One of my rules for running Tacklebox is called the Rule of Three:
If I do the exact same thing three or more times, I need to codify or productize it.
My normal form of productizing is the podcast - if a question gets asked a bunch and I give the same answer, I turn that into a podcast I can point to when I’m asked the question in the future.
But some questions are much better answered in shorter form, so I’m going to start answering the common questions here so we build up a repository.
This is a logistical question I get asked constantly:
How should I manage and track the tasks associated with my startup idea?
For a long time I recommended people use whatever they felt worked - google docs, to-do list in the notes app, Notion, constant emails to yourself, Asana - whatever. The goal was to not force people to learn a new system. I’ve realized this is bad advice. Most founders we work with haven’t managed this type of process before, so their ad hoc to-do list / product management approach isn't up to the task (pun).
I’m a nerd about this stuff and have tried every system under the sun. The one I aggressively recommend is PARA. It’s an offshoot of Getting Things Done, and, I think, a better organized version of it (although you should absolutely read GTD). There are a lot of reasons I like it, but maybe my favorite is how you start - you basically archive everything you’ve ever done and begin fresh. Trying to cram your current files and to do list into a new system never works - PARA removes the need for that.I’ve assembled a “beginners guide” for PARA (and, in case this wasn’t obvious, I don’t get paid or get referral fees or anything for any of this).