This is especially important for the scholar, but it’s important for everyone at some point. Finally, you need some place where you can store information, whether it be articles, receipts, archived email exchanges, etc. This keeps your mind free of clutter (as well as your inbox!). Either complete the task or schedule it for another time. At regular intervals, you completely clear your inbox. You need one place-one inbox-where you can quickly and easily capture ideas, tasks, etc. I don’t follow all of his system (mainly because I want as simple a process as possible), but I have adopted the core principles, including the following: I generally follow the productivity principles set forth in David Allen’s Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

Immediately, I received several replies on Twitter, as well as texts, emails, and even a comment on LinkeIn, requesting that I write up a blog post explaining what I explained to the students. I don't often bring students to tears in class, but I did today as I explained to PhD students how to organize their life with Google Inbox + Evernote! (They were tears of joy, by the way!)

But about four years ago I finally found my perfect system, and I show the students that system that helps me organize my life, research, writing, family, church, school responsibilities-everything.Īfter the first class last semester, I tweeted: I’ve tried them all, from Todoist, Astrid, Wunderlist, Remember the Milk, and many, many more. I was the kid who in Junior High School bought my first Franklin Day Planner, graduated to Palm Pilot in college, and regularly surfs the Google Play store for the latest in productivity apps. I’ll admit it: I geek out on productivity stuff. I am convinced that organization and productivity are essential in order to succeed as a PhD student, a scholar, a pastor, even a parent or spouse.Īfter discussing principles, I walk the class through my own productivity system. I teach a PhD course at Southwestern Seminary in research and writing, and the first thing we discuss on the first day of class is productivity. Note: This post is an update from an earlier one since Google Inbox has been depreciated.

Evernote calendar journal