Batching: work at designated times only, e.g., check emails and respond to them during a blocked time session – do not exceed this time block. Parkinson’s principle: work will dilate as to fill the time allocated to it.
Buckets: categorize tasks in buckets and tackle them together. This is more efficient than switching between task categories.
Park it: during the day as thoughts and to-do tasks come up, write them down in categorized task lists. Once it is written down, it is out of your headspace, which frees your mind for more creative things.
Some day tasks: list tasks that are unimportant together and check them off during blocked time sessions.
Periodic reviews: review your process at set times, e.g., weekly. Write an SOP (standard operating procedure) for yourself and systematize your process. During periodic reviews, edit and optimize your SOP’s.
Tools that I use to help accomplish this: OneNote, Google Tasks, Google Keep, Insightly CRM (for project management), and my favourite, an old-fashioned notebook/pencil.
These are the major points I took away from this book.
You can get this book here: anywhere you get your books from.
I recently met a guy who was playing with his toddler on swings, as I was too. We started talking and I learnt he was a first year medical student – I thought it was interesting because he was the same age as I was. He continued with his story: coming to the US as a student, he graduated from University with a bachelor’s degree, went to work for the navy as a medic assistant for three years, upon completing his term, he was naturalized as a US citizen, then decided to go back to school for a master’s degree, return to the navy as a medic, and finally decided that it was time to start medical school to become a doctor. I was curious how he was paying for medical school, which costs over $100,000 per year. He answered, “Money is not hard to find, you just have to give up your time in exchange.” Because of his time in service, his medical education was paid for, and what little was left, he funded himself with scholarships.
Money is never going to be an excuse for not doing something you believe in. You just have to put in your time in exchange. And of course, the purpose of this time exchange must make sense.
Starting from a young age, I always carried two things with me: a digital wrist watch and a pen. This was something I observed my father. As a young man, I thought it was cool to have these things with me. This is of course before the smart phone was invented. I consider myself fortunate that smart phones weren’t around as they are a major distraction for the young.
Why is a wrist watch such a great tool:
Sense of urgency: besides being able to see the time, it gives the wearer a sense that the day is passing by and time is running out. It forces the wearer to make the most of the day.
Stopwatch: you can time yourself on how long tasks take, and try to beat your time.
Timer: Parkinson’s law (covered in previous posts) states that time dilates to fill the alloted slot. Pomodoro technique is a powerful and practical use of this principle where you give yourself limited time (usually 25 mins) to accomplish a task, take a break, and have another Pomodoro, until the task is completed.
Alarms: you can set multiple alarms throughout the day to make sure you have a trigger (the alarm) to initiate your task or habit.
Most importantly, you do not need to pull out your phone to do these things, which will distract you.
A basic watch will do the job. It will cost you <$100. You don’t want a smart watch as it will distract you. Casio and Timex basic watches are perfect. I personally use the Timex Ironman watch.
Why is a pen such a good tool:
Well this one is easy, you need to write things down and won’t need to ask others for a pen.
What basic tools do you use to help you stay on top of your day?
We all know the little yellow papers that stick to things and tend to cluster around our monitors. The Sticky must be one of the most clever inventions of our times.
We carry a powerful computer in our pockets. Access to knowledge has never been easier. I also think of my phone – as I am sure many people do – as a note-taking device. To me, there are three sticky notes levels, short term, medium term, long term. I use three apps to help me stay organized. (I am not affiliated with any of them.)
Simply Sticky: light weight, no frills, app. It works as a widget. I use it for daily tasks and things I need to remember for a few days. The beauty of this app is that your notes have a limited screen space and they cannot be saved. This forces me to clear the tasks asap to make room for other tasks.
Google Keep: short-term notes. Thoughts can be stored categorically and organized in groups. I use this for grocery lists, book reviews which then go to my permanent storage location, anything that needs collaboration as notes can be shared, etc. This is a medium-term storage and notes get deleted when they are filed.
OneNote: my projects, lessons I learnt, daily journals, advanced notes, goals, long term goals, things that need to be tracked, and basically anything that does not fall in the above two, will end up here.
Why three apps and not just one? The three act as independent idea environments. The act of moving the idea through the stages helps evolve and solidify it.
I must mention that nothing will replace old fashioned pen/paper. All ideas start here. The apps just complement this and make it easier to stay organized.
Hope this helps others. Feedback and suggestions are welcome.
Congratulations, out of the frying pan and into the fire! You have a job interview now. You worked hard to find the job, now it’s time to work harder for the interview. By consulting my clients on interview prep, I have come up with a short list of what needs to be mastered for the interview. Hope it helps you too.
The Sandwich answer:
Interviewer: “So tell me about your strength.”
You: “I believe we all have strengths and weaknesses that are part of our personality. One of my core strengths is my organizational skills. [Insert a specific story that proves this.] Being aware of my strength, I leverage it where I can and try to share this skill with my colleagues.
Stories: People remember stories. Story answers are the best answers. The components of a good story are three-acts:
Act 1: background, establish the hero, their motives, the who, what, where, why.
Act 2: define the problem, something that causes distress.
Act 3: the solution, restoring status quo, what is the lesson learnt.
Pace and lead: Match and mirror your interviewer’s personality, appearance, speaking speed. If they talk slow, you talk slow, if they are sitting cross legged, you sit cross legged, of they smile often, you do the same. You can then lead with your answer and they will listen.
Answer what they want to hear: Always put yourself in your interviewer’s shoes and ask what is the right answer in their mind. Don’t lie, but be aware of what you are saying and what they are hearing.
I believe these are some of the core interview skills and should me mastered with practice. Be yourself, but align yourself with what your audience is expecting. You have a good story to tell, make sure you are heard.
I start my workdays with checklists. Reviewing my calendars, notes, and any tasks on my to do losts, I place them in one of three buckets:
1. Personal development: these are things that I have to do everyday, like, meditate, journal, stretch, skip rope, spend 10 min on a book, etc. Tasks that I want to build habits of daily go here. I will modify this list from time to time, but this list is most important of the three.
2. Personal work: these are day to day admin tasks, any projects I may be working on those days (short or long project), grocery lists, anything that takes time and discipline to accomplish. These items are ranked in priority.
3. Work-work: this is the list of tasks related to my daytime job. It’s important to prioritize tasks and do the best to accomplish them. As I get more efficient in this bucket, I can improve my earnings and allow more time of personal development tasks. 80/20 applies here too (see below).
I use a blank piece of paper to write these lists, and don’t save these lists. I find using paper superior to electronic formats.
Carry forward: any item not completed that day may go forward, or get screen out.
80/20: realizing that this 80/20 rule applies to my lists, I don’t aim for 100% completion, rather, allow items to be unaccomplished. Since the list is rankes by priority, the less important items will filter out.
Parkinsons law: by limiting the time I allocate to complete tasks, I force myself to complete them effeciently. As Parkinson’s law states: time will dilate to what you allocate to accomplish a task…
Pomodoro: giving myself 25 min per task, keeps me motivated to finish it before the timer runs out. It actually becomes a fun exercise, and I reward myself in between.
Systems vs goals: this may seem like a goal-oriented approach, but it is not. The ides is to develop a system which I improve with every iteration. But honestly, it is fun!
I think we can all agree that vacations are great! We get some time off, relax, unwind and forget about the work/life responsibilities for a while.
For ones who are habitual of their routines and actually enjoy having daily tasks and goals, vacations may seem like cheating or have a sense of guilt.
If that is you, there is a rather neat hack that may help elevate your vacation to the next level: have a “Vacation Productivity Theme”.
Commute
If your vacation involves a long commute, either on a plane, train, boat, or on the back of a giant tortoise, that’s fantastic. Plan ahead for this dead commute time by setting solid goals. Try to make these goals of the “proactive” nature, rather than “reactive”. For instance, working on your book or brilliant idea would be an example of a proactive task as it involves higher level thinking. Instead, answering emails would be reactive.
Theme
Think of a general “theme” for your vacation. Because, it is unfair to limit yourself to just the commute time. There are other times during your holiday when you have the opportunity to work on your goal(s). Therefore it helps when planning for such a vacation to have a theme or multiple projects to be accomplished in chunks. Remember this is different from work because you chose to do this at your leisure.
Other Examples
Vacations are just one example, others include: waiting at the doctors, waiting in a long line, waiting for someone to show up for the appointment you have, listening to audio books during your car commutes, etc. The idea is to make your time worth your while.
Ending the trip
At the end of a trip, journey, allow time to contemplate about the trip just completed, deliveritibly allow white space to reflect. This normally never happens. As soon as the trip ends you jump on your car and head home.
Benefits
What will likely happen when you return to your routine it a new perspective. Your daily grind somehow now seems less of a grind and you start thinking of creative ways to find the in-between times to continue working on your goals.
This does not and should not take away anything from the vacation, rather elevates the experience to a higher level and makes it more impactful and memorable.
Your time is in your control and everyday should be a fun experience.
When you think about personal development and growth, it is one thing to learn something new to get marginally better, but learning completely new things to “add dimensions” is a whole next level.
As a matter of fact, add dimensions should be the best way to prioritize projects in your pipeline. Allow me to elaborate…
If you are a “flatlander” and live on a piece of paper, you can move either in the X-axis or the Y-axis. If you figure out that there is a Z-axis and start flying out of the paper and landing on a different spot on your paper, you have added a new dimension to your capabilities.
Same is true if you learn a new language, new program, new job skill, etc. You make your competition irrelevant and obsolete very quickly.
Of course it is not easy. But adding a new dimension never is!
The single most significant book I have ever read. It talks about biology, evolution, society structure, individualism, genetics, memetics and everything that is Homo Sapien related. The ideas and discussions in this book were a door-opener for me into exploring other books on human society and religion.
2. How to Win Friends and Influence People
What is the best way to be liked? Show genuine interest in others, active listening and empathy. These are the core principles of successful sales people and leaders alike.
3. Rich Dad Poor Dad
Understanding the difference between Assets and Liabilities is very well explained in this book.
4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
No list of top ten books is complete without this. The habits in this book are explained in a practical way and easy to remember and implement. You can make wallpapers out of this.
5. Eat That Frog
If you are presented with a plate of frogs, which one do you eat first? Why eat the ugliest looking and biggest frog first.
6. The One Thing
We cannot multi-task. Focus on the important things that result in biggest affects – i.e. Pareto’s Law, i.e. the 80/20 principle.
7. The Compound Effect
Start with: your core values>choices you make>habits you develop>build momentum>compound over time>arrive to your destination.
This was the workflow outlines in this book to help achieve your goals.
8. The Power of Habit
Cue>Routine>Reward
To change a habit, keep the cue and reward, change the routine. Identify your triggers and root cause for the bad habits. Identify your Keystone habits. Realize that willpower is a limited resource.
These were my takeaways from this hugely practical book.
9. Managing Oneself
Another influential book to boost your productivity to the next level. It has simple English and practical lessons you can start using immediately.
10. Pitch Anything
In order to get others to do what you ask, realize that the human brain is primitive and limited in it’s capacity. There is just too much noise to pay attention to what you have to say. When two parties meet, their “frames” clash and stack. The frame on top is the dominant one.
11. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
This book is about the psychology of marketing.
12. Financial Intelligence of Entrepreneurs
Practical book for anyone interested in becoming an entrepreneur.
So there you go. A couple of bonus books. I could add a handful more, but these are the most significant ones.
Important Disclaimer
It is easy to get side tracked and forget the reason you started reading these “productivity books”. Remember your goal and what you need to accomplish. These books are just a means to help you get there.
The following tips are for optimum reading habits:
start with watching a summary video on the book or read a summary article. If the summary seems something that will help you, then dig deeper
do not “read” the book, instead listen to the “audio book” version
make your own summary notes as key takeaways while you listen to the book. This should be no more than a couple paragraphs, or a few bullet points. Every book just has a few ideas – about 2 ideas on average. The rest is “fluff”. Having a short summary means you can start to apply what you learnt
if you can find a copy of the book in audio format from your library, that is ideal. Use an app to do this. Do not pay for your first read because you don’t yet know if the contents are good for you. If they are significant, then you can put the book in your “personal library wish list”, with the intention of lending to other
There is a fire in the town of South Park, Colorado. A residential building is ablaze, and people are trapped inside. The fire spread very rapidly and now it is completely out of control. The fire captain is quickly running out of options. Then suddenly, when all hope seemed lost, the police officer notices…
Officer: Wait. Look! Up in the sky!
Fireman: It’s him! My God, it’s really him!
Fire Captain: He’s come to help us. Captain Hindsight!
Pedestrian: Who’s Captain Hindsight?
Announcer: Captain Hindsight, the hero of the modern age. [a series of comic book pictures follows] Once known as Jack Brolin, a reporter for the national news, the hero was born when a freak accident gave him the amazing power of extraordinary hindsight. From toxic spills to unjust wars there is no task too large for… Captain Hindsight! [the hero descends and lands next to the firemen]
Fire Captain: Captain Hindsight, thank God you’ve come!
Captain Hindsight: What’s the skinny?
Fireman: There’s people trapped in that burning building, Captain Hindsight. And the fire is so massive we can’t get to them.
Captain Hindsight: Hmmm… You see those windows on the right side? They should have built fire escapes on those windows for the higher floors, then people could have gotten down. And then on the roof: they should have built it with a more reinforce structure, so a helicopter could have landed on it.
Fireman: Yes, of course.
Captain Hindsight: And then you see that building to the left?
Fire Captain: Yes.
Captain Hindsight: They shouldn’t have built that there. Because now you can’t park any fire trucks where you really need to. [stands up tall] Well, looks like my job here is done. Goodbye everyone! [takes off]
Fireman: Thank you, Captain Hindsight!
Officer: Thank youuu!
Fire Captain: All right everyone, I guess that’s it. Let’s pack it up
Captain Hindsight is the worst superhero of all time! What we really need is Captain Proactive.
Proactive vs reactive
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” -Abraham Lincoln
What does it mean to be proactive and why is it important?
I think the Captain Hindsight story above is a great way to stress the importance of being proactive. Being proactive is one of the 7 key habits of highly successful people, as Stephen Covey mentions in his excellent book on the subject.
Being proactive is important because this is something that sets you apart. Most of us are reactive. Stuck in the rat-race, looking for the cheese, too busy to look up. The ones that do look up, quickly figure out the best way to get the cheese is to think outside the box.
This point of Proactive vs Reactive is beautifully explained in this video:
Goals vs Systems
I will mention one important distinction between goals and systems: goals are temporary, systems are not. Although goals have their place, we should focus our efforts in creating systems of proactivity that will last beyond that one goal accomplishment.
In his excellent book titled “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth”, the Canadian astronaut Colonel Chris Hadfield, talks about the importance of having a “Plan B”. The Colonel talks about how a significant portion of astronaut training is focused on having multiple Plan B-s for every operation. The astronaut must know each of these alternatives, and know them very well, before every mission.
This might seem a little excessive for civilian life but drives home the importance of proactive thinking before every task.
The Worst-Case Scenario
Thus, before embarking on a new venture, ask yourself these simple questions:
What is the worst that can happen? So long as this worst-case scenario does not endanger your life or someone else’s, 99% of “worst cases” are not really that bad.
What is the opportunity cost? I.e. the cost of doing nothing.
What is the best possible outcome? Most of the time, the gains from taking the risk are significant.
The passive benefit for doing this every time, is creating a system where you get better at evaluating and preparing for any opportunity that becomes available to you.
Inspiration sources
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey
An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, by Chris Hadfield
Congratulations, out of the frying pan and into the fire! You have a job interview now. You worked hard to find the job, now it’s time to work harder for the interview. By consulting my clients on interview prep, I have come up with a short list of what needs to be mastered for the interview. Hope it helps you too.
