Explore before you commit
Collect every opportunity in an “Explore” board—ideas, requests, experiments. Score them with lightweight properties such as impact, effort, and alignment. Seeing everything side by side makes it easier to negotiate trade-offs before you say yes.
Make clean, deliberate choices
Once per week, move the standout initiatives into an “Execute” column and archive the rest. Add a short “Why this matters now” note in each chosen card so future-you remembers the intent when distractions resurface. Dotty’s history keeps a record of what you declined and why, reinforcing your filter.
Create buffers and boundaries
Schedule blank space on your calendar just like any other task. In Dotty, tag those blocks as “Buffer” so you can spot overload early. Pair them with boundary checklists—What will I pause? What expectations need a reset?—to keep your commitments realistic and essential.
