How to Set Up Your Execution Management System 📝

Simple steps for establishing The PIES Method for Digital Organization

I started this series on The PIES Method by bringing attention to the fact that many of us developed our skills and knowledge in a very analog way. We read physical books. Thumbed through encyclopedias to find answers to our questions. Wrote letters to people. Took handwritten notes. Lugged around calendars!

Now we find ourselves in a world where nearly everything is digital and that can make our brains feel…weird. Thankfully there’s research to explain why that is!

Handwriting fires up different parts of the brain than typing does. Leading to increased connectivity across parietal brain regions, the ones involved in things like sensory and motor processing — but also central regions, the ones involved in memory and learning. That means our brains experience a specific type of activation when we write something down by hand, compared to typing!

That doesn’t mean we need to handwrite everything — especially when typing can save us time and increase our efficiency — but it does mean we should know how to integrate handwriting into our digital organization routine to optimize the benefits of both.

That is what the Execution Management System is all about, and I’m excited to tell you more about it because this is the glue that holds your systems together and helps you make sustainable, incremental progress each day.

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🤔 What is an Execution Management System?

The Execution Management System creates synergy between all your other systems (project, information, schedule!).

It’s what you’ll use to focus and encourage your brain to take action.

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🫱🏼‍🫲🏼The Tech + Human Connection

Finding a way to maximize the benefits of both digital and analog tools is what I call the Tech + Human Connection — and our Execution Management System is at the center of that connection.

While your other three systems are likely digital, I suggest choosing an analog (or handwritten) tool for your Execution Management System.

This vital system provides us with a dedicated space where we can engage with our work, goals, time, and responsibilities in an analog way — to fire up those “offline” parts of our brain, which can:

• Help us feel more inspired by, connected to, and responsible for the work we’re doing.

• Improve retention of details related to specific projects and tasks.

• Provide our brain with time to process information and find solutions.

• Reduce distractions by limiting interactions with digital systems throughout the day.

Many of us recognize that our brains crave handwritten planning, yet we resist this urge, feeling pressured to rely solely on digital tools. This resistance often leads to a haphazard use of analog tools, resulting in misplaced information and, ultimately, disorganization.

By acknowledging and supporting our brain’s natural desire for analog planning, we can build habits and routines that make this system highly effective and reliable. Integrating handwritten tools intentionally into your workflow ensures that you can harness the best of both worlds: the accuracy of digital systems and the creativity and clarity fostered by analog methods.

You might be wondering how you’ll keep things organized if some of your information is digital and some is analog — but sit tight, we’ll go over that in my final post coming out later this week!

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✨ Examples:

Below are some of the things that could go in your Execution Management System:

• A to-do list of the tasks and projects you are focusing on today

• Your plans for self-care, exercise, or meditation

• How you plan to fuel yourself throughout the day

• Your available blocks of time and how you will effectively use them

• Free space for notes, ideas, and other information that needs to make it’s way to one of your digital systems

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🎖️ Key Features

When looking for your ideal tool to use for an Execution Management System, I suggest looking for the following features:

• handwritten!

• has space dedicated to organizing all three other systems (project, schedule, information)

• sets realistic expectations on your time and mental bandwidth

• plenty of space for writing and planning

• prioritizes your focus and energy by supporting nutrition, hydration, movement, mental health + more

• dateless design (so you feel guilt-free about taking time off or having days or weekends that are less structured)

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👩🏻‍💻What I Use and Recommend

You might be thinking “Wow, this system needs to do a lot, and probably requires a custom-solution that will cost me an arm and a leg!”

Not so my friend, not so.

My goal with every tool I’ve recommended for The PIES Method has been to present options that are accessible and affordable without sacrificing their effectiveness or ease-of use.

And this is especially true when it comes to the Execution Management System.

Because THIS is the system that really needs to be a perfect fit for you, your life, and the work you are doing. While I’ll share what I use below (along with instant access to it!) you might also consider creating your own custom solution, and I’ll share about how to do that, too