The Daily Rind

May 28, 2011 8:02 AM

"The Daily Rind” scheduling system: I have an inkling that it will work best for those with a particular creative disposition, while those whose thought-patterns are more regimented and linear may prefer more conventional scheduling methods. But if you’ve got a more fluid workstyle and struggle with finding rhythm and balance with the scheduling of your days, give the system a try
posted by Trurl (10 comments total)

While this looks neat if you don't actually have (m)any temporally-specific obligations, I don't quite get how it addresses the same function as the standard daily planner the author dislikes.

People use planners so they can remember, for example, that they have a dentist appointment at 2pm on Friday the 12th. That doesn't occur in a fuzzy arc a certain distance from the center, and it has no dependance, to refer to TFA's example picture, on "Autumn?". I can see how this mirrors the motion of a clock, but appears visually overwhelming. Even if you do put that dentist appointment on your day, how would that stand out against the background chaos?

Then again, I tend to view my day in a very linear manner - I get up, shower, go to work, have lunch, work, come home, do the task(s) at the top of my chore queue, eat dinner, relax, sleep, repeat - So if anyone does consider this a great idea for reasons I don't get, I'd love to hear it.
posted by pla at 8:24 AM on May 28, 2011

Will this help me GTD because I really aim to live the 4-Hour workweek dream as a life hacker. I already use remember the milk, google calendar, todolist and toodledo. I have a moleskine, a hipster PDA and now I look forward to rinding shit up.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:27 AM on May 28, 2011 [18 favorites]

Being someone like the author, I suspect that this technique will be replaced by something else when he gets bored with this one. But I do like the idea of grouping things by how much I fear that I won't get them finished.
posted by hanoixan at 8:32 AM on May 28, 2011

Sometimes I think I need to just adapt SCRUM to use for everyday life.
posted by hellojed at 8:33 AM on May 28, 2011 [1 favorite]

But then who would be your scrum master?
posted by cavalier at 8:39 AM on May 28, 2011

I read this because I am completely unable to make and maintain a schedule/scheduling system of any kind. Having a linear schedule is like standing at the end of a tunnel with a freight train bearing down on you, and once you miss one thing it's just a huge pileup of train cars until the only answer is to walk away and have a drink.

However, I can not make any sense out of this system. It all looks like gibberish to me. Actually this may be just what I need. I'll just draw some circles around other circles and then proceed to ignore them.
posted by runcibleshaw at 8:40 AM on May 28, 2011 [7 favorites]

But then who would be your scrum master?

Me, when I don the Burger King crown, and put on the requisite Rush LP. This will all be a part of the package I end up selling, along with a pallet of stickie notes which are 1/4th watermark.
posted by hellojed at 8:46 AM on May 28, 2011 [2 favorites]

Foci for Analysis : I have a moleskine

Hey, I count as just about the least hipster-like person you could ever meet, and I've got to admit, Moleskine really does make great little planners. I've put that sucker through more abuse than any book has a right to survive, and have yet to lose a single page or even the string-thing that marks your place.


runcibleshaw : Having a linear schedule is like standing at the end of a tunnel with a freight train bearing down on you, and once you miss one thing it's just a huge pileup of train cars until the only answer is to walk away and have a drink.

...Which nicely matches "life". You can, however, still give more important tasks priority with a linear schedule... If the vacuuming doesn't get done, it will just take a few minutes longer next time; If the cat doesn't get fed, you don't get to sleep. ;)

And sometimes, throwing your hands in the air and saying "screw it, time for beer" counts as the best possible outcome for the day.
posted by pla at 8:58 AM on May 28, 2011

Being someone like the author, I suspect that this technique will be replaced by something else when he gets bored with this one.

I'm sort of the opposite and like to organize myself with nice tidy lists of things, with highly systematic rules for determining what to do next. Every so often, my list seems to stop working for me, and I figure out how to change it so it'll work better.

And strangely, every time I redo the list, it does work better for a while. I doubt this is because every new system I come up with is better than the old one. Some of them have to be objectively worse, don't they?

I think it's because after you follow any system for long enough, it starts to feel like that system is in charge. Redoing the whole thing is a nice reminder that, no, I am in control of the system I use, and I can change it or deviate from it just because I feel like it.

Free yourself from the tyranny of your to-do list!

(Even if that means electing another one to take its place.)
posted by FishBike at 9:14 AM on May 28, 2011 [4 favorites]

I've been called a seriously non-linear thinker. I've used countless systems to plan my time but invariably end the day with most of my todo items undone.

This looks interesting, though I might have to tweak it a bit. I like the idea of mapping out the day like a pie graph instead of todo list items that look equal at first glance, but require vastly different amounts of time.

As for Moleskine books, they may be standard hipster gear but I'm way too old and uncool to be mistaken for a hipster. I like them because they are well-made, I can write in cursive much faster than I can type and I really enjoy the feel of writing with my 0.9 mm mechanical pencil on nice paper.
posted by double block and bleed at 7:33 PM on May 28, 2011