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I'm sympathetic to this argument, though I suspect it isn't as simple as "just get stuff done". If we could have, we would have. My suspicion is that the natur

I'm sympathetic to this argument, though I suspect it isn't as simple as "just get stuff done". If we could have, we would have. My suspicion is that the natural productivity for individuals in the population follows a bell curve: some people are crazy productive, regardless of their tools, and at the other end are people who are beyond help. Most people fall somewhere in the middle, and these tools will likely help some, but not all of them. It's unlikely any one methodology can help everybody. As someone who's just beginning to try out orgmode, I can see its value, though it would likely do little to overcome my own personal productivity weaknesses: poor planning and foresight at the beginning. No amount of otherwise excellent tools can overcome a poorly thought out plan. They do, however, highlight how ill-conceived my initial plans were. It's up to me to do something about it. I have found a GTD-like review approach to be the most helpful.

SZJX 6y ago
First I'm very skeptical of the claim that there is any "natural" productivity scale out there. Nobody is born productive or "beyond help", unless they have some sort of mental handicap. It all comes down to what you learn and the good habits you form over the years. I also don't think you can totally separate a "personal productivity weakness" from "tools". Tools and systems, when learned and used correctly, can go a long way in correcting bad habits and mindless counter-productive actions. An example that has already helped me a lot is the very simple act of writing out only 2 to 3 most important tasks for the day and make them easily visible with some form of stickies. This helps me focus my energy throughout the day instead of letting me wander around mindlessly with whatever free time that comes up, since those 2 to 3 tasks always stay on top of my mind and direct my actions, and are very easy to keep track of. This way I actually get things done constantly every day instead of obliviously letting time slip by while feeling lost amid the dozens of TODOs that I have in org-mode/todo software.

SZJX 6y ago

First I'm very skeptical of the claim that there is any "natural" productivity scale out there. Nobody is born productive or "beyond help", unless they have some sort of mental handicap. It all comes down to what you learn and the good habits you form over the years. I also don't think you can totally separate a "personal productivity weakness" from "tools". Tools and systems, when learned and used correctly, can go a long way in correcting bad habits and mindless counter-productive actions. An example that has already helped me a lot is the very simple act of writing out only 2 to 3 most important tasks for the day and make them easily visible with some form of stickies. This helps me focus my energy throughout the day instead of letting me wander around mindlessly with whatever free time that comes up, since those 2 to 3 tasks always stay on top of my mind and direct my actions, and are very easy to keep track of. This way I actually get things done constantly every day instead of obliviously letting time slip by while feeling lost amid the dozens of TODOs that I have in org-mode/todo software.