I just read the simple productivity ebook Todoodlist by Nick Cernis, and it’s a rare pleasure to be able to recommend an ebook so unequivocally. 97 pages but an easy read, it’s worth the $14 price just for the entertainment value alone. In particular, the “7 fun essays exploring our complex lives, including Zen Kitten in a Box and Parrots in Space” had me cracking up. Nick does a great job poking fun at how needlessly complex our lives have become.

I’m not into all the complicated productivity systems like GTD (which I haven’t read yet, but I probably will someday). I’m also not into high-tech stuff, except at work (where I don’t mind spending hours on overly complicated things). I like keeping things simple, and Nick is totally on board with that, having abandoned his PDA three years ago in favor of simpler methods. He offers 5 terrific productivity solutions using good old pencil and paper. (Actually, I’ve always greatly preferred pens to pencils, but he says pens are OK if they work for you.)

I can’t really get into any specifics, because these solutions are so simple that even a summary would give away too much. But although they’re simple, it’s a pretty safe bet that you’re not using all 5 of them. In fact, I was only using one of them already. 2 of them aren’t for me, but the other 2 I’ll start using today.

Nick also describes a simple 5-step system for reducing complexity in your life. I found this part good but less original than his 5 productivity solutions, since we saw similar things in “The Four-Hour Workweek.”

There is an affiliate program paying 50%, and a 30 day no-quibble money-back guarantee. If you’re looking for good entertainment and simple productivity, look no further than Todoodlist. In fact, it’s going on the Resources page.