I try not to fall into the cult of productivity, but I am drawn to things I think will make my life a little easier. This week, we’re counting down my top three productivity tools.

At the start of each school year, I always get the urge to overhaul my planning structure. Will a find a new tool that works better than the last? Will this calendar finally keep my on track? Is there a project planning system that will work better? I often think my desire to try something different was just an excuse to get my hands on some new notebooks. But, I finally found a system that works.

There are a lot of productivity tools out there. This industry is massive and each commercial product and influencer will try to sell you that their system is best. I’m not going to do that. I’m just sharing what I found works for me. This may not work for you. Everyone has different needs, but these are the three things that have helped me stay on track with deadlines and self-imposed projects that would otherwise go nowhere.

The reason they work? They speak to my need to check things off and clear things out. I am an inbox zero person. I want clean slates and surfaces. I want to see things be done and go away so that I can spend my mental capacity elsewhere. ...