One Size Doesn't Fit All in Clothing, So Why Should it in Your Productivity System?

I enjoyed Mark Hollander's post "Time Management is a Stupid Idea - So Why am I Hooked?" immensely.  In many ways we're hooked on systems that don't take into account WHO WE ARE (for you DMX fans, much like the 'Who We Be' song).  You DESERVE a system that is not only blessed with wicked best practices, but is infused with your unique personaliy traits to.

The more the Time/Task Management System is optimizable for the personality of the individual, the further they get to go down the rabbit hole.

For instance, in a perfect world, an Extrovert according to Myers-Briggs might be tasked to complete their Weekly Review at a Starbucks, whereas the Introvert might be tasked with completing it at a cabin in the woods.  That's the kind of thing I like to tell people.  Make it work for you!  The Judger might react well to a Tony-Robbins-style pre-day scheduling of time, but the Perceiver could go haywire from the same approach and benefit greatly from added flexibility.

So where does that leave fans of productivity systems?  Sometimes the system is a natural fit for the person, sometimes it's like trying to get a jock into chess club or Frasier Crane to a rodeo.  And when it doesn't fit in key areas, people end up feeling like they cheated on their favorite author as they start bending hard guidelines to suit their own style.  You know the drill from there: like a bad diet, the productivity system falls away, sometimes even leaving the person worse off than before (It's like revenge to kill off 100 chicken nuggets in a sitting after a 6-week tofu diet).

Productivity Tip: Don't stop using a Time/Task Management System when you 'fall off the wagon', as it could be a sign that the system needs to bend to who YOU are.

GTD and the Gyronix System work for me because they are flexible and more task-based, going to Time-based when there's truly a hard date.  As you recall I'm in fact the real Lord Voldemort, so as a Myers-Briggs Perceiver, Tasks with Deadlines but not ascribed to specific times of the day work best for me. And I love Tony Robbins' approach to daily planning, I just change it from time-based to task-based, guilt-free knowing the Tony and I don't have the exact same personality types.

What do you think?

Comments

[bob handwerk]

So true! I formerly utilized all types of time management organizational methods ( charts, graphing, results measurements) etc. until I relaised non detail oriented people were not interested... You are absolutely on target.