The first few weeks of the year were a bit of a mess figuring out how I wanted to move forward. I spent a number of days basically writing out what I wanted to get done, largely coming up with the theme. With this in mind, I then came up with rough outlines for days and weeks. Giving myself more or less goals for what to get done at certain times of the day or on a given day of the week.
Weekly Work
With my current theme in mind, I wanted to develop a regular schedule to build momentum on with regular progress. Currently, my outlook is the first six months of the year, any farther and I’m not sure I’ll be able to confidently stick to the plan while still giving myself pressure to get those early items done. This time frame is long enough to make progress, while not being too long if it turns out the goals I have in mind aren’t the right ones for me now.
While six months is the long term perspective I’m taking, breaking those months down into weekly plans has been beneficial. The time frame of a week has worked really well for me for a long time. Starting with the weekly review process that I still uphold to this day, looking back and then forward for a week allows me to set structures to make the progress that I need and can handle for the short term.
Recently, I’ve spent some time building a structure for what I could consider an ideal week. I wrote out the tasks and activities I wanted to get done on a given day and with approximate times I generally work on those items. For example, on Mondays I want to get to the climbing gym and then work on a game development project. This is of course after working my day job, yet the plan still offers time to relax. While not every Monday will play out perfectly, having a plan in mind should give me the nudge needed more often than not.
The ideas also rely on a standard day. Holidays, vacations, and special occasions can all toss these plans to the wind. Having plans for 95% of days is better than worrying about all the exceptions and caveats ahead of time. When those unique days arrive, I can deal with them then.
Library Time
To bring the subject to focus for this trial. Last week, I wrote up how I was looking to get my visits up throughout the week. The solution: actually plan it out!
The daily plans gave me that push I needed to get out the door and in the library to work before I was able to settle in for the night. Putting a library visit down for Saturday and then a flexible visit on either Wednesday or Thursday has improved my attendance. The flexible day has been a great option, as I can adjust plans as needed while still getting time at the library.
I’ve written in the past on very specific time tracking, but I think having more of a high level structure works better than minute to minute type management. Deciding I want to go to the library after work one day, and then climb and play video games the next is much easier to stomach than trying to map out an entire week in 15 minute increments.
Because planning is key, knowing what I actually want to get done at the library has also been critical. It might be as simple as writing some loose ideas and drafts for the blog or to transfer loose paper notes to a digital system. I tend to write a lot of planning notes for Dungeons and Dragons and then have a system for getting sessions planned in a single page.
The key project for the library is writing these posts. Each visit allows me to build on the blocks laid out during the last. Posts develop more and more as the week goes on. Once a post is finished, I outline the next one. This gives me a starting point for the next visit. Each time expanding the text, clarifying ideas, or editing out parts that don’t fit the larger thesis.
Trying Out Before Buying In 