Tools that only give “a little help” don’t work for me.
I want to receive solutions with a deep impact on my life.
I’m a limited creature. Tools should solve those limitations.
Do you agree?
I Don’t Want a Second Brain
That means there’s a first one.
It places one on top of the other. I don’t think that’s correct.
Both are complementary. They’re at the same level.
I need both to have the life of fulfillment I’m pursuing.
My approach is this. One brain with 2 parts: a physical and a digital one.
That way:
- I force myself to look for workflows that follow the exact same steps, no matter what part of my brain I’m using.
- I can take the best of both worlds.
Two Complementary Parts That Work Together
The physical part of my brain brings creativity and all the amazing skills it’s good at.
The digital one takes the best out of managing an immense amount of data to show me results that deeply impact my life.
Time Blocking Has A Deep Impact
Time blocking is an essential tool in my life.
It’s the one that has allowed me to achieve all my goals.
That’s why I respect it so much.
Why This App Resonates with Me
As Time Blocking is so critical for me, I pay attention to all the apps related to it.
The point is I don’t want to move blocks by myself. I want a tool that moves them for me.
I want the digital part of my brain to show me a proposal. It’s the physical one that’ll decide if it’s ok, or it’s the stupidest thing ever.
Motion Is Understanding the Game
After several weeks of trying it, I can state it.
Motion is paying attention to subtleties, and there’s where real added value is hidden.
If you start adding subtleties to your life, you end up with an amazing result.
Compounding and leverage appear without noticing them.
Motion brings subtleties to the table because I can comfortably tell the app instructions.
It’s how I think. The same mental process. The same workflow.
It allows me to merge both parts of my brain: the physical and the digital one.
What subtleties are they?
Subtlety 1: Merging Tasks and Events
Motion understands we manage time, not tasks.
That’s why it merges events (meetings, appointments…) and tasks.
Both elements eat your time.
Both elements need to be managed.
You need to see both on your calendar.
I know many tools do the same, but much more don’t.
Subtlety 2: Calendars
You define your life’s calendars using intuition.
For example, what you understand about general concepts such as “morning”, “afternoon”, “work”…
For each calendar, you define days of the week and hours that represent that calendar in your mind.
Based on that, you can tell the app: “I’d like to do that task in the morning”.
It seems so simple, don’t you think?
Subtlety 3: Natural Concepts When Creating a Task
I’m fed up with deadlines and such types of fields.
Our brains are much more complex, and they play with “abstract concepts” based on intuition and what we call “common sense”.
I want tools that use “common sense”. My “common sense”.
I’ll just tell you some because there are much more inside Motion. My goal is just to help you to “get the idea”.
- Hard deadline. I have to do that on that date. I always use deadlines as the day I’ll do the task and not the date I’d should finish it.
- Soft deadline. I’d like to do that on that date. If it’s not possible, there’s no drama.
Some others related to repeating tasks:
- I must finish. I have to finish that repeating task on that date without any excuses.
- I should finish. I have to try to finish it on that date. Again, if it’s not possible, no drama.
Subtlety 4: Chunks
Are you suffering from tasks that take you a huge bunch of hours?
You’re not alone.
How the hell am I going to dedicate 12 hours to a task? I’ll never have that amount of time available in one go.
Motion makes it easy by allowing you to define chunks of time.
You decide how long chunks should be.
From that point, Motion begins to fit each chunk on your calendar.
Subtlety 5: Speed
I’m not talking about performance because today is its main weakness.
I perfectly know Motion’s team is working pretty hard on it. I give them all my support and understanding from here.
When I say speed, I’m talking about the effort that takes you to give the system the information it needs to provide you with impactful results.
It’s just a matter of seconds.
With that data, the system tells you what your calendar should look like.
I used to do it manually on other apps or even Apple Calendar. It’s impossible. The physical part of your brain cannot deal with such amount of parameters altogether.
That’s why Motion is another game.
Takeaways
- Merging the two parts of your brain (physical and digital) is how you grow.
- You cannot ask your physical part to manage a massive amount of data.
- You cannot ask your digital part to be as intelligent as you are.
- Take the best of the two worlds. The result is always the same: you grow.
Photo by Ignacio Amenábar on Unsplash.