I’ve tried more productivity systems than I care to admit. GTD, time blocking, pomodoro, bullet journaling, PARA method. They all promised to be “the definitive system” and they all ended up being too complex to maintain.
After years of frustration, I created something ridiculously simple that actually works for me. It’s not revolutionary, but it’s sustainable.
The problem with popular systems
GTD overwhelmed me with infinite lists
Getting Things Done has a brilliant idea: capture everything immediately to get it out of your head. I loved that part.
The problem came after. Contexts, projects, someday/maybe lists, weekly reviews. I ended up with 15 different lists and spending more time organizing tasks than doing them.
A concrete example: I had “call dentist” in my @calls list, “buy toothpaste” in @errands, and “research dental insurance” in someday/maybe. Three related tasks scattered across three different places.
It was technically “correct” according to GTD, but impractical.
Time blocking crashed against reality
Time blocking looked perfect in theory. Specific blocks for specific tasks, everything planned in advance.
In practice, I’m terrible at estimating time. Some tasks I thought would take 2 hours I finished in 30 minutes. Others I thought were quick ate up half my day.
My calendar became a constant lie. By 10 AM I was already two hours behind schedule. By 2 PM I had thrown in the towel and the whole system would collapse.
It’s not that time blocking is bad, it’s that it requires estimation precision that I simply don’t have.
Pomodoro interrupted me at the worst moments
Pomodoro works for many people, but I hate forced interruptions.
Just when I was getting into flow while programming, the timer would tell me “stop, take a break.” Or worse, when I had 2 minutes left to finish something, pomodoro would force me to stop.
I prefer to work until I finish something or until I naturally need a break. Artificial interruptions throw me off my rhythm.
My current hybrid system
After so much experimentation, I took what I liked from each method and discarded what didn’t work.
Immediate capture (the best of GTD)
When something pops into my head, I capture it immediately. No excuses, no “I’ll remember later.”
I use my phone for this. Voice assistant if I’m driving, quick notes if I’m at my desk.
The key is not to think too much at the moment of capture. Just get it out of my head.
Only two categories
Here’s the trick that changed everything: I only have two types of things.
Reminders: “Do X on Y date”
- Call mom on Sunday
- Buy gift for Juan’s birthday
- Renew license before the 15th
Tasks: “I need to work on this”
- Fix login bug
- Update portfolio
- Prepare project presentation
That’s it. No contexts, projects, someday/maybe. If it doesn’t fit in these two categories, it’s probably not important.
Simple kanban for tasks
All tasks go to a basic kanban: To Do → Doing → Done.
I use TickTick but any app works. Even a notebook with three columns.
The kanban is purely visual. I like moving things to “Done” because it feels good. There’s no complex science behind it.
Timer for awareness, not control
Here’s the part I took from pomodoro but adapted: I use a timer to track time, not to control it.
When I start a task, I start the timer. If I need a break, I pause it. If I get interrupted, I pause it. The point is to know how much real time I spent on something.
It’s not pomodoro because it doesn’t force me to stop every 25 minutes. It’s just time awareness.
My current daily workflow
Capture during the day
Something pops into my head → I capture it immediately on my phone.
I don’t categorize in the moment. Just capture and continue with what I was doing.
Process at the end of the day
I review everything I captured and classify it:
- Is it something for a specific date? → Reminder and I forget about it
- Is it something I need to work on? → Goes to the kanban
This process takes 5-10 minutes maximum.
Work with time tracking
I pick something from “To Do,” move it to “Doing,” start the timer and work.
There’s no specific order. Sometimes I work on the most urgent thing, other times on what I feel like doing.
When I finish or need to stop, I pause/stop the timer and move the task to “Done.”
Specific examples
Scenario 1: Production bug
- I get a report → “Fix checkout bug” goes directly to kanban
- I move it to “Doing,” start timer
- I fix it, record that it took 45 minutes
- I move it to “Done”
Scenario 2: Important call
- I need to call the bank on Friday → Reminder for Friday
- On Friday the notification arrives, I make the call
- It doesn’t go to kanban because it’s not “work,” it’s just a reminder
Scenario 3: Personal project
- I want to update my portfolio → Goes to kanban
- When I have free time, I move it to “Doing”
- I discover it takes longer than expected, but that’s okay because I didn’t have a specific expectation
What I’ve learned from time tracking
After months of tracking time, I’ve discovered interesting patterns:
My estimates are terrible
I consistently underestimate complex tasks and overestimate simple tasks.
”Fix this CSS” that I thought would take 10 minutes turned into 2 hours of debugging.
”Set up this new feature” that I feared as an all-day project I finished in 45 minutes.
Context switching kills productivity
Days where I jump between many small tasks are much less productive than days where I focus on few big things.
This isn’t surprising, but seeing it in real numbers is different.
Estimation improves with data
Now when I see a task similar to something I’ve already tracked, I have a better idea of how long it really takes.
I don’t use this data for time blocking (because I already proved that doesn’t work for me), but it helps me decide what to do when I have 30 minutes free vs 3 hours.
Edge cases and how I handle them
What happens with tasks I didn’t finish?
If something stays in “Doing” at the end of the day, I move it back to “To Do.” I don’t overcomplicate it.
Some tasks are bigger than I thought. That’s okay.
How do I handle interruptions?
I pause the timer, attend to the interruption, come back and continue.
If the interruption generates a new task, I quickly capture it and return to what I was doing.
What about recurring tasks?
For things I do regularly (like code reviews at work), I don’t put them in the kanban. I just track them when I do them.
For recurring personal things (like exercise), I use weekly reminders.
Why it works for me
It’s sustainable
It doesn’t require constant maintenance of complex lists. Two categories are easy to handle.
It adapts to reality
It doesn’t force me into perfect estimations or artificial interruptions. I work with my natural rhythm.
It gives insights without overhead
Time tracking gives me useful information without adding complexity. Just press start/stop.
It works with any tool
It doesn’t depend on specific apps or complex setups. Reminders + simple list + timer. Any phone can do this.
How to adapt it to your situation
If you’re a developer like me
- Bugs/features go to kanban
- Meetings/calls go as reminders
- I track code reviews but don’t plan them
If your work is more meeting-heavy
- You might need an additional category for “prepare for meeting X”
- Reminders will be more important than the kanban
If you work on large projects
- You can divide large projects into smaller tasks for the kanban
- Or track time by project instead of individual task
If you hate technology
- Notebook with three columns for kanban
- Physical calendar for reminders
- Kitchen timer for tracking
What this system is NOT
It’s not perfect
I still procrastinate. I still underestimate time. I still have unproductive days.
The difference is that the system doesn’t break when I have a bad day.
It’s not for everyone
If time blocking works for you, great. If you like GTD, keep using it.
This system is for people who, like me, found popular methods too complex.
It’s not innovative
I’m combining ideas that already exist. The “innovation” is the simplification.
After 8 months using this
What keeps working
- Immediate capture is still a game-changer
- Two categories are still enough
- Time tracking still gives me useful insights
What I’ve adjusted
- Added simple tags in kanban (work/personal) to filter when I want
- Use different timers for work vs personal projects
- Made daily review more flexible - sometimes I do it the next morning
Metrics that matter to me
- Am I capturing things or forgetting them?
- Does the kanban reflect what I’m actually working on?
- Am I learning something useful from time tracking?
If the answers are yes, the system is working.
To start tomorrow
If you want to try something similar:
- Choose your tools: Reminder app + task app + timer
- Define your two categories: How do you distinguish between “remember to do” vs “work on”?
- Capture everything for a week: Don’t optimize, just capture
- Review at the end of each day: 5 minutes to classify what you captured
- Track time on 3 tasks: Just to see how it feels
Don’t try to implement everything perfectly from day 1. The beauty of this system is that you can start simple and adjust as needed.
The final point
There’s no perfect productivity system. There are systems that work for you at this moment in your life.
This system works for me because it adapts to how I actually work, not how I think I should work.
If you’re frustrated with complex systems, maybe the answer isn’t finding a better system, but making a simpler one.
Productivity doesn’t have to be complicated.