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Anyone using the mise en place system in Evernote?


phyla

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I just read the book "Work Clean..." which explains the chef system of mise en place as a model for productivity and task management. I am thinking it could easily be implemented in Evernote and am curious if anyone has tried yet. There is an app specifically for this system, but I am determined not to use yet another app for task management. 

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@phyla - 

I have not implemented the "mise en place" as promoted in the the book "Work Clean" with Evernote. As a matter of fact, I had never heard the term before now. So, I did some Internet searches and reading to find out what it is all about. I even found 2 YouTube videos that gave a good overview.
 
It strikes me that there are 2 key elements: Strategies/Tactics and some daily routine "To Dos".
 
The Strategies/Tactics includes things like:
  1. Planning is prime.
  2. Arranging spaces. Planning movements.
  3. Clean as you go.
  4. Know what to start first.
  5. Finish actions.
  6. When things get hectic, calm your body, calm your mind, meditate.
  7. Use eyes and ears. Be focused and open.
  8. Streamline communications. Call and "copy" back by repeating the call.
  9. Inspect and correct.
 
The daily routine "To Dos" defined in one of the videos was (assuming a 30 minute planning session at the start of the day):
  • Clean your work area.
  • Put everything you accumulated from yesterday into your inboxes (the physical and/or electronic ones).
  • Start going through the inboxes. Put tools and miscellaneous paraphernalia not needed now where they belong. (A place for everything. Everything in its place.)
  • Prioritize the rest of the stuff in your inboxes.
    • Throw out stuff you don't have to act on.
    • Log each new item that requires your action.
  • Clean up your planning tools (calendars, reminder lists, check-off lists). Delete, mark as "done", or reschedule.
  • Sort / group the new action items into their respective projects / mission.
  • Sequence action items in each project / mission. (Call the first item in each project / mission a "front/burner".) 
  • Plan your day. Schedule the "front/burners" that fit onto your calendar for today.
  • Group bunches of small actions into routines.
  • Don't over-schedule. (Block out some time as "busy" even if you don't plan on meeting with anyone.)
  • Gather all the material and resources you will need to perform today's tasks.
 
I think it would take only an hour to develop the details of the above elements of the "mise en place" system in Evernote. The key seems like it would be to repeat the daily routine "To Dos" day-after-today and master them. However, if you add your "front/burner" "ToDos" to your calendar, then the role of Evernote seems like it becomes the place to list the future "ToDos" for  each project/mission. There are 2 generic ways to go about this:
  • Create one Evernote Note for each project/mission. Within each Note, list all the "ToDos" for that project/mission and re-sequence them daily as needed.
  • Make each "To Do" it own Note. Create a separate Notebook for each project/mission and Tag each Note with some type of code which indicates priority.
There are many other posts in this forum on how to handle projects/missions and To Dos with Evernote. Check them out, too.
 
At the strategic/tactical level, I don't know that there is anything new with "mise en place". It is like a younger generation discovers something of value that most generations previously discovered. For example, about 25 years ago, I sat in on a seminar in which a video was presented that promoted planning. It started with the question, "How long does it take to build a house?" Answers ranged from a few weeks to a few months. The rest of video showed a group of people building a house and completing it in 3 hours and 45 minutes. (I saw it happen.) They had all the needed materials on site and "placed" where they would be needed before they started. - - - Sounds a lot like "mise en place".
 
By the way, over the past year or so, I have come across and read a variety of articles / books that promote task management systems and some explain how to implement them with Evernote. - - - That is all well and good. But I am worried that what it does is to get people to focus on "tasks" when I think we should all be first focused on our longer term "goals". It like the cliche of being so lost in the trees that we lose sight of the forest.
 
Consequently, I designed my "Goal Management System" to conform to Evernote. You can see it at https://www.evernote.com/pub/analyst444/gms-goalmanagementsystem. Check it and see if you feel it meets your needs, too.

 

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