At least, what are my productivity challenges where tools can help (or hurt)?
I thought it would be useful to make a list. Can't tackle problems if you don't know what the problems are!
- Visual clutter & distractions, inefficient use of my screen
- Too many tabs nuff said
- Too many emails nuff said
- Too many steps to get into working on a specific project (different browser windows/files to open etc)
- No separation between work & personal tasks, messaging, apps, contacts, etc.
- Twitch-distractions — stuff I do automatically (to the extent of muscle memory) whenever I feel a moment of stuckness or indecision, like open reddit/bluesky/twitter (it's not because I want, specifically, to open them) or even tab through open windows obsessively
- Rabbit holes (good AND bad)
- Losing my place (or fearing losing my place)
- Where's my stuff? Sometimes I don't know, or can't remember if a doc was in Notion (barf), Google Docs (slightly lesser barf), Discord, etc.
- Lack of easy capture for ideas, screenshot, links, things to read or watch, PDFs, etc., which then leads to either letting them escape entirely or ineffective hoarding bc I'm afraid of losing it
- Piles in multiple places that are annoying to sift through and therefore never get sorted through (the downloads folder is a place where hopes go to die)
- Lack of fruitful organization for ideas, screenshots, links, etc. which results in
- No actionable pipeline from idea/screenshot/note/saved whatever to actually producing work with it, whether that's posting, analyzing, using it as a jumping-off point, etc.
- Difficulty sharing all the little artefacts (links, pdfs, screenshots, etc)
- Lack of usable feeds for email newsletters, relevant new content, etc.
- Lack of a daily plan or agenda that's easy to set up and review each day
- Out of sight, out of mind for calendars, emails, etc. — even whole ass projects
- To-do lists are horrible and end up massively cluttered (just like screenshots, links, ideas)
- Every PKIM tool is horrible and overwrought, making it worse to use than nothing (at least for me) (god I hate Markdown) and they don't work the way I think or want to think with my saved knowledge
- Getting sucked in by the screen — accidental hyperfocus
- Under-stimulation turns out to be a problem for me sometimes; background noise or gentle music helps, so does a weighted blanket or (for reading) being in hot water, etc. (and over-stimulation is the issue other times)
- Lack of routine is mostly a mental problem but the tools sure don't help (this includes taking breaks)
- Friction that makes me want to scream (web pages cluttered with ads, popups, etc.)
- Block be it writer's block, designer's block, marketer's block, etc. The friction of getting into a project (that's purely mental) results in just random fucking about that doesn't get anywhere
- Dizziness — it's not the exact sensation I feel but light-emitting screens can get really overwhelming
- Cold is a surprisingly difficult productivity blocker for me and it happens at times that don't make sense