Lifehacker.com is my favorite source of inspiration for tips on personal productivity — just a beautifully designed, written, and frequently updated source of organizational goodness.
So I was happy to read this interview with Lifehacker lead editor Gina Trapani on Harvard Business Publishing, written by Scott Berkun.
It would take you the rest of your (suddenly unproductive) life to use all the productivity sites, books, programs, software, and hardware available. So how does one sift through the alternatives to find something or a combination of things that make sense? Berkun asks.
“The hack is simple: pick a system and stick with it,” says Trapani. “The irony of productivity media is that it gives you an excuse to put off actually doing the stuff on your to-do list by trying out a new way to keep track of your to-do list. (This is the reason why sites like Lifehacker even exist!) But the reality is that, like humans, every task manager, calendar, smartphone, or productivity tool is flawed.”
In addition to installing a personal organization system, Trapani advocates automating and streamlining repetitive tasks, and “firewalling your attention.”
How do you GTD? (Get Things Done) Do you have a system? Or is it more just about picking off the next item that rises to the top of the To-Do list?
BTW, want to know Trapani’s personal organizing tools? You might be disappointed — or delighted.
