The Weekly Review

The weekly review is a key piece of keeping your trusted system humming along, but it can also feel like a daunting, onerous task to be avoided. This week James talks with Jean about his diagnosis as to why he has not performed a full weekly review in a while. Topics include the crucial step of clarifying, the difference between unprocessed and work-in-progress items, some thoughts on inbox zero, and rethinking when a project should be actively tracked as opposed to living in the someday / maybe list.

Note: Our Twitter handle has changed!
Now you can find us on Micro.blog and Twitter at the same handle: @theweeklyreview.

This week, Jean tells James about her latest productivity strategy, the micro project, and how she used a repeating 30-minute timer to get ready for the trip and actually leave the house early with all her pre-flight actions checked off. It is amazing how much you can get done in a short amount of time if you prevent yourself from dawdling.

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This week Jean and James discuss collections and the seemingly conflicting goals of accumulating collectables and reducing clutter. Jean describes the few things she collects and how she resists the temptation to begin new collections. James talks about his treasure trove of Disneyland Guidemaps and reveals why it is a practically perfect collection for him in every way. Conversation turns to digital collections and James’ fascination with hotel carpet designs.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Author Jean Stafford

Ann’s Restaurant

Reno Air

James’ visual history of Disney California Adventure:

By definition, curveballs are not anticipated and they don’t fit neatly into your time management system. Last week was not the best week, and we have been working through some unanticpated disruptions to our plans to be productive since then. Turns out, the universe is still not done throwing us curveballs, but we do find a couple of silver linings.

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This week Jean and James discuss those unexpected things in life that can mentally and emotionally knock the wind out of you. James shares the sad news of the sudden passing of his cat Dinah. Jean talks about a long-planned trip being disrupted by a combination of feeling under the weather and temporary dental work.

This week’s episode is in memory of Dinah.
She was such a sweet and beautiful cat and companion.

This week, we look at some principles of budgeting your money and whether these principles can also apply to budgeting your time.

You Need A Budget aka YNAB

YNAB Podcast: Rule One

In this episode, our interpid organizers delve into that alternate dimension that seems to defy organization: the junk drawer. Join Jean and James for suggestions, tips, and laughter as they discuss items ordinary and extraordinary (but mostly ordinary) that they have found in those ever-present drawers that sometimes seem might contain life, the universe and everything.

Have you found something interesting, amusing or astounding in your junk drawer? Do you have a tip for keeping your junk drawer organized?
We’d love to hear from you on Micro.blog, Twitter or email us!

James and Jean are back from PodCon 2 in Seattle, a gathering of podcasters and podcast fans of all stripes. They share some of the fun moments as well as their tips for getting the most out of a conference.

TripIt

Mac OS Calendar Suggestions

Photo: Rosemary Orchard, David Sparks, James Dempsey, Jean MacDonald, Brent Simmons at the Automators Podcast meetup hosted by the Omni Group.

In this episode, Jean and James talk about those times when organizational fun turns into organizational fatigue. James describes his experience going off the rails of his trusted system while traveling over the holidays. Jean recounts her difficulty establishing daily habits. Jean seeks grace in the new year while James managed to successfully transport a fragile, vintage ukulele cross-country.

We have a special guest this week, Rosemary Orchard, co-author of Build Your OmniFocus Workflow. Rosemary was inspired to create a task management system that worked the way she wanted it to, thanks to by her school experience with planners and a little website called 43 Folders.

Special event! Rosemary and her Automators co-host David Sparks will be attending PodCon in Seattle January 19-20, and they are organizing an Automators meetup. James and Jean will be attending too!

As the new year begins, Jean and James review the model of natural planning described in our favorite personal productivity book. Jean talks about her plan for leaving corporate social media platforms in 2019 and how that will affect how she connects with the people in her life. James talks about a few spots he can get stuck in the planning process and how that affects his ability to get things done. And both Jean and James take a moment acknowledge the magic of the postal system.

As the year 2018 draws to a close, Jean and James decide to take a week off from worrying about the state of their inboxes as they look ahead to plans for the New Year. We look at the efficacy of resolutions and when is really the best time to resolve to do better. (Spoiler alert: January 1st isn’t the best date.) On both of our calendars: to continue doing The Weekly Review Podcast. See you in 2019!

On our 2019 Calendars:

PodCon, January 19-20

dotSwift, January 28

Gallifrey One, February 15-17

LIVE near WWDC, TBD but likely June 2019

In this episode Jean and James reach into the holiday grab bag to see what they will find. Topics include gift wrapping, making your own personal ‘Best of 2018’ list, thoughts on gift exchanges and sharing experiences as opposed to giving things. Plus, Jean closes out 2018 by closing a lingering open loop.

The gift wrapping tutorial mentioned in this episode can be found at:
Gift Wrap Field Guide

Jean and James do a trusted system status review. Are we still keeping in our heads? (Spoiler alert: a few things.) Are we still using our email inboxes as to-do lists? (Spoiler alert: sometimes.) Nevertheless, a weekly podcast is a clear sign that we have built trusted systems that are effective at meeting goals.

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Jean and James talk about making bigger plans that go beyond keeping on top of the day to day routine. Jean challenges James to a game of twenty questions about a big plan for the coming year. James talks a bit about an upcoming trip to Europe. The conversation ranges from pursuits like learning languages to necessary todo items like renewing a passport.

Do you have any big plans in mind?
Share them with us on Micro.blog, Twitter or email us.

The Weekly Review welcomes its first guest! Aleen Simms, founder of App Launch Map and long-time App Camp For Girls volunteer, has been on the hunt for the perfect to-do list app. She even has a bulleted list of 10 requirements for what she is looking for. Jean and James suggest various ideas and strategies that might help Aleen get the task management life she wants, but we all agree that no app or system fits our needs perfectly.

Listeners, if you have suggestions for Aleen, let us hear them! You can reach us on Micro.blog, Twitter, or via email.

For the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Jean and James talk about travel tips, flight anxiety, and packing lists. They also tell anecdotes of trips gone awry that show sometimes life can be enjoyable when you don’t reach your destination quite the way you planned.

Do you have any travel tips, hacks or stories?
Share them with us on Micro.blog, Twitter or email us.

James and Jean share little ideas and hacks for making the holidays less stressful. We also take a moment to reflect on what we are thankful for, and it turns out we are very thankful for our favorite software.

Do you have any holiday hacks or productivity gift ideas? Share them with us on Micro.blog, Twitter or email us, and we’ll regift them to the community.

Our Gift Ideas

Kiva.org Gift Cards

Davero Farms and Winery

Brother P-touch Label Maker

What We’re Thankful For

Omni Focus 3

Mailstrom and Chuck

Micro.blog’s Microcasting

… but we are especially thankful for our listeners and all the people who made it possible for us to launch a this podcast.

In this episode Jean and James talk about the capture phase—getting things out of your head and into your trusted system. Topics include capturing commitments with a short timeline, some Siri frustrations, Post-it Notes, and techniques to avoid being mortified when attending the opera. James offers up a fleeting ten dollar word or two. Both Jean and James manage to go an entire episode without mentioning Mailstrom or SaneBox.

Do you have a life-hack for capture you’d like to share?
Let us know on Micro.blog at @theweeklyreview or Twitter at @weeklyreviewfm.

Articles and tools mentioned in this episode:
iMore Article: Siri: The ultimate guide
Do Not Distrub Tool: Parallels Toolbox for Mac
Apple Article: Use Do Not Disturb on your Mac
iMore Article: How to set up and use Do Not Disturb on Mac

(Jean mentioned she uses Parallels Toolbox for Mac for Do Not Disturb. James forgot to mention he uses the built-in option-click on the Notification Center icon in the toolbar to turn on Do Not Disburb.)

Trick or treat? It’s the week of Halloween and a major Apple product announcement, aka two productivity busters. We look at human failure in scheduling and Jean’s epic red wine bottle disaster. There’s no trusted system that can overcome human fallibility, and life sometimes throws you a curve ball that your task management system will not be ready for.

On the productive side, we process some email episode follow-up from last week, including Jean’s discovery of the iOS app Chuck, put out by the Mailstrom folks, for effectively slashing your inbox while mobile.

Our Email Processing Tools
Get $5 off Sanebox (referral link)
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In this bonus-length episode Jean and James compare and contrast two services they use to keep their email inboxes manageable: Mailstrom and SaneBox. Each service has its own core ‘superpower’ and philosophy as well as areas where their functionality overlap.

We’d love to hear from you about your experience with these services or other ways you’ve found to manage your inbox. Just mention us in your Micro.blog: @theweeklyreview or on Twitter: @weeklyreviewfm.

Our Email Processing Tools
Get $5 off Sanebox (referral link)
Get $5 off Mailstrom (referral link)

Jean and James trade stories of productivity milestones, as well as tasks they need help with. Jean finally completed her 2017 tax return, with help from PDFpenPro and TurboTax. James is working on an app that he’s not ready to announce yet, and he’s using Sketch to design the interface. We finish up with an extended discussion about how to decide what gets tagged “Next” in our OmniFocus systems.

PDFpenPro

TurboTax

Sketch

What’s The Forecast?

Jean and James discuss that dilemna of the digital age: Use third-party apps or the apps built-in to iOS and macOS? Jean uses a fair number of third-pary apps while James tends to stick to the built-in apps, with a few exceptions. Topics include launchers, timers, clipboard managers, and a shout out to the built-in Reminders app.

We’d love to hear from you about the third-party or built-in apps that you use and what makes them useful to you. Mention us in your Micro.blog: @theweeklyreview or on Twitter: @weeklyreviewfm.

Third-Party Tools We Talked About:
Alfred
EggTimer 2
Fantastical
OmniFocus
Reeder

Jean and James explore the potential for increased productivity by incorporating RSS feeds into their daily workflows. Jean has been using RSS readers for years while James jumps in with both feet and reports on his experiences. Both are excited by a feature of the RSS service Feedbin that can move email newsletters out of your inbox and into a feed. Also, James makes the biggest faux pas yet in his brief podcasting career.

RSS Tools We Talked About:
Feedbin
Feed Wrangler
Reeder for Mac and iOS