More thoughts on productivity

This is spurred on by a few of the conversations had at the Tweetup last Thursday, as well as (it seems) the constant effort to improve efficiency, and the resulting discovery that I am my own worst enemy.

Still, I'm in good company.

So I was at the Tweetup, talking with some very smart people about geeky stuff, including greasemonkey scripts that took hours to develop, that save a few microseconds when filling out a web form.

We all think we want productivity, but sometimes our actions say otherwise - specifically the actions that spend ridiculous resources making things theoretically more productive, some time in the future, instead of doing the (always harder) stuff of right now.

Like today. So often we think of a productivity app as something we add on. We're almost addicted to adding something on... but sometimes it's about what we take away. Like turning my second monitor off for a short while.

Works for me. Here's to less!

3-minute book review: The Game Changer - iJumpTV #43

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How does innovation really happen in a large organisation? The Game-Changer shows you how Procter and Gamble did it. Great summer reading!

We're taking a Christmas break next week but we'll be back the following week with another 3-minute book review. And we'll be back in the office from Jan 12th onwards. 

Have a great Christmas, and thanks for watching iJumpTV in 2008!

Fancy a tweetup?

Even if you don't actually use Twitter, it'd still be nice to meet you as a reader of this blog.

When: Thursday 18 December, 4:30pm
Where: Galbraith's Ale House, 2 Mt Eden Road, Auckland


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RSVP in the comments below, or just show up and look for the geeky folks in the corner :)

Deadlines

Image by dead_squid via Flickr
We are such strange creatures.

We need - or at least I need - deadlines to keep us motivated, full of a sense of urgency.

But those same deadlines, a tool designed to help us get to where we want to go, can become a harsh taskmaster. Tasks that you've waited months to do can become tiresome chores, simply because they're on a to-do list with deadlines.

This is the danger of implementing GTD only halfway. GTD starts with putting everything that's on your to-do list - everything - in one place where you can see it. The aim is to get it out of your head. But it's easy to stop there, and the relief you feel is only temporary.

So in this post I've not only diagnosed my issue, but found the cure: keep working at turning that GTD list into a strategic list, a list I'm in charge of, rather than a shopping list of things I must do before the end of the day.

Thanks for listening! That was helpful :)

Mobile social networking - iJumpTV #42

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Vodafone's new GM of internet and new media talks through how social networking is going mobile in 2009. Plus, your chance to win the book Tactical Transparency!

Marx Brothers are the cure to anything

If the Christmas - sorry, Xmas - rush is getting you down, take a little bit of Marx Brothers.

I had a bit of a Day at the Races last weekend after a busy week, and it got me in tip-top condition in no time.

Marx Brothers, the comedy you have when life is happening.

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What I'm reading at the moment

It's called A Sense of Urgency and it's put a rocket up me - but in the right way.

See, when I heard the title, I groaned. We've all met people who have way too much energy, and put their own issues on you when you're already a little jaded and tired. This book is different, though.

It's talking about true urgency, a desire to move, and win, now! That's a feeling I can relate to in my best moments.

But there are dangers - on one side is complacency, the sense that things are generally ok. On the other side is false urgency, characterised by anger and anxiety. There's a lot of that going around at the moment.

So far I'm learning nothing specifically new - to my head. But to the rest of me, the stories are encouraging me to follow those practices I know work, but fail to do so often. Like maintaining a "to-stop" list, delegating, cutting out unnecessary activity, and considering the impact of my actions (not just my words).

It's a quick read, too. After a few days I'm half way through the book. Full review coming on iJumpTV soon, along with a whole heap of others.