I’ve played with many “productivity systems” over the years. It seems like I can only stick with one “system” for so long before it becomes too cluttered or too difficult and I have to start fresh with something new and interesting.
However, there are a few constants that seem to help me to be the most productive, regardless of what my overall system looks like. I keep coming back to these few things. They seem to “click” with the way my brain works.
Using a Physical Notebook
Of course I use digital tools to track everything. But I also find that having a physical notebook as part of the system is actually really helpful.
I think there is something about using my hands to write things down, and especially getting that little “dopamine hit” when I check off a checkbox, that makes things just a little bit more motivating when they’re written down. These days, I list out priorities for the week in my notebook (checking them off as I go) as well as a few of my most important tasks for each day.
Overall, I track things in an online tool (I happen to use Notion right now, but that could change, it has several times before), but having the physical notebook as something that I interact with on a daily basis seems to be a constant for me.
Weekly Reviews
When I fall out of the habit of doing weekly reviews, I get overwhelmed pretty quickly. And when I set up too “heavy” of a ritual for those weekly reviews, then I stop doing them, and I get overwhelmed and disorganized.
Doing a weekly review of goals, priorities, projects, and tasks is crucial. When I’m in the habit of doing it, I feel better about myself and my work. This is something important to realize about myself, to make sure that I always make time for the review.
Using my Calendar for my Daily To-Do List
Yep, you read that right. Although I do write a few daily tasks in my notebook, generally I aim to work from my calendar instead of a list.
I find that it keeps me more “realistic” with what I can do in a day. Once you have to start allotting time slots to things that you want to do, you quickly realize that there are only so many hours in a day, and you need to start prioritizing.
There is a danger with this, though. You can pretty easily book your day quite full, and not leave time for breaks, down time, etc. Eventually I’ve learned to carve out certain times on the calendar for things that might not be considered “productive” in the traditional sense, but are important for my health and relationships.
In general, though, I find the calendar a great way to limit myself and be realistic with what I can do in a given day. Sometimes I don’t get it all done, but it definitely forces me to prioritize and limit what I take on to a realistic amount.
So that’s it. There are a bunch of other things I do to be productive and effective, but these three things seem to keep coming back, no matter what system I move to. Maybe they will be helpful for you too!
