During the Past Three Years, I’ve Modified My System
Recently, I went to a local motel and processed my quarterly review and planning session. For those of you who know David Sparks’ roles-based productivity system, as he discusses in the Productivity Field Guide, the quarterly review and planning session is a crucial part of his productivity system.
During the review and planning session, I reviewed my work for the past quarter. Next, I reviewed and revised my roles and Arete statements (the best version of myself for each role). Finally, I planned the projects, tasks, and habits I wanted to work on in the next quarter. In other words, I set my intentions for the next quarter.
I’ve followed David Spark’s role-based productivity system for about three years. I noticed during this quarterly planning session that I’d made several changes and modifications to his system to suit me better.
All Productivity Systems Need to be Modified to Fit You
Any productivity system must be modified to fit our unique desires and needs. There are no one-size-fits-all systems. But even though we know better, sometimes we try to make them so.
When the system doesn’t work out over time, we blame ourselves or the system, dump the whole thing, or find another system to try. We jump from system to system, thinking we’ll find the perfect one.
It takes some time working with a system to figure out what to keep, what to discard, and what to modify. We must experiment with different options, identify what’s working and what’s not, and try other options. That’s precisely what happened to me over the past three years.
David Sparks’ system was developed to meet his needs and his personality. He never intended for it to apply to everyone. Early in the Productivity Field Guide book, he says, “There is no simple productivity fix. There is no one answer for everyone.” A little further along, he says, “I’m going to give you a lot of ideas in this course, but some of them may not work for you. That’s your call to make. Focus on the stuff that works. Ignore everything else.”
“My goal isn’t for you to copy me, but to build your own productivity system that works uniquely for you.” David Sparks
That’s excellent advice and what we must do with whatever productivity system we try. As I said, over the years, I have modified my roles-based productivity system to fit better my circumstances, needs, and desires.
For Setting My Intentions and Remembering Them, I Need a High Level of Structure
I found that I need a high level of structure at some levels. I need a highly structured system to identify my roles and my Arete statements. I also need a highly structured repeating review system in which I do quarterly, monthly, and weekly review and planning sessions. I need structured templates to guide my reviews and ask myself the questions that need to be periodically asked.
My life purpose has arisen from this system. My life purpose is to become a better person by making progress on my Arete statements.
My Arete statements identify my intentions in life. I need a high level of structure, with quarterly, monthly, and weekly review and planning sessions, to keep my Arete at the forefront of my mind and remind me of my intentions. I know that when I get preoccupied with the details of life, it’s easy for me to forget many of my intentions. I need a structure that will regularly remind me of those.
I need structure to prompt and enable me to plan projects, tasks, and habits to advance my Arete. During my quarterly planning session, I looked at all of my roles and considered what I could do to make progress on each of them. As a result, I came up with a list of projects, tasks, and habits I need to implement to make that progress.
Highly structured reviews also allow me to check my progress in each role and hold myself accountable. In my reviews, I’m not only looking forward to what I’m going to be doing, but I’m also looking backward and saying, “How did I do? How am I doing in the projects that I intend to do? How am I doing in my habits? How am I doing in getting those tasks done?” So, for me, a high level of structure keeps things from slipping through the cracks.
For Implementing My Intentions Weekly and Daily, I Need a Low Level of Structure
On the other hand, I’ve found some areas where David Spark’s system calls for a high level of structure, but I have opted for a lower level of structure. I’ve found that I need a lower, more flexible level of structure in my weekly and daily planning.
I’m retired and want a high level of flexibility in my schedule. I want to implement my Arete intentions, but I also like the flexibility to take advantage of favorable weather for hiking, backpacking, day trips, and overnight trips with my wife. I like the flexibility to block out a day or two or three when I see an opportunity.
I also want more flexibility in the afternoons than in the mornings. I don’t know my energy level in the afternoons, so I want to choose what I do in the afternoons.
So, I use lower-level structures to accomplish projects and tasks and advance my Arete.
I Don’t Do a Shutdown Ritual
A key part of David Sparks’ system is having a shutdown routine every day. He feels like having a structured daily ritual helps him keep up with administrative tasks and provides a clear break from his work day (he says his natural inclination is to keep working until he’s exhausted and falls into bed). As a part of his ritual, he also plans the next day, which includes hyper-scheduling the day (time-blocking).
I’ve decided not to do a shutdown ritual. I don’t have an issue stopping work, and I never have. When I was a practicing attorney, as I reached the end of my work day, I would shut down my work and go home. I rarely took work home.
So it’s never been an issue for me, as it has been for David Sparks, to keep working and then collapse into bed. Our personalities are not identical, so what makes sense for him doesn’t make sense for me.
I Don’t Do My Daily Planning in the Afternoon but in the Morning
Another critical part of David Sparks’ system is that he always plans the next day as part of his shutdown ritual. He feels he does better planning in the afternoon because he’s tired and more realistic about his abilities. He also feels like he sleeps better when he goes to bed, knowing he has a plan ready for the next day.
I’ve decided not to do my daily planning the afternoon before but rather the following morning. I feel exhausted in the afternoon, and the last thing I want to do is plan my next day. I sleep well, knowing I will make a plan the next morning. I don’t have to have a plan when I go to bed.
I already have a morning routine I follow each day. As part of my routine, I journal in Day One. I’ve added several prompts to my template to identify my top three tasks and my priority task. I also have a prompt asking me to write my daily plan.
I prefer to make my plan in the morning and immediately execute it. Some people who follow David Sparks’ productivity system have difficulty implementing a plan they made the day prior.
There’s a disconnect between “yesterday me” and “today me.” People resist doing what “yesterday me” tells them to do today. Because I make my plan in the morning, I don’t experience this resistance.
I Hyper-Schedule My Mornings to Do High-energy Work
In David Sparks’ system, hyper-scheduling or time blocking can start as early as quarterly planning. As he gets closer to the actual day with monthly and weekly planning, he fills more and more blocks of time. He has many days planned with time blocks when he does his daily planning.
I want more flexibility, so I typically hyper-schedule only the mornings and leave the afternoons more flexible. I have the highest energy in the mornings, and I block that time to ensure that I get my high-level intentional tasks and projects done in the mornings. That’s when I can best focus.
I Use the Anchor Technique In the Afternoons for Flexibility
In the afternoons, I try to leave my time open to my discretion. I don’t want to block time for every hour during the afternoon.
I want to be able to decide in the afternoon what I want to work on from several different options. I want to be able to judge my energy level and interest and then decide what I’m going to work on.
Recently, I came across “The Anchor Technique” by Kourosh Dini. He has a structure for deciding what to do with multiple options.
The first step is to pause. You grab a pen and paper and then write down your options and what you might do now. Not what you plan to do or will do, but what you might do. Next, you decide on one of them and circle it.
Then you visit your choice. You go and do whatever you’ve chosen. If you find yourself wandering off, gently return. You consider whether to add that to your list. Return to your list when you decide you’re done with your task. If you’re done with it, cross it out. Choose another option on the list (or not) or discard it.
The Anchor Technique seems likely to work well for me. I’ve only had a couple of weeks to experiment with it, but I think it will help me organize and provide a process for deciding what I want to do when I have discretion. I need some structure or system to consider options and choose what to work on. Otherwise, I’m likely to drift or wander.
So, my afternoon schedule is very low-structure, unlike high-structure hyper-scheduling in the mornings.
Conclusion
After implementing David Sparks’ role-based productivity system for three years, I realized the importance of tailoring it to my unique needs. I discovered that while I required a high level of structure for setting and remembering my intentions, I preferred a more flexible approach for daily and weekly execution.
• I eliminated the shutdown ritual and daily planning in the afternoon, opting to plan the following day in the morning as part of my existing routine.
• I hyper-schedule only my mornings to prioritize high-energy tasks, leaving my afternoons flexible.
• I adopted the Anchor Technique to guide my decision-making and provide structure for selecting activities during my afternoon discretionary time.
I have embraced these modifications and created a productivity system that fits my personality, circumstances, and desires.
I urge you to do the same with your adopted productivity system. It’s not written in stone, and the productivity police won’t show up at your door if you make changes. You can only benefit from adapting and creating your own system.