In the mornings I go directly to my laptop and I’d bet you do something similar, though perhaps to your phone. If I get that laptop lid open, there’ll be at least an hour gone before I pull my brain out into the rest of the world, and I’ll risk getting less done than I hoped for that day. That’s just how things are.
But, recently I’ve been doing something different, and it involves a combination of lightweight objects and sticky notes with handwritten reminders of what my most important (but often dreaded) tasks for the day are. Here’s a look at what I’m doing, why it works, and how you can implement it in your day-to-day life.
High Friction Notes I Must Confront
Since lifting my laptop lid is a physical behavior, it feels that I must confront anything that is on top of it before I do so. And that’s why it’s a natural place to leave notes and objects about my goals for the day.
For example, I’ve started leaving a tube of Duke Cannon SPF face cream on the top of my laptop. I need to remove it to open the lid. If I’m going to move it, I may as well use it. This simple behavior has gotten me into the habit of applying sunscreen (at least on my face) far more often than I otherwise would have. Maybe when summer gets here I’ll get regular sunscreen for my arms, too.
And then there are the notes. Throughout the day, I’ll pick some tasks that need to get done for me to be happy the following day. I naturally read them, and often get started on one, just from lifting the lid of my laptop. There are even times when I’ve caught myself thinking something like, “They want me to do this first thing, really?” as if my prior night’s self was a crazed boss. (And maybe he was.)
What to Write and What to Place for Maximum Effectiveness
If you want to try this, you need to understand how to do this efficiently. And that comes down to, more or less, a basic formula.
Throughout the day I write down important things that I need to do at some point that I couldn’t get to in the moment. These are usually quick, actionable steps with logical conclusions. Stuff like “buy milk” or “clean off desktop” work, but I often just simplify it to “milk” or “desktop.”
If you’re building a new habit, it’s nice to include it on the list. For example, for about a week or so I included a daily word count goal for this site, plus some sort of tinkering objective, like adding a key plug-in or connecting the site with Analytics. Slow and steady wins the race, after all. Note that it’s not beneficial to add the habit once it is formed. I don’t, for example, need to add in my daily language study or coffee addiction to the list. They just happen. If anything, adding your already formed habit to the daily note makes it feel like a stretch goal, and not something that must be done.
Using lightweight objects, such as I do with my SPF cream, is often even more effective than a note. Why does the cream work so well? It’s something I can use as I touch it. A mini vac to clear sand and debris from your car seat might work similarly. Any object that you can begin to use immediately and finish quickly works well.
How Effective Are Sticky Note Reminders?
In my experience, this method of getting things done is between 70% and 90% effective for any given day. I typically plan to do more than I can actually get done, and even though plenty of the tasks I put on the list are (by definition) high friction affairs, it is nice to have some leeway in choosing the most annoying task, being able to ignore it.
It’s worth trying out yourself if you want to break up your normal routine and get better habits started or knock out something important before starting your daily morning content scrolling. Experiment with both tons of queued tasks or just two or three key ones to see what works best.