The Weekly Forge #130
On Simplifying our Systems
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Leonardo da Vinci.
I was on a call with a friend last week and we talked about the systems we are using to collect info, process it and manage our projects.
If you’re like me, you have probably spent waaayy too much time trying to optimise your systems, searching the “perfect” app. Truth is, work and life in general has gotten very complex over the past year and my sophisticated systems were failing.
Because they needed work to be maintained, and that’s not a smart system after all.
And that reminded me of a call a couple of years ago I was on with Jocko Willink, who owns several businesses which in turn employ 100s of people. These include:
• #1 podcasts
• Book publisher
• Author of multiple NYT bestsellers
• Supplement company (Jocko Fuel)
• MMA & Fitness Gym (Victory MMA)
• Leadership consultancy (Echelon Front)
• American-made clothing company (Origin USA)
On top of that, he’s a husband, dad of 4, works out twice a day and has a social life.
Now Jocko is well-known for his leadership principles of delegating to his teams and empowering them as much as possible to deliver on business goals.
But yet, with so much on his plate, I assumed he would have a very intricate system to stay productive. Probably a convoluted Notion system, or a custom-built software solution.
So when I asked him about the systems he uses to keep on top of it all, I couldn’t believe his answer:
“An Excel spreadsheet”
Now it doesn’t get any simpler than that. So over the past month I’ve gone back to just the Apple native apps, primarily Notes and Reminders.
And I haven’t felt more organised like this in a long time.
What apps/systems are you using?
And speaking of Apple Notes, I have a folder in there which contains a lot of writing…
It’s been great sharing this milestone, but after my PhD and the Kids book I wrote a few years ago, I know that the hardest part is about to commence: editing!
This Week’s Picture of Scotland
And if you’d like help putting systems in place to help you achieve your personal goals amidst the competing demands of work and family life, please get in touch here.