Introduction: Why NotePlan Became My Go-To Productivity Tool
Do you find yourself constantly switching between multiple apps to stay organized throughout the day?
After a two-week free trial, I’ve fully embraced the NotePlan app. (I wrote about my initial experiences in Why I’m Making the Switch: A Two-Week Journey with NotePlan.)
What drew me to NotePlan was its ability to consolidate everything I needed into one place—no more app-juggling. All my daily planning, task management, and unfinished tasks are seamlessly integrated within a single location.
This change transformed my workflow. Now, I’m more organized, on target, and, most importantly, more productive.
My Previous Workflow: Juggling Multiple Apps to Stay on Track
Are you tired of managing your day by constantly switching between apps? My previous workflow involved juggling multiple apps to plan and progress through the day, with no central location where everything came together.
Here’s what that process looked like:
- Review Calendar: I’d start by checking my calendar app for upcoming events.
- Task Manager: Next, I’d open my task manager app to see what was scheduled for the day.
- Daily Journaling: Using the journaling app Day One, I’d select my tasks for the day and choose one as my primary focus as part of my journaling template. Sometimes, I’d add new tasks during this process.
- Planning the Day: I’d plan my day using traditional time blocking or the Anchor Technique.
• Time Blocking: I’d transfer all tasks to the calendar, set start and end times, and select the “time blocking” calendar in my setup. I followed this schedule strictly. (For more on this, see Part 7 – Hyper-Scheduling to Make Progress on Your Arete— Working Through the Productivity Field Guide.)
• Anchor Technique: Alternatively, I’d handwrite my tasks on an Ugmonk card and pick which ones to work on as I went through the day, circling them. When finished, I’d draw a line through them and choose another task. (For more on this technique, see Discover the Anchor Technique: Finding Balance Between Structure and Flexibility.) - Managing Uncompleted Tasks: If a task wasn’t completed, I’d handle it differently depending on the method used. Unchecked tasks in the task manager would roll over to the next day, while time-blocked tasks would be rescheduled on the calendar. Anchor Technique tasks would be added to the next day’s Ugmonk card.
Streamlining My Workflow: Everything I Need in One Screen with NotePlan
With NotePlan, everything is streamlined into a single view. My notes are on the left, the daily planning note is in the center, and my calendar and Apple Reminders are on the right. Everything I need to plan the day, work through the day, and manage unfinished tasks is in one location.
By “one location,” I don’t mean that everything is within the same app but in different parts and requires opening and viewing different screens. Instead, in NotePlan, I don’t have to jump around to other parts of an app—everything I need is on the app’s main screen.
Step-by-Step Guide to My New NotePlan Workflow:
A. Review and Organize Calendar and Tasks
- Insert Daily Note Template: I start by inserting my “Daily Note Template” into my daily note. (Automatic insertion is currently in beta.) The template includes four categories: Possible Tasks, Tasks for Today, Primary Task, and Time Blocking.
- Review Calendar and Reminders: I check my calendar events and Reminders on the right-hand panel in NotePlan. The calendar view is on by default, and with a quick click on “Timeline,” I can switch to my Reminders.
Dragging tasks from the Reminders list into my daily notes is straightforward, and I can easily toggle back to the calendar view. When I drag a Reminder into my daily note, it is checked as done in Apple Reminders. Any future management of that task must be within NotePlan since it will not appear as an overdue task in Reminders.
- Organize Tasks: I organize my tasks by dragging them from the Reminders filter into my daily note. Tasks I might work on go into “Possible Tasks,” while tasks I’m committed to do that day go into “Tasks for Today.” If I plan to work on a task on another day, I drag it to the calendar date, and it will appear in the daily note for that day.
As I review my tasks, I identify the primary task for the day and place it in the “Primary Task” section, adding any relevant notes directly below.
I like to periodically review my weekly, monthly, or quarterly reviews to remind myself of tasks or projects I want to accomplish during these periods. I can easily access these notes from the “Calendar Notes” section in the upper left panel.
There are icons I can click on to view the reviews. When I’m done, I click on “Daily,” which brings me back to the daily note. This feature is handy for those of us who use David Sparks’ Life Roles productivity system, which includes periodic reviews to track and plan progress.
B. The Hybrid Approach: Combining Time Blocking with the Anchor Technique
- Alternating between approaches: In the past, I alternated between strict time blocking and the more flexible Anchor Technique. Because of NotePlan’s all-in-one-view layout, I’ve adopted a hybrid approach that allows me to switch between the two depending on what makes sense for the day. NotePlan’s unified display makes it easy for me to use both techniques.
I block time for tasks that must be done at a specific time, like preparing immediately before a presentation. For everything else, I choose what to work on as I go.
When I’m ready to work on a task, I drag it and any relevant notes into the “Time Blocking” section of my daily note template. I then drag it onto my calendar, dropping it at the current time. This puts the time in front of my task in the daily note and places a time block on the calendar.
Creating a time block creates a graphical record of my daily activities. On Sundays, I scan my calendar for the week as part of my weekly review.
C. Unfinished Task Processing
- End-of-Day Processing: I process any unfinished tasks at the end of the day.
I drag and drop uncompleted tasks to the next day or a future date, ensuring they’ll appear on the appropriate daily note. If I wish, I can leave a copy of a task in the current daily note that indicates the date the task has been rescheduled.
The Benefits of a NotePlan Workflow: Why It Works for Me
Switching to NotePlan has significantly improved my task management and daily execution. Instead of dreading my daily planning, I now look forward to it, knowing that everything I need is in one app and one screen.
Here’s why NotePlan works so well for me:
• All-in-One Display: I no longer have to juggle multiple apps. My calendar, tasks, and reviews are all in one place. Less friction means less hassle and more enjoyment in organizing and completing my work.
• Simple Time Blocking: Dragging and dropping tasks to time block them is effortless. Instead of the friction of jumping back and forth between apps, the lack of friction means I’m creating time blocks regularly now, giving me a visual way to track my work.
• Progress Monitoring: I can easily monitor my progress throughout the day with just one app open. In one view, I can see my calendar, the tasks I’ve completed, the tasks I have left, and optional tasks.
• Hybrid Flexibility: The hybrid approach lets me switch between time blocking and the Anchor Technique. Using either method, I preserve a graphical record of my activities with easy drag-and-drop time blocking.
• Unfinished Task Management: It’s easy to manage unfinished tasks by dragging them forward to future days. Nothing slips through the cracks.
Is NotePlan Right for You? Testing the Workflow for Yourself
NotePlan has been a game-changer for me, but whether it’s the right tool for you is something only you can determine.
If what I’ve described sounds appealing, I encourage you to download the app and start the two-week free trial. If you’re a Setapp subscriber, NotePlan is already included in your subscription. Just download it through Setapp and give it a try.