Randomize your evenings
I have found that I need to have visual reminders to remember to do chores and even hobbies. The whole GTD thing inside of apps is not visible enough and using reminders just takes the fun out of using such systems for me. Bullet journaling works, because I can see the journal and remember that there are things I want to do. For my writing I have printed a manual word tracker to remind me to reach my target each week.
This summer on a road trip with my sister and her fiancée, we got to talking about using design principles to build a better life and that got me thinking.
I have a million hobbies and a whole lot of stuff I want to do in my afternoons after work. I want to make more social plans, play more music, draw more, write more, read more, bake more. But, by the vile forces of the internet, I get sucked into a youtube hole most nights only to emerge mildly entertained and tired. So I wanted to change this up. I needed to find a way of having physical reminders of what I want to spend my time doing that feel fun.
So I made cards. Three very basic decks of cards divided into categories:
- Useful but boring or easy to put off (cleaning, washing clothes, working out, plan social stuff)
- Joyful activities (play music, draw, listen to music, reading)
- Hobby projects (TTRPG-modules, writing, blogging)
In the mornings i pull one card from each deck and clip them to the front of my fridge. That lets me think about and look forward to my evenings throughout the day.
When I do one of the things on the cards, I pull it off the fridge and throw it in a discard pile. The next morning I replace only the cards I got done the day before.
And so far, a month or so in, this really works.
I have a visual clear reminder and there is a physical thing to pull off the fridge when I'm done. It is satisfying.
The fun thing about this is that it's randomized, so no two evenings will be exactly the same. I find this helps me feel like the week was eventful, that I can look forward to a mix of novelty and structure for my evenings. Variation keeps my brain happy, but at the same time I build a structure that lets me actually do the things I need and want to do.
It is also easy to adjust. If I pulled the exercise card (there are two of them in the deck) two days in a row I just put it back in the deck a few days ahead to spread it out. Or if I know that I will not be able to bake for a few days it is simple to postpone.
The main thing is that I don't shuffle in cards from the discard pile until i clear the whole deck. That way I get through all my chores, hobbies and relaxing activities once every week or two (depending on how many social things happen each week).
Feel free to steal. I'll update this if I have any more reflections on this "system".