My personal productivity system

The book Getting Things Done by David Allen changed the way I work. I went from having no productivity system to one I could grow into. GTD was as simple (or complex) as I wanted it to be.

But I never truly implemented GTD. Not on a grand scale, anyway. It helped me realize I needed to write everything down and work through everything on my todo list(s) equally.

Then, Unclutterer made a post about WSD. What’s the WSD system?

Write Stuff Down.

And then it dawned on me.

I’ve never really used GTD. On my own, I reduced GTD down to WSD (with some light GTD elements).

And it’s really that simple. For the WSD system to work you need only remember this simple sentence.

Capture everything immediately.

What does that mean? It’s simple:

Your brain isn’t made for remembering. It’s made for doing.

My 17 year old has proven to me that the brain isn’t made for remembering. It’s made to do. To create, to diagnose, to digest, to inspect, to contemplate.

How often have you said to yourself, “boy, I need to remember to do that.” And I bet you forget nearly every time to do that thing, too. I know I do.

But not if I capture everything immediately. When I know I need to do something, I have to write it down, right now. If I wait to write it down, I’ll forget. The system works when I write my task(s) down immediately.

You see, the only thing that breaks the system is me not using it.

Honestly, the hardest part is training yourself to write things down the moment you think of them. Get past this and you’re on the road to amazing productivity.

So, how can you start using WSD today? It’s simple:

1. Get a pocket sized notebook.*
2. Get a pen or pencil.*
3. Carry them with you everywhere.
4. Capture everything immediately.
5. Work through your list from oldest to newest, skipping nothing. Don’t put off the unfun stuff. Treat every item with equal importance.

PROTIP: Don’t write down anything that can be done in less than two minutes. Do those things right now.

Then, at least once a day, review your notebook. Cross things off as you get them done. If a task seems too daunting, break it down into small, (and, if necessary, smaller) manageable steps.

It’s that simple.

Tell me all about how you stay organized and productive.

*I use Evernote on my BlackBerry for these two steps.

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