What is a Productivity System?

You’ll often hear productivity bloggers and YouTubers refer to their productivity system as the way they get so much done in a day. But what even is a productivity system?

To understand what a productivity system is, let’s look at each word individually.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of productivity is:

And the definition of system is:

When combining these two definitions, we get something like this:

Taking a crack at this in my own words:

A productivity system, therefore, is a combination of tools and techniques you use to accomplish something. The something can range from getting through a short task list to achieving one of your life’s goals. The productivity system is there to help you track your progress, and to help you keep moving towards your desired result.

The main components that make up a productivity system are methods (What is a Productivity Method?) and apps (What is a Productivity App?).

It’s impossible to have an effective productivity system if there’s no goal or purpose you’re working towards. You need to have a focus for your productivity system, as this will inform what components your productivity system will need (see Keys to Productivity: Focus)

One of my purposes for starting CreaDev Labs is to teach others how to go about building their own productivity systems. There are many examples of others who have shared the productivity systems they've built, and while seeing how others are doing things is helpful in getting ideas of things to try, adopting someone else's system isn't going to work in the long run. Each person is unique, their goals unique, so each person needs a system that is tailored to how they work and what they want to accomplish.

I’ve been building and maintaining my own productivity system for over a decade. You can see my current productivity system here.