Step 1 — Filters: which tasks are in play today§
A task is in play today if: the move is yours (Do) · the assignee is you or nobody · the date is today or earlier · all four coordinates are set. Everything else stays out of the way:
| Task | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Delegated — handed on | Control block: a separate list to hold people to, instead of a worry in your head |
| Waiting — waiting for someone else's move | Asleep under a staleness timer: if it stays silent too long, the method offers to send a nudge |
| No Level | Freezer: takes part in no selection and no counters |
| The assignee is another person | Team contour: lives by the assignee field, not by the Mode axis |
Step 2 — The day matrix: six cells§
Everything that passed the filters is laid out on six cells: rows are Level, columns are Change. Cells are read by number, ① → ⑥; inside a cell, the task with the earlier date comes first.
Step 3 — The Day Focus: the 2+1 rule§
- Two places go to the first two tasks in reading order ① → ⑥.
- One place is reserved for the first task of the Grow column (cells ①, ③, ⑤ in that order).
- If that Grow task has already taken one of the first two places, the third place goes to the next task in reading order. If the whole day contains no Grow at all, the method offers the best Grow from the portfolio.
Two tasks hold your today. One builds your tomorrow.
The Day Focus is three tasks. Success of the day = the Focus is closed.
Step 4 — The Bonus and an honest "not today"§
The Bonus is the next three tasks in reading order. Everything below that is "not today": it leaves your sight until the evening. It is not lost — at the evening Closing every one of those tasks is deliberately moved, frozen, or deleted.
Success of the day = the Focus is closed. Bonus: made it, and that is good.
Zero overdue by morning.
The trust contract: your rights and transparency§
- You may swap any one task of the Focus — the next task in reading order takes its place; the Focus never grows beyond three.
- Every decision cites the rule it came from: "the first task of the Grow column, by the 2+1 rule." The day is not random — it is assembled, and you can see why.
- Only your own moves enter the Focus and the Bonus. The method changes the composition of the Focus by itself only if something has ignited — explicitly and with an explanation.
What you do not see is not burning; if it catches fire, the method will tell you.
When the day breaks the rules — more than three Key tasks due today, a task moved for the second time, a new Key igniting mid-day — the safeguards switch on: Overload, Stuck, Ignited. They have a chapter of their own →
A worked example: ten tasks§
A design studio owner's portfolio on a Tuesday morning. Ten tasks, already marked:
| # | Task | C | A | L | M | Date | Filters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sign the print house contract — otherwise the run slips a month | Stay | Work | Key | Do | today | cell ② |
| 2 | Write the onboarding procedure for new hires | Grow | Work | Important | Do | yesterday | cell ③, first |
| 3 | Write a case-study article for the studio blog | Grow | Work | Important | Do | today | cell ③, second |
| 4 | Pay the office rent invoice | Stay | Work | Important | Do | today | cell ④ |
| 5 | Process mail and inbox | Stay | Work | Regular | Do | two days ago | cell ⑥, first |
| 6 | Renew the car insurance | Stay | Life | Regular | Do | yesterday | cell ⑥, second |
| 7 | Update the price list on the website | Stay | Work | Regular | Do | today | cell ⑥, third |
| 8 | Approve the layout — the designer is drawing it | Stay | Work | Important | Delegated | Wednesday | → control block |
| 9 | Account application — the bank is reviewing it | Stay | Work | Important | Waiting | — | → asleep under a timer |
| 10 | Idea: launch a layout course | — | — | no Level | — | — | → Freezer |
Seven tasks passed the filters. The day matrix — cells ① and ⑤ are empty, which is normal:
Why each place went the way it did:
- Place 1 — the print house contract. The first task in reading order ① → ⑥: cell ① is empty, so reading starts at ②.
- Place 2 — the onboarding procedure. Second in reading order; inside cell ③ it comes first because of the earlier date (yesterday).
- Place 3 — the case-study article. The 2+1 place belongs to the first task of the Grow column (① → ③ → ⑤), which is the onboarding procedure — but it already took place 2. So the third place goes to the next task in reading order: the case-study article.
- Bonus — rent, mail, insurance. The next three in reading order: cell ④, then cell ⑥ by date — mail (two days ago), then insurance (yesterday).
- "Not today" — the price list. Last in cell ⑥, with the latest date (today). It leaves the day and will not become overdue.
Day Focus: contract + procedure + article. The contract and the procedure hold today; the article builds tomorrow. Close the three, and the day is a success — whatever happens to the other seven.
Jimmy walks through these four steps for you — every morning, on top of your own Todoist — and brings the ready Focus to Telegram.
Let Jimmy build my Focus