I am a huge fan of productivity thoughts, tools and tactics and I firmly believe that no matter what business you are in, you can benefit from some intentional thinking in this area. All of us have more things to do than time to do it in and could benefit from a tool that would help us to organize our thoughts and tasks in a more systematic way.
I have been interested in this space since the early 90’s when the company I worked for at the time implemented the Franklin Planner as a means of increasing or enhancing productivity. Franklin Planner was a great way to start but organizing things according to their methodology was as cumbersome as the mass of binders that we had to carry around in order to manage our days.
Almost 20 years ago David Allen came on the scene with his radical ‘Getting Things Done’ approach to time and task management. His ‘mind like water’ approach is perfect for a time when to-do lists must be more flexible while recognizing the context of tasks as well. I have taken his approach to productivity to heart for almost half of my business life and thought of you who know me have heard me talk about it at least once, if not more! What I have never really found is a way to implement his thinking in a way that incorporates the best of software tools, the cloud and a platform independent approach that met my needs. Until now, that is. The tool I want to tell you about is called Priority Matrix from Appfluence.
Priority Matrix is platform independent, based in the cloud, freemium software that integrates with any email platform you’re using including Office 365, Outlook, G Suites and Gmail and it does it seamlessly and elegantly.
Here’s a brief overview:
Overview
Additional Examples…
It’s even available for smartphones!
You can find many more of these examples on their YouTube channel here.
This solution hits all my high notes around thoughts, tools, tactics and timing in the productivity space and it meets all my criteria for an effective solution. It is simple, it is powerful, it is platform independent, it is freemium and therefore it is effective. If you’d like to talk about how this applies to you, please use the contact form below!
Supplemental articles
“Benjamin Franklin didn't become one of history's greatest inventors just by sitting around. His daily schedule was pretty intense. This meticulous and rigorous routine may seem impossible to follow, but it could mean a serious productivity boost” https://t.co/Fv8oqua50lpic.twitter.com/M4eNqOExkj
These thoughts were assembled with care for the important people in my life. If you’re getting this link, it’s because you and your productivity and happiness are very important to me! I hope it benefits you…
I’m surprised I haven’t come across this video before because GTD or Getting Things Done is one of my favorite thoughts or strategies and Mindjet MindManager is my favorite tools for implementing GTD. I promise you it’s worth your time to watch if you have a lot of information and effort to coordinate…
Do first things first, and second things not at all.
Peter Drucker
“The ability to set priorities, focus on them and not deviate may be the most important skill for success in life. The quote from Peter Drucker was written in the context of talking about business efficiency but can be applied to any field. With limited time and energy that is available, there are only so many things that can be done – no matter how many time management skills you learn. And because not all things get you the same return on investment it is important that you only do those things that are the best investment of your time, energy and also money.”
I believe that mind-mapping is a special skill that will help you organize your thoughts for business or life. Here’s Brian Johnson’s take. Click the title to watch the video…
Most of us have troubles keeping focus throughout the workday and have to constantly fight procrastination and all kinds of distractions. Here are 15 instant tips for focusing on work that you can apply to your workflow today: How to Focus on Work Like a Jedi: 15-Point Checklist – Upwork Blog
One of the best definitions of content marketing I ever heard was simply this; find good s*** and share it. that little beauty comes from thought leader Jason Falls and I have never found a better definition since the day I came across it.
The Divine is in the details however and it’s not the simple process of just finding good s*** anywhere and sharing it anywhere; it is developing a simple leather rinse repeat process that will get you and your ideas the attention you crave.
I have been studying this process for over a decade and I think it’s time to revisit the essentials of how to use content marketing to get a following in 2018. Interested? Let’s keep going…
Today I want to talk with you about the first part of the equation — finding good s***. In my opinion it’s easy to find good s*** — what most people don’t realize is that you can make good s*** find you. There is a little appreciated technology called RSS that can make all the difference in your thought leadership world. Here is the best and simplest explanation I have ever found and even though it was done in 2007 it’s still a great explanation:
Here’s what I hope you will take away from the video above. RSS is like a radio signal and just like with radio there are many devices that can tune into that signal and take advantage of the content. There are actually three different “devices” that I use on a regular basis: the first is the WordPress Reader, the second is Google News and the best is Inoreader. In the following video I’m going to break them down and show you what I mean.
Hopefully after this video you’ll see that Making good s*** come to you can be fun and easy and it will also give you a competitive advantage. According to the Pew study on the internet in the American Life only about 11% of All American internet users know that such a technology and Tool exists. If you do the work and continue to master content readers you will always be ahead of the game.
WordPress is just one of the feed readers that are available. If you’re not using WordPress as your website, it probably doesn’t make much sense to use that as your feed reader. A far better and more advance feed reader tool is Inoreader. I have included a couple of screencasts for you here:
Some of the most popular screencasts I’ve ever done are about how to use it:
Before I continue on please let me know in the comments what questions you have about content readers.
Struggle to let the weekend go and get to work on Monday?Start the week with these eight productivity tips specifically designed to hit the ground running. Source: 8 tips to make Mondays super productive – Holy Kaw!
iOS/Android: Choosing how to use spare moments on your phone can feel like dieting. You might find yourself choosing Twitter or Facebook every time, mad at yourself for never cracking open Kindle or Instapaper. Fighting this habit takes a whole arsenal, so here’s one more weapon: Turn off all your “bad” notification badges and turn on some good ones. Source: Hack Your Notification Badges to Encourage Good Habits
Dealing with anxiety or depression is challenging enough as it is, but trying to be productive at the same time can feel downright impossible, like swimming against a current. There are some small productivity hacks that can help. Source: Do “Bad Work” When You’re in a Productivity Slump
We often find ourselves trying to figure out ways to be successful; initiating ideas that could be stepping stones towards the goals we set out. Sadly, certain obstacles may set us back in our tracks, and what started off as a plan of action may turn into something we wish we could have done. Little did we know that success comes in different forms—it could happen overnight or it could take months, or even years. The fact remains that what we’re able to accomplish every single day contributes to the likeliness that success is just a few steps ahead.
Bright, shiny objects! 
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