My Simple Productivity System (for normal people)!

Summary

This video breaks down a simple, efficient productivity system in two steps: capture and organize. First, capture all ideas and tasks as quickly and effortlessly as possible using tools like Todoist. Then, organize those tasks by placing them in locations where they will be used, such as Google Workspace, Notion, or a calendar. The creator shares real-life examples of this method in action, emphasizing ease of use and avoiding complexity. This streamlined approach can help manage both personal and professional tasks with minimal effort, delivering 80% of the benefit with 20% of the effort.

Takeaways

• 📱 Capture all ideas and tasks outside your brain into a trusted system, like Todoist, to work with them later.
• 🧠 The brain is for having ideas, not holding them, so minimize the friction between having an idea and writing it down.
• 📅 Step one: Capture tasks quickly in Todoist; the app you use doesn't matter as long as it reduces friction.
• 🔍 Organizing information by where it will be used (e.g., Calendar, Google Workspace, Notion) is key to effective productivity.
• 💡 Capture ideas anywhere, anytime, even at the gym or during the commute, and sort them later when at a computer.
• 📝 Start quick captures with an action verb to ensure clarity (e.g., 'Buy birthday present' instead of 'present').
• 📊 Step two: Organize captured tasks to relevant locations, such as Notion for video ideas or the calendar for appointments.
• 🔔 Use Todoist’s natural language processing feature to set reminders for tasks, making organization even easier.
• 📧 The Gmail snooze feature can help delay actions on emails until they become relevant, improving inbox management.
• 🛠️ A two-step process (capture, organize) can cover 80% of productivity with 20% of effort, reducing complexity for most users.

Q & A

What is the main idea of the video?

The video introduces a simple two-step productivity system to capture and organize ideas and tasks, offering 80% of the benefits with only 20% of the effort. This system involves using an app like Todoist for quick capture and organizing tasks into suitable tools like Google Workspace, Calendar, or Notion.

How does the speaker use Todoist for task capture?

The speaker uses Todoist to quickly capture ideas and tasks, focusing on minimizing friction between having an idea and writing it down. Todoist's responsive widget and natural language processing make it easy to input tasks in under 10 seconds.

Why does the speaker prefer Todoist over Notion for task capture?

The speaker finds Notion's template-based task capture to have too much friction due to loading times and having to fill in fields. This reduced their motivation to write things down, whereas Todoist’s faster input process made capturing tasks easier and more efficient.

What are the two steps in the speaker's productivity system?

The two steps are: (1) Capture – writing down all ideas and tasks quickly in an app like Todoist, and (2) Organize – sorting those tasks and ideas into appropriate locations such as Google Workspace, Calendar, or Notion when in front of a computer.

How does the speaker recommend organizing captured tasks?

The speaker recommends organizing tasks based on where the information will be used. For example, meeting tasks go in Google Workspace, video ideas go in a Notion content pipeline, and calendar-related tasks go in the calendar app.

Why is using the snooze feature in Gmail useful according to the speaker?

The speaker finds Gmail’s snooze feature useful for managing emails that require future action. By snoozing emails until they are relevant, such as the Monday before a presentation, the speaker ensures they are addressed at the right time without cluttering the inbox.

What is a 'pro tip' the speaker shares about task capture?

A key pro tip is to always start task capture with an action verb. This ensures the task is clear and actionable, preventing ambiguity. For example, instead of writing 'present,' the speaker would write 'Buy birthday present for Michelle.'

How does the speaker differentiate between time-specific and non-time-specific tasks?

Time-specific tasks, like meeting deadlines, are organized into a calendar or Todoist with reminders. Non-time-specific tasks, like taking daily probiotics or bringing a gift to the office, are left in Todoist until completed, allowing flexibility in when they are done.

How does the speaker deal with long-term tasks, such as a tax refund due months later?

For long-term tasks like applying for a tax refund, the speaker uses multiple tools: Todoist to capture the task, Notion to store details, and Google Calendar to block off time for future deadlines. This ensures nothing is forgotten over long periods.

What does the speaker suggest doing after mastering the two-step system?

After mastering the two-step system (capture and organize), the speaker suggests exploring Tiago Forte’s 'Second Brain' process, which adds two more steps: distill and express. This allows for deeper organization and expression of ideas.

Outlines

00:00

📱 Capturing Ideas with Minimal Effort

This paragraph discusses the concept of 'capture' in productivity, focusing on how to move ideas from your brain to a trusted system. The narrator uses Todoist to quickly capture tasks and ideas, making it easy to offload mental burdens. He contrasts this with more complex systems like Thomas Frank's Notion template, which adds too much friction. Several real-world examples illustrate the efficiency of Todoist for both personal and work-related tasks, highlighting the importance of action verbs and how Todoist simplifies daily task management with natural language processing.

05:02

🗂 Organizing for Maximum Productivity

The second paragraph explains how to organize captured tasks in a way that maximizes productivity. The narrator emphasizes the importance of organizing information based on where it will be used, citing Tiago Forte's method. Several examples, such as using Todoist for task management while in the gym or applying for a tax refund, show how organizing tasks into platforms like Google Calendar or Notion allows for better long-term planning. The key takeaway is that tasks should be categorized in places where they are actionable, not just stored for reference.

Keywords

💡Capture

Capture refers to the process of quickly recording ideas or tasks as they come up, preventing them from getting lost or forgotten. The video emphasizes the importance of reducing friction between having an idea and recording it, using apps like Todoist to immediately capture thoughts. This is step one in the productivity process.

💡Organize

Organize is the second step in the productivity system described in the video, where tasks and ideas are sorted into appropriate locations for future use. The speaker stresses organizing information by where it will be used, such as putting meeting tasks in Google Workspace or video ideas in Notion. This step ensures that captured information is easily retrievable when needed.

💡Todoist

Todoist is a task management app used by the speaker for quick and frictionless idea capture. It features a widget for fast task input and natural language processing for reminders. In the video, Todoist is used as an example of how to minimize resistance in capturing tasks, making it a key tool in the first step of the productivity process.

💡David Allen

David Allen is the author of the productivity method 'Getting Things Done' (GTD). The video references his famous quote, 'Your brain is for having ideas, not holding them,' to highlight the importance of capturing ideas rather than relying on memory. Allen's influence underpins the video's approach to task and idea management.

💡Natural Language Processing

Natural Language Processing (NLP) in this context refers to Todoist's feature that allows users to input tasks in everyday language, and the app understands the details, like setting reminders automatically. For example, the user can input 'Bring present to office on Friday,' and Todoist will remind them without needing extra fields to be filled.

💡Tiago Forte

Tiago Forte is a productivity expert mentioned in the video, known for his 'Building a Second Brain' method. The speaker references his advice on organizing information, particularly Forte’s belief that organizing should be based on where information will be used, not where it came from. Tiago’s influence shapes the video’s discussion of information organization.

💡Second Brain

Second Brain refers to a productivity system developed by Tiago Forte, which involves capturing and organizing information to enhance creative output and personal knowledge management. The video mentions this system, particularly the steps of capture and organize, as a more advanced method of handling information, though the speaker simplifies it to a two-step process for easier adoption.

💡Notion

Notion is a productivity tool mentioned as a place where the speaker organizes content ideas and other long-term projects. Although Todoist is used for quick capture, Notion is employed for detailed planning and structuring, particularly for projects like video production or managing complex tasks. It's used in step two of the process—organize.

💡Snooze Feature

The snooze feature in Gmail allows users to temporarily hide emails and have them resurface at a more relevant time. The video highlights this feature as part of the organization process for managing email tasks, suggesting it as a tool to delay non-urgent tasks until they are most relevant, such as snoozing an email to the week of a meeting.

💡Friction

Friction refers to anything that slows down or complicates the process of capturing or organizing tasks and ideas. The speaker emphasizes minimizing friction by using fast, intuitive tools like Todoist instead of more complex systems like Notion templates, which might require additional input steps that can reduce motivation.

Highlights

Capture is the first step to getting things out of your brain and into a trusted place.

Using a tool like Todoist can help quickly capture tasks or ideas in under 10 seconds.

The app itself doesn’t matter, but minimizing friction between having the idea and writing it down is crucial.

Start quick captures with action verbs to avoid ambiguity.

Pro tip: It's okay to skip the calendar for tasks that are not time-specific, as long as they get done.

Organizing tasks and ideas is more efficient on a laptop because it's faster to type and navigate.

Organize information by the location where it will be used, not where you found it.

Use the snooze feature in Gmail to resurface emails when they’re most relevant.

Tiago Forte's Second Brain system includes capture, organize, distill, and express (CODE).

Capture tasks like buying presents or sending emails in Todoist, and then organize them when in front of a laptop.

Google Calendar is great for reminders on time-sensitive tasks, such as tax refunds.

Using Todoist’s natural language processing can make capturing and reminding much smoother.

Skipping complex systems can make productivity easier for the everyday person by focusing on simple capture and organize steps.

The right organizational system should reduce cognitive load and help manage both personal and professional tasks.

The wrong way to organize is by where you found the information; organize it by where it will be used.

Transcripts

(phone gently taps)

(computer keyboard typing)

(computer mouse clicks)

- This is Ali Abdaal's second brain.

First, let's start with capture.

So capture is about (phone notification chimes)

getting it outside of your brain

social media, the world, and into some

trusted single place (message alert chimes)

where you can start to work with it.

What are the different ways (sent alert chimes)

that you could capture information?

Okay and then I'd go through and be like,

yes, yes, yes, no cut.

Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep, cool, so sorted.

Thus, we just went through all four steps so code.

- What?

The... (signal bleeping)

Hey friends, welcome back to channel.

All jokes aside, regular viewers know,

I have huge respect for Tigao, Ali, and Thomas

but their ultimate productivity systems

can be intimidating for the everyday person.

So in this video, I'll be sharing a simple two step process

that'll get you 80% of the benefit

with just 20% of the effort.

I also share a lot of real world examples.

So you can see how I use this productivity workflow

to manage your full-time job in tech

while creating videos part-time.

Lets get started.

In a nutshell, step one,

I literally capture all my ideas and tasks

related to my work and my personal life

into an app call Todoist.

Then when I sit down in front of a laptop

where there's a keyboard,

my step two, organize all those ideas and tasks

into their corresponding locations,

Google Workspace, Calendar, Notion.

Let's quickly break this down.

Step one, capture.

If you clicked on this video,

you're probably familiar with David Allen's famous quote,

"Your brain is for having ideas, not holding them."

So you should do whatever you can

to minimize the friction between point a,

having the idea in your head and point B,

writing that idea down.

I want to emphasize the app itself does not matter.

I use a free version of Todoist

because it a very responsive widget.

I literally just click the plus icon on my home screen

and I can input the idea or task in less than 10 seconds,

and that's all I use Todoist for.

As a counterexample,

I've tried using Thomas Frank's Notion template

to capture tasks but the loading animation

and having to fill in one or two property fields

added too much friction

and that decreased my motivation to write things down.

Onto a simple example,

I'm on my way to work and a colleague messages me

with a link to a document for me to review.

I can't really focus during the commute.

So I add "Review email copy, and reply to Jane," in Todoist,

and get back to browsing something actually important,

like memes.

Another example,

as I'm about to leave for work I receive a message

reminding me of a colleague's birthday on Friday.

I immediately bring up Todoist,

type in "Buy birthday present for Michelle today",

and add another task, "Bring present to office on Friday."

After buying the present today, I check off the task,

and thanks to Todoist's natural language processing feature.

It will remind me on Friday

to bring the present to the office for Michelle.

Pro tip, you should always start your quick capture

with an action verb.

This way you won't be left at something ambiguous,

like present.

- Not a present, it's the present!

- So on a typical day when I wake up,

my to-do list starts off with recurring tasks

and reminders I've input previously.

Then throughout the day,

new action items and ideas are added.

Which brings us to step two, organize.

The biggest pro tip here is from Tiago Forte,

"The wrong way to organize information

"is by where you found it,

"the right way is to organize by the location

"you will use that information."

Jumping right into a simple example.

For some reason, I'm super creative when I'm at the gym,

like working out the gym, not hang out there for no reason.

In between sets of 800 kilograms,

I would have ideas on new marketing campaigns

to run at work,

advice I need for my manager, and content ideas for YouTube.

I capture all that in Todoist, finish the workout,

and when I'm back on my laptop,

I add the marketing campaign idea

in our team's weekly meeting agenda,

email my manager with the problems I'm facing,

and include new video ideas

in my content pipeline page in Notion.

As you can see, to make step two work well

you first need to identify suitable locations

then organize to those locations.

I like to do the step on a laptop rather than on my phone

because I just type so much faster on a keyboard,

and a navigation on the desktop app is usually much easier.

Another example,

I'm in a car and I come across a video editing tutorial.

I save the link in Todoist and when I get home,

I add it to the post production section

of my video page in Notion

because I want to watch it right before I start editing,

where it is the most useful.

Onto a more advanced example,

at the government tax bureau place,

I was told to apply for a tax refund in eight months

by submitting three documents.

The moment I was told, I opened up Todoist,

added a date and the documents required.

When I got home, I saved that information in a Notion page,

and while that isn't wrong

I'm probably gonna forget about it in eight months.

So in addition to this record,

I block off a time slot on my calendar

for eight months later,

add the three documents I need to prepare beforehand,

and link the Notion page within the description.

In this instance, it's fine to keep a record within Notion,

but my calendar is a place

where that information will be used

since my calendar basically tells me where to be and when.

Funny story, a friend of mine missed the deadline

and lost out on quite a bit of tax refund

so that's like a real life consequence.

Not exactly funny story, but I got to say "I told you so,"

so you know, silver linings.

Anyways, at this point

you could probably see how this process

plays out throughout the day, right?

Capture, capture, capture, organize.

Capture, capture capture, organize.

Capture, capture, capture...

- Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!

- No, but you get the point, right?

Pro tip, it's fine to skip the calendar

and leave tasks that are not time specific within Todoist.

For example,

it doesn't matter when I take my probiotics every day.

It doesn't matter

when I physically hand the present over to Michelle,

as long as I do it before I leave the office.

The second those are done though, I check them off,

and allow my brain to forget all about them.

The next example relates to inbox management

because email plays such a huge role in our lives.

Specifically how the snooze feature within Gmail

is so underutilized.

When you receive an email

requiring you to take action more than a week from now,

for example, you need to present

in next month's team meeting,

you should snooze that email onto the Monday of that week,

when it is the most relevant.

In a way, when the email arrives in your inbox,

that's like the capture step.

And the snooze feature is the organized two location step,

if that makes sense.

Have an entire video teaching you step-by-step,

how to achieve inbox zero so I'll link that down below.

In summary, capture all ideas and tasks

in as frictionless a way as possible.

Then organize those in locations

where that information will be used.

Once you're comfortable with these two steps

check out Tiago Forte's Second Brain video

because capture and organize

is actually part of his four step process,

capture, organize, distill, and express code.

See you on the next video in the meantime,

(snaps) have a great one.