How to Designerate a Day – Volume 1

Let me start walking you through one of my three processes that help me Designerate my whole day, not just my creations. Giving me the maximum amount of time and head space to be creative and do what I want to do.

‘Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.’
Edward de Bono

My Quest

I used to try and organise myself out of a paper bag but just ended up breathing into it. Thankfully I’ve since absorbed a lot of advice and developed my own system to cope with the world of adulting to maximising my design time (thinking and doing). Read on if you’re thinking about developing your own system (or starting one). I share some of my methods here that I hope can help you if you’re feeling bogged down. Or they’ll help you engage smug mode because you’re already doing them!

Three Processes to Rule Them All

I have three process that work together to keep my head and life in order.

1. My Action Process
2. My Core Calendar
3. My Day Design Process

These are three different processes that I have tailored for me (and continue to tweak). They all work together, using a variety of tools, to keep me on top of things as long as I’m running my ‘system’. I’ve evolved it to involve minimal thinking and work from me, although there was a lot of work in the front-end building habits. That’s a story for another day though. You could build a similar system with adjustments that work better for you.

My Action Process is how I process all my tasks to get them out of my head and in a position to be completed so that I am not overwhelmed. This separates into three activities, the first of which I waffle on about below.

My Core Calendar has a set of routines for things I have to do every day, or week, regardless of anything new that comes in. This exists in my Google calendar. It blocks out all my routines at roughly the times that work best for me. This means I can clearly see how much time I have free each day. Which helps me avoid over scheduling myself and living in a dry pool of failure and disappointment if I don’t get to things. If you’d like to read more about my adventures in tracking my energy to make the most of my days read my ‘A Cut Above The Rest’ post.

My Day Design Process is a routine I follow every day, twice a day. In the morning, I journal on how I’m feeling, plan what I want to get done, the optimal amount of time I’ll need to do it, and when I can do it within my limits of time, energy and focus. Being realistic early doors helps me to avoid overwhelm or burn out. Then, at the end of the day, I review and reward myself for what I’ve done, forgive myself for what I haven’t (super important), and update my lists ready to start a fresh tomorrow.

Capturing Actions

The gist of My Action Process is to convert stuff that pops into my head into a specific action. Then planning when I’ll get it done. It breaks down into three activities, and none of them (except in rare circumstances) are actually taking action or doing a ‘task’. So, if you’re feeling in a procrastinating sort of mood, you’ll love this! Of all my habits, this one was relatively easy to pick up, because I always felt lighter afterwards.

1. Considered Capturing
2. Assessing
3. Placing

There are a number of activities that help me stay organised. They’re all habits I have adopted over time until they became part of my routine. None of them came naturally. I thought there were two phases to getting in control: Write It Down and Do It. I realised over a number of years that this is a falsehood. Oh, I imagine there are folks out there who live by that method quite successfully, stress free. I also reckon there’s those, like past-me, who get stressed and write a long list. They then do the two things they want to do on it (usually easy low priority jobs) and run out of motivation. So, all that’s left is a pile of tasks that linger, for all time, at the bottom of the mental list. Tasks that are being put off, because they are too daunting, boring, energy sapping or time consuming, not because they aren’t important. Those delightful tasks get left for the ‘last minute’ to deal with, the lucky things. Resulting in a rushed old job, just before the deadline, followed by a wave of shame from knowing you could have done better.

Considered Capturing was my first game changer and was a eureka moment for me. I picked up ‘capturing’ from Zen to Done by Leo Babauta, which led me to its inspiration, Getting Things Done by David Allen. Essentially, it’s writing down anything and everything that jumps into your noodle and minimising where you catch it all (virtual/physical inboxes). Pretty standard, right? Well, I thought I was doing this already, but I was mainly doing a lot of stuff that came across my plate, inbox or mind as it came in. Anything could derail me. Small things I was sure I’d forget, something more interesting than my currently task, or someone else’s priorities would spread into my day like mould. Most of this stuff could have waited or would have been best placed when I had more (or less) energy to deal with it. It left me feeling constantly behind, frazzled, reactive and regularly burnt out.

Asking Future-Me To Do It

We come up with ideas and things to do all the time and we can’t control when or where the information comes in. The big thing I have learnt is that I can control when I deal with it. Doing stuff there and then meant I was using up precious, limited energy. By capturing all ‘new’ stuff, I no longer fill my day with those shouting loudest. I can stay on track with my priorities, and I know Future-Me will be able to handle everything else. My aim is to keep the bare minimum in my head in the moment. So, I can focus on what I am working on right now. To free up mental space for Designerating (being creative) and keeping my stress levels to a minimum.

It has taken quite a bit of practice, but it’s been well worth it. When anything comes at me now, I quickly capture it and move on with my day. I don’t worry about how or when I’m going to fit it in, or rush to do it now before I forget. I’m not perfect at it, but I am improving every day.

Below is a handy set of branching options to show how I try to handle incoming stuff in 5 quick questions, and which ‘buckets’ I capture into.

Oooh, I need to do that! . . .

• 1. Will it take you 30 seconds or less?
  • Yes. Ask question 2.
  • No. Ask question 3.
• 2. Is it a chore or repeating maintenance task?
  • Yes. Don’t capture it. Ignore it (and get back to what you’re doing). I work through these tasks at specific times in the day. Tacked on to other habits. This is part of the My Core Calendar process. I’ll walk you through that next time.
  • No. Don’t capture it. Do it now and get back to what I’m doing.
• 3. When do you need it done by?
  • At some point (frequent). Ask question 4.
  • Today (sometimes). Put it in Bucket 3
  • Now (rarely). Stop what you’re doing and take 2 minutes to resolve it. Then, ask question 5.
• 4. Is it quicker to write down, take a photo or put in my physical inbox
  • Write it down. Put it in Bucket 1
  • Take a photo. Put it in Bucket 2
• 5. Is it all sorted after 2 minutes?
  • Yes. All fires are put out, you’ve quickly delegated what you could and captured what you need to do to follow up. So, take a deep breath and get back to what you were doing.
  • Everything is still on fire. Your schedule is going to have to be bulldozed to sort this out and you might not get to everything you wanted to today. This is okay. It rarely happens and the most important thing is that you forgive yourself and put out the fires you can. I used to get to the end of a day and be angry at myself for not getting to everything, forgetting all the fires. Now I take those thoughts and pop them into Bucket 5, the F**k-It Bucket.

Bucket 1 – Todoist (desktop or mobile app)

There is a feature called Inbox within this app where I capture thoughts and tasks that come to me. I simply add a task to there and leave it to sort through later. I like Todoist because I can throw in tasks and then easily assign them to other lists later. Be they miscellaneous single tasks or one phase in a bigger project. Plus it syncs with my calendar. I pay for the £48 a year version, but the free version is really good and great if you’re just getting started.

Time required: 10 – 15 seconds)

Bucket 2 – Gallery (Mobile)

I access my phone camera from my lock screen and snap a photo. Perfect for when a picture can say a thousand words.

Time required: 5 – 10 seconds

Bucket 3 – Google Calendar (desktop or mobile app)

I open my calendar app, find a blank time slot before I need to deal with it. Then, I create a new event for the time I think it will take. If I’m worried that I will forget to look at my calendar in time, I set a reminder notification to give me a nudge. If there isn’t room, I look to see if I can shuffle less important stuff to later or tomorrow.

Time required: 15 – 30 seconds.

Bucket 4 – A Real Bucket (physical inbox)

For physical items like unopened snail mail, forms from school, a broken key chain, a random post it from a neighbour, a jumper that needs de-fluffing. These terrors all get thrown in my physical inbox. I recommend keeping this out of your eye line when you work, ideally in a cupboard, like a Bogart.

Time Required: 5 – 15 seconds

Bucket 5 – The F**k-It Bucket (A mental space of acceptance/my journal)

This is not an app. It’s just where I imagine popping the things out of my control. Just because something didn’t go to plan, does not mean it was unsuccessful.

So, in 10 seconds (on average) I am back focusing on what I should be. Bear in mind, I hybrid work, so I’m not often in a busy studio and my day isn’t filled with ‘walk ups’. My kids are school age, so there are hours in the day where I don’t get requested to make a sandwich. Also, I have adjusted the settings on my phone to only allow notifications from a limited number of people during working hours. This system may be completely impractical for you, but simply being mindful of what is truly urgent can keep a system like this working.

Something I’m still working on is introducing a different first question. ‘Do you have to do it or would someone be happy to help?’. This has been a set of habits years in the making, but there’s always room for a bit more evolution.

A Little Note on Automated Buckets

Automated buckets (email and social media inboxes) capture incoming stuff for us, so we don’t capture those little email butterflies ourselves. For this reason, I don’t deal with them here, but I will next time when we look at Assessing everything we have captured (you lucky souls!).

Some Real-Life Examples

Bucket 1, 06:30: I’m making a cup of coffee and remember I haven’t booked train tickets for next week. I pull my phone out of my back pocket, swipe in and click on my Todoist app on my home screen. After quickly typing ‘Book Train Tickets’ into my ‘Inbox’, I pop my phone back in my pocket and finish making my beverage.

Bucket 2 & 1, 06:45: I head upstairs to get dressed for the day and notice I’m low on deodorant. So, I grab my phone, swipe to open the camera, and take a picture of the nearly empty container. As I’m taking the photo I notice I’ve had a silent Whatsapp notification through from a family member asking me a question. I need to check my calendar and have a think before I can answer. That’s going to take longer than 30 seconds and they don’t need to know right now. So, ‘Reply to K’ goes onto my Todoist Inbox on my phone. I then finish getting ready and check in with the kids in plenty of time to put out a couple of ‘fires’ before they leave for school. I always find my helpful advice is better received if I’m dressed when I deliver it. Shouting demands from PJs with a comb stuck in your hair is not the one.

Bucket 3, 07:00: My husband pokes his head around the door and asks me to remind him to pick up something on his way home from work. I tap open my calendar and add it in with a reminder notification roughly before he needs to know so I can text him. His system is still a work in progress.

Bucket 4, 09:38: Big Dog barks to enthusiastically greet the delivery of our snail mail (and probably petrify the postman). I take my only jog of the day to the doormat, preventing any important documents become a fun plaything for the dog-duchess. Chuck obvious junk in the recycling and throw the rest in the inbox and move on.

The F**k-It Bucket, 11:26: My phone rings with one of the few numbers I allow through my notification blocks. It’s school asking if I can pick up Kid A as he’s come down with something and needs to come home. I take a breath and accept my schedule for the day is going to shift for anything from 15 mins to all day. I check my calendar and note what needs rearranging. If anyone else needs to be told about the changes or asked to help I do that. Then, if necessary, I get on my way.

What now!?

‘But what do you do with all the stuff you’ve captured?!’, I hear you cry. This is where the second and third steps of My Action Process come in, Assessing and Placing. I can’t wait to talk you through that in my next post if you’d like to find out more. As a parent, dog owner, employee, freelancer, car owner and homeowner, I have quite a few plates spinning. You may have more, less or different plates. However, if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed and wished you had a system to help keep on track, I hope this helps give you some ideas.

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Free Stuff Time!

Oh how I love a bit of free stuff! If you’re starting out on your organizing journey, and you’re a pen and paper fan, I have a simple, beautiful To Do List and Blank Calendar Page for you to capture to. There’s two options. Option One, join the Free Designerating Membership, where in exchange for your email address you’ll have access to my Members’ Area (and download the printable files for free). Option Two, head to my Etsy page and support my work by buying the printable files. Click below on the option you like best.