• I was an OK corporate consultant. Though to be honest most of my best work came from helping key senior management be on top of their own game, using a relatively simple methodology I was always improving (originally developed for myself). They would then come up with more great ideas for their team and even implement them. They'd all get credit and so would I.

• One day I got a call from a State Manager of a corporation. They said their 50 people team is ahead of their targets, but there are the standard problems which he was hoping I could minimise. I said not to pay me for a few days and I'll just chat with various staff, then I'll come back with a proposal. I worked up the gumption to thereafter tell them that I'm not going to fix anything, that I'm just going to help every individual of the team be on top of their own game, with a relatively simple methodology I've developed. Logically, good things will flow thereafter. 

• Luckily the State Manager was exceptional in the way they backed the proposal 100%. It helped they'd been referred to me from someone they trusted, a lot. We offered it to the team as a workplace stress initiative, that was not about massages (though that would be nice), it was about helping you with what you're faced with everyday. Wouldn't it be great if it was easier for you to feel on top, most of the time, most days, plus others in your team are likewise? Wouldn't that make it easier to enjoy our interactions with each other? The team collectively decided to give it a real go.

• Three months later I got this testimonial from the State Manager: "Mark's input transformed our results, achieving substantial productivity gains from existing staff, eliminating overtime and creating a vastly happier workplace. I cannot recommend him too highly." 

• So I knew I was onto something. Even more so when a person who was stressed and crying with their workload when I first met them, was now achieving 70% better performance and came up and gave me a hug for alleviating their stress. They specifically mentioned at work & home, and that their partner wanted to personally thank me. Interestingly, this team member wanted to quit when I first met with them. A year later when I checked in with the team the whole team were still going great.

• I stated earlier, that 2ticks; "underpins all else, like nothing else". You can probably now start to appreciate what I meant. All other great existing & future, skills, training & tools, have much better effect when 'underpinned' by a mere 2ticks. Logically, good things flow. Plus personally, it helps me put a genuine smile on my face more easily. more often.

• I have this brainiac friend and I somewhat stupidly try to take him on every now and then in a debate. This one time, he was saying that people are inherently bad. I was saying that people are inherently good. It went on for ages. The core of what I was saying was that when people are on top of their game and not rushed, the studies have proven we are a lot nicer to our fellow humans. I even quoted some studies and my experience with the 50 people team (detailed above). 

• He said in the overall population, almost everyone has some significant work &/or personal pressures, so the default is that our best qualities are not shining, albeit we're often trying to put on a reasonable front. He was saying that our default is one of selfishness and when under pressure that is more so. 

• Ultimately, this debate had a profound influence on my lifetime quest of liberating frontal lobes as 'simply' as practically possible, to enable our best qualities to naturally flourish.

The elements within the Solution (see menu item) are fundamental and essentially irrefutable. Whereas, the following Tips are non-essential and will sound like blah blah if not relevant to you. Please contact me if you want any ideas on how to flex a tip to your specific situation. The tips are designed to be read in order.

Filtering Appointments

• For actual appointments with people (meetings, classes, training, doctors, etc), in person or online, I close them out promptly as they finish and capture any key matters (onto my action lists) that are not already captured. On my computerised Calendar I then change the old appointment's colour to grey, so at the end of the day I can see at a glance that all meetings have been closed out well. If you can't change the colour (or don't have a similarly effective visual solution), just mentally close it out for a few seconds and move on.  

• You've probably gathered by now that I'm a strong believer in the computerised Calendar, so if you're still using a trusted physical diary perhaps it's time to make the change, as most e-Calendars ultimately became awesome. I personally use Google Calendar, it's free, plus if I lost my phone and have to get a new one, then my Calendar magically appears on it. I can also access my Calendar from any of my other devices (laptop, tablet, TV, etc).

Filtering Ideas, Irritants, Feelings

• When I spend a minute doing my 2ticks near the end of my day, regarding the PAST is Filtered; It's easy for me to be certain with respect to ELECTRONIC, PHYSICAL and APPOINTMENT items, as I have simple visual triggers (that I can see at a glance) for them, but I always pause for COGNITIVE items, as they're not as easy to see. I'm excellent these days at capturing key matters from my ideas and chats throughout the day, plus sometimes I can pick up irritant type things during the day and fix or capture them (which calms and re-focuses me), but I still like to pause for a few seconds at days end and consider; "are there are any other irritants or feelings worth capturing right now?"

• When an irritant or idea comes to me whilst driving, I ask my phone's voice assistant to send myself an email, so I can revisit and filter it properly when I'm not driving.

• If I have a potentially overwhelming personal matter (a serious issue with my own physical or mental health, or regarding close family or friends), then capturing the key personal matter, out from my frontal lobe and onto an action list, is a good step forward. Though if it is something that shouldn't wait, then I take action or seek help as soon as I'm aware of it. Pausing for a few seconds daily, as part of my 2ticks, helps.

5 Minutes Filter

• During the day, if a new matter arises and is only going to take me a few seconds to a couple of minutes, then often I just promptly deal with it, but I mostly draw the line at five minutes. If a new matter arises (from any source) and is going to take me longer than 5 minutes to deal with, then unless it is clearly more urgent and important than all else on my plate, it's usually best to promptly capture the matter onto an action list and store the email or paperwork.

• These 5-10 minute matters can often become 15-20 minute matters and can be numerous within a day, stealing your day away from you.  Just because they're new key matters, they should not automatically be more important than all else I already had on my plate for today. Quite often when I later revisit my captured matters, I realize that something in the interim has caused the matter to change, or even sort itself out, so I feel great that I didn't waste 20 minutes on it initially. 

Small Filter Area

• I like to have a clear area just in front of me (a tad more than the width of my chair, through to my computer screen). That is; nothing except my keyboard and the current matter I'm actually working on this minute. This keeps me focused, plus ensures when I store things away from just in front of me, any key outstanding matters are captured beforehand. 

• For example: Even my mobile phone; when I come back to my desk I put it right in front of me briefly, to promptly process any potential loose ends from SMSs etc. Then I put my phone to the rear side of my desk (and on charge if need be).

• For example: If you use a physical notepad, you might grab it when you're on a phone call and place it right in front of you to make notes on. After the phone call, it's best to capture any key outstanding matters from the notepad onto your Future action lists, then place the notepad back to the rear side of the desk.  Likewise with an e-notepad.

Filtering Email Letterbox

• It doesn't matter where you store your emails, so long as you can find things promptly. Plus if corporate policy requires it, client and project files should be utilised.

• I personally use one big storage (archive) folder and utilise the great search tools available these days to find things in an instant. I treat my inbox like a letterbox (as it was designed), with nothing in it older than 24 hours. I turn off reminders for emails and only proficiently visit and filter my inbox 2-6 times a day, 'between' (not during) meetings, key matters and projects. Before moving things outside my inbox, I capture succinctly any key outstanding matters onto my Future action lists and mention how to find the email if needed for further details, then store the email. 

• Some people leave everything in the inbox and have their own way of identifying key matters and tasks. This is fine too, so long as it's manageable and doesn't cause you or others stress. If you want to try the email 'letterbox' (clear) approach but have thousands in your inbox: quickly scan your inbox and capture 5-10 of the most important matters, then make an email folder to store everything, then highlight all your emails and move them into that folder.

• I personally keep most emails (unless absolute rubbish). It's quicker to spend 1 second flicking it to storage, rather than 3 seconds deciding whether to delete.

Assume today is now 5pm on Tuesday the 16th, my Calendar might look somewhat like the above. You can see:

• The meetings for today have all been closed out (greyed), meaning the grey meetings remaining did actually happen today and any relevant Future key matters from those meetings have been captured somewhere. Note: I had closed out (greyed) those meetings as I went during the day, then towards days end I simply 'double-checked' (by just glancing to ensure all meetings for today are grey).

• All personal (purple for me) and work project (orange) group headings are not left behind in the Calendar, but flicked forward to their next appropriate timeslot. The Calendar Future also has real meetings of course (yellow in my case). Note: I moved them forward during the day (as soon as I finished working on them),  then towards days end I simply 'double-checked' that none were left behind (by just glancing to ensure all have been moved forward).

• I have moved my 2ticks appointment to a later time on Thursday due to a later than normal meeting.

• I have just completed and deleted my 2ticks appointment for today. My frontal lobe has trust in this, so it gets a nice freedom feeling. 

Within each day my Calendar is up to date & fluid, so when a key change is required (by choice, not just because something is new or loud), then it's seamless.