Returning to peak productivity
- I’ve been a productivity nerd since I first heard of the GTD system on a podcast in 2012. Prior to that, I never considered that the way I structure work can help me get more done in less time while NOT being stressed about all the things I had on my plate.
- Over the last few years my life and the kind of work I performed drastically changed and somewhere along the way I lost sight of my productivity goals and systems. I still always had it in my periphery, but I stopped being disciplined in keeping my systems clear and the worst side effect of that was constantly feeling on edge with my workload.
- I recognized this in late 2024 so I committed to building back towards a streamlined system of doing work, not in the spirit of doing more, but in performing at my best while minimiizing stress levels.
- So here is a rundown of the systems I have in place after two working weeks in to 2025.
A GTD Primer
The GTD system by David Allen is still the cornerstone of how I have things laid out. If you are unfamiliar with the system and care about being productive with your work, I highly recommend picking up the book. Here is a quick primer of the system though:
- Collect - Find simple ways to collect tasks and ideas that come into your life.
- Clarify - Define what needs to be done with the stuff you collect, with single task items going on a task list, and multi step tasks going on a project list.
- Organize - Park next actions on appropriate places so you know everything you need to or can do in a particular context.
- Reflect - Review your stuff regularly.
- Do - Get the S*** done.
- I used to be productive, I lost it in pursuit of trying to do too much with lack of focus and planning
- I started rebuilding my systems the way I used to use them
- Introducing new behaviors