Manifest 6: Avoid The Complexity Cliff
Plus Notion API, Notion Edu Event, and Manifest Workshops
👋🏼 Welcome new readers!
This newsletter shares links and resources on leveraging Notion and minimalist productivity to do meaningful, intentional work. 😉
In This Email:
Avoid The Complexity Cliff
Manifest is Now Monthly
Notion for Teachers Interview June 4th, with Serj Hunt
Sending Tasks to Google Calendar with Notion API
Rewatch “Personal Project Management”
Announcing Manifest Workshops
⚙️ Falling Back on Systems
Last Friday when I wrote this, I’d overslept that morning, having been working on a Notion course the night before. I rolled out of bed into the car, and showed up to work 15 minutes late. I had around 20 students waiting, and it felt horrible. With the ubiquitous content and resources available around productivity, it’s important to remember: leading a balanced life is iterative. It takes practice and constant, incremental improvements.
The decision to build Manifest OS – and a subsequent website around minimalist productivity – was by chance. I took positive feedback as a sign that the tools I was building for myself could be useful to others. As a teacher and coach, it’s hard to decide not to help people.
However, one template turned into a series of templates, a website, a webinar series, collaborations, and workshops. All of this while training students and teachers during the day.
This situation is not uncommon: take on too many projects > feel overwhelm at managing them > feel failure at not being your best.
Systems Keep Us Grounded
After reflecting on a difficult week, one glaring issue became clear: I abandoned the systems I put in place, and couldn’t prioritize my time and focus.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
- Arthur C. Clarke
It’s easy to forget how impactful the systems we create can be, because when working well, they drift into the background. Workspaces reflect workflows, documents are exactly where they need to be, and the highest priority actions are immediately available. But as powerful as productivity systems can be, they ultimately depend on our action and attention to work. Otherwise, you’re left with machines that never run at full speed.
Straying from the systems we create will undoubtedly happen, but the best systems are also designed to make turning them back on effortless.
This is where weekly and monthly reviews can have the biggest impact. Setting aside time in these regular cadences can shine light on what systems are working well, and which need to be edited or thrown out.
Avoid The Complexity Cliff
“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.”
—E.F. Schumacher
On the heals of the Notion API, it is easy for over-complexity to sneak up on us, preventing us from doing our intended work. The dopamine release that comes from organizing documents, tasks, or content, can also lead to over-systematizing our lives.
On the other hand, designing personal productivity systems can make us feel superhuman. All of a sudden, taking on another project doesn’t seem out of reach. In March’s Notion Session: GTD - From Vision to Action, we walked through the process of establishing your vision, all the way down to individual actions. By taking on too many projects, or projects that don’t align with your vision, they end up using time and mental energy that actually prevent you from working toward your vision.
Systems are about streamlining, simplifying, automating, and making work easier. It’s a critical question: are your systems reducing work, or creating it? In many ways, the answer to avoiding over-complexity is the same as the previous section: reflection. Even simple questions like, “what is something I’m proud of accomplishing?” or “where am I trying to improve this month?” can be transformation in setting the tone for the future. We also dove into this topic in last month’s Notion Session: GTD Daily & Weekly Planning.
🗓 Newsletter’s Moving to Monthly
Manifest is about mastering minimalist productivity, and a key part of this is making sure only I only create essential content. Email is a super convenient way to keep up with topics of interest, but it can also be a source of overwhelm.
As a means to make your inbox a little less cluttered, we’ll be moving to monthly newsletters (1st of each month), including topics of interest, as well as links to tutorials, events, or resources to help you achieve life balance.
And if you think there’s any inessential content, I’d be grateful for your feedack!
🧑🏽🏫 Notion for Course Creators Event, June 4th
w/ Serj Hunt, Maker of Edu-Creator OS
I’m Hosting My First Event as Notion Ambassador! I’ll be chatting with Serj Hunt; his Notion System – Edu-Creator OS – is already in use amongst a growing community of online course creators. We’ll also discuss broader developments in online courses, and some exciting prospects for Notion in the education space. Come geek out with us, even if you’re not an educator!
Experimenting with Notion’s API
Last week, Notion’s API went into public beta, meaning we now all have access. Curious as to what it is, or how to use it? I wrote a mini-blog post with a quick example, walking through exporting Tasks into Google Calendar (I’ve been dying for this!)
🎞 Recap | Notion Live Session:
Personal Project Management
We had a great session earlier this month, taking a look at project management, and some quick strategies to help organize different life areas. You can catch the recording below.
🧑🏻💻 Announcing: Manifest Workshops
Back in March, I started meeting with Manifest OS users over Zoom (which was fun, inspiring and enlightening all at the same time), and a few of those conversations have evolved into coaching.
As a result, I recently launched Manifest Workshops. I’ve already had several sessions and finally feel confident launching this to the public. 😅 To show my gratitude, I’m opening up 5 free 30-minute sessions to you (this is for subscribers only). If you’re interested in booking a session, you can sign up using the link below. Note, this is only for the month of June. ☀️
Thank you for reading!
If you have comments, questions, or suggestions, I’d love to hear them! Send me an email at manifestproductivity@gmail.com. 😊
With gratitude,
David de Céspedes