1---
  2template:
  3slug: bujo
  4title: The quest to optimize productivity
  5subtitle: This blog is devolving into a techbro cliché
  6date: 2021-11-04
  7---
  8
  9Us folks in tech have this general obsession with productivity. It's all
 10about getting the workflow _just right_. Or at least, that's the goal.
 11Heck, there are entire companies built around optimizing productivity in
 12specific workflows -- email, notes, tasks, etc. Suffice to say, there's
 13a lot of activity in this space.
 14
 15I've heard reports of varying degrees of success with these tools, from
 16"OMG it like, totally changed how I take notes!", to "I'm not sure it's
 17worth paying $30 per month for a mail client" (yeah, you know the
 18one)[^1]. However, I will never use these tools. Primarily because I
 19don't trust them -- I don't trust them with my data; more importantly, I
 20don't trust them to exist long enough before they decide to thank me for
 21their incredible journey and "sunset" their product.
 22
 23[^1]: In case you didn't, I'm talking about Superhuman.
 24
 25That said, I wasn't entirely opposed to digital solutions. I tried
 26a method called the OBTF, or the One Big Text File. It's what it says on
 27the tin: a single text file to manage everything -- tasks, email,
 28meetings, notes, habit tracking, etc. Its effectiveness relies on your
 29text editor's ability to search for things. I even came up with my own
 30"syntax" to help accelerate finding relevant bits. It looked like so:
 31
 32```
 33wed, 03 nov
 34
 35some task here  // DONE
 36another task here
 37a note here
 38meet foo @ 12:30  // CANCELLED
 39```
 40
 41I don't exactly recall why I stopped doing it, but I did. Maybe because
 42I tried to do way too many things all at once. It also meant I needed to
 43be at my computer to update tasks -- some of which were offline/IRL.
 44Yeah, you can see where this is going. You probably guessed it from the
 45post slug. That's right -- bullet journaling. Well, sort of -- let me
 46explain.
 47
 48The [bullet journal method](https://youtu.be/fm15cmYU0IM) is a somewhat
 49involved process. I recommend watching the video since I'm going to skip
 50explaining how bullet journaling works. The method I use draws
 51inspiration from bullet journaling -- but just mostly the task symbols
 52and daily/weekly logs. These are the symbols I use:
 53
 54- `•` is a new task
 55- `×` is a completed task
 56- `>` is a task that's been carried forward
 57- `~strikethrough~` is a cancelled task
 58- `-` represents a note
 59
 60And somewhat less commonly, `⊙` (a circled dot) to scribble a small note
 61pertaining to that task, i.e. reason for cancellation, delegation, etc.
 62Tasks are sometimes broken down into further subtasks represented as a
 63checkbox `□`. Ticking off a checkbox feels great.
 64
 65Tasks are grouped under a weekly list, running from Monday to Sunday. I
 66had previously done daily lists, but that... didn't really work out.
 67Here's what happened:
 68
 69```
 70mon, 01 nov
 71> long task here
 72× something else
 73
 74tue, 02 nov
 75> long task here
 76
 77wed, 03 nov
 78> long task here
 79
 80...
 81```
 82
 83See the problem? Most often, my tasks tend to span an entire week. While
 84I could theoretically break it down into subtasks, stuff like "Write an
 85RFC for Foo Service" are just that. It's a big task, and I can't really
 86break it down. Hence, the running weekly log.
 87
 88I can't go without posting what it actually looks like in my notebook;
 89so here, have a FOIA-declassified-looking picture of my bullet journal.
 90
 91![bullet journal](https://cdn.icyphox.sh/QzrdK.jpeg)
 92
 93This was when I first attempted the weekly log. Evidently, I struggled
 94to compute dates accurately.  And yes, "rice acme" was a task -- one
 95that I promptly completed, I'll have you know. 
 96
 97I use a pencil to write.  There's no real reason for it, but I started
 98the book with a pencil and I plan to continue with it until I finsh this
 99notebook -- there's still about half of it left. I plan to cop a dotgrid
100notebook for my next one, and start using a pen.
101
102![notebook with sticker](https://cdn.icyphox.sh/0psb8.jpeg)
103
104At first I was sceptical. I didn't think I'd stick to it. But hey, looks
105like I did. I've been using my bullet journal spinoff method to great
106success for the past 6-odd months. Have I become more productive? I
107don't know, but I can confidently state that my head has become
108"lighter". I no longer have to _remember_ tasks; I can simply offload
109them to my journal.
110
111I think the key to making it work was the realization that it's not
112"perfect". I put perfect in quotes because I had this notion of an
113all-in-one, flawless productivity tool that'll take care of everything,
114from anywhere. I then embraced the fact that some tasks don't really
115need noting down and it's ok to _not follow the rules_. I guess what I'm
116trying to say is -- don't force it; use the journal loosely.
117
118No self-help-productivity-bullshit-post is complete without a list of
119tips, so here it is:
120
121- Make it your own. Don't attempt to shoehorn someone else's solution.
122- Don't try to manage everything -- that hardly ever works.
123- Don't over optimize. Task states don't need 20 different symbols. Keep
124  it simple.
125- It doesn't have to be an art project[^2]. I know mine isn't. Keep it
126  functional.
127
128[^2]: I'm looking at you,
129    [r/bulletjournal](https://old.reddit.com/r/bulletjournal).
130
131Okay, this self-help-productivity-bullshit-post is now complete.