We’ve often been asked how we use Sorted³ ourselves. So in this article, we’ll cover some common workflows you will likely encounter and how we use Sorted³ to solve them.
These are by no means the only way to use Sorted³. So treat them simply as suggestions where you can tweak and make these workflows your own.
Capturing Ideas
Often times, when trying to get all your ideas out of your mind, it’s important not to let too many details get in the way. In Sorted³, there are a few places to capture your new ideas:
- The Inbox
- A specific list
- A specific day
Inbox
The Inbox is a great place for you to capture your ideas in their rawest form. By that we mean if you have a bunch of ideas you want to get out of your mind, but:
- Don’t know when you want to do them.
- Don’t know if they even belong together in the same list or category.
For example, you are brainstorming all the things you might want to do this week. Anything from buying groceries, to which movies to watch, to getting the keys to that new car.
In this situation, the Inbox is a great place for these items. Dump your ideas into the inbox, then organize and schedule them afterward.
A specific list
If you are brainstorming for something more specific. Say grocery items you want to buy, then a good place to dump these ideas is directly into your “Groceries” list. Simply, jump over to your list, then start typing them down.
A specific day
Another common scenario is when you know the date you want to do something, but have not decided on the time yet.
For example, say it’s Tuesday and you know you want to buy a new pair of sneakers on Saturday, but haven’t decided on the time. In this situation, simply jump to Saturday and add “Buy sneakers” as an anytime task. Then schedule in the time when Saturday gets closer and you have a clearer idea what else you might want to do that day.
Quick Add
No matter where you choose to capture your new tasks. It’s helpful to know you can add multiple tasks quickly by pressing on the plus-button above the keyboard.
Doing so saves you a few steps in-between adding multiple tasks consecutively and is a great way to keep your flow of ideas going.
Planning Ahead
We’ve designed Sorted³ so that it’s just as powerful on the iPhone as it is on the iPad.
On the iPhone, when scheduling items into various days, you can keep the calendar drawer open. This way, you can continue to work with your list from the top half of your phone. Simply select items from your list, then tap a date to quickly schedule items to those dates.
You can also jump between a specific list to a date and then back easily via the side menu. All without having to navigate up and down any nested hierarchy.
Planning Your Day
As mentioned before, planning your day helps you:
- Better narrow down what truly matters to you.
- Ensure your plans are realistic.
- Make sure you don’t let meetings or errands overrun your day.
- Block-off and reserve time for family, rest, learning and whatever else is important to you.
Sorted³ makes this process easy with auto-schedule, magic-select, and our signature time-ruler. Here’s how:
1. Give your tasks an estimated duration. Of course, you can do so by setting the duration for each task individually. However, you can also do this in batches as illustrated in this next video:
2. Next, run auto-schedule. Sorted³ will automagically create a schedule for you.
3. Finally, use the result as is, or tweak with magic-select and time-ruler as desired.
A few tips to keep in mind when scheduling your day.
a. Don’t worry about being super precise.
A rough schedule is all we’re after. It’s impossible to predict what will happen as a day progresses. So start with a rough schedule, then adjust along the way.
b. Avoid over-scheduling yourself.
If your schedule looks way too aggressive, then try to cut out the lower priority stuff. Remember, if everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority. The idea is to always give yourself room to breathe, think and do your best work. You can always add items back if you are running ahead of schedule.
c. Find time to reflect
Our team has developed a habit of taking a few minutes throughout the day to reflect on our schedule. For example, right after lunch. These short moments allow us to reflect and if necessary, re-prioritize our schedule based on what we managed to achieve in the morning. Not only that, it helps us get back into focus with work during the afternoon.
Conclusion
Well, that’s it for this article. We’ll be back with more sharing later on. If you have a topic you wish for us to cover, please send us an email at hello@staysorted.com or join our Slack group. Cheers!
Sorted³ helps you schedule your events, tasks, and richly formatted notes into a beautiful timeline. It will be launched to App Store by the end of August 2018.
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