Chloe’s Digital + Analog Setup

Productivity systems are, and should be, unique to each person’s preference. I am not a fan of the “just try this one thing and it will revolutionize the way you do everything” faux-ductivity Twitter advice stuff. There is no productivity silver bullet. If you want to be truly productive, you need to know yourself and how you work best.

I want to show you some of the components of my productivity system. Not so that you copy my setup, but to give you some ideas of how to find your ideal system.

I use a method we call “Hybrid Productivity”. This means that I use digital and analog (pen and paper) tools together. But, we live in a digital age, so why do I even bother with analog tools?

Hybrid Productivity

We are constantly surrounded by technology. I am writing this article on a computer, and you are reading it on your phone, tablet, or computer.

Most of our work revolves around technology. I know that mine does.

I incorporate analog tools to give my brain a break from all the screens. Pen and paper make you slow down and actually feel the tools you are using. There is also something to be said about the inspiration that comes with pen and paper. I feel the words on the page when I am actually writing them.

I have been a little nerd my whole life. I love notebooks, paper, pens, and stickers. Even though I have tried to go 100% digital, I can’t walk away from my beloved pen and paper.

Digital Tools

I have written at length about my most-used productivity apps, but I’ll give a brief overview.

I use three main apps to help manage my productivity.

Fantastical is my calendar app of choice. All of us here at The Sweet Setup HQ use it. It has several helpful views to look at my schedule, easy-to-use scheduler, and its natural language scheduling feature is a gamer-changer.

I love typing “meeting with Shawn on Wednesday from 9-10 at the office,” auto-magically creates the event and even invites Shawn. Brilliant.

The Reminders app is one I’ve tried to get away from, but honestly, it’s kind of great. I use reminders for tasks in my personal life. I say, “Hey Siri remind me to get milk at 4pm on my way home from work” and boom. It’s added.

It’s not the most glamorous app, but it works for what I need it to do for me.

Last, but obviously not least, is the main app of my setup; Notion.

We use Notion for all our task and project management, editorial calendar, note-taking, documentation, etc., at The Sweet Setup. We are in pretty deep at this point. I spend a considerable amount of my day inside Notion working on emails, tasks, articles, and the like.

I also use Notion to help manage any larger projects in my personal life that the Reminders app just isn’t going to cover. And I of course force my family to use it during the holidays to plan Christmas (they (sort of) love me for it).

Fantastical, Reminders, and Notion are the bedrock of my digital setup. I use other apps like Ulysses and Slack frequently as well, but Notion really has my heart.

Analog Tools

My analog tools are a bit more personalized. I have tried a lot of planners over the years, especially when I was in school. Almost none of them stuck with me. I’d use them for a few weeks and then go back to using endless sticky notes (not that I have anything against sticky notes).

But a few years ago, I came across Golden Coil. It is an expensive, beautiful, customizable planner. It’s been a game changer for me.

Firstly, I decided that this was the planner I was going to stick with. There comes a point when you have to choose to commit to a certain tool. There is no perfect tool. If you spend your life searching for the perfect tool, you’ll spend countless hours and dollars wasting your time and not getting any real work done. So when you find something that is pretty great, commit to it.

That is what Golden Coil is for me. A pretty great tool that I’ve decided to commit to (although the price tag makes me second-guess myself every now and again).

I plan out my life in my planner. I am less concerned about all the meetings or dinner parties I have (that’s what Fantastical is for) than I am with what tasks need to get done. I plan out the tasks I need to get done for every week and day.

I have space to list my top three most important tasks for a specific day and lots of space to add random to-dos and notes. It’s a great system.

The moral of the story is your to-do list should be on your calendar.

I have a few favorite pens. Nothing close to Mike or Shawn’s fancy pen collections. My pens collectively probably cost $15.

I love the Pilot G2, Muji Gel Ink ballpoint pen (.38 or .5), and the Uni-ball Signo 0.5. Fun and cheap.

How I use Digital and Analog tools together

The main way that my digital and analog tools come together is when I plan my week or day. I pull out my planner at the beginning of the day and start writing down what is the most important thing for me to do.

But before I start writing out what needs to get done, I open Notion, Fantastical, and Slack. I check to see what known events I have, such as a one-on-one or staff meetings. I then check Notion to see what tasks have been assigned to me. I also occasionally get to-dos from Slack. It’s the work before the work, aka metawork.

Once I’ve determined what needs to get done, I prioritize the most important tasks. The most important tasks or projects go to my Top-3 section. Everything else gets added to the general to-do section of my daily page in my planner.

I work on my most important tasks first, when my mind is fresh. But if I ever need a “brain break” from the tasks that require some heavy lifting, I’ll look at my general to-do list to see if there’s something easy that I can do to give myself a break.

I keep my planner open next to me all day. Once I complete a task, I get to check it off in my planner. Best part of the day.

Build Your Dream Week Summit

I’ve perfected my planning system for my week. I’ve just given you a small glimpse into how I plan and use my tools. But a clone of my system won’t work perfectly for you. You need to create your own system.

Enter the Build Your Dream Week Summit.

We are hosting a live, online Summit the week of June 11th to help people like you create their dream weeks. This four-day summit will help you create a tailor-made system that is right for you.

Shawn will be teaching about healthy productivity, how to prioritize and delegate, and of course, how to design your dream week.

You can sign up for as little as $29.

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I think I will forever be a fan of incorporating digital and analog tools into my productivity system. Computer + pen and paper helps serve me and my goals and accomplish what’s most important. And it sparks joy.