My System for Getting Stuff Done (Part 1)

I enjoy answering the questions how I get stuff done. First, please let me share that I have learned a lot about how to manage processes, document my work, and get stuff done in general. I used to be a very chaotic person and I was struggling for a long time to get things in place for being productive (and happy). A lot of credit for where I am today goes to my wonderful wife Anita, who homeschools our four kids (check out her resources on how to become a learning family), works as a project manager for the Frohlich Lab, and contributes to the field of international law with her widely-read online encyclopedia of comparative and foreign law CompareLex. I have watched her be productive at an insane level and learned, in fact learned a lot. With some tweaks to my specific circumstances, I have converged on the following three basic principles:
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1. Small notepad (like this one) and a high-quality pen next to my computer to write down all the random and fleeting stuff that comes up. There are many moments during a conversation that I do not have the time to go to my electronic systems to add stuff (see below), so that stuff goes into my notepad and gets transferred and crossed out at the end of the day. 
2. Use a digital notebook (such as Endnote or OneNote, both free!) and have a note for each day. Everything I do gets documented. This keeps me on task and gives me a sense of accomplishment by the time the days ends. Careful note taking did not come naturally to me but, once I developed the habit, this became super helpful. Bonus tip: I start each daily note with a brief reflection statement on the previous day and my plans for the day. I address the questions of what went well and what I want to improved the next day.
3. Use a project management tool (I personally use Wrike) to keep track of all tasks. Most of my tasks come by email. My trainees have access to directly create tasks and assign them (with a deadline) to me. This saves a lot of unnecessary emails back and forth. By the way, talking about emails, I do not use the inbox as a to-do list, rather I move things that I cannot immediately resolve to Wrike as tasks.

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These are the three pillars of my productivity system (together with getting enough sleep!). I will expand some more over the next few posts to give you full behind-the-scenes access of how I get stuff done. 

I hope this finds you well and please do share in the comments below if these strategies work for you and whatever productivity systems you have developed for yourself. Let's share. Let's learn, grow, transform together!