My Productivity System

People stay productive in many different ways. There are hundreds of systems, theories and techniques available out there for people to utilise in order to aid their productivity. Everybody has their own system that works for them; whether you follow a rigid GTD system complete with a dizzying array of gadgets, or you make a to-do list on a fresh piece of paper each morning; having a system is paramount – as long as it works for you.

As somebody who is continually looking to improve productivity levels, I am always on the look-out for new and fresh ideas to help me stay on top of my productivity game. The productivity system that I have in place at the moment has me working at my most efficient and at my most productive that I have ever been, and is held together by a number of scheduled tasks and behaviours that ensure I remain at the top of my game!

This article will go through the basics of my current productivity system and why I think it works.

Note: I don’t follow one particular way of doing things; instead, I have picked up certain techniques and routines over the years which have now combined to form a pretty rigid system that works for me. Note however that this is a personal system – you may find that you could never work like this. However, it is still worthwhile to find out how others work, if only to help you decide what wouldn’t work for you!

1. WEEKLY ROUNDUP

The first, and I would say, most important, part of my productivity system is the Weekly Roundup. Borrowed from the GTD system, every Sunday afternoon, I take 30 minutes, a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and attempt to write down all of the tasks that are currently living in my head. To help me make sure that I have captured all of the items, I use the very handy 43 Folders Trigger List as well as a list of Projects that I keep in Omnifocus. By going through each trigger and project systematically, I make sure that I have written down every possible task for each trigger/project that I need to start/finish – whether the tasks are already written down or whether I have just stored the task mentally. There is often overlap with to-do items that I have already written down – but thats okay, because it means I am being thorough. I write down every task that I have been mentally processing that week; errands, things I need to buy, to do, deadlines, meetings, things I need to read etc, no matter how trivial the item seems to be. Once I have written all of these tasks down – I then feel that my brain is completely empty – I KNOW that every possible thing that I need to be doing, is written down on that sheet of paper and I am not holding on to anything in my brain. I find doing this weekly ‘mind-dump’ really helpful in weeding out all those items that tend to lurk in the back of my mind unarticulated, and which I often find myself subconsciously thinking over and worrying about remembering. And it is a fantastic feeling to be rid of all of that mind clutter.

2. OMNIFOCUS

Once all my tasks are out on paper, I then get to work processing each task into its appropriate place. All items that I have written down have to be processed on somewhere – and most of the time this means that all my tasks are inputted into Omnifocus with a due date and under a specific project.

I am an avid, and some would say obsessive, user of Omnifocus. Omnifocus is a personal task management system, which allows you to easily input and access your tasks so you can stay on top of all the things you need to do. Another post will soon be forthcoming going into Omnifocus in more detail, so I won’t go too in depth about its features here. Instead, I’ve got some screenshots which show how I process the items from the Weekly Round-Up into Omnifocus, and how this really helps me in my day to day productivity.

Lets take an example item of ‘Print out the Focus Group Article’. This would be an example of something that I realise I need to do during my Weekly Round-Up and that is written on my piece of paper. I then need to process this To-Do item into Omnifocus because I don’t want to do it right there and then, I want to do it at a later date, but I still want to be able to remember that I need to do it! So I make an entry in Omnifocus, making it very explicit as to what the actual To-Do item is. I have the option to assign a Project to the item, to make finding it easier later on. I decide I want to put it under my ‘UX Research’ project. I can also assign the task a Context, again to make categorising and searching easier. I put it under ‘Work’. Finally, I can assign the task a Due Date. As I want to have this task completed by tomorrow, I can write ‘Tomorrow’ or tomorrow’s date under the Due Date.

So now I have something looking like this:

This is an example of a processed To-Do item from my Weekly Round-Up that is now immortalised in my Omnifocus, guaranteeing that I shall not forget it! Mission Accomplished. I can now enter all my other written tasks this way, assigning each a Project, Context and Due Date for excellent categorisation. I can then view all my tasks in different ways; for example, I can view my tasks by Due Date:

The fantastic thing about the Due Date view is that Omnifocus gives you an excellent idea of what you need to accomplish that day, what you urgently need to accomplish (overdue items) and an overview of what you will be needing to accomplish in the coming days – this is an excellent aid for time management.

You can also sort your items by Project. Here is a screenshot of my current Project set-up. The Red and Orange icons next to some of the projects mean that I have overdue or due items waiting in that project. This is useful when you need to make decisions about prioritising projects over one another.

Finally, you can see all your Overdue To-Do items in the Dock. Here you can see I have 4 overdue tasks waiting for me – a constant reminder of what I need to be getting on with!

Once all my items have been categorised appropriately into Omnifocus, I feel safe in the knowledge that I am not forgetting or missing anything, and that I will be able to complete all my tasks in a timely and efficient manner. Of course, putting tasks into Omnifocus is not just a weekly endeavour. I enter tasks into Omnifocus whenever they come about. The Weekly Round-Up is just a way to be sure that I have not missed anything, and also a way to review the tasks that have been sitting in my Omnifocus overdue for too long.

3. WEEKLY REVIEW

This brings us to #3 – the Weekly Review. At the same time as the Weekly Round-Up, I also like to review all my tasks, to make sure that the due dates are still appropriate and that nothing is stagnating. This is important to make sure that nothing is just being put off or ignored, that I haven’t made any errors in data entry, and to give me a sense of what I have coming in the forthcoming weeks that I may have forgotten about. It is really important as part of any Productivity system that you keep a weather eye on the full picture and not just focus on what you have to do that day. Otherwise your time management will go out of the window! By reviewing my upcoming tasks weekly, I get a sense of this whole picture and can better plan my time.

4. DESK CLEANING

It is incredibly important to me that my work area remains clear and tidy. Each morning I tidy my desk, and each evening I give it a little clean and another tidy. These 10 minute behaviours really keep my productivity up by ensuring that I always know where things are so that I do not need to expend precious time searching for things. More importantly, I really find that working in a clean space ensures that I think clearer and better. Surrounded by clutter, I often find my mind wandering and the urge to procrastinate overtaking me. But when my environment is clean, I find myself raring to go and up for any challenges the day throws at me!

5. EATING BREAKFAST

Another behaviour that really aids my productivity levels is Eating Breakfast. It has been scientifically proven that eating a good, nutritious breakfast pumps up concentration levels and I definitely find this to be true. On days where I get up early and eat a healthy breakfast, I find myself powering through the morning and feeling great. I don’t want to have snack breaks and I do not experience energy level dips. Breakfast is king! Waking up that little bit early is a small price to pay. And if you are one of those lucky people that get awesome breakfasts provided for you at work, there is absolutely no excuse not to chow down!

6. NOT FORCING IT

Finally, the last behaviour that is vital in maintaining my productivity system is the ability to learn when I work best. When I was younger, I used to think that I had to work at all hours of the day to feel like I had accomplished something. It wasn’t until I reached University that I realised that although I was punishing myself by slogging from the early morning to the evening, I really wasn’t getting too much done at certain times of the day. For me, the hours of 1pm – 5pm are the worst hours of the day productivity-wise. Those hours are the times that I will find myself checking Twitter every 5 minutes, logging onto Facebook, and wandering aimlessly round! I realised that it would be much more productive to not force myself to work in the hours that I know I am not productive. Since this realisation, I now work hard in the hours I know I can kill it in – from early morning to lunchtime and early evening to late at night, and during the hours of 1-5pm, this time is used as relaxation and to do chores. Finding ways to order your time to best suit how you work is an art form, but once you hit on a routine that works, you will never look back!

These are just some of the behaviours and routines that I have put in place over the years to keep me working hard and efficiently. What are your favourite tips to stay productive?

In the next Productivity post:

- A more in-depth look at Omnifocus, including: an overview of what Omnifocus is and does, some of its niftiest features, and an explanation of how I integrate it into my everyday productivity system

- Making the most of Productivity apps; the best of online tools and apps designed to boost productivity rounded up!