At its very core a productivity system must check 3 main points:

• Searchable: find anything in 5 seconds or less
• Easy to set up: the simpler the system the easier it will be to set it up; aim for less than one hour
• Easy to maintain: don’t add complexity as you go, instead try to remove layers.

What pain are you trying to solve? It could be spending less money, making decisions faster or eliminating decisions at all. Whatever it is, make sure you know it: you will build your system around it.

The bigger the pain the more you will use your system.

When setting your system for the first time you will need to process everything going backward - categorizing and filling all the items that will be in your system.

The easiest hack is to follow the 80/20 rule: Focus 20% of your efforts on 80% of the items so you clear the way to work on things that demand your attention. Those are the 20% of items which are the really important ones.