Study Hacks: September 8, 2008 was an important date in the world of self-improvement writing. Yet almost no one knows this. To understand what happened on this date we should return, briefly, to 2004 — the early days of blogging. It was then that a web programmer named Merlin Mann stumbled onto a powerful formula: blogging about becoming more productive. He called his site 43 Folders, a tribute to the tickler file from David Allen’s Getting Things Done system.
Sunday, November 06, 2011
Welcome to the Post-Productivity World
Study Hacks: September 8, 2008 was an important date in the world of self-improvement writing. Yet almost no one knows this. To understand what happened on this date we should return, briefly, to 2004 — the early days of blogging. It was then that a web programmer named Merlin Mann stumbled onto a powerful formula: blogging about becoming more productive. He called his site 43 Folders, a tribute to the tickler file from David Allen’s Getting Things Done system.
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This article has some interesting thoughts but they aren't organized as cohesively as they could be. It sounds like the author is introducing this new paradigm shift towards the big picture and away from the nitty gritty of productivity tools. I think the best philosophy lies in the middle of this at least for the work that I do.
Even with the best big picture, putting some thought into your tools can make a big difference. That being said, I know people who are terribly unorganized but still get the same stuff done so who knows.
I'll admit to getting caught up in the productivity craze but I have established some very important tools to keep my productivity up.
I disagree with the author. I believe the thought of how to be more productive and the techniques to do that is still thriving with a huge fan base. This may be most true of a younger generation who has not yet found a method that keeps them moving forward in their work, but it is true. I don't know that i have yet encountered the shift that this author talks about, from being productive to doing things you care about better. Maybe that is because I am still in school, so in a way, just getting the work done is enough of a challenge. The author's assertion that on the date 9/8/2008 the world of productivity changed is an interesting one that I don't think i believe, and it will be interesting to see if that date goes down in history as such.
There is an obsession in the US with increased productivity and the ways of measuring productivity. While I love the idea of increasing productivity I think that our obsession with it is really throwing our personal priorities into an unhealthy realm. Work weeks are getting longer and productivity quotas are getting higher. I believe that in the US we are really getting to the point where we are spending too much time and energy at work and are short changing our time off and the personal relationships outside of work. The idea of having priorities about what being productive will buy you in terms of quality at work are great things to think about. Also if we are so worried about productivity why are many salaried jobs requiring longer work weeks and enough hours to make sleep deprivation make us less productive. The imbalance between work and the rest of life is causing a greater number of hours lost to a lack of productivity than the amount of linear time it is gaining us. People have an information input buffer and once it is overloaded no productivity tooling can fix that.
It may be true that since 2008 society has moved past the Age of Productivity and into an era of work philosophy, but I also think it may be true that this author in particular was overly fond of Merlin Mann's blog, 43 Folders, and perhaps the rest of society was not as crushed when Mann denounced productivity for something "better."
I also do not feel that moving on from the Age of Productivity is a bad thing. The author specifically says that productivity is still used to make a good work philosophy, so it seems as though society has sufficiently grasped the concept of productivity and is moving on to use this knowledge in making a "better" outcome, so I would have to agree that the Age of the Workplace Philosopher is an exciting shift.
While I think the point that the article is trying to make, it's argument is incredibly hard to follow since it seems to jump from point to point without ever finishing a thought. It's interesting to think about how the world has moved from focusing on getting things done to making things better at the cost of speed. I think to a certain extent this has always been one style within our industry, but it's interesting to see it entering other ones.
I think this article is written by someone who is a fan of a blog and clearly regards it much higher than others considering I've never heard of it and it doesn't seem to align with other articles on the subject. Productivity is really important and I think it will always be smart for companies or individuals to always keep it in mind and try to improve. Plus, if you don't think about it the level of your productivity will likely fall to a point that it will com to your attention and you'll have to fix it rather than keep it in check. Different things work for different people, there can never be too many tips. But maybe we shouldn't hold everyone to the same credit.
Work philosophy does play a huge role. And I feel like many of the articles we see on the green page emphasis that. At the end of the day, you just have to do whatever things you have to do. If it helps you to do that by unflattering your email inbox, or whatever, then cool. But maybe it's a lot about work ethic. But the productivity tools discussion will never get lost. And their usefulness is not to be underestimated. I have developed specific workflows that work really well for me. They don't work for everyone. But without them, I would be lost. Finding new techniques and improving the ones I have will always be important.
Just because one blogger changed the focus of his writing after the birth of his child doesn't make it the end of productivity, it only means that he changed what he's writing about. If he's making his living through his writing then he's relying heavily on the income from his readers, he needs to do what it takes to keep those readers whether that be change the focus a bit, or perhaps repurpose the entire blog if he's run out of things to say about productivity. It happens, just because most blogs don't stay around long enough to see it we don't notice it happening on the web.
The productivity craze is a bit intense. There are so many blogs, books, websites, and everything else dedicated to the preaching of productivity. Even with all the endorsements and hints on what to do, I feel not much is actually accomplished. While they may be great tips here and there, the big picture of being productive is much more important. This article speaks of a shift, but I am not sure we really have left the need for productivity pr0n.
I think that there is a surplus of hype about how to be productive- we are always trying to find ways to analyze what we do, why we do it, and how we can do it better. But in the process of figuring this out- are we really accomplishing anything at all? I think that these blogs do have good intentions, but when it comes down to really getting the job don, we must rely on tactics that we learn through experience, practicing what does/ doesn't work- not relying so heavily on the suggestions of others and realizing last minute that these options are simply not suitable for our habits. There is no answer to true productivity, just trial and error, and I think that such blog spaces give us the illusion that there is one clearcut answer to our productivity problems- floating around in the world wide web.
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