Sometimes less is more. But, sometimes it’s just less. There are countless productivity methods and applications available online and in . books Most productivity advice says to stick to one system and application. If you don’t, your system will become too complex and fail. However, for one reason or another, we are not all able to use only one system and/or application throughout the day. If you are working toward personal goals on the side of an unrelated day job, you have probably found that the company you work for has its own system in place. The IT department probably limits the you are able to access throughout the day (Seriously, when are we switching to ?). Therefore, if your personal system doesn’t use the same software, you find yourself in a tight spot right from the start. software G-Suite Most likely, your team has a system to help everyone keep track of all the moving parts. Furthermore, the work you compete from 9–5 is probably much different than what you are striving toward outside of work. So, with all of these barriers, how are you supposed to be productive at work, while doing the same in your personal life? The Problem Photo by on Daria Nepriakhina Unsplash It’s April and in January you set your sights on a number of goals. Some are the same — looking at you weight loss. Others are more ambitious. This is going to be the year you [insert: write novel, start business, etc.]! You start by getting organized. Then,you realize that you don’t really know what that means. to the rescue! After reading 10–12 articles on different productivity systems and apps, you finally decided on a notebook, or was it ? No, it was definitely . Lifehacker Evernote Wunderlist You download the app and get everything just right. Then, you arrive at work on Monday morning to find one of the previously mentioned issues standing in the way of your newly perfected system. IT blocked the website. Wunderlist Your boss now has a board with tons of sticky notes on it in the middle of your office. You realize you need a way to track items that are pending for whatever reason. In all of these scenarios, you have two options. Either you can adjust your system, or you can create a separate system to handle all the needs of your day job. How to use two systems Photo by on rawpixel.com Unsplash Step 1: Decide what you need each system to do. The tasks you complete at work require a different kind of planning and tracking than the novel you’re writing. For example, I create documents through collaboration with a variety of people in other departments. Moreover, I will regularly work on more than one document at a time. After a few weeks of trial and error, I determined that I need to know a few things: What documents am I currently working on? When are they due? Where is this document? In other words, did I send it to someone else, or did they send it back to me? I found that my personal system was not helping me answer these questions. Wunderlist _I couldn’t find a simple system to use this specific app online, so I created my own._hackernoon.com How to actually use Wunderlist for success Step 2: Identify your system. After identifying my needs and realizing they weren’t compatible with my current system, I started reviewing systems. I asked myself, “what system gives me all of the information I need?” Being the productivity geek that I am, I already knew that was the answer to my problems. kanban It’s visualization of the status of a task was exactly what I needed. With one glance, I could see: What I was working on, When each task was due, and Where the document was at in the process. Once I decided on kanban, it was time for step three. Step 3: Implement your new system. When I first decided on kanban as the solution to my productivity problems, I created a vision for its implementation. Unfortunately, that vision involved filling one portion of my desk with three columns of different colored sticky notes. Suddenly, a much different image popped into my head… So, I decided to use . Trello It’s the same system, but on my phone. Therefore, I wouldn’t need to buy sticky notes. More importantly, I wouldn’t be drowning a sea of different highlighter colored sticky notes. The Last Step Photo by on Alex Unsplash The finishing touch was simple habit training. When I was thinking about personal goals and tasks related to those goals, open and use that system. Wunderlist When I was thinking about work related projects and tasks related to those projects, open and use that system. Trello This training proved quite easy for one reason: If I was thinking about personal goals/tasks and opened up , I would see only work related tasks; thus, signaling that I needed to use the other app, and vice versa. Trello If you’re finding it difficult to be productive at work, as well as your personal life, try separating the two. I think you’ll find that you’re better able to focus on the task at hand. Photo by on Pana Vasquez Unsplash
