Best Personal Productivity Systems to Really Get Things Done

More than two-thirds of people feel stressed and overwhelmed on a regular basis. Up to 40% have experienced financial loss due to procrastination. And on average, you spend up to two hours a day simply recovering from distractions and not getting anything done.

As you can see, humans are quite poor at managing their time without a system. Productivity requires a well-planned, comprehensive approach. So, if you really want to accomplish your goals and get your daily routine under control, you need a personal productivity system.

You have more to organize than you probably think: appointments, important decisions, to-dos, long-term goals, projects, incoming mail, navigating around other people's schedules, and much, much more. No wonder you're so overwhelmed!

That's why you need a system that will help you manage all aspects of your life.

There are dozens of productivity systems and techniques out there, but which one is best?

Well, the best personal productivity system is simply the system that you enjoy using the most. Here's how you can discover which one is best for you.

Pick a few systems that appeal to you and try them each for a few weeks. You can also utilize several systems for different kinds of work or tasks. For example, you can use the Pomodoro system for studying and Kanban for organizing your household projects. If you work for a company that already has a productivity system in place, you can integrate it into your personal system as well.

Keep experimenting until you find a system (or a combination of systems) that boosts your productivity and builds self-discipline without adding too much stress.

It's also a good idea to try out a variety of paper-based and digital tools. Some people can't live without productivity apps while others swear by handwritten to-do lists - you'll never know which tools are right for you until you try them.

Productivity systems aren't sacred rituals. You can adapt and modify them as you like. For example, many people don't follow every aspect of the GTD methodology and only use a few of its components. Some users of the Pomodoro technique believe that 25-minute intervals are too short and work in 45-minute sprints instead. Keep experimenting!

To help you choose, we've compiled eight tried-and-tested productivity systems that have improved the lives of millions of people.

The Pomodoro method (or the Pomodoro technique) was invented by Francesco Cirillo when he was still a student. He found that a specific ratio of study time and breaks boosted his productivity dramatically, namely 25 minutes of intense work followed by a 5-minute break.

Back then, he used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer, hence the name of the method (Pomodoro means tomato in Italian). But you can also use a timer on your phone instead - it doesn't matter. Just set it to 25 minutes and work hard without distractions. Then, take a 5-minute break.

After three intense work spurts, you can enjoy a longer break.

The Pomodoro method is especially useful when you need to motivate yourself to do something unpleasant, like cleaning or studying for a boring exam. After all, studying for 25 minutes sounds a lot better than hours of grinding, right?

Getting Things Done is a comprehensive methodology developed by David Allen. It's a complete productivity system that aims to optimize your entire workflow, from dealing with emails to planning life-changing projects.

According to Allen, the first step to maximizing your productivity is clearing your mind and writing down every thought that's occupying it. Then, you convert these random ideas into neat projects and lists of actionable to-do items. To make sure that nothing has slipped through the cracks, you perform a weekly review of your to-dos, appointments, and ideas.

GTD can bring tremendous focus into your life, but it requires some self-discipline and establishing new habits. This is why we recommend using a habit tracker in addition to your GTD tools.

This is an excellent technique for building daily habits. It was made popular by Jerry Seinfeld who is said to write a joke every single day, no matter how bad he feels.

For this technique, you need a paper-based monthly calendar. You simply put an X on the day when you did the habit. As you build up this habit, you'll want to have lots of Xs in a row without missing any days.

This is a great method for tracking your workouts, your daily writing sessions if you're working on a book or a blog, and so on.

Zen To Done, developed by Leo Babauta, is aimed at people who find GTD too complex and abstract. It consists of just 10 habits that have the potential to transform how you approach work and life.

Zen To Done will help you set priorities, make quick decisions, plan your days so that the most important things actually get done, and enjoy a productive life without feeling overwhelmed. If you don't have to juggle several complex projects at once, it may be the perfect productivity system for your needs.

Kanban is a simple but powerful productivity system that has its roots in Japanese manufacturing facilities. However, it's also an excellent personal productivity system.

Kanban is the perfect system for people who tend to start a lot of projects at the same time but rarely finish them. All you need is a whiteboard and some sticky notes or a free app like Trello.

Make three columns and label them To Do, Doing, and Done. Then, write your to-do items on sticky notes and put them all into the left column.

When you start working on an item, simply move the sticky note to the second column, and when you're done, move it even further to the last column.

Kanban gives you a visual overview of your activities so you can focus on the projects you've already started and you can avoid juggling too many tasks in the "doing" column at once.

The MoSCoW method (or MoSCoW Prioritization) has nothing to do with the Russian capital. It's a technique used by project managers who want to clarify the priorities within a project that you can use as a personal productivity system as well.

MoSCoW stands for Must Have, Should Have, Could Have, and Won't Have. You can put all of your goals and tasks into these four categories:

• The "Must Have" category encompasses all the essential, non-negotiable tasks like paying your bills.
  
• "Should Haves" are tasks that need to be done but can wait a day or two.
  
• "Could Haves" are nice things that you'd like to do even though they aren't absolutely necessary.
  
• "Won't Haves" are the things that you're NOT going to do, like bad habits you're trying to avoid or commitments that other people are trying to impose on you against your will.
  

This will help you make sure that nothing important falls through the cracks and you don't waste your energy on the "Could Haves" while you still have lots of essential tasks to complete.

A bullet journal (lovingly called a bujo) is a notebook where you can plan all aspects of your life, track habits, and take random notes throughout the day. By using color coding and differently shaped bullets, you can create a beautiful visual overview of your tasks, appointments, and habits.

Bullet journaling is a paper-based productivity system that doesn't require fancy digital tools. All you need is a notebook, your favorite pens, and a few layout ideas to start with. A quick Pinterest search will provide you with hundreds of beautiful bujo layouts, so grab a notebook and start experimenting!

Mark Twain supposedly said, "Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day."

So if you have an unpleasant task to complete, do it first thing in the morning when your energy levels are high. When you're done with it, the rest of the day will feel much more relaxed and fun.

This is more of a technique than a full-blown productivity system, but it can do wonders if you tend to procrastinate and focus on unimportant things.

The best personal productivity system is the system that works for you. Find a few systems that appeal to you, learn more about them, and start experimenting!