WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.440 Here are three things you could use to organize your life. Simple stack of cards, notebook, 00:00:05.600 --> 00:00:28.530 even something digital. What all three have in common is that they run the same life operating system, a system I've refined together with over a million practitioners around the world. Hi. I'm Ryder and mentor of the Bullet Journal Method. In this video, I'll show you the five parts you need to build your own life operating system, and it can be as simple as using nothing more than pen and paper. Let's dive in. 00:00:31.650 --> 00:00:51.725 You can have the most elegant productivity stack in the world, but if it isn't pointed at something that actually matters to you, it's going to be a distraction. So while I'm trying to figure out what the best system is, we wanna start by defining what the system is for. The first thing we're going to do is write out our intention for our LifeOS. 00:00:51.725 --> 00:00:59.380 I like to do this at the front of my notebook. Write down what results you want from the system. What do you want it to produce and why? 00:00:59.700 --> 00:01:00.580 For example, 00:01:00.980 --> 00:01:09.940 I wanna be more fit so that I can be there for my kids. I wanna be more focused so I can bring my ideas to life, or I wanna be more intentional with my finances 00:01:10.305 --> 00:01:13.265 so that I can invest in exciting experiences. 00:01:13.585 --> 00:01:20.865 Whatever it is, it's up to you. I think that it's critical that you write this down first because it forces you to actually articulate 00:01:21.025 --> 00:01:32.540 what it is that you want. It helps you get clear on the direction that you wanna go. Is this thing moving me towards the life that I want or away from it? From the person I wanna be or away from the person I wanna be? 00:01:35.515 --> 00:01:43.275 With your intention in place, you have your why. Now we wanna move on to what and how you put things into your system. 00:01:43.675 --> 00:01:54.660 If you don't know what to write down, then you might overwhelm yourself by trying to write down way too much or nothing at all. And if you don't know how to write things down, then things can get disorganized 00:01:54.660 --> 00:01:55.780 really quickly. 00:01:56.020 --> 00:02:04.100 So to solve for both of these problems, I developed a simple technique I call rapid logging. Rapid logging is a simple way to quickly record your life as it unfolds. 00:02:04.655 --> 00:02:08.815 It uses nothing more than single sentence journal entries paired with a symbol. 00:02:09.215 --> 00:02:12.095 Those symbols represent one of four categories. 00:02:12.335 --> 00:02:14.495 Notes for recording thoughts, 00:02:14.895 --> 00:02:19.120 actions for recording to dos, moods for recording feelings, 00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:20.800 both emotional and physical, 00:02:20.880 --> 00:02:23.440 and events for recording experiences. 00:02:23.920 --> 00:02:34.595 That's it. Four bullets, one sentence each. Use these to turn your notebook into a living record of your days. Now you might be looking at this and thinking, why this seems way too simple? 00:02:35.075 --> 00:02:38.355 And that's actually the point. Most people overcomplicate 00:02:38.355 --> 00:02:43.155 their systems. They copy elaborate spreads or digital setups they found online 00:02:43.315 --> 00:02:44.595 without needing 00:02:44.675 --> 00:02:52.090 most of it or knowing how to actually use it. Other people's systems were designed to solve other people's problems, 00:02:52.170 --> 00:02:54.250 not yours. Your system 00:02:54.570 --> 00:02:57.130 needs to reflect only your needs. 00:02:57.290 --> 00:03:01.975 That's why we start only with what we need and then add only when 00:03:02.135 --> 00:03:03.895 a need is not being met. 00:03:04.375 --> 00:03:23.150 Now if you don't know what you need, that's what the next step is for. Now if you're curious about how to actually do this, consider checking out the bullet journal foundation plan, which I built for this purpose, to help you get your record up and running as fast as possible without over complicating it. You can scan this code or check out the link below. Okay. Let's keep going. 00:03:27.055 --> 00:03:32.655 Now there's a major difference between working your system and actually having a system that's working. 00:03:33.135 --> 00:03:36.735 That's why a key part of any Life OS is regularly 00:03:36.735 --> 00:03:38.495 reading your record. 00:03:38.815 --> 00:03:40.575 That's what reflection rituals are for, 00:03:41.260 --> 00:03:46.940 to see if our system is supporting our intention. Is our LifeOS actually working? 00:03:47.500 --> 00:03:52.620 I say ritual instead of habit because to me, a habit seeks to make a behavior mindless. 00:03:53.045 --> 00:03:56.005 A ritual seeks to make a behavior mindful. 00:03:56.245 --> 00:04:12.560 And when it comes to our life, we want to be as present as possible with our behavior. Let me walk you through part of one of my reflection rituals, my weekly ritual, and the considerations that went into creating it so that you can model your own. The first consideration is taking time. 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:19.520 I block off regular times to reflect on my digital calendar. This way, I don't have to keep wondering about when I'm gonna do these things, 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:32.765 and I don't run into any kind of conflicts. Without taking this time, I've learned the hard way that I will never find the time. What makes this even easier is making the time you do take feel fun and intentional and meaningful. 00:04:32.925 --> 00:04:39.550 For example, every Monday morning, I set up my notebook, I put out my thermos of coffee and light some incense. 00:04:39.790 --> 00:04:51.550 I like the incense because it acts like a timer. Mine lasts about thirty minutes, which is about how long it takes me to do my weekly ritual. Also, smell of that incense reminds me of the temples that I visited in Japan 00:04:51.965 --> 00:04:57.805 and it has this queuing effect on my system to slow down, open up, and deepen, 00:04:57.805 --> 00:05:08.760 and see what the record of my life reflects back to me. First, I turn to a blank spread. This is gonna be my weekly log. On the left, I write down the dates of the week gone by. 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.640 On the right, the dates of the week to come. 00:05:11.960 --> 00:05:16.040 Then I go back and read through the past few weeks of daily logs. 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:26.175 When I'm done, I will use this left page of my weekly log to write down up to three things that moved me towards my intention and up to three things that did not. 00:05:26.655 --> 00:05:31.135 Again, I keep this short, and often that's more than enough information. 00:05:31.375 --> 00:05:37.070 Reflection turns that autopilot off so it can become aware of the results of our system. 00:05:37.550 --> 00:05:43.230 With that awareness, we can refine our system over time to align our results with our intention, 00:05:43.470 --> 00:05:45.150 which brings us to the next step. 00:05:48.190 --> 00:05:53.725 No system, no matter how powerful, will work if you don't work the system. 00:05:54.205 --> 00:06:01.325 So I think that every Life OS needs to help you plan your work. For example, right after my weekly reflection, 00:06:01.405 --> 00:06:08.620 I create my weekly action plan. I've seen a lot of Life OS's collapse under the weight of never ending to do lists. 00:06:08.860 --> 00:06:11.900 The trick here is to be honest and realistic. 00:06:12.140 --> 00:06:20.855 Only write down the things you'll actually get done in a window of time. In this case, a week. If you don't, you risk overwhelming yourself. 00:06:21.015 --> 00:06:25.335 One way I prevent myself from getting overwhelmed with my LifeOS 00:06:25.335 --> 00:06:27.655 and prevent it from getting swamped 00:06:27.655 --> 00:06:30.535 is to rewrite my undone actions 00:06:30.535 --> 00:06:37.860 every week. This may seem like a real headache, but it's proven to be a major feature rather than a bug of the system. 00:06:38.340 --> 00:06:42.420 That small moment of friction has filtered out so much unnecessary 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:49.665 busy work. If it's too much of a bother to rewrite in that moment, then surely can't be adding a lot of value to your life. 00:06:50.065 --> 00:06:57.825 Everything we say yes to means we're saying no to something else. Having some kind of hard filtering system can be a really powerful way 00:06:58.270 --> 00:07:03.630 to say no to all the things that don't really matter so we have more time for what actually does. 00:07:04.110 --> 00:07:07.630 Those are the things that we put into our weekly action plan. 00:07:07.870 --> 00:07:22.805 The true test of how effective any life operating system is is how the system actually helps you operate in your life. We often get so caught up in the operations and the systems that we never get to the actual living part. 00:07:23.125 --> 00:07:26.405 As the saying goes, life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. 00:07:27.130 --> 00:07:33.210 I would argue that a good life operating system helps you get busy living because of your plans. 00:07:33.370 --> 00:07:34.570 In my experience, 00:07:34.890 --> 00:07:38.250 the results of your Life OS are not always obvious at first. 00:07:38.945 --> 00:07:47.665 You need a way to record your current results to see if the Life OS is actually helping you align your actions with your values and your intentions. 00:07:51.120 --> 00:07:52.320 When you reflect 00:07:52.400 --> 00:07:56.480 on your new records and the results aren't aligned with your intention, 00:07:56.960 --> 00:08:06.560 you can now look at what systems you have in place. If your intention, for example, was to go to the gym five days a week, and now that you see that you've gone zero times, 00:08:07.095 --> 00:08:12.855 that means that you have the perfect system for going to the gym zero times a week. Through reflection, 00:08:13.255 --> 00:08:16.295 we can start to understand the pieces of that system, 00:08:16.695 --> 00:08:20.535 not setting an alarm clock, not having a plan, going to bed late. 00:08:21.170 --> 00:08:25.490 Then you can refine that insight into a clear new system 00:08:25.650 --> 00:08:29.490 where you set an alarm, commit to a workout, and go to bed on time. 00:08:29.730 --> 00:08:32.610 Then you run that experiment and see if that works. 00:08:33.415 --> 00:08:38.455 This is how you start to develop systems that actually align with your intentions over time. 00:08:39.015 --> 00:08:41.095 This is why I like using notebooks. 00:08:41.175 --> 00:08:45.335 It helps you see your life as a story unfolding page by page. 00:08:46.040 --> 00:08:50.200 And when you've been logging your life for a few weeks, the patterns become visible. 00:08:50.520 --> 00:09:00.680 You can see what's working and what isn't. The life operating system that are described here pretty much summarizes the bullet journal method. You set an intention and then you record, 00:09:01.055 --> 00:09:01.935 reflect, 00:09:01.935 --> 00:09:08.975 refine, and respond. It not only helps you organize the life that you have, but also helps you define and then build 00:09:09.215 --> 00:09:12.335 the life that you want based on your needs, 00:09:12.655 --> 00:09:13.935 one page at a time. 00:09:15.495 --> 00:09:20.295 If you wanna dig deeper into this life operating system, check out this video next. 00:09:20.455 --> 00:09:23.095 Thank you for taking the time, and I'll see you in the next one.