Photo: Katie Weilbacher Over at The 99%, Tony Schwartz offers some excellent advice on how to accomplish more by doing less. It’s not just the number of hours we sit at a desk that determines the value we generate. It’s the energy we bring to the hours we work … . Maintaining a steady reservoir of … Read more
I’ve never had a kid, but I imagine that it can’t be too different from giving birth to a web app. It’s amazing that the thing exists at all, much less that it walks and talks, and it’s a minor miracle when it thinks on its own and creates something new of its own volition.
Fabian Kruse writes about “the loop” inherent to getting anything done, and the idea that periods of procrastination, having doubts, and losing momentum are just part of that natural productivity cycle. So, while productivity tools and techniques are valuable, they don’t necessarily prevent the slower parts of “the loop” from happening again. In fact, they become a part of the loop.
The reason why I hate productivity systems is because they easily become a dominant part of “the loop”. And once they become a dominant part of the loop, they become a problem. A problem that keeps creatives from focusing on what matters – and from doing what they want to do because their muse is calling.
While Kruse focuses on the lives of “creative” people, his post applies to pretty much everyone as a reminder that productivity systems are tools and managers, not creations. At the end of the day, there’s no point in having “make a to-do list” on your to-do list.
C.J. Chilvers also writes about the paradox of productivity tools and the struggle that remains in getting important things done. The solution, for him, has been that “the easier a system is, the more will get done.”
We hope iDoneThis is a super-easy system, helping you record more daily dones that matter!
Agiliq is a 12-person web design and development studio based in Hyderabad, India that builds web applications which provide that “just-right” fit for its clients. The key to crafting bespoke webapps relies not only on the ingredients of technology and design but on understanding your client and your client’s issues.
But in order to do that, it’s important to understand the inner workings of your own team members and their work. Agiliq director and developer Shabda Raaj finds that using iDoneThis is integral to getting to the nuts and bolts of Agiliq’s operations. The results: a greatly streamlined workflow and improved capacity to focus on what matters, solving clients’ issues and getting more app-making done.
Ken Robinson’s School of Life talk teaches us to think about our lives in terms of energy and passions. So often, productivity in work and personal corners is tied to the concept of time and efficiency, which is a rather narrow view of the world.
“If you’re in your element doing whatever it is that you love to do, then at the end of the day or the end of the week, you can be physically exhausted by it but spiritually uplifted. But if you’re doing things you don’t care for, at the end of the day, you can feel physically fine but down and needing to lift yourself up again. And in the end, it’s about energy, that’s all life is, isn’t it? It’s about energy, it’s what stirs your energy, what encourages it, what fuels it, and what takes it from you. And I find, that if you’re doing things that you love to do, if you’re in your element, if you’re following a passion of some sort, that you get energy from it. Some activities take it from you.”
Click here for the full 50 minute talk, where Robinson talks about charting our own course and the indirect ways that we can grow into our element.
Productivity is not about how efficient you are at work. Instead, your productivity is really about how well you are able to make an impact in what matters most to you.
Here’s a quick rundown of these tips to beat a case of the Mondays: Studies say happiness is contagious. Go catch some happy from cheerful, morning people. Or if you’re the “Hell is other people at breakfast” type, go catch some happy from some of your favorite music uppers or Hulu/Youtube vids. Exercise! Have sexy time! Unleash … Read more
We don’t know about the origin of this story but it’s a nice reminder about setting priorities: When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day isn’t enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some … Read more
