"I'd like the The Holy Grail of Productivity™, please."
"I'd like the The Holy Grail of Productivity™, please."
With a side order of superiority complex, thank you.
Remember: Toxic productivity is out, productivity optimism is in. More on this in last week’s newsletter.
Any real ability to get sh*t done is just a reflection of your ability to build a system that works for you.
There’s no killer platform, bullet journal, or organising system that will turn you into a person who always completes your to-do list.
You’d be forgiven for thinking there is. There’s an insane number of apps, tools, ads, and videos all promising the secret to being productive (and selling their “holy grails” of life and work efficiency). But approaching YOUR system like this is like nailing Jell-O to a wall. Messy and demoralising.
Instead, you have to start with yourself. Self-knowledge is the only way through.
And on that note: We talked last week about how to come up with a list of programs or apps to try based on what’s important to you.
This week, we’re giving a helping hand to your productivity optimist by lightly diving into five of the most popular ones. (Don’t worry, nothing prescriptive - we’ll give you some prompts so you can decide if it’s for you).
1. Pen and paper
Any notes are better than no notes - and a low-tech backup keeps you safe in case you tend to lose passwords, drop laptops, throw your phone into the ocean, etc. It’s a good addition to nearly any system, even if you just keep it in your bag in case your laptop dies (or if you’re the only one in a meeting with a laptop and you start to feel watched).
Question for you: Do you have to share your notes regularly with other people? Would keeping them offline mean you have to find time to type/upload them on a daily basis? And - would keeping handwritten notes help stay focused on a task at hand (vs. a digital scratchpad, which is only a few clicks away from checking an inbox during a meeting?)
2. Apple Notes
We heavily rely on this for our personal life, including shared shopping lists, household to-do lists, and more. Additionally, it's a fantastic tool for Apple users to jot down notes, thoughts, and information they'd like to access across multiple devices.
Question for you: Are you an Android user? Then this probably isn’t for you, but Google Keep might be. Do you tend to remember things you need to do when you’re on the go/not in front of a computer or notebook? Do you remember to check the lists you make on the go, or do you need reminders as well (if so, see Slack below).
3. Notion
We could write endlessly about Notion. We run four separate companies on the platform and wouldn’t know what to do without it. We even have a Notion for our life/house to maintain references for everything (yes, we're that nerdy), but it genuinely simplifies life. It’s a platform of databases and pages, so it’s never been easier for us to keep track of what we do, keep notes, and see it all in whatever way works for our brain the best (as a calendar, as a to do list, as a Kanban board, etc). One of the reasons we love it is what once took hours every Friday (planning) now only takes a morning, and compiling all end-of-month reports, which used to take a week, is now done in a day.
The ability to effortlessly separate, yet keep tabs, on each company, and consequently, the type of work, has been crucial in keeping them organized in our minds.
We have a few Notion templates we love that we’ve customised into what works for us - stay tuned.
Questions for you: How much do you like Excel or Google Sheets (or how much do you not like them). Since Notion is based on databases (i.e., grouped pieces of information), if you aren’t a fan of these platforms, Notion might feel overwhelming at first. But on the flip side: How much do you like emojis and customisation (i.e., aesthetics)? Being able to give your pages emojis and add cover backgrounds makes for a nice and organised working place.
4. Slack
A great communication tool in its own right. And if you can get it synced with Notion and Gmail to do stuff automatically - you’re living the dream.
Slack is our “talk to me” workspace - meaning we don’t have to have Notion and Gmail and Slack and Messages and WhatsApp and all other kinds of programs open while, you know, trying to work.
Slack also lets you send notes to yourself, save messages for later, and set reminders. This means you do not have to interrupt your workflow to add something to a list or jot down a note.
Another useful aspect of Slack for us is reactions, which we use to tag and send messages to different channels. We store all our “stuff to be reviewed” and achievements in two channels, and to make sure they get captured there, we simply react with a ✏️ or 🏆.
Best part of all: It means when we talk about work, it’s being talked about in a workspace where everyone in our team can see it (no gatekeeping allowed - we’ve talked about this before - here it is, if you need a reminder about why NOT to feed the animals).
Question for you: Does your workplace already have Slack? Because if not, then it’s hard to adopt this one. If you’re a business owner, do you have more than one person on staff (i.e., besides you?), otherwise Slack might just be an expensive way to talk to yourself. And last one: How distracted are you by notifications? If you have Slack at work, but you find the day draining away with messages, then it probably shouldn’t be the foundational piece of your system.
5. 1Password
Half of getting yourself into a flow/system/process that works is making sure you don’t have to rebuild it all if an email gets hacked. Seriously, if you are not using a password manager, sign up for one TODAY. Today.
We like 1password because it has a Chrome extension (so you can easily input passwords while working); it has a 2Factor authentication feature (so you don’t have to use apps on your phone - you can get codes directly from 1password and it autofills); and it works across phones, computers and browsers, so you spend FAR less time trying to get into your systems and more time using them (and then more time NOT using them and living your life).
Question for you: How many platforms and logins are using THAT old password of yours? You know the password I mean - the one that, if it were a human, it would be old enough to drink.
New menu week is one of the best and worst weeks in a kitchen. After months of painstakingly perfecting our routines, processes, and systems to make the dishes on the old menu, we have to throw them all out and build new ones for NEW dishes on the NEW menu.
Best of all, we have to do it quickly - because dinner service begins in a few hours and it turns out people like to order food off the menu in front of them (not the old one they can’t see).
All to say: I know it’s hard to introduce new ways of doing things, and it feels easier to stick with what you know. But it costs you time, money, and often your creativity to keep doing the same old stuff the same old way. If you can get through the slog of building a system, then all that’s left to do is enjoy the flow it brings to you.
Until the next time the menu changes, anyway.
Good luck out there,
Peter