This post is about a 30 Day Challenge I did, in which I ditched my old way of working for something called the Action Method. It’s rocking my world, and a lot of people’s worlds, so maybe it could rock yours too.
What is the Action Method?
In a paragraph, the Action Method is a powerful productivity tool designed to make our creative ideas happen. It’s a scalable system you can use in the form of your choice, whether it’s digital (online, iPad, and mobile) or on paper (with organizational products that transcend the usual journals). These various forms are flexible, synchable, and can be used on their own or in combination, as makes sense for you.
The Action Method is the brainchild of Behance, which, as you might know, is the think tank of The 99%. If you’re familiar with either of them, then the awesomeness I’m going to tell you about might not surprise you.
Why a 30 day challenge?
I implemented the Action Method as a 30 Day Challenge because it’s my preferred framework for change. These challenges give us what amounts to a macro zone of deep practice for trying something new, which fits beautifully with the model this blog is based on.
The problem
Most of us have many projects going on at once, and I’m no exception. They span across the usual contexts: work, play, and life. The common problem is that there’s a certain everywhere-ness to projects. 
Their component parts are scattered all around: in our heads, throughout our computers, in journals, on lists, and elsewhere (like post-it notes and the paper on our desks and in files).
This is precisely my old scenario. Here’s what I’ve learned from trying to be productive with everything scattered about:
- There’s no big picture. It’s hard to have a clear visual of a project as a whole, or of all our projects and how they relate to each other;
- Ideas get lost. When we don’t capture and record our ideas in a way we can retrieve them, they get lost, and when ideas get lost, they don’t happen.
- Time and energy are wasted . A lot of time and effort is spent pulling together the component parts of a project so we can get to work. Which means we do a lot of preparing to work, rather than work. And since we never quite finish pulling everything together, the process infiltrates our work time. When we’re always trying to put our hands on the parts, it impedes our focus on the substance.
The solution
The Action Method fixes all of this. I’ll explain briefly how it works and provide links at the end so you can find out more.
- The Action Method is the result of years of study by Behance’s founder, Scott Belsky. He looked at the insights and practices of people who get things done in the creative and entrepreneurial world. From that, he curated the best of what he found and wrapped it into what he calls “a very straightforward mentality for managing the creative process.”
- This mentality and the method are premised on the simple idea that everything before us is a project. This applies to typical project-like things (preparing a presentation, planning
a trip, managing our finances) and things we may not have thought of before as a “project” (a client or someone else we interact with; our home and how we manage it; ourselves and something we want to change). - Once we have everything classified as a project, we break each one down into 3 primary components: Action Steps, References, and Backburner Items. Action Steps are succinct tasks within a project that start with verbs. References are all the materials we refer to when we work on a particular project. Backburner Items are ideas that come to us over time (from brainstorming, in meetings, etc.) that aren’t actionable now, but may become so in the future.
- It’s called the Action Method because it’s designed with a bias toward action. It makes the actionable parts of projects jump out at us, while organizing the other parts enough to give us peace of mind and clear the way for taking action.
Application
I’m using Action Method Online (AMO) and the Action Journal I chose from Behance’s wide selection of paper offerings. They compliment each other extremely well (details below). I’ve downloaded the synchable iPad app and may make it part of my process in the future. As for the mobile app, I’ll check it out if I ever switch to an iPhone or an Android.
What I like best about Action Method Online
- Flexibility. There’s enough flexibility within the system to allow you to develop your style for using it.
- Clarity. On 3 separate screens, you can see: 1) All items in a project (Action Steps, References, Backburner Items); 2) All Action Steps within a project; 3) All Action Steps for all projects. When you assign target dates to Action Steps, you can display them in target date order.
- Velocity. Momentum comes from clarity. In other words, organization and clear visuals enable and accelerate action. Added incentive to keep moving forward comes from
trying to meet the target dates you’ve assigned to Action Steps. If you miss a target date, the system quietly moves that Action Step to an “Overdue” section. I’ve found that just knowing this can happen makes me work more quickly and efficiently because I want to meet my target dates. - Capacity. The system serves as digital file cabinet. You can upload files and attachments and store them by project, so they’re easy to find when you need them. You can also store links by project. There’s ample room for typing in whatever notes you want to make for each project, which I’ve found particularly effective for: 1) referencing hard copies of things I don’t want to forget about (e.g. handwritten notes and sketches); 2) referencing things elsewhere in my computer that I want to remember (like relevant email); and 3) writing or pasting in text I may want to use later (in a blog post or whatever).
- Possibility. It gives me a great sense of possibility – with respect to what I’m doing now and what I can do in the future – because my ideas are preserved, organized, and ready to be moved forward on when I’m ready. It’s the opposite of the feeling I had before, which was that my ideas were getting blown away in the wind.
Why use a paper journal too?
The Action Journal I chose (from Behance’s wide selection) contains blank pages with lots of room for sketches and notes, as well as designated areas in the margin for recording Action Steps and Backburner Items, as they come to mind. It’s the perfect compliment to AMO. When I’m away from my computer, things I write in it can be transferred later. When I’m at my computer, ideas that come to mind can be sketched out in the journal.
I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do. - Leonardo da Vinci
Thoughts and discoveries
Trying the Action Method as a 30 day challenge gave me the chance to deep practice something completely new to me and become more and more adept at it over a measured period of time. I felt my productivity surge soon after I started, and my upward trajectory continues. I enjoy scaling the process to meet my needs, tweaking along the way to see how new things I try out impact my work. The reward has been great – I’ve happily departed from a way of working that didn’t really work, and I’m enriched now by one that does.
Over to you!
What are your thoughts on your own productivity? Do you use the Action Method or another method or system? Have any tips to share? See you in the comments.
FURTHER READING
Scott Belsky, Making Ideas Happen (Penguin 2010).
The 99% | Action Method I: Breaking Projects Into Primary Elements
Jonathan Fields | Interview with Scott Belsky
SITES THAT LINK TO THIS POST
Socially Sorted
Behance
RELATED POSTS
30 Day Challenge: Restart, Rework!
30 Day Challenges: The Ultimate Zone For Exploration, Habit Change & Getting Unstuck
Why You Shouldn’t Text While Drip Painting, And Other Lessons From Jackson Pollack
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Hey Susan –
Do you know if AMO will be getting any type of upgrade anytime soon? I just started to use Action Method and so far it seems like it will be a HUGE help for me. One thing I kinda wish AMO had is an alarm feature. Question, what do you use the colors for? importance? project type?
Btw – Your Blog is awesome! Keep up the good work
Hey Brendon:
It’s been a while since I wrote that AMO post, and since then, I’ve switched over to Basecamp. I’ve found it’s a better fit for me, my work needs, and personal work style.
The main thing is that I’m a very visual person who needs to see everything laid out on a calendar. According to 37 Signals (Basecamp’s creator), its calendar is “the best on the web.” As far as I can tell, they’re right. It works beautifully for calendaring projects and their components, i.e. things to be worked on either on a particular day or over a span of days. And you can keep running To Do Lists for each project, calendaring the items when you’re ready. Very smooth.
Some things I love:
1) You can color code by project on the calendar (so Project A can be red, Project B can be green, etc.);
2) The online support is awesome – fast turn around via email for answers to questions, and there are online tutorials you can sign up for.
3) The free 45 day trial period.
Notes:
1) 37 Signals was founded by @jasonfried, author of the book Rework, which is great companion reading for Chris’s book.
2) Basecamp is widely used by project teams, so it has a big communication component built into it. But it works just fine for people who work independently – (like you, perhaps), and like me (I just don’t use the communication functions).
To your question about AMO, when I was using it, I color coded as follows: orange for things relating to blog posts; blue for things relating to the design and infrastructure of my blog; beige for projects relating to but external to the blog. For my purposes, there weren’t enough colors.
Hope this helps, Brendon. I’d love to know your thoughts and ideas (and questions, if you have any).
Susan
Susan,
Once again you seem to tap into my thought processes and pointing out a new and valuable resource! I have been looking for a contemporary system to investigate alongside my study of eastern philosophical writing and positive psychology and it is interesting to see some of the continuities and contrasts of thought. Juggling several projects, family and ‘all the other stuff’ is such a challenge and it’s so brilliant how we get to share our ideas and have access to such great books in helping us to do so.
Always inspiring and interesting. I look forward to reporting back on this one & sharing our experienes further.
Great, Julian. So glad this looks interesting to you. It was a good discovery for me, and certainly one that fits nicely within a 30 day challenge.
I like giving things a test run through a finite period. There’s an obvious advantage to experimenting vs. committing to something we don’t really know about yet.
Not everything lends itself to experiment, of course, like switching from PC to Mac, for example. You kind of have to just do it and hope you make the right choice.
Adopting the Action Method isn’t like that. You can play around with an open mind, see how it fits you and you fit it, and go from there, as you choose.
Yes, let’s be sure to compare notes! Look forward.
Susan
Just a quick thought Susan. Have you read Steven Pressfield’s books on productivity in the creative process? If so, how do you think it relates to the Action Method? If not, check him out. I really like it
Julian: I haven’t read Pressfield’s books, but I’ve heard of them. Which one do you think I should start with? Thanks so much! Susan
Well I’m reading Do Good Work as I think it contains some practical steps but mainly because I happened on that first. The earlier War of Art introduces the idea of ‘resistance’ that is picked up in DGW. I am aiming to utilise it to help with my PhD but also interested in how it can be applied beyond the writing environment to contribute to behaviour change strategies. If you start with either book, and don’t feel compelled by the way, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Who knows they might even inspire a new post! J
Always good to have recommendations. Thank you, Julian. It might take me a while to get to Pressfield. The pile of new books on my desk both intrigues and intimidates. And I’m still processing Suzuki’s book (as I suspect will take some time). There’s quite a lot in those few pages. As always, look forward to comparing notes and experiences.
This is a great and timely article. I’m a relatively new mom (Jack will be 9 months old next week!) and have recently returned to work, where I am a teacher. Even though I only work 3 days a week I am rather overwhelmed with the whole mom work thing and feel I am falling into a frantic hamster wheel kind of life! I have a few worries associated with it – how easy it could be to move back to fast, convenient, processed foods after a few months of a diet made up mainly of meat, fresh vegetables and fruit, and nuts. And how I could lose my sense of self – my dreams, my purpose – and focus on just trying to keep things together.
Whew. I love the Action Book from Behance. I need one. It’s amazing how head clearing it can be to write things down. Thanks for this reminder.
Also, I want to award you a Versatile Blogger Award!
I received it recently and it felt great to be recognized, it’s also prompting me to reach out and leave messages at some of the blogs I read but don’t necessarily comment on.
There are a few provisos to keep the love moving
By accepting this award I agree to do the following:
Thank the blogger who awarded me with a link back to him/her.
Share seven things about myself.
Pass the award on to fifteen other newly discovered blogs.
Please stop my my blog and right click on the award picture to save to your computer so you can add it to your post
http://campingout.tracyrosen.com/?p=401
Congratulations
Tracy:
Thank you so much for writing. How good that you recognize the small space that exists sometimes between progress we’ve made and the old ways we’ve come from. What are thoughts and actions that keep you from regressing? I’m interested to know what others think and do. For me, I find it helpful to ask myself: “Would this help or hurt?” The answer is invariably “hurt.” So I carry on, preparing the harder-tp-make meal, or just waiting about eating instead of having whatever’s around that would be easy to gobble.
The Behance Action Books are great. Writing things down in a permanent, organized way makes the difference between getting things done and having them evaporate into the air. If you get an Action Journal and start using it, I hope you’ll comment again and let me know what you think of it.
As for the award, thank you so much for thinking of me. What a good idea. The deadlines I’m under now make it quite impossible to meet your listed provisos, I’m afraid, but I wish you the best with the program.
I searched for you on Twitter and didn’t see you there. Please let me know if you tweet, as I’d love to connect with you there.
Thanks, Tracy!
Susan
I had the same experience with Getting Things Done, GTD. But I let it slide, better pick it up again.
Hey Ulla:
Great to hear from you!
I’ve heard a lot about GTD. Action Method’s site explains the main differences. Here’s the link: https://www.actionmethod.com/AMO#Resources/Sub=Question/Item=23
Would love to know your thoughts on both methods.
Susan
As you know, I have a million things on the go, creativity and ideas abounding, projects out my ears and three places I work on them from – the laptop, the tower and the iPhone.
So this sounds mighty interesting to me.
Questions!
1) Did you have to gather up bits and pieces of everything kicking around to initially add it to the whatever you’ve added it to and organize it accordingly?
2) Uh… I had another question but I forgot it. Damn.
James:
Thanks for writing. Yes, I’m doing that gathering up as part of my 30 day challenge. A rework like this is time consuming and has a a learning curve. You’re essentially transitioning from one set of behaviors into another. I think it helps reduce frustration to acknowledge this from the start, work a little at a time, be patient with the gradual process.
On average, I’ve spent about 1/2 hour a day on the transition. It’s worked well, and it’s paying off – I’m becoming a lot more productive and feeling a lot better about my work.
Here’s something helpful I discovered after I wrote the post: A how-to video for Action Method On-line. I think it will ease the getting started process.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/37629396/AMOvideo.mov.qt
Hope this helps! Let me know what you think, and be sure to send along your other question, if you think of it.
Susan
Awesome! I just discovered you thru linklove from marksdailyapple. So glad i did! part of my transition will be organizing things i never thot of as Projects!
Maryanne
Maryanne:
Glad you found your way here! Mark’s is such a great blog. So much to learn there. Hope you’ll learn a lot here as well.
Yes, you’re right – looking at (just about) everything as a “project” gives us new perspective and establish a greater focus that we might have had otherwise.
I’d love to hear about what you’re working on and how you’re going about it.
Thanks for commenting! Look forward to seeing you back here!
Susan
Great article Susan, just signed up for the Action Method tools myself! I look forward to future posts.
Luke:
Thanks for writing. I’d love to exchange thoughts with you on the Action Method, so I hope you’ll write again after you’ve gotten settled in using it. It would be great to see how you’ve tailored it to meet your needs and how it’s impacting you and your work.
Please stay in touch!
Susan