I started to give my workflow a good look during my reassessment — and then I listened to Matt Alexander on Bionic #57 discussing the very idea of workflows. Matt’s always made a lot of sense (my buddy Michael Schechter goes into things a little deeper in this post over at Workflowing), so I began to look at my workflow once again — this time through a different lens.
And I realized that I’m doing a pretty good job with mine “as is”.
If anything, I can use my current apps better. Things like Evernote and OmniFocus, for example. Instead of diving into apps that can become part of my productivity gestalt, I will use resources to help me get better at apps I’m already using so I can wring more out of them. Admittedly, Evernote is one app that I’ve still only scratched the surface with. So I’m going to re-read Brett Kelly’s Evernote Essentials and make note of what more I can (and should) do with the app.1
The same goes for OmniFocus. I know I can get more out of it, so I’ll dive deeper into Asian Efficiency’s OmniFocus Premium Posts and make that happen where I can. I’ll also revisit Kourosh Dini’s books to see what else I can take from there and apply as well. After all, his most recent book is called Workflow.
My “productivity path” will remain the same, but it’s time for me to draw from other resources and get better at using that path. Funnily, by completing the first two aspects of my assessment — priorities and projects — I have a much clearer head to get better at using the tools that help make up my workflow. That wouldn’t be the case if I’d looked at my workflow first.
I look at the overall assessment I’ve done almost as if I’ve cleaned my “mental” desk. I figured out what was most important, decided what to work on going forward, and then put in place the things I needed to make that forward movement as efficient and effective as possible. I know the desk will get messy again at some point, but I only need to give it that really good clean when I just can’t move forward with it as it stands. I’m not going to do it just for the sake of doing it (and avoiding doing the things I really need to be doing instead).
Now that my desk is clean, it’s time to get to work. Really great work.
1 And its additional components.
