Alright, I'm not going to sugarcoat this — launching my first newsletter feels like standing at the edge of a cliff. Scary? Absolutely. But exhilarating? Even more so.

I had initially lined up 21 documents, ready to hit your inboxes. But, in a spur of the moment decision, I scrapped them all. Why? Because over the past year, my deep dive into automations, productivity, and no-code solutions has been transformative, and my gut was telling me to start fresh.

Every week is a rollercoaster. New tools, new ideas, new challenges. So, those other documents? They can wait. We're kicking things off right here, right now.

Last week’s tasks were a whirlwind—packed, jam-packed, bursting at the seams.

After tuning into Cal Newport’s "Slow Productivity," a light bulb went off for me. All this time, I've been scheduling my week on Sundays, deciding which projects to tackle but never actually carving out the specific times in my calendar. Big mistake. Without that, I was just looking at a list, not a plan.

Suddenly, it all made sense—the overwhelm, the congestion in my schedule. Viewing your week like a weather forecast can really highlight the storms ahead.

During this self-audit, I also stumbled upon Noah Kagan’s "Million Dollar Weekend," where he suggests a colour-coding system for managing tasks. Interestingly enough, while Kagan and Newport’s approaches might seem at odds, they converge on one vital point: designing your ideal week.

If you’re having a similar challenge, I’ve included some experiments to try out.

Action Plan:

1. Audit your projects: Start by estimating the completion times for each of your current projects. Very importantly, go ahead and block off these times in your calendar. If you feel overwhelmed—those heebie-jeebies creeping up on you—it's a clear signal that you might need to lighten your load for the week.
2. Colour Coding: Implement a colour-coding system for your calendar based on your personal and professional priorities.
3. Ideal Week: Use Sundays to plan out and refine your week, ensuring you balance productivity with personal time.

I know I said 'no code and automation solutions,' so as promised here’s automation I cooked up for planning your week on Sunday: fill out this form and get GPT to provide some insights to your inbox, here's how I built it, and here's the blueprint if you want to recreate it.

Try it out and feel free to give me some feedback!

Lastly, if you need some inspo for colour coding your calendar, check out this post from Kagan on X: Noah Kagan’s Colour Codes

Until next week,

Harrison