LESS IS MORE, PRODUCTIVITY WISE

Recent reading of books and blogs sheds new light on productivity and our prevailing multitasking culture.

 

While we may not get to a four hour work week, like Tim Ferriss, here are a few gems to consider:

From Getting Real by 37 Signals:

• Build a half a product not a half-arsed product.
• Fix time and budget, flex the scope. Get something real launched quickly and work in iterations.
• Build software for general concepts and encourage people to create their own solutions instead of building all features.

From the Power of Less by Leo Babauta:

• Identify your 3 most important tasks (MITs) for the day and do them first thing in the morning before anything else.
• Focus on only one thing at a time and keep your attention there without switching until it is done.
• Change only one habit at a time and start much more slowly than you think you need to. For example, commit to go to the gym for 10 minutes per day. This sounds ridiculous at first, but Babauta writes that it sustains the eagerness and focus and makes you more likely to go long enough to form a habit.

From Tim Ferriss’ blog http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/: 

• Do not e-mail first thing in the morning or last thing at night. The former scrambles your priorities and plans for the day, and the latter just gives you insomnia. E-mail can wait until 10 am, after you’ve completed at least one of your critical to-do items.
• Do not agree to meetings or calls with no clear agenda or end time.
• Don’t check e-mail constantly — “batch” and check at set times only.

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