Things I’m Avoiding Doing December Challenge Day Nine – What a Cool Productivity Tool!
Have you ever noticed how much we love the idea of a good productivity tool? In fact, I suspect the open rate for today’s email was noticeably higher than for the rest of the series as it sounds like I’m going to tell you the magic bullet answer to all of your productivity problems for the low, low price of only $9.99 for the basic package, $49.99 for the advanced version, or $99.99 for the super-deluxe package.
And if so, I apologize for the deception. But the problem with most time productivity tools and time management systems, or so it seems to me, is that they take as much or more time to manage as it would take to just do the tasks they’re designed to track.
That’s not to say tools can’t help – I’m a big fan of Google calendar and Superhuman email and am playing around with a cool thing on Trello called “Be Current”.
But ultimately, the only measure of a productivity tool is whether or not it makes you more productive. And for most of us, a pen and paper or the notes app on our phones is more than enough to handle the number one challenge in getting stuff done.
As productivity guru Dave Allen says:
“The stress [of getting things done] is not from having too much to do; it’s from not knowing what it is.”
He goes on to say:
“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
So here’s your cool productivity tool – no charge:
Get your to-do lists out of your head (in any way that appeals) so you can bring a relatively quiet and spacious mind to getting them done in the world.
Have fun, learn heaps, and happy exploring!
With all my love,
PS – Today’s message was a response to a Topic Request on the group forum. If you’d like me to address your “Things I’m Avoiding Doing” questions, put them in a post with the header Topic Request and I’ll do my best to incorporate some thoughts into a future email!