Ep. 337: Five Principles of Productivity

Nov 19, 2025

In this discussion, Eric Mack, a productivity software designer known for his e-productivity GTD application, shares insights on the intricate relationship between knowledge management and effective productivity tools. He introduces his five principles of software design that help enhance user experience while supporting GTD methodologies. Topics include reducing cognitive load, ensuring features add true value, and emphasizing the importance of system usability. Eric's perspectives challenge conventional thinking about tool-first approaches and advocate for personal responsibility in productivity.

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ANECDOTE

Long Partnership That Shaped A GTD App

Eric Mack built e-productivity as a GTD-aligned tool and David Allen used it for many years.
David still calls it the second-best GTD app because no one has built his ultimate GTD application yet.

INSIGHT

Tools Should Support Thinking Not Shape It

Tools often shape workflows instead of supporting preexisting thinking, which breaks workplaces.
A good productivity tool should support the user's thinking rather than impose its structure.

ANECDOTE

David's 1995 GTD Screen Blueprints

In 1995 David sketched his ideal GTD screens on graph paper and kept them private as IP.
He later shared those drawings publicly when nothing close had been built in decades.

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Creator of the second-best productivity tool for GTD, Eric Mack is grounded in GTD and knowledge management. David Allen and John Forrister recently talked with Eric about his five principles of productivity software design, in the hope that it might inspire future designers to incorporate some of these principles into their applications.

You can watch this entire conversation from March 2023 on GTD Connect.

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