I remember a couple weeks ago when I was really stressed about a project. Ever had that feeling where you had so much to do that you didn’t know where to start?
I hate when that happens! I’ll know exactly what I need to do but for some reason I still don’t do it. Then a day before the deadline I’ll force myself to get started but it’ll be really stressful and I hate myself for not starting earlier.
Then when I reread AE Primer I remember again what I need to do and fix. I know I’m not the only person who deals with this from time to time. For example, here’s an email we got from one of our readers:
“My day to day problem is getting on top of my workload. I’m pushing a lot of things in front of me, and only getting them done in the last minute. I’ve tried to setup different systems but it doesn’t work for me.” – Marisa, Melbourne.
What I’ve found is that the most important thing you want to address is having a methodology, a workflow or a system in place. Most people don’t even know something like this exists so they do whatever works in the moment.
This is usually where thing go south.
When you learn random bits and pieces of productivity, it can actually be detrimental to your productivity.
Here’s an example. Someone might say that you need write things down on paper to free your mind and to remind yourself of things you need to do. That sounds like good advice, right?
Now what if you do that but you also use a digital to-do list like OmniFocus or Remember the Milk. Do you also have to write it down in the program? Do you have have to transfer the paper notes into your digital system? What happens when you have 10+ notes and you don’t know where to start? Or you have an iPhone – do you then type it up on your phone and then later on your paper to-do list?
As you can see, your “system” can easily fall apart when you incorporate random bits of advice.
What you need is a framework where proven principles meet real world applications.
That’s why we created the Asian Efficiency Primer. It contains our proven principles on productivity and we made it action-able so you can implement all the ideas right away. It will also help you build a holistic framework for your own productivity system so you’ll stop doing things last minute.
