There is a lot of productivity advice on the web--goal setting, things-getting-done-ing, etc.

You might have tried many of these things, and found that they didn't stick. In fact, you might even feel bad about yourself--maybe even blamed yourself for not being able to do something so seemingly straightforward as setting a goal, listing the steps, and ticking them off.

Truth is, not everyone is wired to do it that way. Ever take a Myers-Briggs personality inventory? They are actually pretty useful--as long as you realize that they are a tool to figure out what makes you tick, and not a predetermined limiter for what you can or cannot do. You can do anything. You just might find some things easier than others.

My personality type is INTP. This basically means that I am not a GTD kinda guy. I get sidetracked in ideas. I am not "driven" in the Tony Robbins Awaken The Giant Within kinda way. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't--this isn't a value judgement. But a lot of the self-help, productivity advice out there does make value judgements. You can easily beat yourself up because you didn't stick to the plan, follow the book, implement the template.

That's OK, too.

The truth is, we are all different, and there is no one way that will work--and if you aren't wired to be a GTD'er, it isn't a character flaw. You don't have to keep "getting back on the wagon." You don't need to make your Next Action lists, or Set Your Major Mission Statement. You're OK. You aren't wired that way. I'm not. But I don't need "fixing," and you probably don't either.

So--here is my single step, the one thing you can do when you feel like you are off track:

Think back to a time when you were insanely productive--when you were so lost in focus, that hours flew by like minutes. When, perhaps, you did the best work of your life. List all the things you can remember about that experience. Were you working in a team? Alone? With a list? Under a deadline? What were all of the salient details of that time that made it special?

Then, replicate those conditions as best as you can, whenever you need a boost. 

That's it. David Allen can't tell you, Tony Robbins can't tell you, no one can tell you exactly what those conditions are for you, but you already know what they are, because you've already been there. 

You don't need software, unless you do.

You don't need a Moleskine, unless you do.

You don't need a list.

You don't need a guru.

You already know what to do, better than anyone else possibly could.

The answer, as it has always been, is inside you.