I used to think that being really organized was a prerequisite to being highly productive. Yet plenty of folks are very successful without having read Getting Things Done or The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

That’s because having a sophisticated productivity system isn’t really about productivity—it’s about reducing stress. It’s possible to be completely unorganized yet insanely productive in one’s narrow area of expertise. It’s actually the minor administrative tasks of life that require a well-built personal productivity system, and an alternative to adopting such a system is simply to let many of these things go.

We can decide not to care too much about acting on every single email or calling grandma regularly or getting to the dentist every 6 months on the dot. I think these things are important (and perhaps you do too), but not everyone does. “Don’t sweat the small stuff” really is a valid approach to life.