You name it, I’ve tried it, used it, read about it, researched it and usually abandoned it.
Productivity tools… sheesh. Life isn’t like a box of chocolates, Mr. Gump.
Why is it that despite the abundance, the plethora… nay the cornucopia of productivity gadgets, widgets and contraptions have failed to stick with me?
Is it that I am too “old school” to embrace these technological wonders? No.
Is it that all of these marvels of innovation are so similar that there are no quantitative or qualitative differences? No. Some of them are downright genius.
The core of the unstickiness is that they usually add unnecessary steps to the productivity process. Adding steps to a process adds fat.
Fat is in diametric opposition to lean. Lean processes are elegant… simple… intuitive.
The “stuff” one must collect and process is already overwhelming for most people. Adding any unnecessary step to a process doesn’t create productivity and peace of mind. It destroys it.
This “process bloat” is especially prevalent of those who have discovered David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology and turned it into religion. We all know what happens when that happens. (Think black uniforms and salutes.)
At the core of GTD is the list… that somewhat linear line-by-line thing that sometimes has checkboxes beside each item. And boy… are there lists of GTD apps… lots and lots and lists.
There are several early mistakes a GTD newbie can make. The biggest one is forgetting that the one of the main purposes of GTD is to foster simplification. Some converts end up focusing so much on the system… on trying to insure that everything… everything… is in its proper place in the workflow that they spend more time managing and less time doing. Although I haven’t asked him (and perhaps I should), I can’t believe this was David Allen’s intent.
As far as “producitivity tools” go, one only needs four components when starting out… something to write with, something to write on, a place to collect stuff and probably a gigantic trash can.
My GTD still focuses on one goal… getting as much done in the course of a day as possible that aligns with my personal vision. I don’t care too much about how pretty the tools are. I don’t care about how cutting edge the tools are. I don’t care about 95% of the stuff that lands in my inbox(es). That 95% is ruthlessly tossed, ignored and deleted. If that happens to annoy, anger or generally piss someone else off, my apologies. These are the people trying to make life more complex… I’ve had quite enough of that for one lifetime. (More on that in another post.)
Ask yourself if the tools you use are adding fat to your process. If they are… ask yourself why you need the tool? What is it about this particular widget that attracted you in the first place? Can you be more effective and productive without it?
If you don’t have great answers to those questions, toss the tool, cut the fat and get back to doing what you need to do… which is… doing.