This is the guide for day-to-day usage of Greg's Work System. Keep this guide at your side and refer to it often, and you will internalize the practices, hacks, and shortcut keys in a few hours or days.
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Have you done the One Time Setup yet?
“...I want to plan my week for maximum efficiency, and ensure I’m working on the most important things”
30-60 mins
Focus on Work Plan Document.
Contemplate & update Last Week’s Plan. Write a summary (accomplishments, learnings, etc). Slow down and be thoughtful about it. [15 mins / week]
Descope things that no longer matter. If it’s not aligned to a bigger goal, why are you doing it? Move it to the Icebox section of the Work Plan document. [3 mins]
Archive last week’s plan. Copy / paste it into an archive document. [5 mins]
Create your current Week Plan. Do this by revising your copy of last week’s plan to reflect what’s new. Slow down and be thoughtful about it. [30 mins / week]
“...I want to ensure my day is spent effectively, burning down items on my plan”
10 mins
Focus on Work Plan Document & Google Calendar.
Review your plan & priorities for the day. Consider placing a 🔥 next to them [10 mins]
Review your Unplanned Work. Look at your unplanned work list. Should any unplanned item get done today? Rejected? Delegated? Deferred?
Timebox the important stuff with Focus Time blocks in Google Calendar. Do this for tasks requiring deep concentration. [5 mins]
“...I want to manage execution against my work plan, and handle intake of ad hoc requests & ideas without getting sidetracked”
60 seconds here and there
Focus on Work Plan Document.
Track progress against Weekly Plan. Use 🔺 🔸 ✅ to manage status on the fly.
Manage Unplanned Work. As your day progresses, add ad hoc requests into the unplanned section to manage your bandwidth. It’s incredibly helpful to differentiate between planned and unplanned work. You don’t need to stop and think hard about unplanned work in the middle of the day. Use your Daily Planning session for that.
“...I want to focus on what’s really important from a bigger perspective, and cultivate mindfulness and self-care”
3 minutes
Ponder your Mantra Document. Take some deep breaths.
“...I want to switch from work to family, then, I want to switch from Customer 1 to Customer 2”
Use your space shortcuts to move from Work Plan, to Communications Window, to Customer 1, to Customer 2, to Fun, etc.
“...I want to effortlessly update task status in a doc, or indicate something is important”
Use 🔺, 🔸, ✅, 🔥 and other substitutions as a visual and quick status indicator.
“...I want to deeply focus on a single task, balanced with short breaks to recharge my mind and body”
Use the Flow App to practice Pomodoro Timeboxing. Do your work in 25 min increments, then stand up, circulate your blood, use your rowing machine, etc. for 5 mins.
“...It’s important to manage my work in process so I keep focus”
Select any task on your Work Plan, and Cmd+Option+5 to highlight, indicating a Work in Process item. Keep these to an absolute minimum (<2).
“...I want to divide customer work into workstreams, and deal with tab overload”
Drag tabs into a common Chome Group, reducing tab sprawl.
