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My Workflow

My general process is:

  • Input information into a low-friction input system
  • Regularly review that information in a FIFO queue. Determine what I should be doing with that information.

Input Systems​

  • I use Todoist for items that require action. I have identified something needs to be done, so I put it into Todoist. All entries start in the Inbox folder; anything in here must be sorted prior to being actioned.
  • Email is used for action items requested from others. If I receive an email, I ultimately decide whether I will action it, and if so, it gets sorted appropriately.
  • Items I want to read get put into Wallabag, usually via the Wallabagger extension in Firefox.

Reviewing Input​

Items in an input system get reviewed very regularly, ideally on a daily basis but should be at least weekly. Todoist items, for example, should be daily, but Wallabag reading can comfortably be weekly. I prioritize items first by the Eisenhower Matrix. I may not know what the status is immediately, so if it hasn’t been defined as urgent it can probably sit a bit until I know more.

I then slot items that need to be actioned into an Action System.

Action Systems​

  • For actions that must be performed on a particular date and time, I create calendar events. The description should contain all information required to action something, or at minimum a permalink to the required information. Depending on what it is, I can use Todoist for this as Todoist has an ICS URL to tie things into your calendar.
  • For actions that can be performed at any time during a day, Todoist items with a deadline are used.

Reviewing Actions​

What I need to do in a day should be reviewed in the morning after journaling and at the end of my day. The morning review is for what I need to do today, and the evening review is for what is coming up tomorrow in case there is anything that needs to be actioned early in the morning. For example, a work meeting at the beginning of my work day needs to be known about before I go to bed.

On a weekly basis, I review what’s coming up for the week by looking at my personal and work calendars, and the Upcoming view on Todoist.

Information Storage​

Lots of input is knowledge that needs to be stored somewhere, either here or in a private Second Brain. The reading, understanding, and storage of this knowledge is actioned by a task in Todoist with a permalink to the source material.

Because I don’t always remember why something’s important, I try to put an explanation about why the knowledge is important in the description.

Maintaining This Wiki​

  • Every top-level menu item needs an emoji in the title for consistency. Put this in the front matter but use the non-emoji title for the h1 tag.