Welcome to Issue #44 of Dave’s Productivity Newsletter where I share 1 Big Idea & 3 Little Updates to help you work with more focus and intention.
My struggle with sprints
Having set up sprint systems for several clients, I’ve always been a little reluctant to organize work into sprints.
After all, sprints are most common with product and engineering teams; why would I use them?
I’ve revisited sprints every few months, but I feel like they’re finally starting to click.
Sprints can feel like adding another level of complexity that slows down work, but if used effectively, can help focus attention to the highest priority tasks.
Probably the most useful revelation: sprints help break down big, insurmountable projects into small, actionable steps.
Here’s a little primer on sprints, and what has worked well.
What is a sprint?
Traditionally used by product and development teams, sprints are targeted (usually two-week periods) where certain tasks are prioritized across multiple projects. The goal is to make significant progress, while avoiding pushing tasks later and later.
The tl:dr; on Setting up Sprints
Implementing sprints in your solo workflow involves several strategic steps:
Sprint Planning: Define clear, achievable goals for the sprint period (often two weeks).
Daily Check-ins: Take a few minutes each day to assess progress and adjust plans as needed.
Sprint Review: At the end of the sprint, review what you accomplished and what could be improved.
Sprint Retrospective: Reflect on your methods and processes to identify efficiency gains for future sprints.
These actions help maintain a high level of organization and self-accountability, ensuring you stay on track and progressively move toward your business objectives.
Tailoring Sprints for You
Even as a team of one, sprints offer powerful benefits:
Increased Focus and Clarity: Break down large tasks into manageable actions with set timelines.
Enhanced Productivity: With clear deadlines, you’re likely to accomplish more in less time.
Iterative Improvement: Regular reviews allow for continuous refinement of your strategies.
Leveraging Notion
If you’re using Notion, sprints slot in easily to your existing projects & tasks databases. Whether you’re juggling multiple client projects or pushing forward on your startup idea, Notion can help organize your tasks and track your progress efficiently.
Takeaway
For solopreneurs and small teams, adopting a sprint methodology can feel like adding an additional layer to an already chaotic workflow. But if done well, can help get things done strategically, and help avoid the all-too-common scenario of pushing projects later and later into the future.
If you want to deep dive on sprints, check out this article I wrote:
NOTION NEWS
🎨 Notion gets a rebrand
You may have noticed a new look from Notion’s content. After so many years of monochrome illustrations, Notion has finally added a pop of color.
It’s definitely consistent with their culture; when I visited Notion’s NYC office last year, literally all the furniture and decor was natural tones with pops of primary colors.
I’m curious if they’ll update the product next, maybe adding in more color options? What do you think of the rebrand?
NOTION UPDATES
🤖 You can now duplicate automations!
Shout out to Daniel Canosa for pointing out this low-key update! If you use database automations, you know how tedious it can be to duplicate them. There was no way to do this automatically before this update.
If you haven’t explored automations, definitely give them a try! For any sets of actions that you do repeatedly (and with information that lives in databases), you can likely use automations to save some time.
NOTION CONSULTING CORNER
🎓 Notion Consulting Bootcamp Kicks off This Week!
I can’t wait to kick off our second cohort this Tuesday. In a four-week, jam-packed course, we’re hearing from four top-tier consultants, have 8 live workshops, and 10+ frameworks for attendees to quickly launch and grow their Notion consulting business.
If you’re curious what we’re covering in the course, you can learn more here 👇🏼.
🙌🏼 That’s it for this week!
I’d love to hear what you think. What content resonates? What do you want to see more or less of? Just hit reply to let me know!
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