Here is a list of really cool resources on the net for increasing your efficiency and productivity. I refer to these resources frequently, so why hide where I’m getting some of my inspiration?

If I missed something really good, please comment below so others can find out about it, too.

These are all “high-level” productivity sources. By high level, I mean these are not just basic ideas about organization (e.g. “Make a list”). These are sources that suppose, at the outset, that you are not a clutter bug and have mastered basic organizational skills.

Productivity and Efficiency Sources

  • David Allen’s Getting Things Done: I’d like to say that David Allen was the inspiration that started it all for me, as he did for so many others. But he wasn’t. However, his book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity was what reignited my passion for productive thinking and efficient action, especially as it pertains to work and small businesses. Fifteen years of studying organizational techniques had left me a bit jaded and believing that there wasn’t much new to be said on the subject. Aside from David’s own forums, the largest single area of GTD fans (or fanatics, some might say) can be found at Merlin Mann’s excellent 43 Folders site. And yes, the name 43 Folders actually means something useful.
  • David Seah’s Better Living Through New Media: Another David, who isn’t too fanatical about GTD. He has some great ideas and thoughts about daily productivity, and he uses the challenges he faces in running his own business as a platform for experimentation for various strategies. His posts about productivity are a good place to start. Be sure to check out all the cool forms he has made over the years - especially helpful if you prefer paper and pencil methods of tracking and planning your work, as opposed to digital methods.
  • Michael Hyatt’s Working Smart: Michael Hyatt is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, one of the largest publishers of Christian books. You don’t get to read the inner working strategies of a CEO too often, and his blog, Working Smart, is probably one of the best. Michael doesn’t update his blog very often, but there is plenty of archived material there that is worthy of bookmarking.
  • Brendon Connelly’s Slacker Manager: Brendon is another smart guy who used to do all sorts of big business stuff and he has all sorts of degrees to prove it. But, his blog is a great read. You might want to start on the productivity stuff and work your way from there.
  • Jeff Sandquist’s GTD Tools: Jeff maintains a pretty good list of tools you can use to implement an organizational strategy into your personal or work related task management. He keeps it up to date and has alternatives for computer or paper-based solutions. You’ll want to be familiar with GTD before trying out most of these, but feel free to browse early.
  • Jazz Masterson’s GTD with Index Cards: I have to say that Jazz’s idea of how to implement a GTD workflow with index cards is probably, at the least, one of the most innovative ideas I’ve seen. I really like it - and I like the fact that he photo-documented the entire process. Not very hip, but definitely very effective. And effectiveness is what really matters for any system anyway.
Posted in: General