lifehacker.com: Over the last 12 months I have conducted countless productivity experiments on myself, interviewed some of the most productive people in the world, and read a ton of books and academic literature on productivity, all to explore how I could become as productive as possible. This is what I’ve learned.
23 comments:
Productivity or lack there of is the most stress provoking part of my day, everyday. Thinking about productivity from this perspective, quantifiably, helps to eliminate some of the stress. Here at CMU we are pushed to be productive all the time, working on projects, having class, crew, the list goes on. Taking a step back to evaluate what is most important and what will give you, personally, the most return is solid advice. The section of this article that speaks to being kind to your body helps to roadmap ideas of how to do just that. College is stressful. Stress comes out for many people in different ways. Finding outlets for those stresses will help to lessen it. It is important that the pressure put on us by the program, and ourselves be kept in check by ourselves. Productivity does not need to turn into obsession and lack of sleep. Healthy productivity allows us to lead hard, but effective, healthy lives.
Yes!!! This article is so interesting, and I would actually be interested to read further into the author’s blog about productivity. This summary, though, clearly states some of the best tips I have ever heard on productivity. It is important to build time into your schedule for yourself and good life habits. People tend to forget about this (as do I) until burnout hits, and then productivity hits so close to 0, you might as well not be doing anything or you are forced to take a break. I found the section where he described productivity as the intersection of attention, time, and energy. It puts a new lights on how you should devote not only your time to a task, but also your concentration and energy. I have never thought about productivity in those terms before, but I can see how without those three things, I am less productive.
Being productive is a struggle most people have. It is very difficult to be productive most of the time because there are so many factors that go into it. The amount of work we have plus the amount of time we have in class plus the time we spend at crew plus the lack of sleep that occurs because of all of that makes productivity a challenge. The lack of sleep has a huge impact on the amount of work I get done because when I get home I am so tired that I just want to sleep. If I magically do not have crew, then I normally come home and take a nap and waste a lot of time before I start homework. I cannot function if I do not take a nap, but causes me to stay up later in order to get the work done that I did not do while I was napping. It is very difficult to get out of the exhaustion cycle at this school.
This was a really well thought out and effective article. I would hope it was, because the author essentially spent a year writing it, however I think what he came up with is definitely worthwhile advice, especially in a community like the School of Drama where productivity is so essential to survival. Staying afloat is incredibly difficult, and I think it really has to do with having a really effective sense of focus on goals and what you want in the long run. Setting small goals that you can easily have in your sights that may stack up to bigger goals makes all the difference. If you can set small goals, eat well, AND exercise along the way, you're well on your way to ultimate fulfillment. It's not always easy, but I definitely think a lot of it just has to do with how well you're trained in a particular routine, which makes all the difference.
I keep Lifehacker in my bookmarks bar because, nominally, I think I'll end up reading more articles about to be more more productive and be more this or that... Lifehacks if you will. What really ends up happening is I scroll through the feed of articles, my eyes glazing over because most of it is the same regurgitated advice about productivity hacks just edited to be presented in a slightly different manner. This article actually cuts through a lot of all that nonsense and I feel actually gets to the heart of what being productive is all about. Really I think the big take away though is that there is no magic ingredient or secret sauce behind being more productive. You have to be healthy and you have to have enough energy, but at the end of the day, you just have to DO it.
At least for me, the biggest take away is that just because you are killing yourself working, you're not necessarily accomplishing more. It's not necessarily a good thing to work around the clock, and in some cases you actually might get less done.
I think productivity is a very important and beneficial aspect that everyone can learn from. A persons productive skills can separate them from the rest and make their lives a lot easier. The tips laid out in this article are really interesting. I can see how the first tip of focusing on your big tasks first can help you because personally, those are the ones that give me the most stress and steal my focus away from my other tasks. The second tip we hear all the time but it really is amazing what a short 30 minute nap can do. finding what works for you and making then a habit is something so simple that I have never really thought of. whenever I ignore the advice of others I always feel guilty but I realize that what worked for them may not be they best for me. Like the article, I am also a big believer in taking breaks to recharge your brain and get a new outlook by coming back to it later. Overall, I think that the article was right when it said it is most helpful when you remind yourself why you are doing the task to begin with and have a positive out look on your progress and your ability to get the job done.
It must be incredibly difficult to conduct a productivity experiment. There are just so many different factors that play a role in someone’s productivity level at any given point in time. This is also not accounting for what kind of project you are working on. Certain projects, like building an access database from scratch, require significantly more productivity and focus than a simpler project, like writing these comments. Every single person has their own way that they are productive that works best for them, and completely confuses the living daylights out of someone else. This is where were we go to one of my favorite phrases, as long as it works for you it does not matter. You know how you work and what are the kinds of environments and what not, and no experiment is going to contradict you. You know you, so you should just do you. That is all.
I was expecting this article to be a list of highly specific tricks to increase productivity, but I think viewing productivity through a more general lense is helpful. I definitely agree with the energy-focus-time management trio. I think for me the hardest thing to internalize is the idea that spending more time doesn’t necessarily increase productivity. I objectively understand that as you work there are diminishing returns and that after a point working more won’t help much, but when I have a lot of things I want to do the idea of taking a break in order to be more productive just feels strange. I really like this articles focus on working on projects that matter to you in order to naturally increase productivity, and I also found the section on not losing yourself in the process of trying to be productive very valuable. I took a look at the 100 productivity tricks suggested in the article, and some of them look helpful, while some of them, as the article said, don’t sound like they’d work for me. I think it is good that Gordon acknowledged that different things will work for different people, and I think the way he looks at productivity makes this one of the better productivity articles I have read.
Articles such as these always make you interested to read them because of the very understandable hope that a hidden secret might be gleaned from them--this is never the case! Often it is a combination of tools that we already know, which is certainly helpful but do not provide us with a quick and easy method for doing something, such as becoming more productive in this case. I think the author is spot on with identifying productivity as the intersection between attention, time, and energy. What really resonated for me was the suggestion of limiting the amount of time you spend on a given task--for working hard for an unlimited amount of time can actually decrease productivity makes sense, as a timeline will give you a better structure to work off of and work more for a smaller amount of time. After reading this article the adage "work smarter not harder" came to mind, for this could save a lot of time in the long term!
I have always struggled with keeping myself focused when I have more free time than I am used to. It seems odd but I end up being more productive when I am in rehearsals for a show because I know I only have a limited amount of time to do my outside work. So I totally agree with his statement that he got more work done in a 20-hour work week rather than a 90-hour work week because he had a shorter period to finish so he was more focused. I thought a lot of these steps were a good insight to productivity and I will take them and try to implement them into my life. I know that one thing that will be the hardest to understand that it’s not about how much you get out but rather how much you accomplish. Sometimes I only feel like I was productive when I see the outcome afterwards but in truth doing tasks that don’t have an immediate outcome is still just as productive.
I was so ready to learn new ways to increase my productivity using tactics I didn't know about. But this article did NOT give me that. This is all common knowledge... of which is impossible for me to apply. It is very easy to tell someone to get more sleep. But what if you don't even have the time to sleep because you have crew till 12 and go straight to draft till 2 AM and the next night you're working on a shoe project that needs to be perfect? There are some things I agree with in this article but not all of this is necessary to be productive. Because I manage to be very productive when I am AVAILABLE to be productive. This article to me are just tips on how to not go insane because of all the work you have. If you're on a fixed schedule and can only work on things at certain times, there is no flexibility to "use the morning to only answer your emails." Just don't go insane and do what YOU feel is necessary to be productive. :)
This article is really helpful. The school of drama is a place where it is necessary and encouraged to be productive nearly 100% of the time. This isn't always possible. What I've learned from being in the School of Drama for over a year is that proper time management is the best thing you can have when it comes to surviving the school. I do my work as early as possible so I can set days aside for other things. Because productivity is not exclusive to schoolwork. Out of the ten pieces of advice he gave, the one I liked most was number two. Productivity is very important, but destroying yourself in the process is not the right way to about it. Self-care should be number one on anyone's list. Work is important and grades are important, but nothing is as important as health and safety.
A great deal of his pieces of advice were very helpful and most of them are ones that I try and use often. It is very important to remember, however, that some days just won't be as productive as others. If you're sick or depressed or anxious, things will get done slower. It is important for students to realize that they can't just assume that something is wrong with them if they work slower than normal or get less done. There are a lot of demands from the school of drama, and its important to recognize that but also understand that you have to look after yourself as well.
I definitely agree with #4 - working too hard or too much shatters your productivity. I've tried to work continuously for a long period of time before and I just end up accomplishing little to nothing because I don't have the energy to focus. The rest of the tips are less useful, because rather than giving actual tricks for productivity these are just ways of thinking that might motivate someone to be productive. Getting a lot done in a short period of time is hard, and I can see why most of the tips here are not very useful.
This is the first version of the productivity list that I wholeheartedly agree with. That being said I don't know how useful it is for this audience. The reason I usually disagree with these articles is that, like this author says, what works for someone else may not work for you. A lot of the tips that people give are "life hacks" or things that are "easy" to implement. This author is giving tips that are more objective, and over arching. What the author wants you to do is implement good habits that take time to develop. These are great habits but not things that can just appear. That is why this might be the wrong audience. That's a hard sell. No-one read a random blog post that changed their life. This would be better for a seminar or a guest speaker. From the other comments it looks like either people agree and you are preaching to choir, or you think "this idea is just dandy I will totally do this". I'm guessing people in the later group are not going to change that much in the long run.
The quest to become more productive is something I've been following for a long time. Ironically, I used to procrastinate in high school by reading articles on how to become more productive. Bu this obsession that humans have with how to be operating at their full potential and how to get as much done in as short as time as possible is fascinating to me. There's a great quote from Mitch Albom's book The Timekeeper which, cut down to it's bare skeleton, is something like: Man is the only creature that measures time, therefore he is the only creature the suffers a paralyzing fear that nothing else endures, the fear of time running out. I think that is where this obsession with productivity comes from, our fear of time running out. The fear that we won't have accomplished everything we want before all our seconds have slipped away, therefore we have bucket lists, and time tracking apps, and all the rest.
However, I think there is only one true secret to being really productive: you have to be passionate about what you are doing. Of all the things Chris Bailey accomplished, he was far and away the most productive about learning how to be productive, because he was the most passionate about that. At CMU I have experienced I serious shift from how work felt in high school to what it is like now. In high school while I got my work done, I procrastinated badly and had a lot of stress and unhappiness with the amount of work I was doing, because while I cared about getting a good education I wasn't truly passionate about the subjects. But now, although we have a heavy workload, it doesn't feel that bad because I really love what I'm doing. As someone who has spent a lot of time looking into productivity my favorite quote I've come across is, "If you care about it, you'll make time. If not, you'll make an excuse."
As someone who often struggles with productivity, never quite reaching the level of it that I wish to on most days, I found this article very helpful. Sure, productivity can be improved by tips and tricks that help you make the best use of your attention, time and energy, but I never quite realized that a big part of productivity is based on your view of the concept as a whole. I personally thought the last piece of advice was very helpful because a big drawback to my productivity is that I often look at it in terms of the work I've finished, instead of my overall accomplishments. When looking at productivity in terms of broader concepts rather than specific work its a lot easier to keep a positive mind about your workflow which helps drive you further. What I really admire about this article is that it doesn't provide you with a formulaic tips for productivity, but rather gives you a detailed look at what factors affect productivity so you can find your own ways to improve it.
I think the point which most resonated with me was Number 2, the idea that being kind to oneself induces more productivity than the pressure to be successful ever will. Quite often I find myself afraid to take on an endeavor for fear that I will not be able to complete it as well as I would like to. This leads me to procrastinate until I have no possible chance for success, which is destructive to my productivity because I end up spending more time comparing myself to others and to an idea of perfection than I do actually working toward my goal. When I dive headfirst into a task with an attainable goal and less of a fear of failure, I always accomplish more. Quite often, in fact, I exceed my goal. Still, it can be hard to understand that this all comes down to simple self-kindness. It is important to remind myself as an artists that the things I make because I want to make them say a lot more about me than the things I do because I need to, and comparing myself to what I need to be in the future is a lot less helpful than comparing myself to what I was yesterday. Being kind to myself, allowing myself to enjoy my work - it makes all the difference.
I didn't find this article particularly helpful. In my eyes, the author simply regurgitated generic "lifehacks" that, like horoscopes, apply to almost everyone. Yes, forming "good habits" (such as sleeping) typically helps you focus, but that is a widely known idea. A better article might have analyzed productivity across personality types and professions. Unfortunately, the author failed to do this and limited himself to self-reflection. And I would have preferred if he had identified his article as a self-reflection rather than a legitimate study.
That being said, I appreciate that he pointed out that his tips do not work for everyone. In my experience, I do not require too much sleep and I often get my work done late at night/early morning and (usually) well before the due date. I recognize that the vast majority of people do not operate like this. Julian tends to get his work done in the early evening. Jake likes to take breaks then return to his work. Claire prefers to do her work outside of the studio. Everyone produces differently. Articles like this are not scientific fact and cannot provide specific instructions or hacks for anyone.
I'm having a pretty strong emotional response to this article, which I will try to articulate with minimal type yelling.
I guess I just don't believe that this guy learned more about productivity by spending a year studying it than he would have at an actual job, learning to balance his actual work flow with his home life etc etc. Having struggled for a long time with study habits that many people consider "ineffective", I'm feeling a lot of fatigue surrounding the whole "what is productivity" discussion. I've read all of the articles, I've set up systems, and I've tried so many tricks to become more traditionally "productive" that my head spins thinking about them all.
And after doing all of that, do you know what my number one productivity tip is? Acceptance. I've accepted that I won't have a Lifehacker-worthy chart of where all my time goes, that a lot of times my laundry won't get done because I quite simply would rather watch Futurama, because Futurama is awesome and lugging my laundry down to the basement sucks. In doing so, I get the same amount of meaningful work done, and I'm significantly less stressed about being "good enough."
I spent a really long time being ashamed and embarrassed about the fact that while my peers were able to schedule a chunk of time a week and a half out to work on a project, I just couldn't make myself work ahead. That shame and embarrassment turned into avoidance, which turned into paralysis, which just compounded the problem.
Productivity is not the same as fulfillment. Wasting time is ok. You do not have to be your 100% best self 100% of the time.
Of course, being productive and how one spends one’s time is a very relevant topic here in the school of drama. Being on the run crew for Much Ado About Nothing this past week has really made me re-evaluate how I spend my time, and what it means to be productive. I’ve been in the Chosky every night this week, from 6:30 to midnight, and all day this Saturday, so I’ve been seeing time I’m able to spend on drafting or a design project as much more valuable. Also, I realized how distracted I am by technology, which is something I’m surprised this article didn’t highlight. Because you aren't allowed to be on your phone or laptop backstage, I have been forced to just focus on the Interp/ Argument article or Foundations of Drama play, and I’ve been getting assignments done backstage in much less ideal conditions (crouched on the floor near a dim light source), but much more quickly and efficiently than if I were in my dorm or in the studio, surrounded by distractions. And when we had our only break in the work day yesterday for lunch, I was so excited for the opportunity to quickly eat and then work on drafting, and I was surprised by the small steps I was able to make in that barely- one hour span. I’m sure we’ve all felt at some point that we’ve worked for so long on something yet still haven’t accomplished anything. I’m definitely reconsidering the value of time and my personal level of productivity. and I think that I will see tasks as much more manageable when Much Ado is over and I will have what feels like an infinite amount of time in comparison to now. However, as far as the health trifecta of eating right, sleeping, and exercising, I’m still trying to work on that...
Wait, I'm sorry, this guy turned down two full-time jobs out of college to do a full year of research on productivity? That seems incredibly unproductive to me. And he found, what? The things we already know?
My extreme skepticism aside, there are some helpful, if obvious, tips on this list. The biggest one for me is definitely the motivation piece. A lot of times, when I have work to do, I can't help thinking, "What is the POINT? I don't care about this at all." Usually this happens when I'm trying to finish a design project or research on a topic that doesn't stir me in the slightest. And in a lot of these situations, I don't find the motivation. I don't find the motivation and then I turn out with a terrible product, which is disheartening. That is a big thing I am working on this semester, trying to find the motivation to get through every project. Sometimes I can't find its relevance in my life (other than this is part of school and I need good grades so that etc. etc.) so it's a silly motivation like I can have a piece of candy every time I finish one leg of the work, and sometimes it's a better motivation like, "If I take away as much from this as possible, it will help me to grow as a manager and do better work."
I believe the focus of this article should be taken into account in an educational environment. I feel like schools like to focus the weaknesses to build them up. However, there seems to be more of a build in education if the students focus on their strengths and what they are good at. It's also important to eat well, sleep, and get physical exercise. Schools seem to skim through this aspect a lot. Especially at schools where they push their students to an extreme level to get them through the real world. Our school happens to be one of them and schools will tell students that it's their choice to eat, sleep, and workout. Yes, eating healthy and physical activity is a self choice, but there should be some leeway for sleep. I know personally this semester it's very hard to fit in a decent time for sleep. My schedule runs from 7am-3am because of how much I have to do in a day. I have to manage a full school day, crew, homework and bus schedules for something that I love to do.
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