My productivity workflow. Part 2: Tools
In my previous article, I talked about the main principles that help me stay focused and on task. Today I cover software that I use to enable my productivity system.
To-do list
You can’t talk about productivity and not mention a to-do app. Personally, I have tried almost all popular options — from the default of the Apple ecosystem Reminders to Google Tasks (as I use a lot of Google software at work) to the really advanced OmniFocus that enables all sorts of custom use cases and everything in between — Todoist, Tick-Tick, as well as adopting Notion and Dynalist as my to-do managers. Needless to say, they all are really good, but for me, personally, I found a fine balance between nice UI, simplicity and great adoption of GTD methodology in an app called Things 3 (it is only available in the Apple ecosystem).
Let’s talk about these 3 deciding factors:
- Nice UI. I love my tools looking nice. Not only is this a sign of good software that is up-to-date and supported by developers, but it also gives you that little push to want to use the app more.
- Simplicity. I don’t want one particular tool to do everything from to-do to habit tracking to a calendar (hello Tick-Tick). I need one app to do one thing and to do it really well. In the case of the to-do app that is, well, manage to-dos.
- Adoption of GTD methodology. A lot of apps I used claimed that they rely on the GTD (getting things done) method. But very few really do. Why? I think the reason is that GTD has a barrier to entry where you need to really learn some principles. Most apps try to be mainstream. They are designed so most people will create “work” and “personal” to-do lists, and then set up one or two reminders. Things 3, on the other hand, is project-based, instead of list-based. You create a project like “write an article on productivity” and create to-do’s to support this project, like “make a title,” “take a photo for the cover image,” “send the article for review” etc. That helps a lot with outlining what needs to be done, as well as enables you to review all pending projects on a regular basis even when you do not have exact tasks associated with these projects. Of course, it is possible to make any app work like that, but what I like about Things 3 is that it is like that by design.
Calendar
My go-to calendar app is Google Calendar. Yes, very basic, but it really works. And if you couldn’t tell already, I’m not one of those people who will use the default or most mainstream option. But Google Calendar…man is this great! In the past, I used Apple Calendar, Cron, Fantastical, and dear God, I even used Outlook at some point…
Some reasons why I choose Google Calendar:
- Integration with Slack notifications for new and upcoming meetings;
- Integration with Zoom to be able to schedule Zoom meetings quickly;
- Out of the office and focus timeboxes types;
- Easy to set up and manage signature (my corporate signature was broken in Apple Calendar, for example);
- Ability to see my colleagues’ availability.
Notebook / Wiki
As my app of choice for notes and wiki/database, I use Notion. I don’t consider myself a power user, who leverages Notion for everything from to-do manager to habit planner. Instead, I try to follow my own advice and really use Notion as a single source of information for notes.
Those are things that I do use Notion for:
- Quick notes — for that I have a widget on my home screen, to be able to quickly access the space:
- Wiki — database (information that I keep — i.e. notes from an online course I took) and workbook (working notes — i.e. personal goals or wishlist);
- Journal — personal space where I keep notes from my psychology sessions, meditation notes, reflections on certain things, etc.;
- Archive — as I try to keep my notes clean and minimal and also don’t want to lose any info, I move all noncurrent notes to the archive.
Database
For a database, I personally local? Mac storage and iCloud for personal files and corporate Google Drive for work files.
Other software I use
- Gmail is my email app of choice for ~6 years now and I think it is the best app that you can use with Google email;
- Grammarly I use to add advanced autocorrect not only to the web apps (like sites) but also to desktop apps like Slack and Excel.
- 1Password is my password manager of choice for many years now — it’s really great. But maybe with macOS Ventura, I will start using PassKeys
This article completes an overview of my productivity system. Let me know if you have any questions or comments down in the comments.