Introducing The PIES Method for Digital Organization🥧

A simple, four-system framework for staying focused and organized

If you struggle with digital organization, you are SO far from alone. After getting an education using mostly analog tools, many of us built careers just as the digital revolution overtook our workplaces — demanding that we rely almost 100% on digital tools.

It can be overwhelming and frustrating — especially for brains that came to rely on the motor feedback provided when we write things down by hand.

What is the PIES Method?

Digital organization is a topic that I cover regularly, of course, but over the next few weeks I’m going to introduce you to The PIES Method — the digital organization method I personally developed that creates alignment between analog and digital tools to decrease stress and increase efficiency.

The acronym of PIES just so happened to work out (love when that happens) but PIES also works as a great analogy. Think of it like this…

Your life is the filling in an apple pie — and it’s a bit messy. It’s all those work assignments, meetings, dentist appointments, kids’ schedules, vacation planning, relationships, taxes, home renovations, vet bills! All the responsibilities, tasks, requests, expectations, and projects that are bouncing around your head at all hours of the day (and night).

So if that messy filling is your life, The PIES Method is that buttery lattice crust — carefully arranged across the top to hold it all together.

The basic framework of The PIES Method is what I call “The Core Four”. These are the four systems we all need to stay organized, and they look like this:

✅ Project Management System: Organizes the big picture. Use it for recurring tasks and ongoing projects.

🗃️ Information Management System: Preserves your personal knowledge. Use it for gathering and organizing information.

📝 Execution Management System: Creates synergy between all systems. Use it to focus and encourage your brain to take action.

📅 Schedule Management System: Organizes your time and obligations. Use it for things that are time specific.

The existence of PIES isn’t meant to imply that you won’t have MORE than these four systems — most people will.

But what I’ve found is that when someone is feeling disorganized it’s almost a guarantee that they are missing at least one of The Core Four. When we go back to basics to ensure these four systems are in place and functioning properly, we are much better equipped to maintain all the systems required for our life and work.

If you’ve felt frustrated by digital organization, I hope The PIES Method might work better for you because most of the existing methods:

1. Were created by (white) men in leadership roles, whose experiences with work and organization are often vastly different from the rest of the workforce, and also often shaped by their experience of having the free labor of a wife at home.

2. Were designed for large companies and organizations and can be hard to apply to our personal projects, small businesses, home/family management, remote teams, or entrepreneurship.

3. Were developed for older technologies and then adapted in ways that have not kept up with the fast-paced changes (many of which were accelerated during the pandemic).

Who is The PIES Method For?

I consider The PIES Method to be for Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) — which means it’s a method that all of us can (and should!) be using.

Depending on what you do for work, you might also be able to use the same systems established through PIES to manage your work (like I do!), but this will vary.

Don’t feel like just because you work a traditional 9-5 that requires that you use a set of specific tools (Trello, Slack, Dropbox etc.) that a method like PIES is irrelevant for you! Ensuring you have a solid PKM in place can help you navigate more complex systems at work, more easily change roles or jobs, and feel more balance between your personal life and work.

Next Steps

Over the next few weeks, my posts will focus on The PIES Method. I’ll introduce you to one system per post (Project, Information, Execution, and Schedule!), explain what I personally use, and provide simple steps to help you get started.

At the end, you’ll hopefully feel like you understand PIES, that your digital life is organized, and that you have habits and routines in place to maintain your systems moving forward.

I’ll see you later this week for our first lesson: PIES: Establishing a Project Management System ✅. See ya then!