Master Your Productivity System and Building a Second Brain That Works for You

Over the past few years, I’ve tested various to-do list apps and project management software, looking for that one-for-all life-changing solution that works for me.

📢 Spoiler alert: This isn't one.

I’ve learnt that it’s a productivity system you need. Well, that, and a second brain.

A second brain is a system (or set of apps) you use for a specific purpose to store information. This will be your go-to area to jot down ideas, tasks, documents, etc., so that you can delegate the responsibility of holding this information to your second brain.

So here are the steps and software that form my productivity system and second brain.

Productivity System

We’ll start with my calendar, where I plan out my day and manage appointments and time blocks for my business, client work, and personal activities.

Since becoming a small business owner, I’ve really benefited from the ability to set my own schedule and manage my time, which works well for my circadian rhythm, an important factor you should consider when organising your calendar.

If you’re an early bird and find you’re more alert first thing in the morning, scheduling tasks that require more focus and energy in the afternoon won’t work for you.

As an early bird, I like to wake up at 6:30 am (early enough for me!) and start working around an hour later. I then set my to-do list for the day and align it with my calendar before spending some time on the business.

For me, having a visualisation of what’s coming a week ahead works well, so I can see what I need to focus on and gauge my capacity too.

To manage my diary, I use the popular time blocking method, although I’ve recently discovered time boxing too – both very similar, but with slight differences.

Time boxing works like an appointment in your diary. If you have a 1-2-1 with your client at 9 am for an hour on Monday, that is a fixed time slot, which shouldn’t run over. When scheduling in your diary using this technique, you limit the time you want to spend on the task, for example, checking emails.

This is how I use time boxing in my diary:

• 07:30 – 08:00 am: Check emails & to-do list

• 08:00 – 08:30 am: Lead gen

• 08:30 – 09:00 am: Check client’s inbox

Etc...

To schedule the rest of my tasks, if it will take 2 minutes, I’ll do it straight away, or schedule the work in my calendar if it’ll take longer. I like to add a slight buffer to the time block to allow for runover.

So, blocking 1.5 hours in my diary for a task I estimate will take 1 hour, in order to not disrupt my flow.

Make sure not to put too many time blocks in your diary, as that’s unrealistic and unachievable. Allow for 10-15 minute breaks throughout your day too.

Second Brain

As I mentioned earlier, the second brain is your system for taking down notes and tasks, maybe storing documents, to relieve you of the pressure of remembering them.

Master Project Management/To-Do List App

I wrote about my go-to daily driver, Clickup, in my last LinkedIn newsletter. 

This has become a master dashboard for my business. It stores all of my client to-do lists and their meeting notes, it features a Kanban board I use to operate my CRM and content calendar, and can do so much more (even beyond what I know now, and I already consider it life-changing).

Anyhow, this is where I run through all my tasks for the day, both for clients and my business, which I then use to update my time blocks each morning.

Reminders

I live for Reminders, Apple’s native app. I set a reminder via Siri, either at my desk or on the go, and notifications appear on my iPhone and MacBook until they are actioned.

This is great for quick tasks and personal errands.

I’ve only really owned iPhones for the past decade, but I’m sure there are similar apps on Android phones, and you could also use Alexa, which sends reminders to your phone too.

Notes

I’m also a huge fan of the Apple Notes app. I jot everything down on my Notes app; it’s so handy as it magically appears on my MacBook seconds later. From there, I can copy the notes over to any other app. Microsofts' OneNote works in a similar way too.

By mastering my productivity system and building a second brain, I’m able to keep on top of the various demands of running a small business.

Have a great day!

Tom