Hey Paperlikers,
It’s monsoon season here in Arizona, and I have to say I’m not a huge fan of rain (I did choose to live in a desert for a reason🌞). But, as everyone keeps telling me, it’s necessary.
The good news is that since I’m often stuck indoors, I have more time to Get Things Done™️. And that means I’ve found and tested out new tricks and techniques to pass on to all you lovely folks!
Let’s jump in!
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App updates in full bloom
Spring is in full swing (at least in my neck of the woods), and just like the blooming flowers in May, some of our notetaking apps are blossoming with exciting updates.
Let’s take a look.
Noteshelf
Kind of similar to the Elements Tool in Goodnotes, Noteshelf has added the ability to save clips of any of your content for later use.
Simply use the Lasso to circle your handwriting/image/sticker/whatever and tap 'Save Clip' on the pop-up menu.
You can check out Noteshelf’s YouTube short to see it in action.
Want to learn more about this amazing app? We’ve got our very own YouTube deep dive video to help you out.
Nebo
Nebo added some noteworthy PDF functionality, including:
- Reuse PDF text content. With this ability, you can effortlessly incorporate valuable information from your PDFs into your notes or share it across different applications.
- Smart highlighter in PDFs. The introduction of the smart highlighter ensures crisp, clean highlights on PDF text and annotations, making it easier than ever to focus on key information.
- Web links in PDFs. This allows you to conveniently access related pages directly from your documents.
Evernote
I know, I know. I just gave you an update on Evernote last month! I can’t help it if they’re adding new features right and left. 🤷
Anyway, Evernote’s AI got an upgrade 🤖. Since summer 2023, you’ve been able to use AI Note Cleanup to help keep your notes tidy. But, the app developers took customer feedback to heart and created AI Edit.
AI Edit can help you write, summarize, and translate your notes into different languages. It can even help you fix those pesky typos and spelling and grammar errors. That’s not bad!
While it’s still in beta, it should be available for desktop and web users very soon, and mobile apps (hopefully) won’t be too far behind. You can get the full story on Evernote’s blog. |
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Image: Alexander Popovkin on Unsplash
This month: April showers bring May flowers more techniques
🌧️ April showers bring a fresh bouquet of techniques to invigorate your productivity journey.
Embrace the transformative power of spring with these innovative strategies designed to help you thrive in your personal and professional endeavors.
- Create Your Own COD System. Unlock the secrets of productivity with a free course by Carl Pullein, the visionary behind the Time Sector System™. Dive into the core principles of productivity: collect, organize, and do, and embark on a journey to revolutionize how you work and live. You can also check his YouTube channel for more inspiration.
- 5 Simple Strategies to Supercharge Your Focus. You guys definitely should know by now that I love Ali Abdaal. He’s always got something new to add to my productivity tool basket. In this video, he offers five new strategies to help you focus.
- Crush Procrastination + Overwhelm With These Practical Strategies. Tired of battling procrastination and overwhelm? Caren Magill, an ADHD life and business coach, has three interesting strategies that can help you manage your life more efficiently.
Whether you choose to try some or all of these, this month is all about growth and productivity. Let's bloom together! 🌱🌸 |
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Image: Eisenhower
Lindsay’s productivity spotlight: The Eisenhower Matrix
This year, I’m on a mission to test-drive some fresh productivity methods.
Each month, I'll dive into a different approach, give it a spin for a few weeks, and spill all the details of my experience.
About The Eisenhower Matrix
If you read about my experience with The Commitment Inventory last month, then you’ll know that I’ve finally learned how to assess my commitments and allocate the proper amount of time for each.
This month, I wanted to try to build on that to manage my time and prioritize my tasks even more efficiently. So I turned to The Eisenhower Matrix.
While this system is somewhat similar to The Commitment Inventory, it has a different focus, and that’s what I wanted to learn.
The concept: The Matrix, popularized by former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, divides your tasks into four categories based on their urgency and importance, much like the sorting hat at Hogwarts (minus the magical hat, unfortunately 🧙).
These four quadrants include:
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Urgent and important. These are the "drop everything" tasks that are like urgent SOS calls from the universe. They're the ones with looming deadlines or that are crucial for keeping everything on track.
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Important but not urgent. These are your "slow burn" tasks. They're crucial for the long haul but don't scream for immediate action. They're like the silent architects, quietly shaping your future success.
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Urgent but not important. Ever feel like you're juggling distractions? Welcome to this quadrant. These tasks demand attention, but they're not exactly game-changers. They're like pesky little flies buzzing around, trying to steal your focus.
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Not urgent and not important. These are the time-wasters. They're the guilty pleasures, the mindless scrolling, the pointless busywork that sucks away your time without adding value. Think of them as the Bermuda Triangle of productivity – once you're in, it's tough to escape!
The goal: To become the ultimate task-master, of course! By categorizing tasks effectively, you're not just juggling them haphazardly. You're strategically planning your battlefield, ready to emerge victorious.
Check out the official explanation on the Eisenhower website, or you can read about it on the Todoist blog.
Tackling tasks with The Eisenhower Matrix
Embarking on my journey with the Eisenhower Matrix, I found it to be one of the simplest productivity systems I've tried. However, this ease came from having already built a strong foundation through my recent exploration of the Commitment Inventory.
When I started using this system, I decided to just focus on my career tasks to really drill down into my workday.
What was I aiming for? Better prioritization and delegation skills for work tasks.
I spent some time evaluating my tasks and categorizing them into the four quadrants. This step helped me gain clarity on what I needed to prioritize and what I could delegate, delay, or eliminate altogether.
Here’s what that looked like for me. |
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The urgent and important quadrant grabbed my immediate attention. It was like, "Bam! Deal with me now or suffer the consequences!"
For me, that meant getting the first draft of my next Paperlike blog post written, as well as some of the other tasks you can see above.
So naturally, I dove right into those tasks, knocking them out one by one. I found it quite satisfying to tackle these tasks and get them out of the way.
Normally, they stay in the back of my mind, haunting me 👻, while I do all the little things (like checking emails and messages) first.
But then came quadrant two—important but not urgent. Now, this is where things got interesting. It was like peeling back the layers of an onion, uncovering all these tasks that were super important for the long haul but didn't necessarily have a deadline looming over my head.
These tasks included things like my biweekly pulse meetings and personal development. This quadrant really forced me to think about the bigger picture and carve out time for the stuff that truly matters.
Of course, there were some hiccups along the way. I mean, hello, quadrant three—urgent but not important. Talk about a minefield of distractions! Emails, planning new content, and copywriting requests were all vying for my attention.
It was a real test of discipline to sift through the noise and stay focused on what truly mattered. I had to learn to delegate and defer some of those tasks to free up mental space for the real game-changers.
And let's not forget about the last quadrant. Not urgent and not important. Ah, the land of time-wasters. Normally this would be things like scrolling through socials or bingeing Netflix, but since I was focusing on work-related tasks only, it took a bit to figure out what fit here.
Recognizing these time-sucks was a wake-up call, for sure. I had to be ruthless in cutting out the fluff and reclaiming my precious time for more meaningful pursuits.
All in all, my experience with the Eisenhower Matrix was definitely enlightening. It forced me to confront my priorities head-on, make some tough decisions, and ultimately take control of my time like never before.
Sure, there were challenges along the way, but hey, that's all part of the journey, right? And let me tell you, the payoff in terms of increased productivity and peace of mind?
Totally worth it. |
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 Know yourself
Ever feel like you're trying to decode the mysteries of human behavior?
Enter the Enneagram, the ultimate decoder ring for understanding yourself and those quirky characters around you. It's like uncovering the secret sauce to why we do what we do!
Picture this: nine distinct personality types, each with its own unique flavor. From the meticulous perfectionist to the free-spirited adventurer, there's a little something for everyone in this personality potluck.
Here's the scoop on the Enneagram's fab nine:
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The Reformer: Always dotting their i's and crossing their t's, these folks are the ultimate champions of perfection.
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The Helper: Need a hand? They've got two to spare! These generous souls thrive on lending a helping hand wherever they can.
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The Achiever: Ever met someone who's always climbing that ladder of success? That's your classic Achiever, baby!
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The Individualist: Creative, introspective, and a tad dramatic—these are the folks who color outside the lines.
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The Investigator: Sherlock Holmes ain't got nothing on these analytical masterminds. They've always got their thinking caps on!
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The Loyalist: Loyalty runs deep in their veins, but so does a healthy dose of skepticism. Trust but verify, right?
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The Enthusiast: Life's a party, and they're the hosts with the most! These fun-loving souls are always up for an adventure.
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The Challenger: Bold, fearless, and not afraid to speak their mind—these are the folks you want on your team in a bar fight.
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The Peacemaker: Can't we all just get along? That's the motto of these easygoing, conflict-averse sweethearts.
So, whether you're a curious cat or a seasoned Enneagram aficionado, dive into the world of personality exploration and get ready for some serious "aha" moments.
It's like unlocking your own personal treasure map to understanding yourself and those lovable oddballs around you.
Ready to crack the code and unleash your inner Enneagram wizard? You can take this free test here.
Wondering why all this matters? Check out this blog post by Zapier, where you can learn tips (and app recommendations) that’ll help you boost your productivity based on your personality type! |
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Wrap up
That’s about all I have for you today. Try out some of these new strategies and techniques for yourself, and let’s see what kind of progress you can make this month.
Productivity is a never-ending process, so find out what suits your personality and work style the best.
Good luck! I’ll see you next month.
Lindsay
Productivity & Notetaking Writer
Paperlike |
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