The qualification is not fake. To quote from this tutorial[0], the author says:

I have been using org-mode as my personal information manager for years now. I started small with just the default TODO and DONE keywords. I added small changes to my workflow and over time it evolved into what is described by this document.

I still change my workflow and try new things regularly. This document describes mature workflows in my current org-mode setup. I tend to document changes to my workflow 30 days after implementing them (assuming they are still around at that point) so that the new workflow has a chance to mature.

> I'm curious, what, specifically, has it changed about your life?

It changed my life by consistently improving my workflow and I've become way more productive by doing it. I got impressed on my self when I automate things that seems difficult and time consuming to manually track. Extending emacs never ends when you keep on finding better ways on how to use it.

[0] http://doc.norang.ca/org-mode.html

Some of us OCD types just like having so much detail, which you can get with org. Need to track hours for billing? Org can do that. Need to be able to capture notes/tasks at a moments notice with hyperrefs back to what you were doing and what file you were in? Org can do that. Need to build new habit(s)? Org can help with that.

If nothing else, org helps me to not forget to do things, and also to capture every idea that comes my way. Sure, a lot get thrown out, but at least I can track them and make a conscious decision about abandoning them. Also, I might have been as, or even more, productive before I started using org. But I don't know because I wasn't tracking and quantifying it. Now I can see at the end of the day (reviews and planning supported by org) what I've accomplished and what's left to do.

It's the first todo list application I've encountered which can actually compete with a piece of paper.