We all fall off the wagon sometimes.

Sometimes life happens and you’re so busy that you stop taking the time to write down your to-dos, to prioritize them, and to plan your days and weeks.

It’s okay.

What matters is how you respond.

If I had to build a personal productivity system from scratch, here’s what I’d do:

Step 1: I’d install a quality task manager on each of my devices and I’d start capturing any to-dos that come my way, making sure to track any hard deadlines.

Step 2: I’d make a daily to-do list each morning. I’d start from scratch every day and wouldn’t let tasks roll over. By doing this short exercise every day, I’d make the best use of my time.

I wouldn’t overcomplicate things beyond this. I’d use this very simple system for a while until it became a habit again. Then I’d move on:

Step 3: I’d start doing weekly reviews: which to-dos are still on my plate? Which deadlines and events are coming up? What should I start working on now so I’ll finish it on time?

This would again be a good point to pause and let things run for a while.

After that, I’d make system a little more sophisticated:

Step 4: I’d organize my to-do list into areas of responsibility and I’d group related to-dos by project. Just to make the daily planning easier.

Step 5: I’d set up a communications triaging system. For example, I’d flag emails that I still needed to follow up on and I’d create to-dos for emails where the follow-up is substantial.

If you do this, you’re already so much more organized than most people.

Beyond that, I’d build out the rest of my system, which would include organizing my notes app, clarifying my high-level goals, and more.

The specific order of the steps isn’t magic, but this gives you an idea of how to build a personal productivity system without overwhelming yourself.

Want to set your system up efficiently? Enroll in my productivity courses.

Or design a system yourself. That works too—it just takes a little longer.

Where in the process of building your system did you get stuck?