In recent years, there has been an explosion of content creators promising to revolutionize our productivity. They offer an endless array of Notion templates, bullet journal methods, content frameworks, and organization apps, all designed to help us squeeze more out of every precious minute. But beneath the sleek interfaces and clever marketing lies a troubling reality: many of these "solutions" are nothing more than a mirage, luring us deeper into the very inefficiencies they claim to solve.
The paradox of productivity
At the heart of this productivity paradox is a fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be truly effective. We've become so obsessed with optimizing every aspect of our lives that we've lost sight of what really matters. We've forgotten the simple truth that sometimes, less is more.
Take, for example, the proliferation of Notion templates. These pre-designed layouts promise to streamline our note-taking, project management, and goal-setting, but in reality, they often do the opposite. I recently came across a template that helps you keep track of the books you’re reading. The image made it look really good. But as soon as I added it to my workspace, I realized there was a lot of unnecessary complexity. There were columns for publication company and even cover type (softcover or hardcover).
All I really needed is the title and whether I read it or not. Maybe in the future, I could add the date that I finished reading it or a star rating field. Maybe tags to categorize the type of book. As someone who loves data, I could see an argument for dozens of different columns that would allow you to quantify all kinds of things about your reading. But these columns are more likely to serve as a burden than something that truly makes a difference for you.
A false sense of progress
The productivity industry often conflates complexity with value. Content creators know that in order to justify their fees, they need to create something that feels substantial and comprehensive. But in doing so, they often lose sight of the core purpose of productivity: to help us achieve our goals with greater ease and efficiency. By adding layer upon layer of extraneous features, they create a false sense of progress, while actually bogging us down in minutiae.
Why do we fall for it? Because we’re not fully honest with ourselves. Productivity can be notoriously difficult to measure, especially when it comes to knowledge work or creative pursuits. When we implement a new system or template, we may feel a sense of accomplishment and progress, even if our actual output hasn't improved.
This false sense of productivity can be reinforced by the sunk cost fallacy: having invested time, money, or effort into a particular method, we're less likely to abandon it, even when it's not delivering the results we hoped for. As a result, we continue to use and recommend these systems to others, perpetuating the cycle of over-complication and diminishing returns.
The allure of novelty
The current productivity landscape preys on our inherent desire for novelty and quick fixes. We're bombarded with ads for the latest and greatest app, promising to revolutionize our workflow and unlock our full potential. But the reality is that these tools are often just repackaged versions of the same basic principles we've been using for decades. The Pomodoro Technique, for example, has been around since the 1980s, but that hasn't stopped a slew of new apps from claiming to have reinvented the concept for the digital age.
The truth is, productivity is not about having the shiniest tools or the most elaborate systems. It's about understanding our own unique habits, strengths, and weaknesses, and finding ways to work with them, not against them. It's about setting clear priorities, breaking down complex tasks into manageable steps, and creating an environment that supports focus and flow. These are timeless principles that don't require a subscription fee or a slick user interface.
For me, it’s not using a tool like Sunsama because I already track what I need to do in two different tools, and adding a third one (even integrated with my existing ones) meant my mind was becoming even more chaotic.
It’s making decisions like not having a candy bowl with cadbury eggs visible on a kitchen shelf where it becomes a habit to grab one every time you walk by. A friend gave me that example, it’s definitely not me.
It’s re-evaluating our default behavior and cutting out faff, not adding to our plates.
That's not to say that all productivity tools are useless. There are certainly cases where a well-designed app or template can help us streamline our work and eliminate distractions. The key is to approach these tools with a critical eye, and to always ask ourselves whether they're truly adding value, or simply creating more busywork.
This has never been more abundantly clear to me than with the emergence of AI tools that allow you to do all kinds of things that you have no clear use-case for. Just because a tool is impressive, doesn’t mean it’s useful for you.
The trap of over-organization
What I’m about to say is really relative to you and your habits. Some of y’all could really use some organization, but others might be guilty of overdoing it.
I was briefly managed by a boss who would have me fill out spreadsheets with the work I was doing or planned to do. I remember that his primary input into my work was looking over my shoulder, asking for the mouse, and adding extra columns to the right to track more data points. For him, every problem could be solved if you just had enough columns.
Of course, he didn't consider that adding these columns added an exponential burden to handle over time. The inevitable result of his approach is that spreadsheets he touched always required scrolling to the right to see everything, and there were always "abandoned" columns with just a few rows filled in because nobody had time to fill them all in.
Are you an "add more columns" type of person?
I get it. There’s a feeling of FOMO if you don’t do this. It feels like you need to capture and categorize all the data that comes across your path or risk losing a crucial insight or opportunity. In reality, most of what we consume is noise, not signal. By trying to organize everything, we often end up drowning in a sea of irrelevance.
This is where the power of simplicity comes in. By focusing on the essentials, and letting go of the rest, we can create systems that are both effective and sustainable. We don't need a dozen different tags and categories for every note we take; we just need a clear and consistent way of capturing the key ideas and actions. We don't need to track every minute of our day in a color-coded calendar; we just need to identify our top priorities and create dedicated time blocks to focus on them.
AI-based search is making information organization less important over time. Now, you can search your notes with natural language and find them even if they’re in some obscure place. It’s not perfect yet, but it’s getting better.
Cutting out the noise—what works?
What are some actually useful tips for productivity? Here are some of my favorites:
- 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle): Focus on the 20% of tasks that generate 80% of the results. Prioritize these high-impact activities and delegate or eliminate the rest.
- Pomodoro Technique: Work in focused, 25-minute intervals (pomodoros) followed by short breaks. This helps maintain concentration and avoid burnout. Variations include adjusting the length of the work periods and breaks to suit your personal preferences.
- The Zeigarnik Effect: Pause work on a task before it's complete, which creates a sense of mental tension that makes you more likely to resume the task later with renewed enthusiasm.
- Breaking down large projects: Divide complex projects into smaller, actionable tasks. This makes the project feel more manageable and allows you to track your progress more easily.
- Single-tasking: Contrary to popular belief, multitasking can often hinder productivity. Instead, focus on one task at a time, giving it your full attention before moving on to the next.
- Accountability: Working alongside someone or sharing results you expect to get so you will be embarrassed if you don’t actually do what you said you would.
- Time-blocking: Schedule specific blocks of time for different tasks or types of work (e.g., deep work, meetings, emails). This helps you stay focused and avoid getting sidetracked by less important activities, as well as avoiding task-switching time.
- Timeboxing: Set a fixed time limit for completing a task or project. This creates a sense of urgency and can help you avoid perfectionism and over-investing in a single task. Apps that show you a visual timer ticking down while you work are ideal for this.
- Reduction: Decreasing, not increasing, the number of different tools you use wherever possible. If you try a new tool, try to replace an existing one in your stack if you like it.
- Re-evaluation: every month or so, evaluate how you work and what tools you use to avoid drifting into unconscious bad habits that damage your flow.
The key is to experiment with different techniques and find the ones that work best for your unique work style, preferences, and goals. Productivity is personal – what works for someone else may not be the best fit for you.
Evaluating new tools and methods
How do you know whether a new productivity system or tool is going to be worth investing in? Run through some of these questions in your head (or on paper, for large enough decisions):
- Does this tool or method address a specific pain point or challenge in my current workflow? Make sure the solution is targeting a real problem you face, not a theoretical or future one. Looking at you: AppSumo.
- Is this tool or method simple to understand and implement? Avoid overly complex systems that require a steep learning curve or constant maintenance. Very few of these are worth the learning curve. (The flip-side: if you do get involved with a complex tool that seems worth it, make sure to invest enough effort to get the full benefit from it).
- Does this tool or method integrate well with my existing tools and workflows?
- Is this tool or method flexible enough to adapt to my unique needs and preferences?
- Can I realistically commit to using this tool or method consistently over time? Avoid solutions that require unsustainable levels of effort or discipline, and opt for those that can be seamlessly integrated into your daily habits.
- Does this tool or method have measurable outcomes that I can track and evaluate? Look for solutions that provide clear metrics for success, so you can objectively assess their impact on your productivity over time.
- Do I have a clear plan for how I will implement and optimize this tool or method in my specific context? Develop a concrete strategy for how you will adopt and adapt the solution to your unique needs and challenges, rather than just jumping in blindly.
If you apply the 80/20 rule to productivity advice, you’ll also realize that time spent searching for new productivity hacks and tricks will end up being largely fruitless once you know the big ideas.
In a world that's constantly telling us to do more, buy more, and optimize more, the true path to productivity may lie in the opposite direction. By embracing simplicity, focusing on what really matters, and letting go of the rest, we can escape the productivity mirage and find the clarity and effectiveness we've been seeking all along.
