The problem
I tried every productivity app out there. Notion, Todoist, Things, Linear, plain paper. Each one worked for a week or two, then collapsed under the weight of how I actually think and work.
The issue wasn’t discipline — it was architecture. These tools are built around someone else’s mental model of how work should flow. They impose a structure that fights against the way I naturally organise and prioritise.
So I built my own.
What it is
A custom task and project management system designed around three principles:
Capture everything — No friction to adding tasks. If a thought requires more than five seconds to log, it doesn’t get logged. The system stays useful because input is effortless.
Decide once — Every task has a clear home: a project, a priority level, a context. I don’t think about where things go more than once. The structure makes the decisions automatically.
Execute without friction — When it’s time to work, I see only what I need to see. No distracting backlogs, no irrelevant notifications, no cognitive overhead from managing the system itself.
How it works
The system is built in layers:
- Capture layer — Fast inbox, zero formatting required
- Processing layer — Weekly review routine to sort, prioritise, and allocate
- Execution layer — Daily focused view showing only today’s committed work
- Review layer — Weekly and monthly check-ins to reflect on what’s working
Projects, recurring tasks, someday/maybe items, and reference material all have separate contexts and workflows.
What I learned
Building a productivity system for yourself is a fascinating design problem. The user is also the designer. You have perfect insight into requirements — but you also have all the biases and blind spots that come from being too close to the problem.
The biggest lesson: simplicity is harder than complexity. Every feature I considered adding, I eventually cut. The best productivity system is the one that gets out of the way.
Current status
In daily personal use. The system evolves slowly as my workflow changes — but the core principles have stayed constant since day one.