unhealthy
◼
►
the way I approach sleep is do is the
◼
►
least healthy part like it's it's really
◼
►
I can see though that it sounds like you
◼
►
and my wife are using the same sleep
◼
►
only only when exhaustion grasps you by
◼
►
the throat rips you and you cannot
◼
►
escape is that like I'm a little sleepy
◼
►
almost immediately I'm asleep that I
◼
►
well luckily you don't have to suffer
◼
►
from that bike yeah I'll sleep next to
◼
►
you I guess because that would also
◼
►
drive me mad yeah let's not do that