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Abstract

hilling. Both your minds get to have the cake and eat it too.You want to allocate time to be fully in the flow state, in work mode. The rest of your time should be unplanned, do whatever you want. In this exploratory phase, you will stumble across opportunities you could not expect before and take full advantage of them. Visit all rabbit holes and get lost.By tinkering, trial-and-error, doing what you love the most at the moment while getting the important things done, you can take advantage of the <a href="https://www.edge.org/conversation/nassim_nicholas_taleb-understanding-is-a-poor-substitute-for-convexity-antifragility">convexity bias</a>. Your progress will skyrocket as you tinker away and do what is best at the moment:<figure id="d4e4"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*s4Sn-gy4tWPk65b7"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>In addition, no chaos can ever harm you (up to a point). It is because you get the most important things done in hyperfocus anyway. You are solidly protected from the downside and can take full advantage of the upside.The worst thing that can happen is that you are still reliable. The best thing that can happen… there is no limit. Thus you become antifragile, invincible, and can laugh off whatever happens.<h1 id="c18c">The barbell system consists of a</h1><ul><li>Calendar, to distinguish between your planned time and unplanned time.</li><li>Task manager, to see your obligations and options</li><li>Note taking app, for capturing thoughts and storing ideas.</li></ul>That’s it. I want to hear you laugh now.The next articles in this series will go deeper into each component and how you best use it. For now, it is important to distinguish between obligations and options.<ul><li>Obligations are the tasks that you need to do, or you will experience unwanted consequences. They belong to the executive mind and you do them in hyperfocus at a planned time. You want to have as few obligations as you can get by since you can only commit to so much.</li><li>Options are actions you can do at any moment if you want to. They belong to the intuitive mind and you can choose to do them or not depending on your feeling at the moment. They are just suggestions that give you the freedom to explore and experiment, wandering around and tinkering. You want to have as many options as you possibly can since optionality is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812979680/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0812979680&linkCode=as2&tag=thetotallivin-20&linkId=2d9c9817e095090b8b59691d326019c4">the key to staggering growth</a>.</li></ul><h1 id="1dd8">How to implement this system in less than an hour</h1><ul><li>Set up your calendar and the obligatory widget. More info about it <a href="https://thetotalliving.com/2021/11/1-glance-part-7-calendar-setup-guide/">here</a>.</li><li>Download a task manager. I strongly recommend Google Tasks, since it is the simplest and most user-friendly, by far. Other alternatives are Remember the milk, Things, and Todoist.</li><li>In the task manager, make two different lists. Call the first one options and the second one obligations. Make sure that you see the options list first.</li><li>Adopt and download a note-taking app. I personally use <a href="https://mem.ai/timeline">Mem.ai</a> for iOS-users but there are exceptional alternatives (which you can read further <a href="https://thetotalliving.com/2021/11/1-glance-part-4-the-necessary-tools/">here</a>). For downloading the iOS beta app for Mem, visit this QR-code.</li></ul><figure id="4c8c"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/0*qamTFYF5c6uEGqsJ"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><ul><li>Place the calendar widget, the task manager, and the note-taking app on your home screen. They need to be within reach at all times, and you know that you check your phone frequently too.</li><li>In the note-taking app, write down every thought you have for at least 15 minutes. Write down all tasks you have in the options list of your task manager.</li><li>After you feel empty (an

Options

d relieved), go through each task you have added. Ask yourself: “Will there be too many unwanted consequences for me if I do not do this task”.</li><li>If yes, it is an obligation. Copy the task to your obligations list. Set the latest due date you can get by with. Then go to your calendar and set aside time to do this task.</li><li>If not, it is an option. Just leave it there and go to the next one.</li></ul>Then you are done! Welcome to your heaven on earth!EDIT (May 3): Since many of you appreciated this article, I have released a full e-book with everything you need to know about the barbell system, how to unlock your hyperproductivity, and thrive in this unpredictable world. Plus maximum impact, enjoyment & peace of mind. If you are interested in the e-book “The Barbell System”, click <a href="https://thetotalliving.gumroad.com/l/the-barbell-system">here</a> to learn more. You can also check out the audiobook version <a href="https://thetotalliving.gumroad.com/l/the-barbell-system-audiobook">here</a>. Below is a sneak-peek on the cover:<figure id="98a8"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*j3GM7RonZL5ULp0Al3HslA.jpeg"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The next articles will go deeper into each component and more info on using the barbell system:<ul><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-use-your-calendar-barbell-2-f3262b8ef02">How To Use Your Calendar</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-use-your-task-manager-barbell-3-3ca73524dd1a">How To Use Your Task Manager — And Why GTD is Severely Flawed</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/obligations-options-this-separation-will-make-your-to-do-list-invincible-to-overload-barbell-9064b0bf1f78">Obligations & Options — This Separation Will Make Your To-Do List Invincible To Overload</a></li><li><a href="https://thetotalliving.com/2022/02/how-the-barbell-system-checks-the-9-requirements-for-productivity-barbell-5-members-only/">How The Barbell System Checks The 9 Requirements For Productivity (Member’s Only)</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-set-up-and-get-started-with-your-note-taking-app-barbell-6-78359427a8f1">How To Set Up And Get Started With Your Note-Taking App</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/non-stop-capture-your-thoughts-to-generate-insights-and-master-negative-feelings-barbell-7-4a3f74036338">Capture Your Thoughts To Generate Insights And Master Negative Feelings (and updating the system in real time.</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/this-checklist-will-help-you-break-free-from-your-thoughts-barbell-8-7e3a9008d188">This Checklist Will Help You Break Free From Your Thoughts</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/i-was-wrong-here-is-why-you-do-not-want-to-capture-thoughts-non-stop-barbell-9-d62185340da0">How Often You Should Capture Your Thoughts (and update the system)</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-organize-your-note-taking-app-and-second-brain-barbell-10-892bbc23db30">How To Organize Your Note-Taking App And “Second Brain”</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-organize-your-file-manager-social-media-physical-environment-etc-barbell-11-3a57f6927199">How To Organize Your File Manager, Social Media, Physical Environment, Etc</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/forget-weekly-reviews-projects-goals-and-other-maintenance-barbell-12-cbbf19f2796">FORGET Weekly Reviews, Projects, Goals And Other Maintenance</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-leverage-spontaneity-and-serendipity-barbell-13-adff05e38b82">How To Leverage Spontaneity And Serendipity</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-to-conquer-emotional-resistance-imposter-syndrome-limiting-beliefs-and-fear-barbell-14-9c513d072bab">How To Conquer Emotional Resistance, Imposter Syndrome, Limiting Beliefs And Fear</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/you-maybe-barbell-without-knowing-it-conclusion-faq-barbell-15-63c931c9e387">Conclusion and Frequently Asked Questions</a></li><li><a href="https://readmedium.com/how-three-fictional-people-transformed-misery-to-massive-success-using-the-barbell-system-2b320b3597de">How Three (Fictional) People Transformed Misery To Success Using The Barbell System</a></li></ul></article></body>

Barbell — The Only Productivity System You Need To Thrive In An Unpredictable World

Imagine the perfect productivity system that can ever exist. This system would have the following nine characteristics:

Effortless input, allowing you to enter new information directly before you even think about it twice
Reliable retrieval, you receive the information when you need it. No need to do extra checking
Invisible. The best systems are silently running, like your internet, water, heat, electricity, and phone.
Zero overhead, no need to visit the system more than just retrieve information. Forget all you learned about weekly reviews, monthly checkups, yearly planning, etc.
Easy to implement. allowing you to simply become the best version of yourself in less than one session.
Laughable simplicity, mainly due to zero overhead and invisibility. The less you think about the system, the more it works.
Antifragile, the more chaos and stress in your environment, the more powerful your system becomes. Thus, you can safely seek novel and risky experiences to gain luck while being reliable.
Action-oriented, you can dedicate 100% attention to the activities in front of you while the system takes care of itself
Finally, total presence. You are finally free to just be here and now, adjust to the present moment, and live in total happiness and freedom, wherever you are.

The barbell system, also called New 1-Glance or Lagrosen’s barbell (don’t use the last name), checks the criteria above.

It is so simple and easy to implement that you might laugh at it first. However, just as a real barbell is the most effective way to gain muscle (forget advanced machines…), the system allows you to forget its existence while your output and happiness break the atmosphere and beyond.

Your Two Extremes

To become antifragile, i e benefit from everything that happens, you want to pursue both extremes of the spectrum while avoiding the middle solution. I have written more about the concept and examples here.

In our case, the two extremes we have to deal with are your executive mind and your intuitive mind.

Your executive mind loves planning, order, structure, progress, getting things done, achievement, prestige, being fully on, hyperfocus, prediction, reliability, etc. For this part of you, the future well-being is the most important. Your executive mind is also referred to as the Apollonian side of you, left-brain, or frontal lobe.

On the other hand, your intuitive mind is the opposite. It loves chaos, novelty, surprise, enjoyment, goofing off, getting lost, being fully unpredictable, chilling, partying, instant gratification, spontaneity, playfulness, etc. For this part of you, the present well-being is the most important. Your intuitive mind is also referred to as the Dionysian side of you, right-brain or ganglia.

The barbell system lets your two minds flourish separately

As you can see, you consist of two opposite forces that can cause you misery if internal conflict. The solution is NOT a compromise or middle ground.

Instead, you want to alternate between being totally structured and focused and being totally spontaneous and chilling. Both your minds get to have the cake and eat it too.

You want to allocate time to be fully in the flow state, in work mode. The rest of your time should be unplanned, do whatever you want. In this exploratory phase, you will stumble across opportunities you could not expect before and take full advantage of them. Visit all rabbit holes and get lost.

By tinkering, trial-and-error, doing what you love the most at the moment while getting the important things done, you can take advantage of the convexity bias. Your progress will skyrocket as you tinker away and do what is best at the moment:

In addition, no chaos can ever harm you (up to a point). It is because you get the most important things done in hyperfocus anyway. You are solidly protected from the downside and can take full advantage of the upside.

The worst thing that can happen is that you are still reliable. The best thing that can happen… there is no limit. Thus you become antifragile, invincible, and can laugh off whatever happens.

The barbell system consists of a

Calendar, to distinguish between your planned time and unplanned time.
Task manager, to see your obligations and options
Note taking app, for capturing thoughts and storing ideas.

That’s it. I want to hear you laugh now.

The next articles in this series will go deeper into each component and how you best use it. For now, it is important to distinguish between obligations and options.

Obligations are the tasks that you need to do, or you will experience unwanted consequences. They belong to the executive mind and you do them in hyperfocus at a planned time. You want to have as few obligations as you can get by since you can only commit to so much.
Options are actions you can do at any moment if you want to. They belong to the intuitive mind and you can choose to do them or not depending on your feeling at the moment. They are just suggestions that give you the freedom to explore and experiment, wandering around and tinkering. You want to have as many options as you possibly can since optionality is the key to staggering growth.

How to implement this system in less than an hour

Set up your calendar and the obligatory widget. More info about it here.
Download a task manager. I strongly recommend Google Tasks, since it is the simplest and most user-friendly, by far. Other alternatives are Remember the milk, Things, and Todoist.
In the task manager, make two different lists. Call the first one options and the second one obligations. Make sure that you see the options list first.
Adopt and download a note-taking app. I personally use Mem.ai for iOS-users but there are exceptional alternatives (which you can read further here). For downloading the iOS beta app for Mem, visit this QR-code.

Place the calendar widget, the task manager, and the note-taking app on your home screen. They need to be within reach at all times, and you know that you check your phone frequently too.
In the note-taking app, write down every thought you have for at least 15 minutes. Write down all tasks you have in the options list of your task manager.
After you feel empty (and relieved), go through each task you have added. Ask yourself: “Will there be too many unwanted consequences for me if I do not do this task”.
If yes, it is an obligation. Copy the task to your obligations list. Set the latest due date you can get by with. Then go to your calendar and set aside time to do this task.
If not, it is an option. Just leave it there and go to the next one.

Then you are done! Welcome to your heaven on earth!

EDIT (May 3): Since many of you appreciated this article, I have released a full e-book with everything you need to know about the barbell system, how to unlock your hyperproductivity, and thrive in this unpredictable world. Plus maximum impact, enjoyment & peace of mind. If you are interested in the e-book “The Barbell System”, click here to learn more. You can also check out the audiobook version here. Below is a sneak-peek on the cover:

The next articles will go deeper into each component and more info on using the barbell system: