7 Productivity Systems to Experiment With

Everyone—and their dog—has productivity advice to share. But let’s be honest: most of us struggle with productivity. We love to procrastinate, especially by reading articles about how to be more productive!

Working efficiently is about more than the color of your desk or the background music you play. It’s about finding a system that works for you and sticking with it. Over time, you’ll build positive habits that help you stay on track and get more done.

Fortunately, you don’t need to build a system from scratch. There are several proven frameworks that have worked for millions of people—you just need to find the right fit.

Since everyone works differently, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. But if you’re willing to spend a little time experimenting, you can find a framework that will skyrocket your productivity in the long run.

Here are seven of the most popular productivity systems to test out:

1. Biological Prime Time

Developed by Sam Carpenter in his book Work the System, this method is all about listening to your body to discover when you are naturally most productive. If you’re someone who can stay laser-focused for hours and send emails without getting instantly distracted, this system might be for you.

• How to do it: Spend a few weeks tracking your energy, focus, and motivation. Every hour or so, rate each on a scale from 1 to 10.

• The takeaway: After a few weeks, you’ll have enough data to spot patterns (you can even graph them). Use these insights to schedule your most important and creative work during your peak hours.

2. Don’t Break the Chain

Rumored to have been created by comedian Jerry Seinfeld, this system came about when a young comic asked him for advice. Seinfeld told him that to become a better joke writer, he had to write every single day.

• How to do it: Get a calendar (a paper one on your wall works best visually) and mark a big red X over every day you complete your task.

• The takeaway: After a few days, you’ll create a chain. Your only goal is not to break the chain. Seeing that visual streak will keep you motivated to take action every day.

3. The Eisenhower Box

Used by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, this decision matrix helps you prioritize tasks and evaluate where to invest your time. If you constantly find yourself wasting hours on low-priority items, this system can help you regain control.

Categorize all your tasks into four quadrants:

1. Urgent & Important: Do these immediately yourself.

2. Important, but NOT Urgent: Schedule a specific time to do these later.

3. Urgent, but NOT Important: Delegate these right away.

4. Neither Urgent nor Important: Eliminate them completely.

4. Getting Things Done (GTD)

Created by David Allen, GTD is slightly more complex than other systems, but its main core principle is simple: your brain is for having ideas, not storing them.

• How to do it: Write down every single task, commitment, and short-, medium-, or long-term goal in an external system (a notebook or an app). This clears up mental bandwidth for the task at hand.

• The takeaway: Conduct a weekly review to organize and group similar tasks together (for example, batching all your phone calls into one session) and set your top priorities.

5. The Anti-To-Do List

Popularized by entrepreneur Marc Andreessen, this system is inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s secret to success: keeping an open schedule to stay flexible for what matters most.

• How to do it: Instead of writing down what you have to do, write down everything you’ve already accomplished throughout the day.

• The takeaway: If you’ve ever reached the end of a long workday and wondered where all your time went, keeping an Anti-To-Do List helps you track, visualize, and celebrate your actual progress.

6. Must, Could, Want

Designed by entrepreneur Jay Shirley, this daily framework balances urgent priorities with long-term goals and personal well-being.

Every morning, answer these three questions:

1. What MUST I do to create the biggest impact today? (Urgent/High priority)

2. What COULD I do to build a better future? (Long-term goals)

3. What do I WANT to do to enjoy today? (Personal satisfaction)

At the end of the day (or the next morning), review what you accomplished, reflect on any unfinished items, and adjust your focus accordingly.

7. The Pomodoro Technique

This classic technique breaks your workday into short, focused sprints separated by brief breaks, leveraging Parkinson’s Law (the idea that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion).

• How to do it: Pick a task and set a timer for 25 minutes (one Pomodoro). Work with 100% focus until the timer rings, then take a 5-minute break. After completing four Pomodoros, take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

• The takeaway: Time constraints create a sense of urgency that sharpens your focus, making it ideal for tasks like writing drafts, clearing out emails, or tackling heavy projects.

Final Thoughts

The real secret to productivity isn’t finding a trendy tool—it’s finding a system that fits your workflow and turning it into a habit. Feel free to experiment with these seven methods, tweak them, or combine them to build a routine that works best for you!