PARA Method for Weekly Productivity

Introduction

• Focus: Accomplish most important work every week using the PARA method.
• PARA: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives.
• Previous videos introduced the components of PARA and project creation.
• Aim: Show how to use the project list in PARA to guide productivity at the start, during, and end of the week.

Start of the Week

• Weekly review sources: Calendar, email, desktop, task manager.
• Issue: These sources may only highlight obvious, urgent, or recent tasks instead of important tasks.
• PARA project list: Use it to review and focus on the most relevant projects.
  • 10-15 active projects, all well-scoped and important.
  • Consistency: Project names, spelling, capitalization, and emojis should match across tools (e.g., task manager and notes app).
• Motivation: Looking at projects list is more motivating than calendars or to-do lists.
  • Select 2-3 projects to focus on for the week.
  • Example projects: Book launch, PARA method launch, B2B initiative.
  • Prioritize by relevance and timeliness.
• Detailed review: Focus and review notes by reverse chronological order for latest updates and actions.

During the Week

• Project list as an adaptation tool for new information and changes:
  • Example task: Generating a list of books adapted to TV shows.
  • Maintain real-time updates to project lists (e.g., add new TV show examples).
  • Progressive summarization: Highlight and bold important details in notes.
    • Example: Review meeting notes and highlight key points.
  • Tasks for the day: Mark important tasks and compile them in a 'Today' or 'This Week' list.
  • Synchronization across devices for accessibility.

End of the Week

• Project completion: Archive completed projects with a project completion checklist.
• Ongoing projects: Use the Hemingway Bridge technique to capture next steps.
  • Create a 'Next Steps' note with status updates, completed tasks, and ideas for the future.
  • Helps future self to quickly pick up where left off.
• Recommendations: For more details, read "Building a Second Brain" and "The PARA Method" books.

Next Steps

• Next video: Using the PARA technique inside Apple Notes.