Digital To-Do Lists Not Giving You The Results You Want?

I’ve gone over some journaling details in previous newsletters a couple of times - today I’d like to extend that to explaining a bit more about how a physical notebook can help you be more productive.

There’s a lot that can be gained - if it’s a good fit for your workflow, so let’s get going.

Why The Analog Focus Technique

Digital task managers are incredible - they help us track, collaborate, and manage complex projects.

But here's the catch: they can also become a source of constant digital noise. I don’t recommend living in your digital task manager, I limit the time I spend in ClickUp (my project management tool of choice right now).

Enter the notebook method:

Each day, I review all my digital tasks (ClickUp, Slack, email) and distill them down to 3-4 critical priorities on a single notebook page. 

This simple act does three powerful things:

• Forces you to prioritize
• Reduces digital distractions
• Creates a tangible, visual focus list

If you haven’t tried this before, give it a shot this next week - down below I’ll share a couple ways to make this happen easily.

This Week’s Favorite

Putting Physical Task List To Work

Use a small notebook to keep your daily priorities concise and intentional - I’ve found that just like “work expanding to fill the time available” that if I have a big page I’ll probably write down a bunch of stuff.

Don’t have a notebook or don’t want to buy one right now? No problem, just grab a 3×5 index card or a scrap of paper or even an envelope.

What you’re doing is forcing yourself to focus down to just a few tasks and by writing them down by hand it’s helping cement that information into your brain.

It may only take 30 seconds…but it works!

Another reason this works well is that the physical act of writing and crossing off tasks provides a satisfaction no digital checkbox can match.

And since I know there will be a question of “but what do you use?” - right now I’m going through a half-used Moleskine notebook before going back to my Midori Travelers Notebook with blank inserts (they come in all styles).

Extra Extra

• If you missed it on the YouTube channel, I interviewed the creator of Zendo, an Eisenhower Matrix productivity tool about how he uses it, why he created it, and more - check out the interview here.

One quick question 👋

I love hearing from readers, and I’m always happy to hear feedback from active subscribers. How am I doing with the Productivity Academy newsletter? Is there any content you’d like to see more or less of? Which parts of the newsletter (or articles, or podcast) do you enjoy the most?

Hit reply and say hello, happy to hear from you!

P.S. Looking for resources to improve your productivity? Check out the tools I use right here.