Share your best and worst productivity methods along with your personal experiences. Maybe it will help others in this community choose the right method for themselves based on our collective experiences.
I’ll start by sharing the best and worst productivity methods I’ve tried, along with my personal thoughts:
Worst — Getting Things Done (GTD)
There’s no doubt that GTD is one of the most popular productivity methods out there. Many of you might even consider it the best. However, my experience with it was far from positive. In my case, I found that this method pushed me to work non-stop, completely ignoring the importance of health and well-being. Personally, I believe it fuels a toxic productivity mindset that emphasizes doing more, without considering the quality of life. It pains me to remember how, in the past, GTD led me to experience severe mental health issues, including burnout, stress, and constant overwhelm. On top of that, I often felt like a failure whenever I couldn’t complete everything on my to-do list by the end of the day.
Best — Humane Productivity Framework
I came across this method earlier this month, but I can confidently say it’s the best one I’ve ever encountered. What sets this framework apart is its core philosophy, which focuses on managing energy and attention, rather than just time. The creator argues that while time is constant, our energy and focus fluctuate—and that’s what we should be managing. Since adopting this framework, I’ve noticed a significant improvement in my productivity. More importantly, I no longer deal with the stress, burnout, or constant feelings of failure that plagued me with other methods. It’s been a game-changer for me. Also, it never pushed me beyond my limits like other methods due to its mindful and unique approach, which helped me stay focused and only do those things that are actually important.
I’m really looking forward to hearing about your best and worst productivity methods. I hope to learn something new from your personal experiences, as someone who’s also on the journey of self-improvement!
EXTRA: I will add the link to the article here for easy access, just in case anyone else is interested in checking out Humane Productivity Framework.
The best one I’ve found (though I’ll check out HPF, thanks!) is Bullet Journal. Not any of the fancy add-ons, just the original, Carrol-method rapid logging. The idea of migration, mindfully and manually taking all undone tasks and deciding if they really need done or can be discarded, is one of the best features, and one that’s so often missing from digital tools.
I also appreciate that it’s more-or-less time-agnostic, and that note-taking is just as much a part of rapid logging as tasks organization is. The only frill I use is the Final Version Perfect system of priority discovery, which seamlessly fits into the basic bujo methodology.