My Simple Productivity System (for normal people)!

🧑🏻‍💻 I love watching productivity videos and implementing tips from Tiago Forte, Ali Abdaal, and Thomas Frank but I’ll be the first to admit it’s too hard to adhere to their productivity systems 100% 🥲

So, I came up with my own simple productivity system that provides 80% of the benefit with just 20% of the effort:

1️⃣ Step 1 - Capture

2️⃣ Step 2 - Organize

The biggest pro tip comes from Tiago Forte: The wrong way is to organize by where you found the information, the right way is to organize by where that information will be used!

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The “Best” Productivity Systems
00:47 My Simple Two-Step Productivity System
01:03 Capture and Organize
01:23 Step 1 - Capture
03:12 Step 2 - Organize
05:27 When to Capture and Organize
06:01 Productivity System - Inbox Management
06:37 Summary and Next Steps

RESOURCES I MENTION IN THE VIDEO

MY FAVORITE GEAR

*MY TOP 3 FAVORITE SOFTWARE*

BE MY FRIEND:

👨🏻‍💻 WHO AM I:
I'm Jeff, a tech professional trying to figure life out. What I do end up figuring out, I share!

PS: Some of the links in this description are affiliate links I get a kickback from and my opinions are my own and may not reflect that of my employer 😇

#productivitysystem #secondbrain #effortless

[JeffSu]

Normal people can like this comment, abnormal people hit reply 😏

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 The “Best” Productivity Systems
00:47 My Simple Two-Step Productivity System
01:03 Capture and Organize
01:23 Step 1 - Capture
03:12 Step 2 - Organize
05:27 When to Capture and Organize
06:01 Productivity System - Inbox Management
06:37 Summary and Next Steps

[jennchun]

OMG I'm relieved to hear that I wasn't the only one who was overwhelmed by how these productivity experts were organizing their second brains. When Francesco D'Alessio talked in an interview with Tiago about how he uses EIGHT apps to capture his thoughts, I checked out. 🙄 Thank you for introducing a system that fits into an A4 page.

[spaghettimeatballswow]

Nothing beats simplicity. Productivity influencers are simply that, it’s their full time job. A normal person does not have the time to set all that up. Time is precious and deadlines are tight.

[Hugo__IV]

Out of all productivity gurus, you've done the best one so far. REAL WORLD EXAMPLES PEOPLE! We don't all have YouTube channels to manage

[BabyGirlNumber]

Thank you. It drives me so nuts, when other productivity Youtubers are just like: "It's really quite simple" and then proceed to dump their entire knowledge of theirs, wich was build over several years on your head. I'm just a student, not a budiness owner.

[ruriohama]

Omg, this is probably the best task management video I've ever watched!

[ft.jackjimmy]

I love simple productivity techniques. It's also to remind everyone that everyone is different and there isn't one solution fit all. My process is very much similar to yours but I have a side art hobby with my full time job so i do keep a physical sketchbook for art ideas and notion for work. I like writing with my hand when it's a random note for myself since it's messy and faster and I prefer typing when it's official work so I have to keep physical notes instead of going full digital.

[hd-okzl]

Glad to know that I'm not the only one who feel the tips and methods from those productivity "gurus" are too complex for everyday people.

This system is just what I need.👍

[strandlie]

A breath of fresh air with a simpler approach than most - and I totally support the "what app you use doesn't matter". In my head it is more about your strategy for how and actually putting stuff in a pre-defined place to be able to come back to it at some point, what apps you utilize is secondary at best. And the bit with Ali Abdaal cracked me up so hard! Thanks for a great video

[cassioalexan]

That is just the video we really need to watch over and over until we learn all the knowledge contained in it!
It's certainly worth a thumbs UP! And save it to be watched again!
Thanks, Jeff! Mostly for the helpful, practical examples shown in the video!
We need more videos like this on YouTube.

[terzaful]

Have to say just one thing. This approach seemed very much familiar to me, and handled the same gripes I had with productivity gurus around YT. Then I clicked on your profile and saw you are a fellow management consultant 😂😂😂 - now things make much more sense, and thank you for this!

[InterpretersWorkshop]

Finally. This video is a breath of fresh air. I started a podcast last year on the side. Trying to expand it, add segments to the business for monetizing, newsletter, etc. takes time and effort. I don't know how many videos I've watched and apps I've tried to use only to go back to pen and paper for speed. This makes me have a clear step-by-step action plan to follow. I hope it works. Thanks!

[fleshoutVR]

Within one pomodoro time (25 minutes) I fell in love with your videos. Thanks mate. These are amazing.

[JonDotExe]

I swear, this video was a breath of fresh air in the organization space. Side note on the 'just use whatever works' mantra: I tried ticktick for a while bc mkbhd and several others recommended it, but it won't leave me alone or dismiss notifications properly that don't have dates attached after the 'organize step'. Meaning I constantly have 30+ notifications waiting for me. Plus subtasks are really wonky. I might try taskcade, but switching back to todoist has smoothed things out for now.

[cmapy]

Love the simplicity. I can’t explain how much you helped for the year to come. I felt so overwhelmed the whole of 2023 because of these gurus and that I had to use 5 different apps for my daily life. Excellent content, excellent channel! Keep it up

[felipepessoto]

Thank you for the simplicity! I was struggling with that when I was thinking that my system was to simple, but as you said the 20% effort that causes 80% result!

[BenMcNevis]

Working with many apps or systems adds so many frictions. I deeply appreciate your way of according organisation with efficiency!
Thanks again for this great video Jeff !

[usalinksystem]

Great idea, Jeff. Keeping the system simple and tailored to your unique features and goals could indeed help you stay focused and achieve more.

[dvastatlon]

I have been an avid onenote user for the last 10+ years. I use it so much that if you have ever had a conversation with me within the last 10 years, I will most likely be able to provide you with the notes I've taken about that conversation. What I have always struggled with is capturing and organizing my thoughts. This video makes a lot of sense and I can't wait to add that widget to my phone for todoist and try it your way!

[Itisstillok]

On the scene in the gym, I remembered that I had already seen this video from my old account in 2023. I kept watching and realized that for at least half a year my productivity system has been based on this video and your tips!

After watching this video for the second time, I have a better understanding of what has had a positive impact on me:

1. Flexibility of the system.
You offered a comprehensive idea, but at the same time it fits any app that is convenient for me.

2. Examples.
This is something that is extremely important to me - when the author does not just show how to do something on a random example of "building a Second brain in Notion on the tasks of going to the groceries and checking the emails", but demonstrates his own personal example of using the system.
Even though it seems intuitively that such examples may be too specific and individual, in my opinion, they help to better grasp the idea and apply the process to your own experience.

3. Light humor and presentation of ideas.
Nothing to add here. I think that with such a thorough approach as yours, you could have written my comment in half the size with more clarity 😊

Thank you, I owe you a second like (from both accounts) and a subscription as I can't wait to finish this comment and go watch the other videos!