Org Juice

April 22, 2022

The Art of Applied Visual Thinking

The official newsletter of Applied Visual Thinking SUPERHEROES. Vol. 3 No. 8 April 22, 2022

I do my best work in the morning. Not crazy early before sunrise, but mid-morning after the breakfast flurry has subsided and the household and dog are occupied or elsewhere. I have a new theory about why morning is my best time to focus, and it has to do with juice.

My theory is that I wake up each day with a relatively full glass of "juice," representing my capacity for higher level thinking. Some days, the higher level thinking required may take the form of writing or drawing, others teaching, organizing, planning or strategizing. Some days my glass feels less full than others. I am calling this my "organizational brain juice" or "org juice" for short.

What do you need your "org juice" for?

Drawing of a glass or orange juice with a sliced orange

The second part of my theory is that we have a limit to how much organizational capacity we can tap into during the course of a day. If I run out of "brain juice" during the day, a nap, a walk in the sun or yoga session, or a super healthy breakfast can sometimes act as a refill for me.

How do you refill your "org juice"?

That first glass in the morning, however, is precious. Imagine the first sip of fresh-squeezed, chilled orange juice from a buffet. You can go back for a second glass later, but it's never quite as refreshing as the first. Sometimes I get to the end of the day and realize how much I let myself spin off into other projects, "quick" things and easier tasks that were less important or could have been dealt with another time. Suddenly it's getting dark out, and I am still not done with my main priority task for the day.

How can I set myself up instead of beating myself up? First, I am admitting right here, right now to you all that I cannot do it all in one day. Second, I offer the following mini process that helps me sort my priorities for the day into a quick visual. I use this before I dive into any project and keep it at my desk where I will see it all day as a reminder.

Don't overthink this AVT SUPER SIMPLE SCATTERGRAM activity. Read through the instructions, then set a 5-minute timer to be sure this activity doesn't become a distraction in itself.

Example

SUPER SIMPLE SCATTERGRAM: A scattergram is usually a set of dots loosely positioned from low to high on 2 axes. This AVT version is even quicker and simpler to make. To start, Draw a big square or rectangle on a blank sheet of paper.
SCATTER. Jot down the tasks, projects and/or activities you have in mind for the day anywhere on your page.
LETTERING HEIRARCHY = TIME. Use larger letters to write the things you need to do today that you anticipate will take the most time. Use smaller letters to for quicker tasks. Leave space around each item.
IMPORTANCE = COLOR. Grab a red pen or other bright color and circle the 1-3 most important activities. Ask yourself, what will be the consequences if this item doesn't happen today?
YES - NO - DELEGATE. Look over your items. Are there any that don't really need to be done at all? Draw a single line through any that may be redundant or not truly necessary. If you can delegate or postpone an item, draw the line underneath, add an arrowhead, and a note.

Reference:

Tuarez, Jaimer. Can your brain get full? (Yes or No?). (2020, September 27). Retrieved from https://neurotray.com/can-your-brain-get-full/

For more practice using visuals to prioritize, check out all the Applied Visual Thinking Courses or get in touch to let us know what YOU need to make happen using visuals.

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