4 Rhythms to Strengthen personal productivity – part 5

4 Rhythms to Strengthen personal productivity – part 5

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Yearly planning is not something that comes naturally to most people.  We all know the challenges that come with setting yearly goals and keeping them.   In my life, I have found the quarterly reviews to help me in keeping track with my goals.  In this post, I will share my yearly review in regards to my personal productivity.

A significant part of my productivity system involves a yearly review.  For me, this includes both a looking forward and a looking back. It helps to look back and understand in order to move forward.  

Here is the framework I work through during this time.


  1. Put it in the calendar.  Plan for a time to pull away for a half or full day (some times more) – You have to put it in the calendar like an appointment and make it happen.  I like to take two days away. It may seem like a lot for some. But I try to incorporate some rest and getting away can help me think. The key is finding a place and time where you can think.  

2. Prepare – About a month out by writing down ideas and thinking about what I would like to accomplish in the year ahead.  If you have a partner or a business partner, it may be wise to get input from them or do to this together.

3. Reflect upon the past year –  during this time away; I spend some time looking back.  Using my goals from last year, I look at what I did, and what did I not do.  I reflect upon my relationships and overall, how do I feel the year went. I take some time to write out things I am thankful for and lessons learned.  Because I have quarterly reviews, I use those notes and my day planner to help look back.

4. Set goals for the new year  – I ask myself the question of what needs to happen and or want do I want to do. I work to narrow it down to 6-10 goals for the year.  These are a mixture of both personal and professional goals. Once I am settled on the goals, I begin to think about steps that are needed to get those goals done.   I have found it helpful to have breaks and do something else then come back with a fresh mind. Sometimes this is why I will take two days away. One could also come back to them in a week to review, which I have also done.  

In setting, goals do not just limit to your work or professional life.  Think with a wholeness mindset, what about your relationship with close friends or family, or your financial goals, or around the house.  

For some, the yearly goals could come out of a life plan that they have put together.  

Here are two resources regarding a life plan can be read here.

How a life plan can help
A first step in developing a life plan

The setting of yearly goals can be a great help in our life.  This is not about accomplishing more in one’s life, that may be a side effect.  However, this is about being intentional with one’s life and finding focus.

If you are ready to get intentional with finding focus or wanting to strengthen your personal productivity system.  I can help you with that.

Having someone who we can talk through where we are at and what needs to happen next can bring great focus in our life.  Are you feeling scattered and all over the place, let me help you gain focus, and develop a system to keep that focus.


Do you do a yearly review in your life?  What have you found helpful?

4 Rhythms to Strengthen personal productivity – part 4

4 Rhythms to Strengthen personal productivity – part 4

Posted on by Matthew Laker

This is part 4 of a series where I share my system for productivity.  I am still on this journey and do not have it all figured out, nor do I do it all perfect.  

I was first introduced to the idea of “The power of 90 days” through Jonathan Milligan


The idea of using the 90-day cycle is something that took root in my life.  It was manageable and was one of the first times I took the managing of energy and time in my life seriously.  It was a way of taking the big picture of the year and breaking it down into smaller steps.


Now each of my systems is interconnected. However, I find this one to be significant in moving to accomplish growth or productivity.  In the next post, I will speak about my yearly system.


There are two components to it

  1. Review and establish
    1. At the end/Beginning of the quarter, I take a moment to pull away.  This can range anywhere from a full to half day. In my full day slots, I add some extra personal/spiritual growth exercises.  
    2. During this time, I review the past quarter.  I ask did I reach the goals I set out to do. If I did not, why did I not and what needs to change.  I look at what can I celebrate, and I hope to get better at sending thank you cards to those who helped me along the way.  
    3. I also look at my task list and try to clean up my to-do list and prioritize it.  I tend to have an ongoing list of task that some times are connected to larger goals or just the routine of my job/life   
  2. Review my yearly goals and set my quarterly goals.  I will pick 1-3 of my annual goals to work on during a particular quarter.  Then I ask what 2-5 goals I need to reach to accomplish those yearly goals are.  

Once I have my 90 days goals.  I take them and write them on the inside of my planner and post on the wall in my office.  For me, this serves as a reminder of what I need to have as the focus.

Allow for Pivot’s

Life has a way of not going how we thought or planned.  Some times there is a need to make a pivot in a yearly goal or direction.  By planning 90 days at a time, one is better positioned to estimate what needs and what can get done.  Some times one needs to make a pivot. This is a great time to do that.

Check out the other post in the Series

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

4 Rhythms to personal productivity – Part 3

4 Rhythms to personal productivity – Part 3

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Weekly routine

“I am only one, but I am one.  I can’t do everything, but I can do something.” – Edward Everett Hale

“Change might not be fast, and it isn’t always easy. But with time and effort, almost any habit can be reshaped.”
― Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

This is the third post in a series sharing my productivity rhythms.  

Check out part one or part two.  

My weekly routine is something that has come later in my journey.  It is something that has had its ups and downs in my life. I struggle to do all the parts but do find it helpful. Some weeks I get it done swiftly, and other weeks it takes a little longer.  

At the time of writing this post, I take time aside late Sunday night or Monday after my workout.   This time allows me to see what I did this week and organize the coming week. There are four components to this rhythm.  

1)Big wins from the last week, things thankful for, lessons learned.

I take a few minutes to look back over the week and ask what my wins were.  This is hard for me. It is essential for me, especially I did not meet my goals or complete the task.  It allows me to find something to be thankful for and not get cynical. The lesson learned is not always filled in, but I think it is an excellent question to ask.


2)Setting Big three and did I reach last weeks – what do I do now?

I first started this in my daily rhythm but started asking the question at the beginning of the week. By the end of the week, what are the three big things that need to be done?  

Then it helps establish what is essential in my daily rhythm also where I set my big three for the day.  My weekly big three end up driving my regular big three.


3)Review the task list and setting up

I find I have tasks that have to happen each week and task that come up due to current projects.  This is a moment to review what was done over the week and what is a priority task for the up and coming week.   At times, I will even assign the task to certain days. This may be scheduling time in the calendar or just adding it to my day task section.  For the most part, however, I am just trying to figure out the top tasks that need to get done.


4)Review calendar coming week.

I take a look at my calendar and what is coming and where I need to be.  This is a big picture time to help me know what my week looks like.

I am learning in this rhythm that it helps me know what is a priority this week.  

In this process, I find it also helps to create an ideal week.  The ideas is to look at your week and how would you organize all aspects of it.  What would I do when? What is resulting as I work on this is that certain days I do certain things.  This is important because other people are dependant on me to get things done so that they can do their job.  There are challenges however to give margin in our weeks and not get to worry when a curveball comes. We have to keep it flexible.

What do you find helpful to stay focused in your week?

Check out the other post in the Series

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

4 Rhythms to strengthen personal productivity – Part 2

4 Rhythms to strengthen personal productivity – Part 2

Posted on by Matthew Laker

I was halfway through my day, and it was one of those days that was not going as planned.  I had a long to do list, and looking back not enough time. On top of that, there were a few unplanned interruptions and the day was getting away from me.  It is in these moments I am learning the importance of what I call the daily rhythm.

My daily productivity rhythm allows me to gain focus and remember what I need to focus on for the day.

There are 4 Rhythms that I have developed that are not unique to me.  However, when I stick with them, these rhythms help me reach my goals, accomplish my work and stay focused. Check out part one here

My Daily Rhythm

Each morning at some point I will take a look at my day and ask by the end of the day what are my big three?  Yes, this is not something unique to me, but it is something that when I do not do it.  I find myself just running from one task to another.

There are days I change it to become my daily big four.   

But I have learned that some times in trying to accomplish more I do not accomplish much.  By asking my self what are the three big things that at the end of my work day I want to achieve.  I have found that this keeps me on track. What this means is I have to say no to other tasks to do these first.

I will at times turn to the day’s page in my planner and find that one of my big three is chosen for me.  This comes from some planning ahead, but I will cover that in the next post.

In 2019 I have started to wrestle with the number 4 being part of a big daily goal.  This goal is not work-related but is a personal goal. For example, I need to pay the bills today.  On my days off I still think through what are the big 3 for today. Those days I will write down rest, to remind myself to take a break.

Tasks and appointments

I have moved from analog to digital and back and forth over the years. My sweet spot seems to be a combo of both in this area.  I have a digital tool that I put my tasks into, and this helps to track all the tasks, a big picture if you will. In that software, I can set due dates for those tasks, but each day I do still write in my planner what would be nice to finish.  My reason is this lets me prioritize my tasks.

I use google calendar to set my appointments and even book some of my longer tasks.  In the third quarter of 2018, I started writing down in my planner how I use my time. If I meet with someone that goes in the planner, even if it is in my google calendar, this allows me to go back at the end of day or month or quarter and see how I used my time.  This also helps when I have to send reports in, I can look back and know what I did and where I was.

In planning my day, I have also learned to give some margin. My problem is trying to jam too much into the day or time.  Margin allows for unplanned interruptions and even some thinking time in the day. Alongside this for some personalities, we need to give ourselves some grace and celebrate what has been done.

Next post I will share my weekly rhythm.

What tools or systems are helpful in your life?

Check out the other post in the Series

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3