Collection
Turn goals into work that finishes and stays finished after hours
Use current goal-setting, weekly planning, reminder, unfinished-task and if-then evidence to create a practical execution rhythm for knowledge work.
12 elements · Explore in any order.
1 heuristic · 2 principles · 8 protocols · 1 question
12 elements
Plan the week as goals, steps and fallback—not a longer to-do list
Planning becomes useful when it changes what happens after the first surprise.
Read the idea PrincipleLimit weekly goals enough that progress can actually be monitored
A goal that disappears into the list stops steering behavior.
Read the idea ProtocolMake the reminder arrive while action is still possible
A reminder after the opportunity has passed is documentation, not intervention.
Read the idea HeuristicUse reminders for goals that are ambitious but still credible
A reminder cannot rescue a goal you do not believe is reachable.
Read the idea ProtocolClose the week by identifying unfinished tasks explicitly
Unnamed unfinished work has more room to follow you home.
Read the idea QuestionDistinguish an unfinished task from an unfinished decision
Sometimes the open loop is not the work; it is the missing commitment about the work.
Read the idea ProtocolProtect task accomplishment from personal-phone interruptions during the critical block
The interruption cost may continue after the phone is back in your pocket.
Read the idea ProtocolReflect on a concrete nonwork goal when work keeps reclaiming the evening
A nonwork goal gives attention somewhere specific to go.
Read the idea ProtocolUse a strict if-then plan only when the cue is observable and the action is executable
A useful if-then plan has a cue you can notice and an action you can start immediately.
Read the idea PrincipleDo not call a calendar appointment an if-then plan when the action still needs preparation
'Thursday at six' is a schedule; it is not automatically a cue-response mechanism.
Read the idea ProtocolReview goal progress before changing the goal
A changing target can hide a stable execution problem.
Read the idea ProtocolPlan alternatives for the dependency most likely to break the week
One fallback is more useful than pretending the week has no uncertainty.
Read the idea