The debate rages on. What is the best productivity system, set up, and workflow? What’s the best way to organize your tasks, plan your projects, or structure your week?

And what’s the best app for putting it all together?

If you’re like me, you’ve tried a lot of systems (and apps), and continue to do so because you might find something you like better, or something you can adapt to your current setup. 

It’s also fun to hear what others do. This morning, I read a discussion about this very subject. 

One guy said he has a friend who has used GTD for the last twenty years and he asked him a question about his setup. The friend told him he no longer uses GTD, or any system at all. He writes what he needs to do for the day on a slip of paper. 

That’s his system. 

No lists, contexts, priorities, or tags. And no apps. Just a simple list. 

Shocking, I know, but also refreshing. If you have a piece of paper and a pen, you don’t need anything else. 

Make a list. Do the things on the list. Make a new list the following day. 

You spend no time organizing and reorganizing or manicuring your lists.     

 It reminds of me of the way we used to do things. Before PCs and smart phones. We had a paper calendar and a legal pad, and that was all we needed.  

I wrote my list for the day on my calendar where I could see it alongside appointments and things I wanted to remember. The only prioritizing we did was to put things in the order we needed or wanted to do them. If something was really important or urgent, we’d circle or underline it or write a star next to it. 

And the next day, we’d make a new list. 

Long-term planning? That went on the legal pad, or in a file folder. Long-term dates? Those were put in a big (red) book. 

And it worked. 

And there’s something appealing about this system today. Clean and simple.

No, I’m not going to make this old system my new system. It’s a bit too simple for me now, especially since I know what else is available. And because I like my devices and apps.

But the next time I spend too much time tinkering with my system, and not enough time doing the work, I’m going to remember the way we used to do it, grab some paper and a pen and make a list.  

I like big lists and I cannot lie. I use them every day for everything. Bullet points give me order. Checkboxes give me peace. Lists save me time, keep me from forgetting things, and help me to be more productive. 

Can you relate? 

The other day, I was surprised to hear that Warren Buffet doesn’t make lists. I heard it from the man himself in a video. He says he doesn’t need lists because he knows what he needs to do and wants to do, and that’s what he does. 

And he has so much money, he can do whatever he damn pleases. Okay, I made that part up, but c’mon, we know that’s true. 

What about a calendar? That’s a list. You need to know about upcoming meetings and conference calls and appointments. Does he have someone who keeps that list for him?

What about the agenda when he delivers his annual report to shareholders? That’s a list, isn’t it? Does he read from a printed statement? That’s a list in narrative form, yes?

Anyway, this isn’t about the nitty gritty about what he does and doesn’t do. It’s about me romanticizing the idea of being so comfortable about your situation that you don’t need to make lists to keep you on track. 

I thought about what that would be like and wonder of wonders, I realized that I could actually make that sorta work.

I know the projects I want to work on today and this week. And I will work on them. Without needing to check my list. I know because they are important to me. 

I also know my daily and weekly routine tasks. Without a list and reminders, I might overlook some of them, but I’d get the most important ones done. 

I also know what I want to do after I finish my current projects and wrap up the week. How do I know? My subconscious mind reminds me. It knows what I need to do. And want to do. If it’s important, I won’t forget it. If I forget it, it wasn’t important. 

Maybe Mr. B. is onto something. 

Hold on. David Allen tells us to write down everything, to get it out of our heads and free up cognitive space for creating new ideas and working on them. 

Who’s right? The GTD guy or the weirdo who eats McDonalds every day? 

Tell you what, until I can hang with Mr. B., I’m sticking with Mr. A. 

Because I like big lists and I cannot lie. 

Do you ever find yourself avoiding your weekly review because it takes too long? You’re busy, tired, or have too many other things to finish? 

Me too. 

Which is why I keep a simplified weekly review list to use when I’m pressed for time or otherwise not up to doing a full review.  

I quickly review 4 things: 

1. Calendar
2. Email
3. Projects and Tasks
4. Notes

Here’s what I look at: 

1. Calendar:
   • Review upcoming week to 10 days (appointments, events, scheduled tasks) and note anything I need to re-schedule or prepare. 
2. Email:
   • Respond to short, important messages; flag longer messages and actionable items, or add them to my task app
   • Add reference material, content ideas, to my notes app
   • Delete (almost) everything else
3. Projects and Tasks:
   • Review current/most important projects (not all projects)
   • Make sure each project has Next Action(s) and add these to my task app. 
   • Review upcoming tasks: Delete? Defer? Delegate? Change priority? Add additional tasks?
4. Notes
   • Improve title, clarify key points
   • Add tags and/or links
   • Add links to relevant notes to upcoming tasks
   • File or re-file (in Area of Focus, Project, or Resources)

I give myself 15 minutes and that’s often enough to keep things organized. If I run out of time, I’ll postpone reviewing my notes so I can focus on action items.

How about you?