Ten things that will make you more productive
1. Stop thinking of yourself as the boss. Think of yourself as the customer
The culture of telling people what to do because you’re the boss is dangerous . First it removes accountability from people taking decisions and creates a safety net to fall back on. Ultimately it came from you so you can’t really argue withe the ‘you told me so’ argument. If you’re the customer on the other hand, define what really matters to you and its their job to deliver it or step out
2. Get out of the office
Today I spend a lot more time working out of cowering spaces, hotel lobbies , coffee shops and anywhere else i happen to be. Its the beauty and freedom that cloud computing bestows on us . I find that when im in buzzier more happening and serendipitous surroundings i think better, focus more and get more done while tiring less.
3. Block time in your calendar to think
Funnily enough things like appointments and meetings get slotted in the calendar for most people but more important things like thinking about real complex problems don’t. We subconsciously think to ourselves we will turn to them when we have time, or because there is no physical event we just procrastinate and don’t see the need to slot them in. In the end they keep getting pushed back and never happen. Block time to think about the things that really matter
4. Press the reset button every morning
I found that backlogs are very contaminating. They contaminate the past present and future. You never clear them out and in the end you are constantly playing catch up with yourself. I changed this by wiping my backlog clean every day. I wake up with complete amnesia of what i didn’t manage to complete yesterday and i ask myself ‘whats important today’ . Helps you reset priorities to what matters now not yesterday
5. Have no more than 3 priorities
Priorities are often confused with to do lists. Your to do list may be endless but your priorities at any point in time should not be more than 3. if you have trouble selecting exert the stress test: go through the list one by one and ask yourself: if i had to get rid of this item today would the world come to an end? You will find that for most the answer is no. They are not priorities they are nice to have’s continue reading »