This last week I read an article by Scott Belsky, founder and CEO of Behance, and author of Making Ideas Happen.   Behance has a primary online and analog system called Action Method, which I use in the digital format.  This article hit my hot button because it highlighted the habit of Bob Greenberg, founder and CEO of R/GA where my son, aka DN1, works.  I know the agency well, and the reputation of Bob Greenberg as a driver in the digital agency world is legendary.

My hot button was pushed because Scott spoke directly to the analog method that Bob uses to keep his calendar and tasks.  Obviously Bob could have, or have created any system he wanted.  We would expect nothing less, and yet, less is really more in this case.  Bob keeps his tasks on paper and has the ritual of redoing the list each day.  Scott describes this as the granularity of prioritization. By manually moving, bumping or deleting the tasks, Bob feels that it is finished or incomplete.  He has to make the decision whether to dump, delegate or bump it again.

Wow, no more just letting it roll-over endlessly.  I admit that I do both., paper and digital.  But I do enjoy the daily planning with a clean sheet of paper.  In fact as I was making my decision on which paper planner I would get this year I felt at a cross roads. Generally I would move between formats since I have collected so many over the years.  After reading this article my decision was made.

This next year I will be using a big stack of yellow lined pads, some forms for weekly and daily blocking, and my new Android phone.  I’ve been seduced by the granularity of prioritization.  My wife will laugh since she completes her list EVERY day…something I seldom do.  This is going to be a good year…yeah I got that ‘granularity’ mojo going for me.  Watch out world, the Analog Sherpa has his pens, making his list of who is naughty, and who is nice.  “Granularity” – yeah that’s the ticket for 2011.