Are You Over-Systemized?
I've believed for a while it is possible to be over-systemized. At the point where our productivity systems, whatever flavor they are, begin to take up more time than they save, they have crossed the threshold and have run up against the Law of Diminishing Returns, where at some point, each additional unit input yields less output.So where is the sweet spot?
Get Started Faster
How many times have you started something just to be stopped by having to fetch needed material or run to the store or do another task first? Wouldn't it be nice just to have everything ready to go? It would certainly help us get started faster.
Little and Often: A Key To Consistent Progress
One of the things that I still struggle with, years into the productivity space, is making my to-do list doable. I don't want to put each step to complete something on the list, because a) I don't need to be reminded that I need to fetch the stepladder when changing a light bulb, and b) the list gets far too long the more granular I go.On the other hand, if the tasks are too big, then I can't get them done in a small amount of time.Enter Little And Often, one of Mark Forster's concepts.I've been a fan of Mark Forster for a long time now. Besides being an eloquent writer, he takes it upon himself to innovate new systems and then try them out in his own life.
Productify Your Phone
A friend of mine called from the road and asked me for the phone number for my mechanic. She had a breakdown, and even though I had given her the number when she told me about her concerns weeks before, she had lost it and never made the appointment. She writes down phone numbers in various places, and never has them with her when she needs them.If you have a central place to keep your important phone numbers that is always with you, you will never face this situation. And if you enter important phone numbers - before you need them - you'll be even further ahead of the game.
The Right Tools For the Job
I am aware that you can re-purpose things to serve functions the designer never intended. For example, in college I never owned a tool set. If I had to hang up a picture, I would use a high-heeled shoe to do the pounding.Not only can the right tool make the job go faster, but finding places where your productivity is pinched can help you pinpoint where you need to find better tools.
Questions for Your Weekly Review
Far too often what is termed a "weekly review" is actually a planning session for the next week. A true review takes a look at what already has happened, as well as what is coming. The definition of review from [Dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) says that review means "a viewing of the past". This looking back is important, but few do it, unless it has bearing on what is coming next. I have found that a series of questions designed to review the past week is crucial. In the first place, it fixes the events of the week in my mind. Too often the little details get lost in the rush and busyness of the passing days. Secondly, it gives me valuable insight to how I am living my life. Not in the sense of what I accomplished, but in the meaning behind it. To that end, I give you…
5 Tips for Moving Back to the Office
As we start to reemerge after the quarantine, many of us are headed back to the office. But after working remote for so many weeks, it's hard to think about going back to the way we were. Today I offer some tips to keep your productivity up as you move back to the office.
Why Productivity Still Matters
In a world where everything has changed, and we all have a lot more time on our hands, does productivity still matter? What passed for productivity before is not relevant, but true productivity still matters. Today we will look at what this new productivity is, and how it applies to life post-quarantine.
