Rocketday is doing quite well. However, this means I often find myself under an avalanche of competing project timelines, an ever-growing email inbox, social media messages and phone calls. If I’m not careful, I can easily spend the whole day responding to email as it comes in, jumping between 10 different random projects, never finding the time to give them the devoted focus they need in order to truly move forward. So I’ve come up with a little daily formula.

first :: communication & scheduling. The first part of each day is spent on my email, my calendar, and various other admin. My aim is to respond to or process every item, resulting in a completely clear inbox. As more comes in, I’ll leave all non-urgent email until the next day. My goals:

• organize life
• help everyone (collaborators & clients) have quick questions answered and quick files delivered, so that they can move forward with their work
• support my community

second :: ninja training. The second part of each day is spent on my bike, at the gym, or the like. My goal:

• stay strong and clear-headed

third :: project work. The third part of each day is spent deep in my project work, where I focus undistracted on one project at a time for a decent stretch. Maximum 3 projects per day. My goal:

• make significant developments in project work (whether in planning, web code or creative design)

fourth :: social media & blogging. Only at the end of the day, I open up facebook or assemble a blog post. My goals:

• share with my community
• have a venue to develop ideas and images beyond the focussed project work

This little formula has been helping me bring some order and concentration to an otherwise messy and distracted day.