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The Zen-Journal Productivity and Mindfulness Blog

A Real Life Example of Compassionate-Kindness in Action

February 12, 2018 by Barry Leave a Comment

pc: tinybuddha.com

This morning I awoke and made coffee. That’s not unusual. In fact, you might call it a ritual. Hmmm. Definitely a habit that I have no intention of breaking.

Anyway, if I’m alone, I usually use the time between pour-over pours to catch up on social media posts or read the latest New York Times and Los Angeles Times headlines. If Karen is in town, I wait until the coffee is finished and after I bring it back to the bedroom on a tray, we chat and sip our coffee while checking into the online world.

I’m often greeted by Facebook posts from my youngest son Jay, who lives here in Irvine with me. Since he’s a musician/singer/lyricist, his posts are usually about hardcore bands or upcoming shows he wants to attend.

Every now and then I’ll read a post that really gets my attention. The post below is the one I was greeted with this morning. [Read more…] about A Real Life Example of Compassionate-Kindness in Action

Filed Under: Awakening, Compassion, Kindness, Practical Buddhism

If You’re Overscheduled, Bad Task Karma Could Be Why

February 1, 2018 by Barry Leave a Comment

Are you chronically overscheduled? Do tasks and appointments back up due to long meetings, extended conference calls, or unexpected projects? If so, you’re likely the victim of bad task karma.

Bad task karma (BTK) is when one task affects the next and the next and so on. For instance, a meeting runs long and impacts the rest of your appointments and tasks. Before you know it you’re rushing to reschedule, and you’re overscheduled yet again!

BTK will kill your productivity, but it’s not your fault

That’s because most analog planning systems tell you to schedule tasks according to their urgency. Unfortunately, that leads to unrealistic expectations and lots of bad task karma.

One task gets delayed, then another, then they begin the queue and then stack up and soon you’re overscheduled once again.”

Lucky for you, Zen-Journal eliminates bad task karma altogether

This is because of two primary features that set Zen-Journal apart:

  1. Where most analog planning systems offer you a monthly spread or a traditional calendar layout and chide you to choose a date or it won’t get done, Zen-Journal utilizes a 3-month Quarterly Look-Ahead doesn’t force you to choose a day for the sake of choosing a day; instead, you choose a quarter for scheduling tasks and when it’s relevant, you can make it an action item on any given day.
  2. Zen-Journal uses a ‘relevancy filter‘ that creates a mindful process for reviewing tasks on you QLA and allowing them to ripen (if you will) to their fullest relevance.

Here’s how the Relevancy Filter (RF) works

Task relevance means that the time is appropriate to work on a task. Because the present moment is all we truly have, it doesn’t make any sense to attach some sort of relevance to a future date in a calendar. It’s really just making a mark on a piece of paper and has nothing to do with carrying out the task.

You and I have done this a thousand times, right? We schedule a task on a specific date in a calendar and then when that date arrives, we either don’t get to the task because of other pressing commitments, or it doesn’t need doing any longer and it’s become irrelevant.

So, why did we choose that date in the first place?”

What if we didn’t schedule the task on a calendar and still got it done? When you think about it, calendars only are effective for tracking appointments or due-dates and nothing more. Because Zen-Journal relies on digital devices to track appointments, reminders, and lists, task relevance drives ow you use your Day-At-a-Time Work Area to accomplish your relevant tasks.

By placing the task on the QLA and then reviewing the QLA each day during either your morning or evening Zen-Journal review, you will know when it’s appropriate to work on a task. You’ll experience what it’s like when a task demands attention and expresses its relevance.

That’s when becomes an actionable task.

This isn’t procrastination

Before you say this is just another form of procrastination, let’s review what procrastination really is.

Procrastination is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished. 

Procrastination would be not scheduling the task on the QLA nor ever acting on it at all. Instead, Zen-Journal’s relevancy filter is a change in paradigm when it comes to prioritizing tasks.

Scheduling into a calendar or monthly spread creates the opportunity to procrastinate wherein the Zen-Journal QLA holds the tasks until its inherent relevance is revealed.

Embracing the power of task relevancy will create a less crowded schedule that feels lighter.  Your daily commitments will be fewer and you’ll get more accomplished.

Filed Under: pen and paper, planning

Work as a Practice for Awakening

January 19, 2018 by Barry Leave a Comment

BookI’m currently reading Zen of Business Administration: How Zen Practice Can Transform Your Work and Your Life by entrepreneur, Zen monk, and former Zen Center Director, Marc Lesser.

The premise of the book is that Zen practice can lead to the dissolution of the often self-placed boundaries between work and play.

At the heart of Zen is the absence of a separate sense of self. I have to admit that this is a concept that I’ve yet to fully understand.

I’m only about one-fifth of the way into this delightful read, however, I hope that by the time I get to the end I’ll have a clearer understanding of it. [Read more…] about Work as a Practice for Awakening

Filed Under: Awakening, Mindfulness, Work, Zen

How You Can Rapidly Switch Between Sections in Your Zen-Journal Even Without a Ribbon Marker

January 10, 2018 by Barry Leave a Comment

The Origin from Code & Quill is a solid value for a Zen-Journal notebook

There are times when you want to find the Quarterly Look-Ahead (QLA) or your Discipline Task Lists (DTL) in a hurry. With a lot of hardbound notebooks, that’s easy because they come equipped with one (Moleskine) or two (LEUCHTTURM1917) bookmarks.

But what if your notebook doesn’t come with a ribbon marker? What if you’re using a spiral-bound notebook or another markerless hard or paperbacked notebook?

I have a suggestion… [Read more…] about How You Can Rapidly Switch Between Sections in Your Zen-Journal Even Without a Ribbon Marker

Filed Under: Code & Quill, Notebook, Set Up

My 100% Digital Zen-Journal Experiment

January 6, 2018 by Barry 1 Comment

A natural evolution

When I devised the Zen-Journal system, I intentionally designed it to take advantage of the strengths and time-saving capabilities of a digital device. Personally, I’m a Mac so I use an iPhone X, an iPad Pro, and a MacBook Pro. These devices are by far superior to my brain and analog notebooks when tracking my flights, schedules, appointments, and contacts.

But starting about six months ago, I began an experiment whereby I only used my iPad Pro and an Apple Pencil to create and sustain my Zen-Journal in an all-digital format. That may seem like a betrayal of the entire analog planner premise that Zen-Journal grew out of. I get that. However, it seemed inevitable given the increasingly digital aspects of our society.

It began when I purchased and downloaded the GoodNotes app from the Apple App Store. I looked at a few apps before deciding on this one. It allows me to create individual and unlimited notebooks (if that’s your thing), seamlessly view my Zen-Journal on my iPhone via iCloud, and allows bookmarks, pageviews (as in the example above) for easy scrolling and locating pages visually, as well as multiple page layouts and paper types.

It was a natural evolution of the system I created and still use. So what are the results of this experiment? [Read more…] about My 100% Digital Zen-Journal Experiment

Filed Under: mindful planning

Which Notebook Should You Use for First Zen-Journal?

August 21, 2017 by Barry 1 Comment

One of my favorite notebooks is the Code & Quill Traveler… my review is below and it’s pure bliss to use

It’s a very personal choice

Like the pen or pencil of your choosing, the notebook you settle on is a highly personal choice. There are so many options both online and offline; there are hardcovers and softcovers, large, medium, and pocket sizes.

There are plain, ruled, box grid, and dot grid, and indentation page formats. Who’d have thought there was so much to consider in choosing a notebook?

I’ve used several popular notebooks and I’ll share my experiences with you for each below and maybe it will help you choose what’s best for your first -or next-Zen-Journal.

[Read more…] about Which Notebook Should You Use for First Zen-Journal?

Filed Under: mindful planning, pen and paper

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