Alright, so let me tell you about this whole Cole Matthew thing I went through. You know how it is, someone pops up online, and suddenly they’re the guru for, well, pretty much everything. I kept seeing the name, Cole Matthew, everywhere. People talking about his methods, his insights. I figured, okay, let’s give this a look.
I’m always up for trying new ways to get things done, maybe make life a bit smoother. So, I dived in. Watched some videos, read a couple of blog posts attributed to this Cole Matthew. He had this system, sounded pretty slick on the surface. Lots of fancy terms, you know, the usual stuff that makes you think, “Wow, this guy’s got it all figured out!”
So, I decided to actually put it into practice. My big experiment with the Cole Matthew way. First thing, I tried to overhaul my daily planning. He had this super detailed schedule. I mean, down to the minute. My to-do list became this monster of precision.
- I got those special highlighters he talked about – every task a different color. My desk looked like a rainbow exploded.
- Then, I tried his “focused work blocks” with mandatory “decompression breaks” in between. Sounds reasonable, right?
- He also pushed this idea of journaling every tiny achievement. Every. Single. One.
I really gave it a go. For a solid week, I was all in on the Cole Matthew experience. I told myself, “Stick with it, maybe it just takes time to get used to.”
What Actually Happened
Well, here’s the honest truth. It was a disaster. I spent more time managing the system than actually doing any real work. My stress levels? Through the roof. I was constantly checking the clock, worried I was falling behind on his super-strict schedule. The journaling part? It felt forced, like I was trying to convince myself I was being productive when I was mostly just… busy.
This Cole Matthew approach, I think it’s made for a different kind of person, or maybe a different kind of life. A life where nothing unexpected ever happens. No sudden phone calls, no urgent emails throwing a wrench in the works. My days just aren’t like that. I bet most people’s aren’t.
It felt like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. I was so focused on following all the rules – the colors, the timings, the little notes – that my actual output, the stuff that matters, it just nosedived. I ended up feeling more frazzled than focused.
So, after that week, I had a good, long think. And you know what? I scrapped most of it. I did keep a couple of small things, like using different colored pens for different project notes, ’cause that’s actually kinda helpful for my brain. But the rigid structure, the obsessive tracking? Gone. Out the window.
I went back to my own way of doing things. It’s not perfect, it’s a bit messy sometimes, but it works for me. And I’m actually getting stuff done again, without feeling like I’m constantly failing some guru’s ideal. So yeah, that was my adventure with the Cole Matthew method. Interesting experiment, but I’m glad it’s over.
