Productivity
Having trouble starting your next thing?
Make a list of writers, podcasters, and YouTubers who are consistently pushing out great stuff – in the ugliest ways. Refer to it often. I love slap-dash creators! I won’t name names here, but they’re not hard to find. From the CEO who records videos on his morning walks
Consumption is underrated.
“Create. Don’t consume.” Do you hear this mantra as much as I do? Does it get under your skin too? Behind every hour of good writing is at least 10 hours of reading. Every great writer I’ve known is a voracious reader. Every great musician I’ve known
Book Review: Four Thousand Weeks
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals [https://amzn.to/3CZ1xxR] by Oliver Burkeman I have to admit, this is the time management book I probably would have written myself. Is there’s anything better for your time and project management than having someone else write your book for you?
The Importance of Your Calendar
A few great quotes from Merlin Mann from this week’s Back to Work podcast [http://5by5.tv/b2w/533]: > “A calendar is a map for your time. A calendar is the decisions you have made about your future. This is the glass that holds your temporal water.” “If
My Holy Grail Pen and Paper
Writers spend way too much time and money seeking out their “grail” pen and paper combo — the tools that will make their work so much “smoother.” It’s a pattern we’ve seen repeated in all creative pursuits. I did that for a while, many years ago, but it faded
MIQ vs MIT
We often hear about how we should write down our Most Important Task (MIT) for the coming day — usually the night before. Setting aside agency, which may have a lot to say about your MIT, I’ve found it way more powerful to have a Most Important Question (MIQ) for
My ADHD Wearable
That’s how I refer to my Apple Watch. I only take it off once a day to charge for about 30 minutes. The rest of the time it keeps me on track with my schedule, reminders, and messages (from VIPs only — minimal interruptions). It alerts me if my security
2 Dutch Sayings You’ll Use Every Day
I learned these from Adam Curry, inventor of podcasting and former MTV VJ. I use them almost daily (as mantras in my head when dealing with difficult projects and people). “Wat je zegt ben jezelf, met je kop door de helft.” Loosely translated, it means: What you say about others
Reading Is An Action
And it takes time. So, why do treat our reading (of RSS, social media, email, books, etc.) in the same way we treat non-active parts of our life? An aside: I’ve given up giving lifehack-y, productivity tips. As lucrative as they have been for some, I’ve aged out
Default Apps for Productivity
What you choose as your default tools for your projects should employ the same amount of constraints as the tools you use for creativity: just enough to spur results and not enough to let stuff slip. Everyone’s brain is different. Everyone’s job is a little different. This is