“…and the rest will follow.”
One of the simplest things you can do to feel more in control of your productivity is to stop asking your brain to be your storage system.
Your brain is pretty good at having ideas, solving problems, noticing things, and occasionally reminding you at 2:11 AM that you forgot to pay the water bill.
When you try to remember every task, errand, idea, appointment, and random thing you need to look up later, your mind has to keep tapping you on the shoulder: "Don't forget to fix the gate" "You need to email Gary The Clown about a refund" "Buy WD-40" "What was that restaurant Gary recommended?" (different Gary 🤡)
And if it doesn't keep bugging you about those things, there's a decent chance they disappear completely.
That's why one of the best things you can do for your productivity, and probably your sanity, is to set up a system you trust to hold all of that stuff for you.
As David Allen says in Getting Things Done, “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”
There are two basic kinds of things worth getting out of your head:
- Tasks: things you actually need to do. This could be paying the water bill, calling someone back, buying screws for the gate, or sending an email. Some tasks have a due date or need a reminder. Others just need to be handled whenever you have a chance.
- Data: things you may need for future reference. A restaurant recommendation is a good example. So is the name of a contractor someone recommended, a link to a product you may want to buy later, notes from a meeting, or the dimensions you measured for that project you are definitely going to get around to (I'll get to it dear, you don't have to keep reminding me 😀).
A good system does not have to be complicated. It just needs to do a few things:
- Make it easy to capture a task or thought as soon as it comes up.
- Be available wherever you are.
- Remind you about tasks that have deadlines.
- Give you a place to store information you may want to find later.
The specific app matters less than trusting yourself to use it. If adding something takes too much effort, you'll put it off, and then we're right back to relying on our good old brain. And who wants that?
For me, the system I keep coming back to has two main parts:
- Microsoft To Do for tasks. It's where I put calls to make, things to buy, bills to pay, random chores, and the little things that would otherwise keep bouncing around in my head. I use it on my Mac and iPhone, so it is usually nearby when I need it. I can add reminders, notes, and subtasks, and its “My Day” feature gives me a place to choose what I want to focus on today. I also have separate lists for different topics, like things to fix around the house.
- Trello for data and managing larger projects. Trello gives me a place to organize projects, keep notes, make checklists, and store useful things I don't want to lose. Planning a trip, collecting ideas, keeping a list of places I want to go, or tracking all the pieces of a project... It all has a place.
You definitely do not need to use the same tools I use. There are a million task apps out there, and the best one is the one you will actually open and add things to.
The important part is to make it easy to get ALL the tasks and useful information out of your head and into a system you trust.
Once you know your system will remember things for you, your mind can get back to doing what it does best: having ideas, solving problems, and focusing on what matters right now.
Get it out of your head, put it somewhere you trust, and get back to the things that deserve your attention.
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