How NOT to be a master of productivity

Recently I wrote a post about one of the main factors that motivates people to get things done: the pursuit of mastery. Or, what is the same, trying to get the greatest possible knowledge about what we really like to do (it’s hard to keep the necessary motivation to improve on something we do not like, even if it’s what feeds us).

It is quite common that, in this path towards the domain of our abilities, we want to also master our personal organization and productivity, as a part of the process. Ultimately, no matter what we do, a good organization will allow us to be more efficient and, therefore, better.

It is also quite common to confuse mastery with exploration, and waste all the time in the world trying out each and every one of the “personal productivity” applications that exist in the market. Mastery of personal productivity is achieved by dominating the concepts and workflow, rather than the tools.

You do not have to read every book in the world; you only read those that you think can bring you something—because of the title, synopsis or comments. Be equally selective with productivity applications and check out only those with overtones of adding some value to your personal organization.

However, mastering the applications you use on a regular basis because they bring you some value, does increase your productivity. Each tool allows you to do a number of things, directly or via shortcuts. Probably you will need to use your imagination to find solutions to other specific situations that the tool does not provide so immediately. Learning and mastering all these options will allow you to work more efficiently. This is time well spent.