When we think “productivity”, most of us think productivity tools. We ask others what works for them, read blog posts and tool comparisons, watch YouTube videos, and settle on software, an app, an extension, or a system that’s going to make us more productive.

But productivity is just like losing weight: it’s not enough to buy a new scale, make an exercise plan, and empty your snack drawer. To get really good at “working smarter, not harder”, you’ve got to put in the work – and while your first session may make you feel so much better, that doesn’t mean success will come overnight. If you don’t persist, you’ll feel just as overwhelmed or unmotivated (or both) again next week.

Step 1: Braindump

Many of us are kept awake at night or worrying in our free time not because of what’s on our to-do list, but because of what’s not on it. We think of something and it stays right there, in our heads – prone to getting forgotten, or (possibly worse) popping up all the time, or at all the wrong times.

Grab a sheet of paper, a whiteboard, your digital notebook, a new document in whatever app you like to use for brainstorming – and start dumping all your to-dos.

• Writing it down works better for a lot of people, as you don’t need to think about things – just write it all down. As you transfer it to your “system” (see next step), you’ll be able to cross everything off.
• For others, a digital list (e.g. in Notes or Google Docs, whatever writing software you’re already using) works great as it allows you to list the “areas of your life” first, then list everything related to each “area” in neat bullet points underneath it. It’s more organised from the get-go than when writing it down in analog form first.

Most people will notice that after dumping all the to-dos in their head, said head starts to feel lighter right away.

But now what you’ve got is a massive and completely unorganised to-do list. That’s not going to get you anywhere – it’s a bit like having a “wish list” for a new home. You know you want to read books by the fire and you want a sunroom with lots of plants, but you still need to find the perfect house or apartment.

Step 2: Get a System – and Start Low Tech

Usually when I say “find your system”, people immediately start looking at apps and software. And there’s nothing wrong with those – there are some great ones out there. And if you’re already using something that kind of works for you, by all means, stick with it.

I see three types when it comes to productivity tools:

1. A notebook or paper planner. If you’re going for a blank notebook, you’ll need to know what your system should look like to make it really work for you (read the rest of this article for that) – but planners like Clever Fox and the Full Focus planner are pretty good at guiding you through the process.
2. A very simple home-made system – e.g. a simple spreadsheet – or a Trello board that allows you to move tasks from one pile to the other. Set it up in a way that works for you, and you’re good to go.
3. Productivity software like Remember the Milk, Apple Reminders, Microsoft ToDoist, or Google Tasks – or maybe even go a little bit further and choose ClickUp or Asana. (you can use Trello to make things more complicated too). These all integrate with your calendar, your multiple devices, can hold big amounts of information – they’re made for it. Or go next-level and try Reclaim – which uses AI to organise and reorganise your day for you.

Either way, decide on which system you’re going to use before you start.

Maybe you’ll even want to use more than one system. For instance, I use a notebook to jot down my monthly and yearly intentions – I’d write the goals on the left page, then review them (at the end of the month) and write down what I did or didn’t get done (and way not) on the right page. And at the time of writing this, I use a Google spreadsheet for my own to-dos, and ClickUp for projects I share with my assistant. (and then I use others to collaborate with clients, whichever fits their needs).

Step 3: Get Planning

Now you’ve got a list of to-dos longer than the end credits of Avengers Assemble, decided on which system you’re going to use, now it’s time to get planning.

A basic planning session has 3 steps:

1. Setting or reviewing goals and long-term projects
2. Breaking these big goals and projects into small, actionable to-do items
3. Make time in your calendar to get things done.

Most “planning” workshops don’t get to #3 though; they either keep you at #1 (leaving you feel inspired and positive about all these big dreamy goals you’re going to achieve) or maybe talk about #2, leaving you with a nice overview of what you’ll have to do to get there. Step #3 is the less romantic one – it’s where you actually look at your schedule and realise that to achieve your goals, you’ll need to make an effort.

Not just the effort of putting things into your calendar – but actually sticking to your schedule or (if plans go awry) making time to re-schedule what you didn’t get done.

Join one of our monthly planning workshops

Step 4: Build a Routine

This is the part most people underestimate. You can have a clear system, make a really good plan for the whole month, the quarter, or even the year… but then life happens. Something took longer than you thought it would. A new priority popped up. You (or someone in your family) got sick, or tech just didn’t cooperate with your plans.

That beautiful and foolproof plan you created just last week suddenly went “poof” – and you find yourself not knowing what to do first.

This is where you’ll need a productivity routine. Hopefully (way) before things go poof.

Mine goes something like this:

1. Around the 1st of the month: make a big-picture plan for the month, and block time in my calendar to get things done
2. Weekly (end of the week, or start of the next week – some do this on a Sunday even): do a weekly review, or what some call a “CEO meeting” with yourself.
3. Daily at the end of your day: wrap up and review what you did today, and make a plan for tomorrow. Pick 3 things that are going to be your “most important actions” of that day: these can be as simple as “attend this meeting” or even “take a shower” if you’re otherwise not feeling it – or as big as “launch that website” or “send that report”. You pick.
4. Throughout the day: take enough breaks. I don’t care if you’re “in the zone” or if you “just need to get this done”. There’s something called the “law of diminishing returns”: while you’re working, you’ll start losing focus. You’ll notice work gets slightly slower, you have more trouble concentrating. And at a certain point (you probably won’t notice right away), you’ll stop thinking clearly. Start making mistakes, or find “solutions” that turn out to be huge time consumers. And if you look back at that time, you’ll see that if you had just taken a break to clear your mind – you’d have gotten back and finished it off in no time.

As it turns out, the time you spend attending that planning workshop, doing that weekly “CEO meeting” or that end-of-day review, or stepping out to take a break and clear your mind – that’s time you’ll easily win back by starting each work day and work block with full focus and a clear plan.

Plus especially the end-of-day reviews are great for quality of life (you’ll notice after a while you can truly leave your work behind and be completely present with your family or whatever other activity you have planned for the evening) – and for your sleep quality.

Step 5: Stay Accountable, Stay on Track

All of the above are easily said and done – few people manage to just do it by themselves.

Just like most people join a gym or an online community to exercise, join a book club to get motivated to read more – there are groups out there that are all about doing it together. I don’t know about other communities, but if what I’ve written above resonated with you, I’d like to invite you to join ours; attend the next (monthly) planning workshop or join a coworking session to see if it’s for you!