No, you’re not seeing things. Today is NOT #StrategySunday.
But I had several questions regarding #StrategySunday I wanted to dedicate some space to.
And instead of answering them one at a time, I thought I would address them all at once.
So, if you’ve ever had questions regarding #StrategySunday, enjoy this Q&A!
How do You Record Your Minutes?
Before leaving Calgary in October 2019, I made a few purchases to assist my journey as a digital nomad.
In addition to a new laptop, I also bought an iPad Pro, an Antbox iPad case, and an Apple Pencil (affiliate links).
A friend showed me his iPad and Apple Pencil at a conference in summer 2019, and that was enough to convince me that I needed my own.
The Apple Pencil got me back into the simple joys of drawing again, and that served as my late-night hobby for a while.
But I mainly bought the iPad and Apple Pencil for two reasons – to take notes, and to read Kindle books. And that is primarily how I’ve used these tools since arriving in Abbotsford.
I have done a lot of journaling inside my iPad, to where my Notes app suffers slowdown from too many files(!).
Anyway, this is still where I log my minutes. And when I’m ready to transfer them over to a blog post, I simply review what I’ve written in my notes, and type them up inside a Word doc on my laptop.
I figured you’d want to see what my notes look like, which is why I’ve included a picture. Enjoy.
(By the way, I tend to be platform agnostic and am not an Apple fanboy.)
How do You Speculate on Possibilities?
Within my #StrategySunday posts, you may have noticed the mention of “speculating on possibilities.”
I’ve shared a little bit about how this works in an earlier post on using a journal to boost your creativity.
Sounds innocuous enough, I’m sure. But I have personally had more success with speculating on possibilities than trying to come up with answers and strategies for everything.
There’s more freedom in speculating on possibilities than there is in forcing yourself to come up with instant solutions.
There’s more freedom in speculating on possibilities than there is in forcing yourself to come up with instant solutions. Click To TweetConsider the difference between these two prompts:
- Draw an apple, and draw it exactly as shown in my own drawing colors and all
- Draw an apple – assuming you draw an apple, you can go about it however you want
The first prompt is restrictive. It carries with it a “do it my way OR ELSE” kind of vibe. The teacher is setting you up for failure by forcing you to follow their example.
The second prompt is freer. You know that you need to draw an apple, but you can go about the process in your own way.
Basically, there’s a difference between “how could I solve this problem?” and “what are some things I could do…”
I’ve had a lot of success with speculating on possibilities versus forming perfect answers, so that’s my process. And I’m quick to implement too!
What is Weekflow?
I’ve been coining a lot of terms as of late. I call these “concepts.”
I don’t expect all of them to stick. I tend to ditch those that don’t resonate with my audience. I have a feeling concepts like #StrategySunday, YearSheet, and Effectiveness Diagnostic are here to stay though…
Anyway, let’s talk about Weekflow.
Much has been said about batch processing (bulk tasking). If you don’t know anything about it, then reference the Chris Ducker article I’ve linked up for you.
Now, batching is a great way to ensure you have a specific focus for your days. It can help you be more productive overall because it tends to cut down on task switching and unnecessary distractions.
But Weekflow requires that you think strategically about how you’re batching, what you’re batching, and when.
If, for example, you’ve set aside Monday for writing blog posts and Tuesday for editing, formatting, and scheduling blog posts, then you’d need to ensure you don’t have any Monday deadlines you’d miss because you weren’t thinking far enough ahead. To meet the deadline, you would need to write, edit, format, and schedule all on the same day!
It’s critical that you know how one task flows into another (got it?).
Here’s another example. If you have a meeting on Wednesday that you need to prepare for, but your batching efforts don’t leave adequate time to be ready for that Wednesday meeting, your Weekflow is broken.
This is the main issue I’ve seen with batch processing. With Weekflow, you can account for such contingencies and ensure that you’re seeing what’s coming instead of being productive for productivity’s sake.
Final Thoughts
To summarize:
- I log my minutes inside my iPad, using my Apple Pencil
- Speculating on possibilities means to brainstorm and consider your options instead of getting hung up on being perfect
- Weekflow means to ensure there’s a proper flow and order to your week, like an assembly line
I hope your #StrategySunday questions were answered, but if there’s anything else you’d like to know, be sure to let me know.
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