There's a hand crank to reality. If you don't turn it, nothing moves forward. Skip the complex to-do lists and project plans. What you need is a crank file: areas where there's a problem (book dentist appointment, file taxes) or an opportunity. Things that, if neglected, entropy sets in. Things where action creates structure, value, or resolves uncertainty. Consider two lives, both 80 years long. One man rarely moves the crank. His dreams stay as ideas. The things he must do get neglected until untenable, then he does the minimum cranks possible. The frame rate of his life is minimal. The second man continuously turns the crank, constantly resolving uncertainty and moving things forward. His frame rate is higher, and his 80 years contain more lived experience. The system is simple: a crank file. A list of areas (work things, personal things, play dates with the kids) with the next best action for each. These are spinning plates, things orbiting you in the back of your mind. You pick what appeals to you. Got 15 minutes? Turn one crank. Complete the action, write down the next best action for that area. If there are no more actions needed, it's resolved. You're done. The goal is preventing entropy and increasing your life's frame rate.
Adam J. SmithRelated
The Hand Crank of Reality
Reality has a hand crank attached to it. When I turn it, things move forward. When I don't, entropy wins. The system I use to keep turning is simple, but it works.
Bandwidth, Signal, Noise
'We shape our tools, and thereafter they shape us' — Marshall McLuhan
Attention is All You Have
Our attention is stolen in pennies—notifications, emails, feeds—until our entire fortune is gone. We need AI not as an assistant, but as a bouncer: keeping the riff raff out so we can focus on what matters.