Thread by @rjnestor

In college, I was HOPELESS at dating.

I’d get infatuated with a girl, and by the time I asked her out, I was a nervous wreck. Never went well.

Finally I had a talk with myself. “R.J., just DATE. Don’t fall in love first. Just DATE.”

You may ask: …is this about productivity?

Why yes, it IS about productivity!

Lots of folks think you have to trust a system before you can use it. So they find a big, elaborate productivity system and they fall in love with it.

Then they dive in, but everything that seems like it SHOULD work… DOESN’T. Not for them.

But WHY doesn’t it work?

Because you can’t trust a system UNTIL you use it. And when you start with a new system… it is not going to work well at first.

It is THROUGH using a system that you can fix the flaws and shore up the gaps.

So what’s the best system to start with?

Start with a system you can use from day one.

Simple, fundamental, functional.

Then build it into what you need it to be. Prototype workflows, develop routines, incorporate multiple apps if you need to.

But always USE it. That’s how you figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Naturally I have an opinion about how to DO that. I use #ToolsforThought like @RoamResearch, @obsdmd, @amplenote, @logseq, etc.

(Check out my AP Productivity cohort course—link in bio—to see how I do it. Cohort Five launches tomorrow!)

But my opinion isn’t important. YOURS is.

When I started “just dating,” it didn’t take long to meet the woman I eventually married.

Because soulmates aren’t found, they’re made. Love GROWS.

Your “soul-productivity-app” isn’t something you just find either. Sure, you may be well-aligned. There will be attraction.

But…

It’s the work you put INTO building your reliable, tailormade productivity system that makes it powerful for YOU.

So in short:

1. Don’t “fall in love” with the prospect of every shiny new app

2. Use your system BEFORE you trust it

3. Start with simple, fundamental, functional