I was a big fan of productivity, and, in some
respects, I still am. I’ve been a very early adopter of GTD, and, for
years, I did my weekly reviews with the discipline of a zen monk. But,
eventually, I hit a roadblock. GTD is about getting things “done”, but
in life we have much more to experience than “doing”. We feel. We dream.
We enjoy stuff without the pressure of an empty inbox. And, most of the
time, we simply are. We’re existing. And that’s ok.
So,
I confess I fell out from the GTD wagon. Gradually, I developed my own
framework, which evolved from a productivity-based approach, to a life
management based approach. I’m using it for about a year now and, as
much as I can tell, so far, so good. If I compare what I accomplish now
with what I used to accomplish a year ago, I’m stunned. Not only because
I “do” much more than before, but because I actually live more.
But
enough with all this shameless self-promotion intro. I understand that
my framework may work perfectly for me, but may be of little, if any,
importance for you.
So, instead of doing a presentation of the Assess – Decide – Do
framework, I chose to isolate only 7 simple tips for today’s post. They
don’t need any framework to be integrated with and they can be
implemented by anyone, with a little bit of awareness. Try them for a
week, one for each day of the week.
As a matter
of fact, they’re even organized as such. As you will see, there’s a
reason why each tip is assigned to a specific day, but then again, if
you feel this isn’t really your Monday cup of tea, for instance, feel
free to rotate them as you see fit.
1. Monday – Ignore The Unimportant
I
firmly believe that the art of ignorance should be taught in schools.
We live in such an information-rich society, our focus is so deeply
challenged by dozens or hundreds of stimuli each and every second, that
we have a really hard time focusing on what really matters.
Especially
on Mondays, when all the previous week unprocessed stuff seems to crash
on us, try to apply this. Focus only on what matters. If you have a
presentation to finish in one hour, cut out everything – and I mean:
EVERYTHING – that is not connected to it.
Slash
out Twitter, Facebook, email. Turn off the music. Close the door after
putting a big sign with “Abandon hope all ye who enter here” on the
other side. In time, you’ll become better at this. The hidden
frustration that “you’re missing something” will fade away.
2. Tuesday – Reward Yourself Constantly
Each
tiny task that you finish is an achievement. We forget too often that
our big successes are in fact big chains of small tasks performed on a
daily basis. So, in order to keep this chaining process running, put a
little reward at the end of each small task.
Tuesdays
are great for this habit, because they’re the first link after the week
hast started. Just do something nice at the end of each task. Listen to
your favorite tune or read your favorite blog (and that would be, of
course, Stepcase Lifehack) for the next five minutes.
As
much as we won’t want to admit it, that Pavlov guy was right. And I’m
not talking about the dogs here. I’m talking about you. Because you
gotta be your own Pavlov and the dogs will be your productivity habits.
Train them constantly. And, if need will be, feed them some sugar every
now and then.
3. Wednesday – Negotiate The Expendable
It’s
the middle of the week, and, by now, there must be some garbage
accumulated. Some stuff that you don’t really need to do, but, somehow,
it’s still in your to do list. It’s a perfect time to negotiate that
stuff. Does it really need to be on your to do list?
The
pressure of constantly doing, delivering, accomplishing made us forget
that we do have this option too in our arsenal. I’m talking about
negotiation. “Talk” with the task. Or with the person at the other end
of the task. Does it really need to be done right now?
I
compare this negotiation process with taking out the water from a gulf.
If you’re lucky, you will see an ancient shipwreck. That’s your task.
It’s not a yacht anymore, it’s a shipwreck. You will start to realize
that what you thought is important, may not even be there anymore. It’s
just the ghost of the task.
4. Thursday – Reuse Past Approaches
This
comes from a long history of programming. I’m still doing it, this
programming thing, by the way, because I enjoy it so much. Just try to
look at what you have to do and compare it with previous experiences.
Like “Have I done this before?. How did I do it?”
Thursdays
are perfect for that, because you now must have a consistent “week work
history” to dig through. And, allegedly, you’re also pretty much at the
top of your potential. From now on, it will start to go downhill,
somehow.
So, try to identify similarities in
your work before you will do the same thing twice, just because you
don’t remember doing it before. Pay attention to the circumstances,
because they’re never the same, but isolate what you can repeat.
5. Friday – Ask For Help
If
I would have a dollar for each time I didn’t ask for help when I should
have, I would certainly be a millionaire. Seriously. Being “productive”
has this aura of “I’m doing all the stuff by myself. I’m so cool.”
Well, maybe you’re cool, but you don’t have to do anything by yourself.
You
have a unique set of skills. Other people have their own unique set of
skills. If you combine your set with their set, it’s absolutely obvious
that you will get far better results than by using only yours. It’s just
simple mathematics here.
And Fridays are
perfect to test this habit, because, admit it, you’re a little bit
tired. And it’s also a good pretext for some social interaction. Isolate
some task that you know somebody else may be doing better than you and
ask for their help.
6. Saturday – Switch Workplaces
Ok,
we don’t have to work on Saturdays. As I told you, you can just put
this tip on any other day of the week. But I chose Saturdays because
they are perfect for traveling. Short trips around the town, seeing some
new places, meeting some new people.
Try to do
the same with your workplace. See if you can work for a day somewhere
else. From home, or from a coffee shop. Or even in another office. Or,
if you can’t live your office, on a different chair. Just change
something in your surroundings.
All our habits
are shaped by our surroundings. The more you’ll change the surroundings,
the better and more consistent your habits will become. This constant
stimulation will summon energy resources that you didn’t even know you
have.
7. Sunday – Change Deadlines Into Livelines
I
kept this from my GTD routine, you know, the weekly review. I did this
on Sundays, trying to project the next week. I still try to have a look
at the week just before it starts. And now, a little bit of explanation
about the word “liveline”.
I stopped use the
word “deadline” long time ago, because it has “death” in it. The “task
slasher” approach. I don’t do this anymore. Because crossing off tasks
from your to do lists will eventually end up with crossing off your
entire life from your to do lists. Rushing straight to your own death,
one crossed task at a time. Change this perspective. A deadline is not
the end. Make it a liveline. Make it a beginning.
And
by that I mean something connected with something else. A new start.
Think in terms of new beginnings not in term of endings. If you really
need to reach the end of something, use the word “milestone”. And
replace “deadline” with “liveline” every time you can.
It will be enlightening, believe me. :)
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