The Productivity Family Tree

Famous families are all around us, from the Clinton dynasty to Mylie and Billy Ray Cyrus. They evoke in us so many things because we can relate, on some small level, to them. Not that many of our daughters are famous pop singers or that many of our parents are presidents. Sometimes we hate the very mention of family and at other times the thought warms our heart.

The Criteria
With family in mind, I decided to have some fun and sort through the top productivity bloggers on the Internet. To “make the grade”, each had to fulfill certain criterion:

* Must have a full-fledged productivity website
* Must blog about productivity on a regular basis
* Must do work that relates that directly relates to or enhances productivity
* Must be known as an expert in her/his field

Right off the bat, this knocked several major contenders out of the park. David Allen is a genuine player, but is “too big” for our consideration. In addition, he blogs for Huffington Post (no small gig) but not for his own site. I wanted to create a family tree of folks who are on the front lines and may or may not have totally made big on their career goals. With this said, let me be clear in saying that there are plenty of folks who could arguably be on this list but for subjective reasons didn’t make the grade. As an example, I read 43 Folders regularly but find that there are occasionally posts that are too casual for my taste.

The Tree

The Responsible Mom: Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro
Laura has written three fantastic books on productivity, travels the world as a productivity expert and has made a name for herself as a specialist in productivity. Her blog posts have a nice lean towards her published work and her newsletter is of top quality.

The Brainiac Dad: Matthew Cornell, Matthew Cornell
Matthew is a work-flow consultant and has made “the leap” from corporate life to self employment. His blog posts tend to be highly thought-provoking and he writes as a clinician rather than a hobbyist. Matthew also puts in the time to post on many other blogs, gaining a reputation as a genuine practitioner of productivity.

The Go-Getter Daughter: Susan Sabo, Productivity Cafe
Susan has been featured on HGTV and is the Founder and President of Organizers Inc. Her e-book, Managing Email and Paper Mail is an excellent resource for those looking to streamline and get leaner when it comes to your productivity system.

The Up-and-Coming Son: Mark Shead, Productivity 501
Mark is the mastermind behind Productivity 501 and is excellent at meme-generation and community building within the productivity network. Productivity 501 is arguably the most stylish productivity website on the Internet and features a handy ’store’ feature of Mark’s favorite products for getting more done in less time.

The Fun Uncle: Leo Babauta, Zen Habits
Leo is perhaps the best example of what careful planning and creative writing can do — his Zen Habits blog climbed the Technorati top 100 list and currently sits at #43. With nearly 50,000 subscribers and his first book ready to hit bookstores, Zen Habits is a genuine source for practical advice on keeping lean and staying productive. He’s an avid runner, prolific writer and all around nice guy.

The Rich Uncle: Mark Sanborn, Sanborn & Associates
When Mark’s book The Fred Factor, hit the bookstores in 2005 it propelled Mark beyond other public speakers and married productivity with customer service. Mark is values-based and sets high standards for organizations and their interaction with customers.

There were two neighbors who live down the street from our productivity family. These are not full-time productivity ‘experts’ but nonetheless get some serious nods due to their budding prowess as effectiveness bloggers. These include Lisa Hendey of Productivity at Home and Stephen Smith of Productivity in Context. Both deserve some love and contribute to the productivity community in marvelous ways. I can picture Lisa hosting a neighborhood bar-b-cue and Stephen helping you move that heavy couch from one room to the next.

Whether you’re in the Productivity Family Tree or aspiring to make a name for yourself in the productivity world, all of us can learn a great deal from these fine professionals. From Laura Stack to Mark Sanborn, getting things done takes on new meaning for everyday life.