Want to get organized? Adapt a framework rather than adopting one if you really want it to stick.

I have spent my adult life chasing after organizational systems for productivity and personal knowledge management.

GTD, Autofocus, Eisenhower Matrix, Pomodoro, Moscow method, PARA, LYT, Johnny Decimal…these are just a few of the tens — maybe even hundreds — of productivity and personal knowledge management frameworks that have been developed.

Soon, another cohort of Building A Second Brain participants will begin their work developing or refining their second brains — external versions of what is in their heads. Every person approaches it differently.

The biggest mistake I see people make is trying to replicate someone else’s system exactly.

Your brain doesn’t work like anyone else’s. Hence, no one else’s system will work for you.

You have to build — and then continually refine — your own systems.

These systems will be built on tools and, as you look at all of the well established frameworks you’ll find loads of tools to choose from. Things like a waiting for list, a Pomodoro timer, an unprioritized list of all your projects and tasks — or prioritized if you need…all of these tools — and many, many more — are at your disposal to build and refine your system.

So, stop trying out other people’s systems and fit together a set of tools that work for you, and you alone.

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