#productivity #personal-organization
idea
Productivity is getting the right things done.
Being productive requires P/PC Balance:
- Spend time deciding (10%)
- Spend time doing (80%)
- Spend time getting better (10%)
There are myths about productivity
- not having enough time, which is in fact a matter of priorities
- motivation, which is a matter of Starting work, multi-tasking)
- multitasking, where the right thing to do is to Reduce work in process
There are applicable principles:
- Parkinson's law: work expends to the available time
- the Pareto principle: working on the right thing yields a significant portion of the result - which can be used iteratively. This can also be seen as: focus on the big picture, then iterate into the first layer of detail, then the next, etc.
- Newton's first law: In an inertial frame of reference, an object remains at rest or continues to move unless acted upon by a force, which is applicable to Starting work, for example using the Five minute rule
There are ways to optimize productivity:
- [[habits]] and Mechanisms allow to reduce Cognitive load and working memory and increase systemic throughput. Such mechanisms can be Getting Things Done for example
- productive downtime is using downtime (between meetings, ...) to do productive things rather than losing time
- productive procrastination is placing useful hobbies in a way that procrastination is still productive, e.g. placing the piano not too far from the playroom.
- The Power hour can help getting important stuff prioritized