Master Your Week with the GAP Method: Bullet Journal Planning
Summary
TLDRIn this video, the presenter introduces the Gap method, a weekly planning system that has helped them stay productive amidst a busy life. The Gap method stands for Goals, Actions, and Protection, and involves breaking down larger projects into smaller, manageable tasks. The presenter uses a bullet journal for planning but emphasizes that any task manager can be used. They demonstrate how to define goals, list necessary actions, and protect time for these tasks, ensuring focus and productivity throughout the week.
Takeaways
- 📅 The Gap method is a weekly planning system used by the speaker since 2020 to stay productive and focused amidst a busy life.
- 📝 Gap stands for Goals, Actions, and Protection, which are the three main components of the planning system.
- 🎯 The speaker sets three big goals for each week, often broken down from larger projects into smaller, manageable tasks.
- 📑 Actions are the specific tasks or reminders that need to be completed to achieve the weekly goals.
- 🗓 Protection involves scheduling dedicated time in the calendar to work on the most important goals, ensuring they are prioritized.
- 📈 The speaker uses a bullet journal to plan and track tasks, but the Gap method can be adapted to any task management tool.
- 📝 It's important to be mindful of time and capacity when planning, as some goals may need to be extended or postponed.
- 🔄 The planning process works in reverse during the week; starting with protected time and working through action tasks to achieve goals.
- 📋 The daily log in the bullet journal includes appointments, meetings, events, and action tasks, especially those related to weekly goals.
- 📝 The speaker emphasizes writing down everything needed and wanted to do for the day before it begins to maintain focus and avoid distractions.
- 🌟 The Gap method is a combination of various planning styles and inspirations that the speaker has found helpful over the years.
- 🗣️ The speaker encourages viewers to ask questions or share ideas, as viewer interaction often inspires new video content.
Q & A
What is the Gap method mentioned in the video?
-The Gap method is a weekly planning system the speaker uses to achieve goals. It stands for Goals, Actions, and Protection, and it is designed to help stay productive and focused amidst a busy life.
Why does the speaker use a bullet journal to plan their week?
-The speaker uses a bullet journal because it allows them to visually organize and track their tasks in a single column, which helps in managing a busy schedule that includes running a marketing agency, hosting a community, and having four kids.
What are the three big goals the speaker has for the week of August 12th through 18th, 2024?
-The three goals are: 1) Complete all the prompts for the social writing challenge in the community group, 2) Finish a client's launch playbook and promotional calendar, and 3) Finish the new trailer video for the channel.
How does the speaker break down big goals into smaller chunks?
-The speaker breaks down big goals into smaller sub-goals or action tasks that can be accomplished over several weeks. This approach helps to stay on track and motivated.
What does 'protection' in the Gap method refer to?
-'Protection' in the Gap method refers to the act of blocking or protecting time in one's schedule to work on the most important goals of the week, ensuring that time is dedicated to these tasks.
How does the speaker use their digital calendar to support the Gap method?
-The speaker schedules their goals and action tasks into their digital calendar to ensure that the time for these goals is protected. This helps manage call availability for work and prevents other commitments from interfering with goal completion.
What is the purpose of listing action tasks below each goal in the bullet journal?
-Listing action tasks below each goal helps the speaker see everything in a single column, making it easier to track progress and ensure that all necessary steps are accounted for in achieving the goal.
How does the speaker manage to stay on track and focused throughout the week?
-The speaker stays on track and focused by writing down everything they need and want to do in a day before it begins. This practice helps prioritize tasks and avoid distractions.
What is the speaker's daily log setup in their bullet journal?
-The speaker's daily log is set up to cover 2 to 3 days per page and 3 to 4 pages per week. It includes appointments, meetings, events, and action tasks that are part of the weekly goals.
How does the speaker handle additional notes or action tasks that are not assigned to a specific goal or day?
-The speaker has a dedicated page in their bullet journal for additional notes or action tasks that they don't want to forget. This helps in keeping track of miscellaneous tasks that still need to be addressed.
What is the speaker's approach to incorporating viewer questions into their video content?
-The speaker uses viewer questions as a starting point for many of their videos, indicating a responsive and interactive approach to content creation.
Outlines
📅 Introducing the Gap Method for Weekly Planning
The speaker introduces the Gap method, a weekly planning system they've been using since 2020 to achieve goals amidst a busy life running a marketing agency, hosting a community, and managing family life with four kids. The Gap method stands for Goals, Actions, and Protection, and it can be implemented with a bullet journal or any task management tool. The speaker outlines their three main goals for the week of August 12th through 18th, 2024, which include completing prompts for a social writing challenge, finishing a client's launch playbook and promotional calendar, and creating a new trailer video for the channel.
📝 Breaking Down Goals into Actionable Tasks
The speaker explains the process of breaking down larger goals into smaller, actionable tasks, which helps in staying on track and motivated. They provide examples of action tasks related to their goals, such as writing prompts, scheduling them, and adding personal posts for the community challenge. The speaker emphasizes the importance of recognizing that multiple action items may extend a goal beyond a single week, and the need to be mindful of time and capacity.
⏰ Protecting Time for Priority Goals
The concept of 'protection' in the Gap method refers to safeguarding time in one's schedule to work on the most important goals. The speaker identifies their most productive times during the week and schedules these for goal-oriented tasks. They suggest writing down these times on the Gap page and in a daily log, as well as in a digital calendar to ensure that time for goal completion is not compromised by other work commitments.
🗓️ Implementing the Gap Plan in Daily Logs
The speaker describes how they implement the Gap plan in their daily logs, using a bullet journal, field notes notebook, or analog to-do cards. They detail a daily log setup that spans 2 to 3 days per page and 3 to 4 pages per week. Additionally, they maintain a dedicated page for notes and action tasks that are not assigned to specific goals or days. The speaker's intention is to document all daily tasks and priorities before the day begins to maintain focus and avoid distractions.
🌟 Encouraging Engagement and Continuous Improvement
In the final paragraph, the speaker invites viewers to ask questions or share ideas in the comments, mentioning that many of their videos are inspired by viewer inquiries. They express a desire to hear from the audience and wish everyone a great week, highlighting the speaker's commitment to engagement and the continuous improvement of their planning and productivity methods.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Weekly Planning System
💡Bullet Journal
💡Gap Method
💡Goals
💡Actions
💡Protection
💡Productivity
💡Task Manager
💡Digital Calendar
💡Community
💡Motivation
Highlights
Introduction of the Gap method - a simple and effective weekly planning system used since 2020 for productivity and focus.
The Gap method stands for Goals, Actions, and Protection.
Use of a bullet journal to plan the week and track tasks, though any task manager can be used.
Setting three big goals for the week, often smaller sub-goals of larger projects.
Breaking down big goals into smaller chunks to stay on track and motivated.
Listing specific goals for the week: completing prompts for a social writing challenge, finishing a client's launch playbook, and creating a new trailer video.
Adding action tasks below each goal to see everything in a single column in the bullet journal.
The importance of being mindful of time and capacity when planning goals and action items.
Defining 'protection' as blocking time in the schedule for the most important goals.
Identifying best times during the week to work on goals and scheduling them into the calendar.
Using a digital calendar to ensure time for goals is protected, especially with work call availability.
Starting the week by working on action tasks during protected time blocks to achieve goals.
Laying out the days of the week in a bullet journal, using different tools like field notes or analog to-do cards.
Keeping a daily log of 2-3 days per page and 3-4 pages per week for task completion.
Having a dedicated page for additional notes or action tasks that are not assigned to a specific goal or day.
Writing down everything needed and wanted to do each day before it begins to stay focused on priorities.
Incorporating a combination of different planning styles and inspirations gathered over the years.
Encouraging viewers to ask questions or share ideas in the comments, as many videos are inspired by viewer inquiries.
Transcripts
in this video I'm going to show you a
simple effective weekly planning system
I call the Gap method this is the system
I've used since 2020 to achieve my goals
I help run a marketing agency host a
community for Content creators and have
four kids so life is pretty busy and
this helps me stay productive and
focused one thing you should know from
the beginning I like to use a bullet
journal to plan my week and track my
tasks but you can use the Gap method
with any task manager or software you
want Gap stands for goals actions and
protection now let's see how it works in
real life this week is August 12th
through 18th 2024 and I have three big
goals to accomplish these are often
smaller sub goals of larger projects
that I'm working on over several weeks I
love breaking down big goals into
smaller chunks to stay on track and
motivated my three goals for this week
are one complete all the prompts for the
social writing challenge in my community
group two finish a client's launch
Playbook and promotional calendar and
three finish the new trailer video for
this Channel Next are the actions often
the weekly goals still have a few
smaller tasks or reminders that have to
be done in order to Mark as complete I
add these action tasks below the goal so
I can see everything in a single column
of the bullet journal for the community
challenge I still need to write a
handful of prompts schedule all 21 of
them and then add a few of my own posts
in as examples and proof of concept for
the challenge I'll cover this more in
another video but it's important to
realize that if there are several veral
action items to a goal there's a good
chance that goal May stretch over 2
weeks or one of the other goals of the
week may need to be pushed into the next
week be mindful of your time and actual
capacity next is protection and by that
I mean protecting or blocking time in
your schedule to do these things you've
decided are the most important goals of
the week when I look at my calendar I
see that Monday and Wednesday morning
and Thursday afternoon are my best times
to work on these goals I write this all
down on the Gap page page and then into
my daily log and I also schedule it into
my digital calendar I do that because I
have call availability for work and this
ensures time for the goal is protected
Define your goals list the actions and
protect your time simple as that when
the week starts the system kind of works
in Reverse when I have a block of
protected time I like to start on the
action tasks and by completing each one
I achieve my goal after I've made my Gap
plan for the week I lay out the days of
the week in my bullet Journal some days
I'll also use a field notes notebook and
some days I use the analog to-do cards
from my friend Jeff at UGM monk my daily
bjo log is 2 to 3 days per page and 3 to
four pages per week each week I also
have a dedicated page for additional
notes or action tasks that I don't want
to forget but aren't assigned to a
specific goal or day I write down
appointments meetings and events for
each day and add action tasks that I
complete especially if they are a part
of the weekly goals my intention is to
write down everything I need and want to
do in a day before the day begins this
keeps me on track and focused for what
my priorities are and not be distracted
if something really needs to be done
then it goes on the action task page
this is what I do every week and have
done for the past four years it's a
combination of a bunch of different
styles and inspiration I've drawn from
over the years I hope that it's helpful
as you pursue the big goals and dreams
you have for your own life I love
getting questions or ideas in the
comments in fact most of my videos start
as answers to questions that viewers
have about the videos so please ask and
say hey I'd love to hear from you have a
great week
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