Are you feeling overwhelmed?

Are half-started projects and ideas lying around everywhere?

Do you have far too much to do?

Don’t know where or how to cut back?

Don’t know where to begin?

Others, myself included, were not so lucky. I had to learn it from others starting with Getting Things Done (non-affiliate link) by David Allen.

And it’s not a matter of being intelligent. In fact, those who are quite intelligent often missed out the time to learn these habits during their schooling years because they never needed to! But at some point, in college, grad school, in the workforce, raising a family, somewhere – things start crashing down. Without knowing how to arrange not only meaningful work, but also the fun and the mundane, they start to stumble and get little and less done.

But once you start getting on top of things, you may discover that productivity is more than just getting a lot of stuff done. It’s about learning how to start taking charge to get to the places you want to be.

You may feel lost and not know where to even begin:

• Do you start with a tool like OmniFocus?
• Do you start with a methodology like Getting Things Done (also known as “GTD”)
• Do you start with a quick habit like the Pomodoro Technique?
• How about Bullet Journaling?

Any of these can be quite useful. You may have tried several methods and never succeeded. Each person’s path can be quite different.

That’s why I’ve created two books and a course. Each one is complete and none of them require any of the others. Each one will take you from the smallest steps to a larger working system. Each starts in a different place but lead to the same destination. Which road you take is more about how you like to learn.

First, consider signing up for the mailing list so you can get free samples of all products.

The following offers questions to help guide you to a product that I hope would speak most to you. And, there is a 30-day money back guarantee with any of them. Just contact me if a product does not work for you.

Where do I start?

Each of the books and courses stands independently and in many ways leads to the same place: the attempt to find mastery and meaningful work.  Some focus on a tool while others focus on a mindset.

The simplest and most economical approach is to join the newsletter. You’ll get samples of the books and instructions to order the first five modules of Being Productive for $1…

• Do you prefer to build through simple habits?

• Do you prefer to learn on your own by video?

If so, consider:

• Do you find yourself having to force yourself to do work?

• Do you prefer to learn with the support of others?

• Do you find yourself distracted, trying one app after the next without success?

If so, consider:

• Do you prefer to learn by working with a specific tool?

• Do you want specific examples to try?

If so, consider:

• Do you have lots of ideas and don’t know how to connect them all?

• Do you have lots of digital stuff to get on top of?

If so, consider:

• Do you already have a working system and want to sharpen things up?

• Do you prefer to know theory so you can fully create a system to support you?

If so, consider:

Other books to consider

There are several books I’ve found helpful for productivity throughout the years only some of which I list here. (In no particular order):

• Getting Things Done – David Allen
  • This one started it all for me. While I had some system here or there, this was the one that really began bringing a solid system together for me.  I took OmniOutliner, an OmniFocus predecessor called kGTD, and just started to hammer out a system that worked for me.
• Effortless Mastery – Kenny Werner
  • Werner’s focus on bringing about the conditions that access a depth of mind really blew me away. I found his book transformative for my piano work and subsequently in my thoughts about integrating creativity and play with productivity.
• The Now Habit – Neil Fiore
  • A nice solid work on considering procrastination, its many hydra’d existence, and how to begin managing it.
• Deep Work – Cal Newport
  • Newport really dives deep into the subjects he pursues.  I think he does a solid researched job into looking at how to engage work more fully.
• Mastery – George Leonard
  • Leonard gets into the details of what makes for mastery. A quick, no-nonsense read.
• The Art of Learning – Josh Waitzkin
  • Waitzkin became a chess champion at the age of 9. Later he became a world champion of Tai Chi Chuan.  He presents how he views his skill of learning as his central work.
• How to Meditate – Lawrence Leshan
  • Leshan presents a clear and concise read on getting started with meditation.  You don’t need fancy apps or anything else. It’s about learning to be with your mind and develop your focus. Meditation helps so much more than productivity, and I’ve found it invaluable.

• Getting Results the Agile Way – J.D Meier

  • Meier describes another view of productive work that tends to stand in contrast to Getting Things Done, but is likely better considered a compliment.
• Atomic Habits – James Clear
  • Clear presents a nicely laid out structure and anatomy of habits and then methodically describes how to maximize those you want and minimize those you do not.

More Free OmniFocus Resources

• The Omni Group’s Set of Screencasts
• The Omni Group’s Inside OmniFocus.
• The Omni Group’s forum.

More Paid OmniFocus Resources

• Build Your OmniFocus Workflow (ebook)
  • Ryan Dotson & Rosemary Orchard describe their workflows as well as describe the fundamentals of OmniFocus.
• Learn OmniFocus (videos)
  • Tim Stringer has built a solid site showcasing simple and complex uses of OmniFocus as well as numerous authors and their own uses.
• OmniFocus Video Field Guide (video)
  • David Sparks describes how he uses OmniFocus to be the productivity powerhouse he is.
• Working with OmniFocus 2019 (video)
  • Joe Buhlig presents his unique tag-less system, step by step.