Productivity is a Four Letter Word 🤬

When it comes to finding time for things, we all hit the same wall - there are only so many hours in the day, but so many things that we want to accomplish.

An entire industry has been formed around maximizing your time and it seems like every day some new fancy app comes out that tries to take them all on, and with it a flurry of "productivity influencers" sharing their thoughts in videos and elsewhere.

When the fuck is it going to stop?

The Problem

To escape the risk of just going down a rabbit hole of productivity and rehashing the same shit people have been doing for decades, let's just focus on a few things.

1. Principles to help you be more productive are relatively universal
2. Each person has different things that work for them
3. Optimizing before beginning can lead to delays and missing the point entirely

A lot of these gurus and experts make entire careers off of trying to convince you that they have it mastered. The sell is simple - you have untapped potential just waiting to be taken advantage of, and as a productivity expert if you watch and listen to what I say about it, you'll change your life and unlock the hidden secrets to being successful.

Of course things can always improve, but how in the hell do these guy sell book after book after book or publish YouTube videos years on end? The answer is obvious - it's just another snake oil salesman operating under the guise of helping you improve your psychology.

The more online centered producitiviturds revel in the constant stream of apps trying to do the same thing and capitalize on this niche with some top contenders but anything and everything is always up for the taking.

The Deluge

If you ever had the displeasure of being on YouTube in the past few years, you've been slammed in the face with Notion. Using it for planning out a YouTube channel research and filming schedule, creating a personal life dashboard, a database of movies and book reviews, you name it. There was always one thing that was certain though-

Every person who touted it as a silver bullet just happened to be selling templates for it.

Hmm, what are the odds of that? Or less cynically, of course they would sell templates for this overcomplicated software that if you juuuuuuuust set it up right would transform your life. You can even create a wholly digital "Second Brain" in it! Imagine the possibilities!

Herein lies the problem - There really isn't any all-in-one solution, and the more complex you go into trying to make it work the more you end up compromising just so everything is altogether and in one system.

Oh yeah, that cool app I just sold you on and you can rock it with just a template or two that I am selling - we'll connect everything to a whole flow system of apps! That's right, an interconnected web of sharing and moving from my primary idea text editor, to my professional text editor, to a publishing plugin in another app that sends it immediately to my blog!

The referrals and affiliate programs don't ever end, do they?

And why am I so bothered by this anyways?

I was one of the dupes who bought into this years ago. I thought all of these people have gotten successful talking about productivity, and if I followed their advice I could also transform my own life. The reality is much more ridiculous though - the people who become successful selling productivity really only know how to sell productivity. They aren't doing the productivity stuff on the side, they are literally practicing productivity to develop productivity frameworks and guides to tell you more about productivity.

The Solution

Keep It Simple, Stupid

You don't need to develop an overcomplicated system, and you don't need to plan everything out to the smallest detail.

The two biggest things you can do to become successful are:

1. Just do the thing
2. Keep it simple

Working on setting up a photography business? No amount of Notion dashboards are going to take those pictures you need. Trying to do more in a day? Don't time block every blank space on your calendar, but just write down a todo list and, well, do them.

When it comes to digital aids, there is still something to be said about the ease of inputting and accessing information. That's why I keep things down to a few simple components:

1. Todo list app.
   1. I personally use Things 3, which prioritizes just simple list keeping and todo lists and can pull in Reminders and calendar events too.
2. Note taking app.
   1. I go between two of them, one being Apple Notes and the other being Craft. I use Apple Notes for how quick it is to add simple notes, and with upcoming updates should become more of a powerhouse.
   2. Craft is great for creating visually appealing documents or notes, and organizing them well too. You can publish them online if you want to, along with a whole list of features. Again to me the real value is in the simplicity of creating aesthetically pleasing notes.
3. Calendar app.
   1. After bouncing between a lot, I found that the default Apple Calendar works just fine. Most people utilize Google Calendar, and that one works great too. Really anything that gives you a good idea of the events going on in the easiest way possible wins.
4. Habits app.
   1. Originally I tried using my todo list app for habits, but I don't think having something due really gels well with trying to set up a new way to live your life. I did enjoy Streaks when I was using it but have found that Awesome Habits hits the mark for me a little better.

That's it. You can even cut out some of these if you feel you manage your time pretty well, or have other ways of keeping track of things. Got a physical calendar that works for you? Awesome. Don't go dropping $30/month on a calendar that automatically reads your emails and suggests creating events and Zoom calls and DoorDash integration and Uber pickup directions and and and and you get the picture.

Keep it simple, keep it light, and try not to get swallowed by the productivity beast.