The myth of the perfect productivity system

When organization becomes the biggest distraction of all

The problem is me. The system works. I just don’t have the discipline to apply it. That’s how I’ve started to feel about the Johnny Decimal system. It calls itself “a system to organize your life,” and, to a point, does — that point is right after I’ve spent hours organizing folders. It’s been a year since I applied it to my Obsidian vault and Gmail. For a few weeks, I’m on it: notes filed, emails slotted, everything is where it should be, and I feel pleased with myself. Superior, even.

Then reality sets in. In Obsidian, I conveniently forget that the system requires upkeep. I start adding notes haphazardly, leaving them unsorted, telling myself I’ll file them later. Fast-forward six months: I still haven’t filed them. Some – embarrassingly – don’t even have titles. The most success I’ve had with maintaining order is setting a recurring calendar reminder at the end of each month to clean up my mess. But even then, I find myself thinking: why don’t I just organize as I go?

Johnny Decimal works better in my Gmail, sort of. I have folders like “1 Work,” “2 Health,” and “3 Finance,” each with their own neatly nested subfolders. The problem folder is “0 Current,” my dumping ground. Everything lands in my inbox first. If I don’t want to deal with it immediately, I shove it in there. Spoiler: I don’t. “Current” is where tasks go to die.

Another issue: I can’t remember the decimal numbers. I don’t use the files often enough to internalize the structure. Sure, I recall that I have a “Current” folder with a “What’s on” subfolder, but I can never remember the numbers associated with them. And ultimately, I default to search anyway. I don’t navigate through “Car > Insurance” to find my policy details, I type “car insurance” into the search bar.

This realization makes me wonder: am I organizing out of necessity, or because I’m hooked on the ritual? I like the Johnny Decimal system and the big-picture view it gives me. One organizing spree, and I’ve got finances, travel, random notes on lock. I haven’t mentioned work. Forget that. Coding a feature or juggling sprint tasks doesn’t bend to decimals, so it gets siloed off into a whole other system.

Some folks let their MacBook files rot and lean on Spotlight — because chaos apparently works for them. On a Hacker News thread discussing the flaws of the Johnny Decimal system, one comment stood out:

“As an ADHD person, I’ve found the best way for me is not to put effort into organizing at all… My brain works better searching than browsing.”

This is what gets me — maybe organization isn’t meant to be organized.

But the real issue? Organizing is a form of avoidance. Not just avoidance of work, but avoidance of life itself. If I can just create the perfect list of movies to watch or the best places to buy furniture, then I’ll start living. Or then I’ll be safe because there will be just a little less chaos. Meanwhile, actual work (and living) sits there, not done.

Another Hacker News comment hit even harder:

“The more I tried to control and organize my life, the more stressed I became. Digitizing and organizing my knowledge base, in particular, wasted countless hours. Recently, I decided to let go of that rigid structure and instead focus on naturally prioritizing the most important tasks for the day, week, and month. So far, this approach has been working well, or at least it feels like it is.”

I went on a year-long journey organizing everything that might be useful someday. The only thing that’s actually been useful? Knowing where a scanned copy of my passport is. The next part of the Hacker News comment terrifies me because how could I possibly get things done without the illusion of organization? This is gonna take a fundamental mindset shift for me and anyone else who clings onto organization for dear life. Letting go of control feels insane, but what if that’s the point? What if the “messy desktop, just do it” crowd isn’t failing, but thriving?

The best productivity system could really be the one you don’t have to think about. Johnny Decimal’s solid if you babysit it, but the second you blink, it’s toast. I’m not a robot, and neither are you. My alternative system? Just go spontaneous and do what needs to be done. Keep what’s critical front and center. Nestful’s my wingman here: a to-do list that doesn’t care if my Obsidian is a mess or my inbox is full. Everything else can wait, because — shocker — it usually doesn’t matter. Productivity is not about control; it’s about action. Stop overthinking the how and just start. Trust me, you’ll survive the mess.

Try Nestful.