In Praise of Simple Productivity Systems

Get outta here with your complex, multi-step, automated efficiency flows.

Red Barn in Wheatfield by Georgia O’Keeffe, 1928. Simple can be beautiful.

"Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail." —Thoreau 

If you can name a productivity system, I’ve tried it. 

Getting Things Done (GTD), Agile/Scrum frameworks, Bullet Journal (BuJo), Pomodoro, Time Blocking, Kanban, SMART goals, all of it. 

Let’s throw in the productivity software that I’ve tried, too: Todoist, Notion, Trello, Asana, Evernote, Slack Canvas, Figjam, and others. 

All of it, at some point, failed to do what was promised. Namely, I didn’t end up wildly more productive because of those systems or apps. I mostly felt let down by the marketing, the functionality, and, most often, my own discipline in keeping to a new system. 

For the last few years, I haven’t done any of that. I’ve instead relied on a stupid simple system that has fundamentally changed how I think about productivity. 

I call it: the Basic To-Do List. 

Using a combination of Google Docs and a pocket notebook, I’ve felt less scattered and more productive than in any other period of my life. Here’s how I do it. 

Using a simple checklist to be more productive 

In 2022, I was moved to a new team at WordPress.com, which meant being introduced to a new supervisor, team culture, and method of working. In our first 1-on-1 meeting, that new supervisor gave me a glimpse of his to-do “app,” which was just a Google Doc with a running list of tasks. That was it. I was a bit flabbergasted, to be honest. 

Intrigued by the simplicity of it, I immediately stole the idea. Two and a half years later, I haven’t looked back. (Eric: if you’re reading this, thank you!) 

1. Create a new Google Doc titled “To Do.” 

I create a new doc for each year.

2. Outline it right away. 

Each month is given a Heading 2 title, each week is given a Heading 3 title, and each day is bolded, with a list of tasks bulleted underneath. 

This takes some time to do manually, but it’s worth it. 

3. Use checkboxes as bullet points. 

This option in Google Docs allows you to check off items without the auto-strikethrough, which I really like. I still want to be able to easily read through the things I’ve accomplished. 

4. Write out your monthly, weekly, and daily to-dos. 

I tend to work week by week. So what I generally do is add a bunch of tasks under each week’s heading, then filter them down to each day either at the start or end of a work day. Most of the time, I’m not adding tasks more than 2-3 weeks out, but for big projects sometimes I’ll plans months or quarters into the future. 

I use sub-checklists when a to-do has multiple steps; I add context as needed; I include links when appropriate. 

5. Carry a pocket notebook with you, to capture your thoughts. 

As a human, you know that your brain is a fickle organ and likes to remind you of things at very inopportune times. I almost always have a pocket notebook in reach and when I randomly think of a to-do or an idea, I jot it down. Later, when I’m at my computer, I’ll transfer over the important stuff. 

It’s. That. Simple. 

If you’re interested in more details, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer. But once you start playing around with the idea, you’ll quickly figure out what works for you. 

To reiterate: This system is not complicated and that’s the entire point.

Simplify, simplify, simplify! 

It seems crazy at first. I get that. No recurring tasks? No reminders? What?! But here’s what I’ve found: The truly important stuff bubbles up. Period. 

When I would finish a Friday report in my previous job, I’d then add that task to next week’s list. Something about automating the task actually kept it further away in my mind than when I spent five seconds manually typing it out each week. 

Now, there are some things the doc doesn’t replace. For instance, I still use a separate Google Sheet as my newsletter’s editorial calendar. And my Google Cal is still the first thing I look at each morning. But this simple to-do list has served as the bulk of my productivity system for the last few years and it has not yet failed me.

Ultimately, I’ve come to think that if you need a complex productivity system, you’re probably doing too much. And, of course, that’s not always in your control, but the more you can simplify, the better. (Throwing whole teams into the mix complicates things as well.)

For your personal productivity, I just don’t think it gets better than the Basic To-Do List.