Hi, Hello! My name is Sarah - the writer behind redgregory.com.
I accomplished my reoccurring goals for the week. It’s a nice feeling but sometimes it is not. Is a failure a failure if the uncompleted task is a result of a brand new expectation? This week I made it my goal to read 3 books (I usually read 2), eat better (what does that even mean?), and write 2 essays (I usually write 2 per month). The expectation needs a re-design. Deciding whether to place blame on the system for productivity failures or the self is something I navigate in my latest essay. Here is a short excerpt:
Thinking about the task is exciting, motivating even. You may accomplish the preliminary small goals in front of you with this initial adrenaline rush. The excitement will not disappear but inevitably fade and/or change over time. [New goal adrenaline] ... invites complex planning which is easy to fall into during a new-goal high. Extensive outlining, fancy presentations and months of scheduling feed the high. Put the calendars away, exit that excel sheet and limit yourself to one piece of notebook paper. Plan for tomorrow, not next month. Preparation needs to be limited. Just do it.
- Copy R.G Newsletter Archive → Paste into Notion dashboard/database of choice
- OR use webclipper to transfer R.G Newsletter Archive directly into dashboard/database of choice
I mentioned something like a mega-wiki in a previous newsletter. I've been mulling over this idea and came to the conclusion that I want to take a different approach - an approach that meets my needs. Essentially, the end goal is to create a life-learning system. I haven't fully developed the idea. Right now, I'm simply finding information, understanding the concept fully and simplifying what I learned into content.
Now, this content doesn't necessarily have to be published (mine is), but rather collected for personal enrichment. This will act like a personal wikipedia. Information is sorted into vague data points, summaries are compiled, compartmentalization of sub-topics arranged and sources below. Quite literally, it is a personal wikipedia.
The reason for this is simple. Learn information, fact check properly and paraphrase the material for retention. I needed to create a system like this for a while. I'm no where near where I want it to be but I'm on the right track.
To Do
Determine the best method for retention
Add info wiki to daily habits (low priority)
💫 Check out my information wiki here
I've recently learned how to properly journal in Notion without it being a daunting task every day. That is, until I completely forgot about it for three days. Reflection is a fantastic tool for not only keeping organized, habit creation and the rest, but also for retention of daily insights. Here's the thing, I can't write my reflections. In fact, I can't manage reflections at all.
For most things that don't mesh with my lifestyle, I do not "wait it out" and see if it works later. I change the system to meet my needs.
The system needed some tweaks:
- Keep the daily journal exclusively as a simple habit tracker checkoff.
- Implement sporadic voice memos. (I am alone during the workdays so it won't be odd talking to my phone about my feelings a couple times per day)
- Add to journal Notion page and keep them organized by day and topic.
- At the end of the week, possibly transcribe? (I'll have to find a free program to help with that)
I'm planning to track my mood through the entire year in order to better understand what is making my poor days poor and what I need to do to fix them - hence, the "cause" property.