Over the past years, many readers have downloaded my personal productivity planner. Initially, it was a PDF designed for the Remarkable 2 tablet (affiliate link). In recent weeks, I have turned the static template into a dynamic Notion database, and I am excited to show you how it works.
Why I created my own productivity system
I have tried plenty of journals and productivity systems in the past: the “Best Self Journal” (affiliate link), “Ein Guter Plan” (affiliate link), and Cal Newport's “Time Blocking Planner” (affiliate link) among others. While each of these systems had features I liked, none aligned perfectly with how I wanted to organize my day. Then, I came across a blog post by Oliver Burkeman that introduced me to the 3x3 method, which quickly became central to my productivity system.
Moving from a PDF to Notion required reimagining my system’s structure from the calendar-based system I previously used to a system based on databases which form the basis of each workspace in Notion. Once I had mad this mental transition, the benefits of such an approach became quickly visible.
3x3s and the “Tasks” database
At the heart of my day is Burkeman’s “3x3 method”: every day, I am committed to doing one important task, three urgent tasks, and three maintenance tasks. Important tasks are typically tied to my Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and require a good amount of focused work, typically two to three hours.
Urgent tasks are time-sensitive, usually taking between 30 minutes to an hour, with fixed deadlines. These can be videoconferences and meetings or smaller tasks that contribute to a project or my OKRs. Maintenance tasks include personal errands like doctor appointments or routine activities like responding to emails, typically ranging from 15 to 30 minutes each. All tasks link back to my central task database where I can find all my tasks, the projects they are related to, the due date and the name of the person responsible for completing the task (if you have a team set-up).
All tasks that are due today will also show up in my Notion calendar; so every morning, I go into the calendar, scan through the list of tasks for the day and the time estimate for completing them and turn the list into calendar items, so that I can block time directly in my calendar.
Another noteworthy feature is the integration of birthdays. This function is linked to Clay, an AI-powered contact manager that I use instead of the standard Contacts app on my iPhone. The Clay integration automatically pulls today’s birthdays into may daily overview.
The OKR section organizes my quarterly objectives and tracks progress through key results. On my overview page, I can quickly see my advancement towards these key results.
New features: “Projects” and “Inbox”
I’ve also added two new features to my Notion system: “Projects” and an “Inbox”.
Projects are particularly helpful when the productivity system is used across a whole team; project pages provide an overview of all projects your team is currently involved in and encapsulate all ongoing tasks related to this project. Consulting firms for example could have one project page for each client. In-house teams could have one project page for each legislative file they are tracking. This way, everyone on the team has a comprehensive view of current project statuses.
The “Inbox” is a simple but essential addition. Whenever I have an idea, I immediately jot it down. Technically, these items now become tasks in my “Tasks” database with no due date or priority. At the end of each day, I review these notes, delete those that I no longer want to pursue and add a priority, estimated time and due date to those ideas that I want to maintain. This way, they will automatically be integrated into my 3x3 method and pop up in my to do list for the relevant day.
“Habits” and gamification
Habit tracking is another integral part of my system, inspired by James Clear’s highly recommended book “Atomic Habits”1. The book is based on the premise that we achieve our goals through small, consistent habits and my habit tracker includes both personal and professional habits which I reconsider and adjust every quarter.
My water intake has been gamified to make tracking a bit more fun: each empty water glass is ticked off until the box is empty after five glasses of water. The next day, I simply resets the counter. This is a simple system to ensure I stay hydrated.
Finally, there's a section for “Notes” and the “Brag Zone”. Both are technically notes in my Notion database, but they have different templates. The “Brag Zone” button leads me directly to a reflection template – I still find it useful to reflect at the end of each day what I achieved today. The “Notes” button gives me various options for templates and prompts from weekly or monthly reviews to meeting notes or project outlines. These templates can be created according to your personal preferences or your organisation’s templates.
How to get started with the template
I am currently still testing this system and I am sure there are still plenty of glitches, so the template is not yet available. Part of the template however was adapted from Simon at Better Creating, so I highly recommend to explore his templates as a starting point and modify them for your own use cases.
How do you keep your team in sync? And what challenges do you find when organising your public affairs team? Let me know by leaving a comment or replying to this email!
📚 Read on
In this newsletter, Oliver Burkeman explains in more detail why his 3x3 method is preferable to other productivity methods (such as time boxing, which I generally like). Essential reading for productivity geeks!
If you’re not familiar with the use of OKRs in public affairs, Ansgar Baums has written a good overview on the subject on the GR Blog.
In this lengthy blogpost, David Kadavy introduces the reader to the Zettelkasten method for note taking which I also use to read, remember and connect the various articles and papers I read.
If you intend to use this planner not just personally but across your whole team, you may also want to consider Aaron Dignan’s “Operating System Canvas” which provides some useful prompts to ensure that your team is aligned on how you work and measure success.
James Clear (2018): Atomic Habits. Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results (Cornerstone Digital). (affiliate link)
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