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What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

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Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#41

Post by SkyPuncher »

roland35 wrote: post #2

I keep finding that the more complicated the setup I use for productivity, the less I go back to it whenever there is a hiccup. Simple methods survive long term. Currently my wife and I use a shared google doc, and while it is far from perfect, it ends up working well for us since it works on our phones and computers, is easy to bookmark, and the interface never changes.

I'll fallen back to a Todoist board (any Kanban board will work) with 4 columns.

* Now

* Today

* Next Week

* The future

Anything more complex is a waste of time as it assumes I can predict how and why I need to work on something.

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#43

Post by cratermoon »

rchaud wrote: post #30

"Productivity" has been fully productized to the extent that there are paid tools built around methodologies like bullet journaling, lists, zettelkasten, spaced repetition, pomodoro timers, stoicism etc. The end result of which is an ocean of SEO blogspam written by the the purveyors of such tools, reducing the signal-to-noise ratio the well below the threshold of usability. I find that in my 30s, the solution for pr…

Part of the problem is how ideas and techniques that are at best tangential to productivity have been dragged into the field and rebranded. The big ones that come to mind immediately are things that are about relaxation and entertainment have now become "productivity enhancers" or some such garbage, and must be planned and scheduled alongside actual tasks.

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#44

Post by cratermoon »

dotcommand wrote: post #17

Writing about productivity seems like a nice racket. What's with the excessive productivity propaganda the past few years. Is that what humans are? What humans exist to be/do? Be products that produce as much as possible? So much time/resources/etc wasted to be more productivity. What's the end goal here?

The same goal as anything else that floats to the top of the social media zeitgeist: making money. Anything that can be employed in the service of selling products or ads for those products can and will be "monetized".

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#45

Post by cuddlybacon »

dotcommand wrote: post #40
gnulinux wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The end goal is value. And value changes from community to community. I don't get this skepticism against productivity. It really doesn't have to be work stuff. After work I play piano, chess etc and any improvement done to these are "productive" too because I'm increasing my value to my community by making music, playing chess etc. It's infinitesimally tiny, but there is an objective difference between that and e.g.…

> The end goal is value. And value changes from community to community. From one overstated and meaningless self-help word to another. Is that what a human exists to do? Provide "value" to the community? > After work I play piano, chess etc and any improvement done to these are "productive" too because I'm increasing my value to my community by making music, playing chess etc. How does that provide value to the "comm…

> How does that provide value to the "community"?

Well, you are part of the community. If you get value from playing piano or chess then you've provided value to the community.

I think there are two reasons to have chosen community here. Firstly you could chose to do thinks for the benefit of someone else, if that's what you want. Secondly it gets you to think about the externalities that exist.

I guess the person you are replying to thought it was obvious that a person is a member of the groups that they are a member of.

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#46

Post by ebiester »

cseleborg wrote: post #14

I'm at a stage in my life where I have a true love/hate relationship with productivity. I have a business, a job, two young children and there's this thing going on in the world that makes everything kind of strange and our of our control. Every time I read an article like this one, and this one isn't particularly good, if I may add, I feel like saying, yes, right, you go ahead and try that calendar blocking thing wi…

I really love autofocus for this:

http://markforster.squarespace.com/autofocus-system/

It gives you the permission to "just" work on something for five minutes.

I like to look at it like this: time management systems and practices, at the personal level, are stacking lego blocks. You find the pieces that work for you and combine them - there's no one true system. Calendar stacking solves one particular problem - that problem may not be yours.

But the largest tip is having a "don't-do" or "someday/maybe" list. These are things that look productive but you have to actively say no to, so that you can say "yes" to what matters. It's not about habits or similar - it's about great ideas and things that might make sense later but you just have no time for it. So you write it in (and maybe some details) so that you can just release it.

It's a lego block.

Another lego block is the "3 things." Ruthlessly prioritize to the most important things. Have a very low priority queue for a day.

But ultimately, the key is that even the time gurus know that they are writing for a subset of all people. There is no one true method.

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#47

Post by Cycl0ps »

chuckcode wrote: post #37
cseleborg wrote: post #14

I'm at a stage in my life where I have a true love/hate relationship with productivity. I have a business, a job, two young children and there's this thing going on in the world that makes everything kind of strange and our of our control. Every time I read an article like this one, and this one isn't particularly good, if I may add, I feel like saying, yes, right, you go ahead and try that calendar blocking thing wi…

+1 to the reality that most productivity tips come off as hopelessly naive to the reality of life with kids, sick parents/spouses, customer demands, etc. Few things that have helped me: - Have something like google calendar that reminds you so don't forget something important. Avoid turning small tasks into huge ones by missing a critical deadline - Change the game when it is stacked against you. Most productivity ad…

They're good tips. I went on a productivity binge late last year, and all the books I read boil down to a few things.

1) Get as much information out of your head as possible. Store it somewhere you can find it later, but the specifics don't matter.

2) Segment your tasks into something you can reasonably accomplish in a given time. If you don't get it done you either misunderstood the task or the timeslots, review and try againt later.

3) Start. Just start. It doesn't even have to be something you had on your list. Just decide to do a thing, then do it.

Add analogies and anecdotes, bribe the NYT Best Seller list, and book yourself on the Today Show. Being a productivity writer is easy!

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#48

Post by [deleted] »

dotcommand wrote: post #17

Writing about productivity seems like a nice racket. What's with the excessive productivity propaganda the past few years. Is that what humans are? What humans exist to be/do? Be products that produce as much as possible? So much time/resources/etc wasted to be more productivity. What's the end goal here?

[deleted]

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#49

Post by rkhassen9 »

This title, reminds me of the backstory of ALL the productivity "gurus." They say they read everything and tried everything so you can take it from them. The only thing is...what they got good at was getting you to pay them to teach you about productivity!

Ironically, I got this by reading everything about productivity. Not a joke...back in the 80's, I read every book on the subject because I really wanted to know. And have been a bit of a productivity addict ever since. But now, getting the long view, I wish I had just learned more about who I really am, what matters to me, and just used the energy to live my own life.

Recently, a guy passed away in our little town. I thought to myself that he was a rare thing, just himself, not to shaped by some idea of what he should be. Taking to him was like sitting near a stream, or a warm campfire. Somehow so nourishing. Would like to see more of that in the world.

Re: What I Learned About Productivity by Writing About Productivity

#50

Post by gnulinux »

cuddlybacon wrote: post #45
dotcommand wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The end goal is value. And value changes from community to community. From one overstated and meaningless self-help word to another. Is that what a human exists to do? Provide "value" to the community? > After work I play piano, chess etc and any improvement done to these are "productive" too because I'm increasing my value to my community by making music, playing chess etc. How does that provide value to the "comm…

> How does that provide value to the "community"? Well, you are part of the community. If you get value from playing piano or chess then you've provided value to the community. I think there are two reasons to have chosen community here. Firstly you could chose to do thinks for the benefit of someone else, if that's what you want. Secondly it gets you to think about the externalities that exist. I guess the person yo…

Yes thank you very much that is a very good summary. Sorry for being unclear.
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