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The Limits of Self-Help Productivity Lit
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We Are On Our Own
In his self-help book "Smarter, Faster, Better", Charles Duhigg observes that we are now masters of our own time.
The onus to manage our time, attention, focus and priorities is on us. We are our own motivation, and have a variety of 'productivity' tools to fine-tune our managing, teamwork, decision-making and absorbion of information and data.
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Divided Attention
There are an endless number of distractions, attention sapping ‘urgent’ tasks and other requests for action (like an email) that sap our limited energy and willpower, filling our days with stress and unnecessary procedural work.
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Old Management Fads
... like the SMART(Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals, which are taught in every management class, are themselves part of the problem, distracting us from any actual productivity towards the realization of the said goal.
Another example is ‘Stretch Goals’ which are so audacious that they start to demotivate and decrease confidence.
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SIMILAR ARTICLES & IDEAS:
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Measuring Employee Productivity
Fixing employee productivity in the industrial age, when most workers were handling machinery and it’s parts, was a tedious but doable process. The managers had to fix the people who were making mi...
The Old Productivity Formula
The basic productivity formula(productivity= output divided by input) worked well in the industrial age as the output and input were clearly defined and measurable.
Today’s leaders need innovative solutions to measure and improve productivity in a knowledge-based workplace, as the measurement of output and input is not what it was.
Quality And Quantity
While assigning value to the output of knowledge workers, we cannot simply measure the output like before.
Coders and doctors cannot be measured by the hour, as their output is not uniform or consistent every hour.
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Learning from others
- Success leaves clues. That's why we can learn from the habits and methods of successful individuals.
- Failure does, too. So we can learn from past mistakes.&n...
Productivity tools to consider: 🗒
- Create a schedule for your day and stick to it!
- Chunk: Group like tasks together into blocks of time, then focus on those specifics.
- RPM: Short for Results-oriented/Purpose-driven/Massive Action Plan: a system to uncover what you want and then reap the rewards.
- Harness the power of habit and productivity will become second nature.
Productivity defined
Being busy and always moving through tasks is not the same as being productive.
Productivity is getting the results you aim for with less time and effort. When you are productive, you won't be chasing deadlines or running behind schedule to get done. You'll probably be ahead of schedule.
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About Procrastination
Everybody procrastinates, but it depends on the type of procrastination: harmless or harmful.
If we procrastinate doing a useful or informative activity that we find refreshing, or if we take...
Making Decisions
People take a break or procrastinate because they don't want to decide anything and let their brains drift away wherever it is comfortable, enjoyable and easy.
If someone is tired, the mind naturally moves away from what we perceive as work.
Simplified Habit Reversal Therapy
It is a way to be aware of what is sucking you into habits that are not rewarding to you.
Example: Facebook is designed to be easy to check, and one can find interesting things in it quickly, leading to procrastination and time-wasting to someone who is not aware.