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Learn and Work Smarter · July 23 · 28 min

136. Productivity Tools Are Useless (Unless You Do This...)

Send me a message!🤓 Productivity tools come with big promises. Planners, apps, devices, software…they can all genuinely help you get things done – and they claim to do so. BUT, the tool itself never gets you the outcome you want. I know, the irony. In this week's episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I reveal why productivity tools are useless (yes, even the ones I love and recommend), and the mistake I see students and professionals make when they place all their hope in a shiny new tool. Then I share the one thing that actually determines whether a tool works or becomes a hunk of plastic collecting dust on your desk (or a hunk of wasted pixels on your screen). What You Learn: The biggest mistake students and professionals make when they get a new productivity tool Why even the most basic tools (yes, a sticky note) can change your entire workflow Why even the most impressive tools (reMarkable, Asana, Notion) can do absolutely nothing for you What actually gives a tool its power (hint: it's not the tool) How to audit your systems so you know exactly where to start 🔗 Resources Mentioned: ⭐SchoolHabits University (SchoolHabitsUniversity.com) ⭐Note-Taking Power System (NoteTakingSystem.com) ⭐Assignment Management Power System (AssignmentManagementSystem.com) ⭐FREE Parent Training: How to Help Your Teen Handle School Like a Pro Episode website (https://www.learnandworksmarter.com/podcast/136) Episode 12: Are Your Productivity Systems Broken? Episode 113: The 6-System Ecosystem for School and Work Episode 117: How to Build a Personal Ecosystem Episode 119: My 10 Favorite Productivity Tools (Blog) 14 Uses for Blank Notebooks Submit a question to the show Free weekly planner (Free download) ❤️ Connect: Subscribe on YouTube Instagram TikTok Facebook Pinterest Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here. Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!! LET'S CONNECT Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard. For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

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show notes

Send me a message!🤓

Productivity tools come with big promises. Planners, apps, devices, software…they can all genuinely help you get things done – and they claim to do so.


BUT, the tool itself never gets you the outcome you want. I know, the irony.


In this week's episode of the Learn and Work Smarter podcast, I reveal why productivity tools are useless (yes, even the ones I love and recommend), and the mistake I see students and professionals make when they place all their hope in a shiny new tool.


Then I share the one thing that actually determines whether a tool works or becomes a hunk of plastic collecting dust on your desk (or a hunk of wasted pixels on your screen).


What You Learn:

  • The biggest mistake students and professionals make when they get a new productivity tool
  • Why even the most basic tools (yes, a sticky note) can change your entire workflow
  • Why even the most impressive tools (reMarkable, Asana, Notion) can do absolutely nothing for you
  • What actually gives a tool its power (hint: it's not the tool)
  • How to audit your systems so you know exactly where to start


🔗 Resources Mentioned:



❤️ Connect:

Got your own burning question you'd like me to answer on a future episode? AWESOME! You can submit your questions via the form on my homepage right here.

Please follow the show and leave a review if what you hear is helpful. Doing so helps me more than you'll ever know. Thank you!!

LET'S CONNECT

Sign up for my (pretty darn good) newsletter that I very craftily named ReportCard.

For hundreds of tutorials featuring tips on studying, productivity, organization, learning, time management and more, head to my blog: SchoolHabits.com.

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