Taking Small Consistent Steps

• We think more work should equal more output: we see productivity not as doing more with less. But simply doing more.
• We’re afraid of being “left behind”:  not only could we miss out on some important conversation, but we worry that we’ll be left behind.
• Work has become a larger part of our identity: we feel personally connected to the work we do. Taking time away opens up all sorts of questions that can be hard to face. 

It is a play on the term “deliberate practice” and it means engaging with restful activities that are often vigorous and mentally engaging.

It is not a continuation of work, but a way to find activities that let you recharge from your workday, while still being mentally productive.

• Deep work: Professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. Creates value.
• Shallow work: Noncognitively demanding, logistical-style tasks, often performed while distracted. Doesn't create value.

• Monastic: maximize Deep Work by minimizing or removing shallow obligations. Isolate yourself for long periods of time without distractions; no shallow work allowed
• Bimodal: divide your time into some clearly defined stretches to deep pursuits and leave the rest open to everything else. Reserve a few consecutive days when you will be working like a monastic. You need at least one day a week
• Rhythmic: involves creating a routine where you define a specific time period — ideally three to four hours every day — that you can devote to Deep Work
• Journalistic: alternate your day between deep and shallow work as it fits your blocks of time. Not recommended to try out first.

• Important tasks are things that contribute to your long-term mission, values, and goals.
• Urgent tasks are tasks that have to be dealt with immediately: phone calls, urgent deadlines, and situations where you have to respond quickly.

Sometimes important tasks stare you right in the face, but you neglect them and respond to urgent but unimportant things.

Time, not money, is your most valuable asset. Invest your asset:

• Allocate time to each task you need to get done every day. 
• Each task of the day should be attainable, realistic, and time-bound. And it should advance your goals for the day, week or month.
  
• Don't get distracted by everything others expect you to do.
  

Choose three Most Important Tasks for each day, and focus completely on gettting them done within a specific time.

If you add more than three, and you might not get them all done. By limiting yourself to a small number of things, you force yourself to focus only on the essential.

Instead of following a to-do list, make a shorter one called "success list". Why make one?

• It aims you in a specific direction
• It is an organized directive.

If your to-do list contains everything, then it’s probably taking you everywhere but where you really want to go.

Obtaining a new possession often creates a spiral of consumption which leads you to acquire more new things.

As a result, we end up buying things that our previous selves never needed to feel happy or fulfilled.

When it comes to getting things done, options aren’t always a good thing.

When everything is a possibility, it actually becomes harder to make the right choice. Meanwhile, when we place a constraint on ourselves, it can become much easier to get something done.

• Balanced blood sugar levels, which helps maintain your energy throughout the day
• Improved short-term memory and mood
• Faster recovery and renewed energy after workouts

Some of the ways you can be productive during your commute include:

• Catching up on podcasts or listening to business-related audio books
• Hands-free calling to get a head start on critical or time-sensitive issues
• Reading and responding to emails (for those who use public transit)
• Researching and preparing for presentations

Whenever you see or hear a complex word, try to recall as many rhyming words as possible.

This will help you in the long run by allowing you to recall things faster.

Whenever you discover a new word, try to play around with it. Recall the synonyms associated with it, recall any possible verbs or adverbs, or maybe even try to recall similar sounding words.

It can go a long way in boosting your memory.

To-dos arrive from a variety of sources. Your boss sends you an email, you get a Slack message from IT, a bill arrives in the mail, or a coworker asks for a favor in the hallway.

In order to prioritize your task list efficiently, you need a master to-do list that contains all of the tasks you need to prioritize and complete from all of those sources.

Go through your list, review each task, and decide what you want to do with it. You have 4 options:

• Do: complete the task now
• Defer: complete it later
• Delegate: assign it to someone else
• Delete: remove it from your list

It explains why you may start to look for shortcuts in your decision making throughout the day. You may even decide to give up and do nothing when you are faced with a decision.

Having a routine limits the number of decisions you have to make each day, which increases your odds of doing the right thing.

• Make your most important decisions in the morning.
• For the lower priority things, go for the simpler option.
• For daily decisions, plan them the night before.
• Don’t make any decisions when you’re hungry.
• Limit and simplify your choices: where and what to eat, what to wear, etc.
• Aim for “good enough” instead of perfection.
• Don’t make decisions in places that are full of distractions.
• Focus on making decisions for items on your to-do list only.