Sort Your Signals from the Noise
Welcome! I write about ways we can sort our signals from the noise, and set up systems to manage our time, energy, and attention so we can look back on a life well-lived, a life in which we’ve experienced what matters most to us.
I write about this, in part, because this is something I wrestle with: the tension between making the efforts to live a life of richness, creativity, and depth, and… well… messing around online. I can easily plunge into digital infinity pools like cat videos, news sites, online communities, etc.; however, at the end of my life, I know I want to look back on more than working + mindlessly hitting a “refresh” button.
When I was in my teens, I worked in a nursing home. Some of the residents looked back on their lives with gratitude; others with regret. Those conversations had a big impact on me. My feeling of wanting to live a life rich in experience, love, and creativity only strengthened when a relative died suddenly, and other close family members became seriously ill. (That was a tough decade…)
Living well, living a life of depth, is even more important to me in my work as a clergywoman. I was a parish pastor for several years, and am now a hospice chaplain. I work with the dying. It is hard for me to evade the knowledge that life is both precious and short; and yet, we really do have a surprising amount of power over how we choose to live our lives, and what kind of legacy we leave.
Prior to being in the ministry, I had my own business as a productivity consultant. I worked with business owners and agencies to help people build systems to manage their workflows.
So I really care about managing time, energy, and attention. I care about creating a well-lived life, a life of balance (though what I mean by “balance” is a little different), even though it can be a struggle for me. I’m interested in exploring systems and methods to help us find clarity in a world of distraction.
What Systems and Methods?
I’ve always been fascinated with organizational and productivity systems. Used well, they can bring focus and clarity. (Used poorly, they become another form of procrastination.)
I’m writing here about personal productivity, decision-making, organization, and life balance, including:
Organizational systems to stay focused and productive, when you’re working
Ways to manage your time in order to have a meaningful life outside of work
Ways to set boundaries
Habits, routines, and the challenges and joys of establishing them
Ways to figure out what is important to you, or what direction you want to go when you’re at a time of life transition
Religiously and Philosophically Agnostic
Yes, I’m a clergywoman. No, I’m not writing about religion here. I was an atheist for many years, and I respect wisdom traditions of all kinds. At this site I’m exploring and adapting some interesting systems that had a lot to do with balance. These systems were originally designed to create a balance between getting needed work done, while making time for the monastic priority of contemplation.
I believe this kind of balance between work and life priorities is something a lot of us are looking for: how do we balance our work and life admin with, well, having a life; pursuing things that are not urgent, but are important? For you and me, that “having a life” part may not be about monastic-level contemplation: maybe it’s learning to draw, or having more time to play with your dog, or be with family and friends, or reading something just because you want to, not because you have to.
I’m drawing from these life organizing systems from the Christian religious tradition, particularly monastic communities. These communities came up, over the centuries, with some wise and well-tested ways of organizing time and energy, and creating a balance between work, prayer, and contemplation. However, I want to adapt these methods for use apart from their religious origins. I also lived in a student housing co-op, and their systems had a surprising amount in common with the monastic systems I’m studying. I want to share what I have learned with others, in a way that can be used with all kinds of life philosophies.
Technologically Agnostic
The ideas and methods I’m sharing are also tech-agnostic. That means that even though I love playing with all kinds of cool apps, I’m more interested in writing about the elements of systems that can be adapted to whatever apps you like and use. You could even go analog with paper. I personally use a combination of apps and paper to manage my life. (If you also love paper and old school office supplies, I write specifically about analog office methods at analogoffice.net.)
If I write about a particular app, I’ll write about what elements I think are important to look for in other apps.
A Personal Framework
Over a thousand years ago, early Christian monastic communities figured out that if they wanted to live differently from the rest of the culturally dominant Roman empire, they would have to make some decisions about their principles and processes, write those decisions down, and review (and revise!) them regularly, so they could live with intention according to their values, rather than mindlessly conforming to the wider culture.
This ancient communal system, called a “rule of life,” is what I’m adapting for individuals; what I’m calling a “personal framework.” We face a similar challenge in our own time: we live in a culture saturated with ways to soak up our attention. The best way to live proactively, and according to our values, is to develop a personal framework that helps us focus on what we really care about.
It’s a framework because it’s about writing down some foundational, baseline decisions that shape the rest of your productivity.
It’s a personal framework because when you set this up, it is much easier to shape your work and your life toward what matters to you. Instead of reacting to the information fire hose of media and messages, or increasingly handing over the reins of your life to algorithms, you respond from a place of knowing who you are, what you are about, and what is (and is not) yours to do.
Your personal framework is what sorts your signals from all of this noise.
A personal framework is an organizing system where we make and write down decisions about our values, our roles, and our habits or routines; review those written decisions regularly; and experiment, revise, and adapt them to live according to what matters most.
In the monastic world, these sets of principles, policies and procedures are called a “rule of life.” I’m exploring how to adapt this from a religious communal context, to a personal individual one*. You don’t have to be a monk to see the value of living with intention, as opposed to mindlessly letting the wider culture drive your life decisions, and hijack your attention.
We in the 21st century face a similar problem to those early monastic communities, living in a sea of powerful cultural influences. If we don’t want to be reactively driven by the culture at large, we need to stake out where we stand, and shape our lives accordingly.
And a personal framework helps you do just that. Here is my quick guide to making your own personal framework.
I’ll also be exploring other ways to sort your signals from the noise. I’m glad you found this site, and I hope it is helpful.
*This is a real-time experiment for me, and I’ll share what’s working and what’s not working for me.