The Weekly Review

Jean and James celebrate their 50th episode by actually doing full weekly reviews.

The discussion includes recommiting to doing full weekly reviews and techniques to help get back on track. In a celebratory mood, the conversation ranges from including a review of your lofty goals in a weekly review, to some behind-the-scenes podcast production revelations, to dealing with pet poop.

Events during WWDC week (June 3-7) in San Jose, CA:

Links:

As James continues to identify the points of friction that have hindered regular weekly review completion, Jean looks at doing daily reviews to process all the inboxes that silently accumulate obligations as a way of minimizing the weekly procrastination.

Links:

Tally, a quick counter app by Agile Tortoise (@agiletortoise on Micro.blog)

Note: Our Twitter handle has changed!

The weekly review is a key piece of keeping your trusted system humming along, but it can also feel like a daunting, onerous task to be avoided. This week James talks with Jean about his diagnosis as to why he has not performed a full weekly review in a while. Topics include the crucial step of clarifying, the difference between unprocessed and work-in-progress items, some thoughts on inbox zero, and rethinking when a project should be actively tracked as opposed to living in the someday / maybe list.

Note: Our Twitter handle has changed!

This week, Jean tells James about her latest productivity strategy, the micro project, and how she used a repeating 30-minute timer to get ready for the trip and actually leave the house early with all her pre-flight actions checked off. It is amazing how much you can get done in a short amount of time if you prevent yourself from dawdling.

Please take a moment to rate The Weekly Review in the iTunes Store. We really appreciate it!

This week Jean and James discuss collections and the seemingly conflicting goals of accumulating collectables and reducing clutter. Jean describes the few things she collects and how she resists the temptation to begin new collections. James talks about his treasure trove of Disneyland Guidemaps and reveals why it is a practically perfect collection for him in every way. Conversation turns to digital collections and James’ fascination with hotel carpet designs.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Author Jean Stafford

Ann’s Restaurant

Reno Air

James’ visual history of Disney California Adventure:

By definition, curveballs are not anticipated and they don’t fit neatly into your time management system. Last week was not the best week, and we have been working through some unanticpated disruptions to our plans to be productive since then. Turns out, the universe is still not done throwing us curveballs, but we do find a couple of silver linings.

Get $5 off Mailstrom and Chuck (referral link)

This week Jean and James discuss those unexpected things in life that can mentally and emotionally knock the wind out of you. James shares the sad news of the sudden passing of his cat Dinah. Jean talks about a long-planned trip being disrupted by a combination of feeling under the weather and temporary dental work.

This week’s episode is in memory of Dinah.

This week, we look at some principles of budgeting your money and whether these principles can also apply to budgeting your time.

You Need A Budget aka YNAB

YNAB Podcast: Rule One

In this episode, our interpid organizers delve into that alternate dimension that seems to defy organization: the junk drawer. Join Jean and James for suggestions, tips, and laughter as they discuss items ordinary and extraordinary (but mostly ordinary) that they have found in those ever-present drawers that sometimes seem might contain life, the universe and everything.

Have you found something interesting, amusing or astounding in your junk drawer?

James and Jean are back from PodCon 2 in Seattle, a gathering of podcasters and podcast fans of all stripes. They share some of the fun moments as well as their tips for getting the most out of a conference.

TripIt

Mac OS Calendar Suggestions

Photo: Rosemary Orchard, David Sparks, James Dempsey, Jean MacDonald, Brent Simmons at the Automators Podcast meetup hosted by the Omni Group.