Mastering the Art of Productivity

Why does everyone want to be more productive? Maybe it's because society has led us to believe that when we do more, we are worth more. Of course, this isn't true. We are all worthy of life, even through difficult ebbs and flows of our existence when things just don't make sense.

What is productivity and how can we truly measure something so subjective by nature?

Working Harder and Longer Yields Results, Right?

Productivity doesn't necessarily mean getting more done and putting in more hours to your craft. To me, it means working on producing high-quality content, even if it's a little bit each day, consistently.

When deciding you want to be a more productive individual, you must first choose to devote time to yourself, even when it may be inconvenient.

Without self-discipline, success is impossible. Period. - Lou Holtz

Give Yourself the Tools You Need

A lot of people get turned off by the idea of creating a productivity system. It can feel scary and overwhelming - like you are adding even more to your already overflowing to-do list. You can barely get through your tasks as it is, and you want to add another thing to remember?

Many claim that a task management system can be your saving grace if you allow it to. Staying organized and on top of tasks is easier when everyone involved is on the same page. Plus, automatic reminders always make life simpler.

What is Task Management?

Well, a task is typically something you need to get done by a specific due date or block of time. But, there are lots of tasks in our life we would like to complete and accomplish that don't necessarily have a time restriction for completion attached to it.

One example is making time to work out. I would consider it a task since we need to set aside time for it on a regular basis if we want to achieve and maintain results.

But unless we have an accountability/workout buddy or personal trainer of some sort, no one is holding us to our task of working out. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather spend time working on an article than working out. That's just me though.

Managing our tasks is making sure a little bit of everything gets done every day. It helps us reach smaller goals by dividing up our attention.

So when we want to manage our tasks, what do we do?

Try to Act Like a Robot?

What usually ends up happening to me is that I try to get up and start my day as early as possible. I steadily maintain a workflow that covers everything I remember I need to do in one day. I try to accomplish it all even though I know I won't be able to. With only so many hours in the day, I do as much as I can until nightfall, and oftentimes, beyond it.

I tell myself I'll get around to cooking, cleaning, moving my body, practicing my Italian, and self-care later, and sometimes, later doesn't come.

Other days, I'll find myself spending too much time on those things and not enough time spent on working. …This happens on days I get caught up in a deep house cleaning or cooking an elaborate meal.

Then I am left back at square one. I am unable to effectively manage my time. I tend to spend my time skewed based on priority, but on an average day, I don't have time for everything.

Is a task management system really the solution?

I did some research on whether a task management system is worth it for everyone, and here's what I came up with.

Problems People Experience with Task Management

Failure to trust the system entirely: not using the system to input all of the tasks, thus not using it to its full potential and trying to remember other things outside of this system.

Imploding into chaos: the system itself becomes more stressful to maintain than managing tasks was before the system. This can happen when a task gets completed by not checked off, when there have been updates made to tasks, but they have been ignored by the user, etc.

May start to feel overwhelming: can combat this by choosing one main application or website for your to-do list. An example of one free website that helps you maintain a to-do list is "todoist."

What Makes a Task Management System Great?

It must be easy to enter tasks

It should be easily divisible into different sections: one for classes if you are a student, others for different aspects of your professional life, and of course for personal errands or achievements, like grocery lists and work-out schedules, etc.

It should be realistic. You don't need a million bells and whistles. You need something simple that is going to improve the quality of your life. You don't need to even pay for the app or software you plan to use. There are some free ones out there.

6 Features That You Should Look for in Whatever System You Choose

• Planning Tasks
• Scheduling Tasks
• Recurring Tasks
• Priority
• Task Tracking
• Calendar

My Experience With These Systems

At my old job, we used so many systems I couldn't tell which way was up. From Basecamp to Monday.com to Clickup, we spent days moving tasks from one platform to the next. It was just awful. We also hosted a majority of our client-related follow-up and communication tasks on Hubspot Task Management.

Honestly, I just kept notes of my personal to-dos on my huge dry erase board next to me and I would add dates to my Google calendar when they were due.

Then, when I completed something, I marked it off on whatever site we were using that month.

It was perfect and I needed nothing fancy.

Though I admit it was helpful to keep track of ideas for the backlog and come back to it every so often when I was ready to assign myself the next blog or task.

Overall, my experience with these systems further proved to me that I am a pen and paper kind of gal. It's just how my brain likes to operate.

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I have a lot more to learn about task management systems, but truthfully, it just feels overwhelming to consider another application to add to my life. I think these types of systems are worth it when you are regularly communicating with a large team. If you're on your own, I think it's easier to stick with a far simpler system and workflow method.

What's your experience with time management systems? Do you use them at work and find they are also beneficial for personal use?

Best,

🆂🆄🆉🍊