The Mess I Was In Before I Started Writing “Advice”
Look, I’m just going to be straight up with you all. This whole “Weekly Pisces Advice” thing that I’ve been running for the last two years? It isn’t some slick digital product or a fancy AI-driven optimizer. It’s just me, a battered old notebook, and a system I scraped together when my life was about to fall apart.
I tried every single high-tech solution out there. I downloaded those beautiful task managers, I signed up for those $20-a-month productivity suites, I even bought one of those stupid digital planners that were supposed to sync across everything. None of it stuck. It didn’t stick because those systems were built for people who already had their act together. Me? I was a complete disaster.
I decided I needed something so basic, so low-friction, that I couldn’t possibly mess it up. I pulled out an old leather-bound journal—one I’d actually used to doodle in ten years ago. I wrote the first page in messy handwriting, and I labeled it: “Pisces Weekly Focus: Week 1.” It was just a joke at first, a funny way to frame my goals since I needed any excuse to actually look at the page.
The Day I Realized I Was Totally Drowning
You want to know why this system exists? It wasn’t a sudden burst of inspiration while sipping expensive coffee. It was panic. Pure, unadulterated panic.
It was about three years ago. I was juggling three different freelance contracts—a ghostwriting gig, some front-end work for a tiny startup, and running social media for a local baker. I was scrambling every single day. My calendar was supposed to keep track of everything, but I swear, looking at that digital grid just made my eyes water. I remember sitting at my kitchen table, which was covered in dirty plates because I hadn’t had time to clean in three days, and I was supposed to be sending the baker’s new campaign to him.
Instead, I accidentally attached the ghostwriting draft—a super confidential project—to the baker’s email. It was a complete professional catastrophe. I screamed, literally, and slammed the laptop shut. I realized in that moment I wasn’t just tired; I was completely unmanaged. I was costing myself money, clients, and my reputation. I knew if I didn’t implement a structure that minute, I was going to lose everything I’d worked for. My savings were almost gone, and missing one client payment meant serious trouble. That sheer terror is what drove me to the notebook.
Implementing the Brutally Simple System
So, that Sunday night, I started the first official entry. I forced myself to follow three rules.
Rule 1: The Brain Dump.
I dumped out every single task that was bouncing around my skull. Doesn’t matter how small, how stupid, or how long it would take. I just scribbled it down until my hand hurt. This usually filled two full pages. I hated this step; it made the chaos visible.
Rule 2: The Three Big Fish.
I scanned that huge list and circled only three things. Three absolute, non-negotiable tasks that had to be completed by Friday. If I did nothing else that week, those three things had to be done. I used a thick Sharpie so I couldn’t argue with myself later. This was the core “Pisces Advice” for the week.
Rule 3: The Daily Tick-Off.
Each day, I split the day into three blocks: Morning, Lunch-to-Afternoon, and Evening. I assigned specific chunks of time to those three Big Fish tasks. Crucially, I did not allow myself to start anything else until the assigned chunk was completed. I tracked success with a simple checkmark next to the time slot. If I got distracted and spent 30 minutes scrolling social media during a work block? I wrote a big fat ‘X’ and tallied the lost time at the end of the day.
What I Learned After Tracking for Weeks
I want to be clear: the first few weeks were rough. I missed deadlines. I got frustrated and almost threw the journal away three times. But because it was physical and I had to look at those red ‘X’s, I started seeing the reality of my terrible habits.
- I realized I wasted a minimum of two hours every morning just “getting ready” to work.
- I noticed that every time I put a Big Fish task in the afternoon slot, it never got done. Mornings were my only shot.
- I discovered that the tiny, two-minute tasks (like responding to a quick email) were actually the biggest disruptors, constantly pulling my focus away from the Big Fish.
I used this raw data to refine the system. I implemented a strict “no small tasks before noon” rule. I pushed the brain dump further, making sure I wasn’t just listing projects, but breaking them down into 30-minute actions.
It’s been two years now. The panic has subsided, but the system remains. It’s simple, it’s cheap, and it delivered the stability I needed when the expensive apps failed me. So yeah, that’s how the “Pisces Advice” was born—not out of wisdom, but out of sheer, terrifying necessity. Go grab a notebook and start tracking your chaos; it’s the only way to tame it.
