Do productivity systems actually help?

[williamkwan]

I'm really big on productivity, and I've looked into systems like GTD, ZTD, and OPA. To my dismay, I didn't really find any of them to be helpful for high school students like me. I'm sure some people have had success with them, and I want to know what realistic benefits there are from following through on them. My problem is that a lot of these "systems" are too difficult to implement and don't really motivate me to work faster.

The one thing that really works for me is using Parkinson's law, the principle that work expands to fill available time. I just set really short deadlines for whatever I'm doing, making sure that I get something, if not all of it, done very soon or even immediately. Anyone here relate to this?

[Matthew Cluff]

I haven't heard of those productivity systems before, but here's some productivity advice that will hopefully help you out.

-------
1) Prioritize Your Activities
Bob Proctor, my mentor, once asked Earl Nightengale "What's the secret to time management?" Earl's reply was that time cannot be managed; you can only manage activities in your time.

Make a prioritized list of the things you want to accomplish today. Then start on #1. Don't think about #2 'til you've finished number #1. Then move onto #2 and don't think about #3 until that's done. (etc.) Finishing things completely is what really counts and keeping an undivided focus in this time will help promote productivity.

2) Eliminate Distractions
Distractions will only affect them if we put ourselves in situations where we can be subject to distractions. When it's time to get down to work and focus, turn off the radio, shut of the phone, close the email browser, and get to work.

3) Reward Yourself
Humans love being rewarded for their accomplishments, so every time you finish something or "x" amount of things, give yourself a reward for sticking to your schedule and getting things done. This will help boost your self-esteem and reputation, helping you in future times want to be productive.
-------

Ultimately, by sticking to this formula, you're going to develop discipline, and it's this discipline that will help you become more of a productive individual.

Procrastination is the opposite of productivity, and people procrastinate when they don't know how to do something or they don't want to do it.

If it's ever an option, outsource the things you don't enjoy doing, because by doing only the things you love, you'll want to do them that much more, which will, in turn, help increase your productivity.

To Your Success,
Matthew Cluff

[beautyscientist]

Most productivity systems are better than no system at all, but that is about all I can say about them from my personal experience.

They are good for getting things that need doing to the forefront of your mind, which is no small thing. And they can clear a bit of clutter from your head so you can devote more of your brain to what you are working on. Again, that is a benefit well worth having.

But against that, you have the risk that having something 'in your system' means you stop thinking about it and doing the subconscious mental preparation that is sometimes essential.

So although I wouldn't discourage anyone from using one - and I still use GTD to some extent and get some benefits from it - I would say don't invest too much hope in it. It will help a bit, but if you have a real problem with time management it is unlikely to solve it.

[Shift]

My favourite productivity system is determining my personality and working from there. That way I work from my strengths and not from what "should" work, according to a PD guru.

For example, I know I'm more strongly motivated by consequence than by completion. So, I give myself strict deadlines with consequences for not meeting them. Works extremely well.

[Steve Boyd]

The key thing to remember is that, at the end of the day, any sort of framework is merely a tool that is used to enhance your outputs.

If the tool gets in the way, then it has failed an should be discarded

I find that most frameworks (not just productivity ones) are horribly bloated and just create extra work for me. Basically they make me way less productive :-/

What I find that works well for getting projects done:
- Chunking them down into smaller tasks
- Applying 80/20 rule to them - and then remove as much of the 80 as possible
- Work on the most important tasks first thing in the day. This means that if you get slack later in the day it doesn't matter so much because you've already done the important stuff

[williamkwan]

Thanks for the responses guys! Makes sense, I do believe that simple stuff works the best.

[quiethumir]

I've heard someone say productivity systems only work on already productive people. Their only purpose is to help someone who is already productive, be more productive. They don't work for lazy people. Lazy people need to work on their self limiting beliefs and emotional blocks before productivity systems can work for them. Hope this makes sense.

[ultimate]

Originally Posted by matthewcluff

I haven't heard of those productivity systems before, but here's some productivity advice that will hopefully help you out.

-------
1) Prioritize Your Activities
Bob Proctor, my mentor, once asked Earl Nightengale "What's the secret to time management?" Earl's reply was that time cannot be managed; you can only manage activities in your time.

Make a prioritized list of the things you want to accomplish today. Then start on #1. Don't think about #2 'til you've finished number #1. Then move onto #2 and don't think about #3 until that's done. (etc.) Finishing things completely is what really counts and keeping an undivided focus in this time will help promote productivity.

2) Eliminate Distractions
Distractions will only affect them if we put ourselves in situations where we can be subject to distractions. When it's time to get down to work and focus, turn off the radio, shut of the phone, close the email browser, and get to work.

3) Reward Yourself
Humans love being rewarded for their accomplishments, so every time you finish something or "x" amount of things, give yourself a reward for sticking to your schedule and getting things done. This will help boost your self-esteem and reputation, helping you in future times want to be productive.
-------

Ultimately, by sticking to this formula, you're going to develop discipline, and it's this discipline that will help you become more of a productive individual.

Procrastination is the opposite of productivity, and people procrastinate when they don't know how to do something or they don't want to do it.

If it's ever an option, outsource the things you don't enjoy doing, because by doing only the things you love, you'll want to do them that much more, which will, in turn, help increase your productivity.

To Your Success,
Matthew Cluff

Makes sense
I have to do this

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by williamkwan

I'm really big on productivity, and I've looked into systems like GTD, ZTD, and OPA. To my dismay, I didn't really find any of them to be helpful for high school students like me.

Here's the reason why these systems may not work very well for the typical high school system.

High school is very structured. Basically your objectives and deadlines are already set out very clearly for you. For example, you know what homework you need to hand up on Wednesday; you know what weightage a particular assignment has for your final score; you know which time of year your exams will be held. Your entire academic life is mapped out in the syllabus and the timetable and the school calendar.

Outside of school, life is usually not so neat and structured. A productivity system helps because it forces the person to clarify in his mind what he wants or needs to do in the first place, and then secondly what is the order of priority for those things. These are the major benefits of a productivity system, but then they have already been inbuilt into the structure of high school.

[Agota]

I believe accelerated learning techniques would help more in high school than productivity systems. Your productivity in high school is largely determined by your learning speed, therefore if you want to improve your productivity, it would make sense to improve your learning speed. You can take a look at Phenomenal Memory for memory improvement and Scott H Young's material on rapid learning.