I spend a lot of time thinking about how best to get stuff done, and remember what the stuff is that I need to get done. If there’s a productivity system, I’ve probably attempted to use it at some point, or at least read a bunch about other people using it. No I don’t use learning about productivity as an excuse to not actually be productive, of course not!
Sometimes, the only way I can prioritise is using Analogue productivity systems like bullet journalling or scraps of paper on my desk, but I spend so much time with computers that I usually end up getting drawn back to digital systems.
This topic is really broad for me, covering everything from picking a task manager to managing digital files, journalling and note-taking, habits and generally anything that can help me actually get stuff done. Mindset and self-care topics are also important in my attempt to be maximally useful.
This thinking informs a couple of my side projects:
- Flow housework which deals with distributing chores among people in a household, and reminding me to actually do them. It draws loosely on ideas from GTD for managing household projects, and on the way emacs org-mode does rescheduling.
- Herding cats which helps with the fact that I have far too many projects, and far too many sources of things I need to do. Also tiny cats. This makes use of the slight time pressure that comes from countdown timers, and forces me to break down and prioritise tasks before jumping in.
Sources
- Work Clean book by Dan Charnas, discussing mise en place for your life