The Study of Productivity

When it comes to time managment systems, I have wondered about the percentage of people who:

• use only paper
• use only electronic
• use a combination
• have no time management system

I couldn’t find any statistics on this, but in an article I read awhile back a good percentage of 61 productivity experts used a combination, or hybrid system. Everyone is different, and what really matters is to come up with a productivity system that works for you.

Still, it is fun to see how others manage their time, and sometimes you can even get ideas that will work for you. You can learn from reading and studying about productivity, so that is okay as long as you do not spend all day doing it!

image from openclipart.org

Read about:

• The different types of time managment systems used by experts:
  • David Allen mostly uses paper according to an article at Lifehacker-The Tools David Allen Uses to Get Things Done. See also common tools at gettingthingsdone.com
  • Beginner’s Guide to Task Management from Michael Hyatt (Evernote & Nozbe)
  • Michael Sliwinski, founder of Nozbe and editor of Productive magazine
  • Mike Vardy, the Productivityist, uses Evernote and Todoist
  • Craig Jarrow, the Time Management Ninja, has used several. Most recently Todosit.
  • How Celes at PersonalExcellence does things
  • And Gina Trapani, founder of Lifehacker
  • The Daily PlanIt Keep It Super Simple System (mostly Google based) and how I set up my workspace
• Time management tips at success.com: Top of Mind: How Do You Stay Productive?
• Books about productivity and time management.
• Routines: see articles at Run Your Day Like an Athlete and A Daily Routine. Routines of creative people at A Time Audit.

Look at:

• The Daily PlanIt course on Boosting Productivity. (or the free tutorial Time management 101)
• Videos about productivity and time management.
• An infographic based on research in productivity at Optimize Your Day with the Science of Productivity.
• Ideas on Pinterest and pictures of different workspaces.
• Printable tools.

It can be a lot more enjoyable to spend time learning about productivity than to actually act on the information. Keep in mind the ratio of time spent studying vs. the number of ideas you find that will work for you. Try setting a limit on the amount of time on these activities so you can focus on getting the important stuff done.

About dailyplanit

I seek to create order from the chaos of complex information. Join me at the Daily PlanIt to gain insights, inspiration, and information to increase skills for a better life. I unlock the power of teaching reading with phonics in the pursuit of literacy at www.phonicspow.com. In my spare time I explore books and movies, often choosing titles available on both screen and page.