Make a “Yes and No” List
The idea of a personal framework is to write down strategic decisions about how you live your life.
Then you can rely on those decisions on the fly to make sure your life is on track, and also rely on them when it’s crunch time.
But setting up something like this can be intimidating. Where do you even begin?
You can start with making your own personal “Yes and No” list.
I’m serious about not reading those thrillers all night…
Write Down What You Will, and Will Not Do
Jatan Mehta is a science writer, but I was intrigued by a page on his personal blogging site: his Yes and No page.
He wrote down a list of things he is personally committed to doing. He wrote down another list of things he is personally committed to NOT doing.
Here is something on Mehta’s “Yes” list that also appears in my own personal framework:
Respond, don’t react. Whenever possible, I iterate on my reaction to something important for 12-24 hours before talking about it. Applies to work emails too.
The way I worded my version: “Give myself 24 hours before I respond to a message that agitates me.”
Here is something on Mehta’s “Yes” list that taps into his values:
Pay for quality digital work, especially by indie folks. Demanding that everything on the Internet be free is ridiculous, and won’t sustain good things.
Here is something on Mehta’s “No” list, that he wants to stop doing:
Telling bad things to people during or after conflicts. Instead, I’m learning to say why something didn’t work for me. Dragging conflicts is a persistent brain drain.
A “Yes and No List” is Also a Minimalist Personal Framework
We all have internal Yes and No lists. But most people never write them down.
By writing down your own personal Yeses and Nos, you make them conscious to yourself. Because writing is thinking, you also give yourself the chance to think them through a little more clearly.
What is on your personal “Yes” list? What are the things you commit to doing?
What is on your personal “No” list? What are the things you won’t do, or want to stop doing?
I think this is a great way to quickstart a broader personal framework; but for many people, a Yes and No list might be enough.
References
Mehta, J. (no date) Yes and No. Available at: https://thoughts.jatan.space/p/yes-and-no (Accessed: 8 April 2022).