Q&A: When to Shift Your Productivity Approach
adapting tools and strategies based on real life
Happy last day of April! I received an excellent question for this month’s Q&A, and I can’t wait to dive in.
A quick reminder: today’s newsletter is one of my quarterly bonus posts for paid subscribers, but I’ll be back next week with my regular first newsletter of the month for all subscribers. If you’re a free subscriber, you can read a preview of the newsletter and upgrade to read more below.
Thanks so much for your ongoing support! I hope you find today’s letter helpful and inspiring.
Hi Dr. Kate! I'd be curious to hear about a time when you realized that a system, tool, or strategy that used to work for you wasn't helping you anymore. How did you know it wasn't working? How did you decide what to shift to?
The word that stuck out to me when I first read this question was shift.
I tend to take an “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” approach. Once I find something that I enjoy and works well for me—a meal at a restaurant, a driving route, a productivity app—I like to stick with it instead of experimenting with other things just for the sake of sampling what’s out there (I own three pairs of my favorite pants in different colors).
Over time, however, tastes and needs might adjust. Usually, when I’ve realized systems weren’t helping me anymore and I needed to find a new, more helpful approach, it was because I was experiencing a shift in my life, like adapting my routines to a new housemate or transitioning from working at a college to working from home. Some shifts ebb and flow, too, like when I’m in a slower or a busier season.
I’ll group my answers to today’s question into three sections:
Tools that served a purpose…until they didn’t
Tools that I reach for sometimes
Tools that look like they’re here to stay
Tools That Served a Purpose… Until They Didn’t
Todoist
When I was working on campus and commuting a lot, I used the to-do list app Todoist every day. If you had asked me in 2018 what my favorite tool was, I’d say my to-do list on Todoist because I could categorize and color code my tasks by theme, schedule them onto specific days, and sync it all across my laptop, phone, and Apple watch. When I started working from home exclusively in 2020, I tried to limit my phone use because it was distracting, and I stopped using my Apple watch a year or so ago because it made me feel too obsessed with checking my messages. For work-from-home me, the Todoist app didn’t serve the same function, because I could easily skim my paper to-do list and my Google Calendar to see my schedule. If I were still commuting and working in different places every day, I would likely start using it again because it’s easy to track my tasks and check them off.
Time Blocking My Routine
When I was in grad school working on my dissertation and my blog, I worked as a teacher, office manager, and writing consultant. To make sure I fit my research and writing around my work for money, I would time block when to work on particular projects or tasks. This was mainly so I could fit everything into the day and not fall behind on anything—but it’s actually not my preferred way to work. When I finished my PhD, I had more spaciousness in my days and leaned more into a “rhythm” approach, where I choose when to complete specific tasks from my to-do list each day instead of scheduling them in for time blocks. There are certain tasks that I repeat at the same time each week—client check-in emails on Monday morning, updating my bullet journal on Friday afternoon—but I generally don’t schedule particular tasks to particular times if I’m doing solo work. However, if you are intrigued by time blocking, I wrote a newsletter about it here.
Tools That I Reach For Sometimes
Reflection
When I was working on my Tending Year blog project, I practiced doing monthly reflection to track how I was feeling and doing on my projects. I was navigating chronic back pain then, so reflecting on what made things easier was helpful intel. Over the years, I’ve shifted out of monthly reflection and instead do reflection in these ways:
A big reflection at the end of the year to look at what worked and what I want to change
Planning at the start of a new quarter to get clear about my business and personal goals
A short reflection in my one line a day in my journal before bed
And whenever I’m feeling stumped or stuck on a project and need to find a way forward
Monthly reflection no longer feels as helpful for me, perhaps because I’ve settled into my systems, and I tend to repeat the same practices. Interestingly, while I use my bullet journal daily, I’ve never gotten into the habit of writing notes or reflections in it.
You can learn more about reflection in general here and read quarterly reflection prompts here.
Pomodoros
I use Pomodoros when I’m working on a task that I want to focus on for a shorter work session and when I want a reminder to take a break. But if I’m in a state of flow and want to work for an extended period of time without distraction (like when I’m writing or developing a workshop slide deck), Pomodoros aren’t as helpful. I also feel more motivated to use Pomodoros for shorter work sessions when they’re gamified, like with my 100 Pomodoros in One Month Workbook, or the monthly challenges in the Forest app.
Tools That Look Like They’re Here to Stay
It’s quite satisfying to realize there are approaches I’ve been using and enjoying for years. I would say that Sarah Knight’s Must-Do Method and Rachael Stephen’s Constellation System have been consistently helpful for me since I learned about them in 2018 and 2021, respectively. Both tools serve a similar purpose, and align really well with my rhythm approach to my to-do list.
The Must-Do Method
I’ve called this tool the productivity tool that changed my life for a reason: it taught me to shift from using one long, running to-do list to intentionally scheduling tasks into my calendar when I actually needed to work on them. This helped me limit overwork because I wasn’t working ahead on things that could wait until later (which aligns well with Parkinson’s Law, or the idea that our tasks will expand to fill the time we provide for them).
The Constellation System
This system totally shifted my perspective on how I spend my time and energy. One of the foundations of the Constellation System is the concept that our life is not work vs. everything else, but rather is split up into 6 domains: creativity, money, space, mind, connection, and body. This is the part I work with the most, though Stephen also has systems for rituals and timing. I color-code each of my domains and use them in my bullet journal (to-do list) and online calendar, which helps me to track when I’m leaning too much into money/work and not enough into creativity, mind, and connection.
I hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at my tools, approaches, and systems. I invite you to share your go-to tools in the comments! If you have a suggestion for another future bonus newsletter topic, feel free to email it to me directly to kate@katehenry.com or submit it via this anonymous Google Form.
Take care and talk soon,
Dr. Kate