-
Website
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog -
Original page
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/03/17/interview-with-gina-trapani-founder-of-lifehacker-morning-routine-little-hacks-with-big-results-and-more/ -
Subscribe
All Comments -
Community
-
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
It's been my experience that time management is a misnomer. To me, I just see time management as an outdated tool used to cram more and more busy-ness into a day. I prefer the theme of task management. This runs a bit counter to what Trapani writes when she speaks of remaining open to tangents.
For me personally, tangents are fine if you're a good multi-tasker but I don't find multi-tasking to be very effective. I may make note of a tangent as it arises so I can review the note later, but to zip off onto a tangent without finishing the task at hand isn't very productive, at least for me.
With one statement, though, Trapani hits the nail square-on: Trying to please everyone is a good recipe to pleasing no one, including one's self. I think your post, Tim, on "The art of letting bad things happen" speaks well to this.
* focusing more on weekly planning rather than daily planning.
* I keep a list of things that will blow up in my face if I don't act on them and I make sure I take care of that stuff. This stuff gets scheduled.
* I keep a list of things that I get 'extra credit' for. These are things that I get no immediate benefit, but I am planting the seeds for greatness. I know that when I leave this job, *these* are the things I will be remembered for and will stand out on my resume.
I printout the 1 week schedule and keep that sheet of paper with me in my moleskin yearly planner or my lab notebook (I work in a fab).
This strategy is based on Steven Covey method (top down) vs GTD (bottom up).
-------------------------
I believe that I’m looking for depth. The most enduring “hacks,” aren’t hacks at all, they’re new ways of re-framing the world that reorganize my perception of life. The best hacks are fresh perspectives on life. I used to be on the lookout for another tip that would help things, but at one point I had 15 rss feeds was averaging like 200 tips per day and it led to tip overload.
One of the best “hacks” has been the concept of lifestyle design, or the notion that there are myriad ways to structure your existence. That’s really empowering, Tim, so thank you for that. And thank you Gina for the great interview.
I really relate to what Gina said about having an loose/open and focused/closed mode — such a process developed organically for me over time, because the Second Life video tutorials I make need attention & concentration, but there are other times during the day when I love "traveling the tangents" and going wild with hyperlinks, absolutely saturating myself in knowhow... then absorbing it for later.
I chalk it up to a philosophy of being more of an "AND" person than an "OR" person.
Oh, and thanks for the link to the 20 Mac aps, I have a brand new MacBook Pro, and I'll never go back to PC. I'd rather drive an old East German laptop before I'd buy another PC.
Also, I try to pick a topic or skillset I want to learn more about, that's directly relevant to my work and will help me in my role. I then block out some time (usually 30-60 minutes 3 days a week) to devote just to that learning. This works especially well combined with the tip above - since nobody sees you doing stuff that isn't strictly "your job", you won't cop any grief over it. Plus you won't get any interruptions, so the learning time is more effective. And with your new-found skills, you'll get more work done than if you just plugged away at "your job" anyway!
A brain surgeon must perform a critical element of an emergency operation and he has only three minutes to save most of his patient’s cognitive functions. The doctor is frantically giving directions to the various medical personnel in the operating room when one of the hospital’s most outstanding surgeons enters, steps to his side and says: “Dr. Morgan, you only have three minutes. You better slow down.”
One thing that I personally struggle with, especially being a self-employed night owl, is aligning my productive times with the rest of the world...more of a social pressure thing, rather than a personal desire.
The biggest thing for me there, has been *letting* myself stay up late and wake up "late" since it really is the best time for me to be getting things done. My days are a backwards from most in that from the time I wake up until 10pm, it's my more social time, and until about 4am is "work time." So, allowing myself to have an abnormal schedule was a big hack for me.
What I've also found to work well for me is to try and take Sunday afternoons and nights to myself. I prepare my meals for the week, do laundry, review and set goals, clean, etc.
“Personal Productivity is Personal”
I dig that. Great interview.
Tim & Gina - I can't thank you enough for changing the way I think about work.
Steve Marshall
Cheers
Jose Castro Frenzel
Tim,
I have 2 here. 1 is a program that becomes a way of thinking. The other is a way of thinking and a habit.
I went through a lot of time management tools then I found that using Mindjet Mindmanager was actually the perfect time management tool, life, and project management tool all in one.
I use it to keep a list of projects and priorities and also a daily calender that I quickly built in the nodes.
This way I am always on task when I want but the fact that projects change size and shape is also VERY VERY easy to accommodate.
I know that MindJet is not normally considered a time management tool. When you use it this way it becomes more of a life management tool.
(Tim if you are interested in a Camtasia of how I use it to become as a time management tool let me know. I am not using it like the company designed it.)
The other life hack I found is, Decisive Dharma. Basically DECIDING to be focused on 1 thing at a time. Whether that is playing with my kids or working.
I set timers on my phone so I am never playing with my kids thinking I should be working or working while thinking I should be playing with my kids.
If I decide to take an hour off work to play I can do it guilt free and without worrying about the time. :-)
I work more then 4 hours a week because I am growing a larger company and I enjoy it very much.
Tom
And tonight I've been remembering some things Anil Dash said about the liberation he found through marriage at the Designing for Freedom panel. Realizing how much time I've lost through relationships not built to last. I figure getting married would have to rank pretty high as a productivity hack or sorts. Also realizing I just might be the most un-romantic girl on the planet.
Anyway, I digress. Tim, Chyavanprash is my favorite cold remedy. Wild Oats (and Whole Foods, I think) carry the Himalayan brand - it's about the size of a jar of peanut butter and has a bright orange and turquoise label. It's basically a bunch of amla (think Vitamin C), Indian pepper varieties, and other Indian herbs suspended in honey. It tastes good, usually induces a slight sweat if you need it to, and is just all-around awesome. I highly recommend it. Better than airborne, echinacea or anything else I've tried.
Kudos Tim for keeping us up to date with Gina.
http://www.randypausch.com
links, info on his family and condition.
PS. He likes to use two monitors as well. He has read studies of productivity on more screen space.
Hugs
Jen
Oh, and I love you too! :)
sadie
Best personal productivity hack for me....digital tape recorder. I dictate in traffic and while powerwalking. Something about combining the mundane/physical (lower chakras) with the creative spark (upper chakras)with a digital recorder (technology) to catch the words straight from brain to dvf files (for transcription by a VA) is like...channeling from the Gods! I can always edit later or hire someone to edit, but the initial creative process goes extremely fast and focused in a short amount of time. Three hours of powerwalking and dictating a week will yield a 300 page manuscript in less than six weeks, plus I lose weight while creating and have a blast doing it. Best of all worlds.
Great work, your blog is one of my fav destinations everyday.
I agree with her #1. I do the same thing. I carry my Treo everywhere and the second I get any kind of idea, I put it down, even if it's just a few words. I hate having a good idea and then losing it 5 min later when someone taps me on the shoulder mid-thought.
I do a couple of things that let me manage my company of virtual workers more easily-
1) Keep an updated to-do list.
2) Always write down ideas I have for projects and future articles.
3) Take frequent breaks.
10 minutes of work,
2 minutes of NOT work,
repeat 5 times.
It gets you 50 minutes of productivity from an hour, and often by the end of it, I'm on such a roll that I don't want to stop.
more: http://www.43folders.com/2005/10/11/procrastina...
###
With Gina? No, no. That's Alicia Monti from Argentina.
Tim
Also, great interview with Gina....Lifehacker put me onto the "blog-to-book" idea, and they have quite a few good tips for that. Although plenty of people have done the opposite with great success ;)
So with this comes the first step on my daily routine... So far
Wake Up
Shower/Brush Teeth/Groom
Make Breakfast/Smoothie/Yogurt/Oatmeal
Write 3 - 4 Stories for LivingPLush.com and Post to the Appropriate Social Networking Sites.
Check and Return Morning Emails
Return Morning Phone Calls
Head to the Beach to WorkOut - Morning/Evening/Night - Location TBD
Well... I must get back to work... "Concepcion" and I are on our usual mission for fortune, happiness and the perfect body.
LP Kisses and Hugs... Chao'
This is apart of my new blog LP Virtual Hiding Place - LivingPLush.com
Acting immediately on small things that come up is in line with David Allen's "2-minute rule" from Getting Things Done - if it takes less than 2 minutes to do, go ahead and do it rather than letting it sit for later, unnecessarily clogging up your to-do list.
I posted an entry at The Job Search Strategist blog on this interview.
To your success,
David B. Wright
Author, Get A Job! Your Guide to Making Successful Career Moves
But you don’t have the time to achieve the EVERYTHING of the NOTHING. So you have to focus on JUST ONE goal, with two others as options. This saves time and focuses your effort on the essential and important things to you. Freeing your time, helping you use it EFFICIENTLY.
Don’t buy too much (also called consuming) – you add to the clutter in your life, not only do you erode your wealth but you are also slowing yourself down by time needed to maintain your purchases.
My 2 cents, fils, paisa, pence :)