26: Productivity
Segment 1 - Defining Productivity
- (Nic) The effectiveness of effort, measured as the rate of output per unit of input.
- Measuring productivity is straightforward: divide any output by the inputs used to produce that output. The most regularly used input is labor hours, while the output can be measured in units produced or sales numbers. To measure the productivity of our recording session we can divide the number of episodes we record by the hours it takes us to record them. You can set a productivity goal by assigning a “Productivity Number”.
- (Mom) Getting the most out of your time. Being efficient with your work.
- Why is being productive important?
- Being productive means you are getting more done in less time.
- Healthy and Happy people have the ability and desire to achieve more, so they tend to be more productive and they often prove to have healthier habits when it comes to sleeping and eating.
Segment 2 - How to be More productive?
- (Mom) What Drives People to want to be more Productive?
- They want a Sense of Pride that comes with a job well done
- They want more Money, Better Homes, Happier Families
- Productive People tend to be goal oriented, focused, organized, mentally resilient, adhere to regular self-care, and can better mitigate distractions.
- (Nic) Tools to Aid in Productivity
- Hourly Planners, Daily Calendars, Excel Sheets
- Bullet Journaling
- Author Ryder Carroll’s method for tracking your life.
- (Mom) The Bullet Journal Method -Rhyder Carroll
- According to Carrol the bullet journal is more than just a means of organizing your notes and tasks. Its really about what Carroll calls “intentional living”. This is more about focusing and sorting out distractions in order to achieve truly meaningful goals in your life. Being more productive leads to spending more precious time with people and things you care about.
- (Nic) I’ve been Bullet Journalling for 2 weeks now, and I love it. It’s quick and easy to learn, adaptable to fit your personal needs and style, and you can be as minimal or over the top as you want.
- What Other Books have you been reading?
- (Mom) Do ONE Thing at a Time
- The ONE Thing - Gary Keller & Jay Papasan
- “The book advocates for going small, which is ignoring all the things you could do and doing what you should do. It’s recognizing that not all things matter equally and finding the things that matter most. Its a tighter way to connect what you do with what you want. Its realizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.” -G. Keller
- Keller discusses a great analogy for what the “one thing is”, he recites a scene from the movie “City Slickers”...This is a Western from 1991 that starred Billy Crystal, Jack Palance, Daniel Stern, and Bruno Kirby. The movie is about three lifelong friends that live in NY and are having mid-life crisis in their own ways. The friends decide to get away from the fast city life and go on vacation to a dude ranch where you meet Curly (Palance). In this scene, Curly and Mitch (Crystal) are on a trail ride having a great discussion on life, love, and other existential topics. At this point the following conversation takes place…. Curly: Do you know what the meaning of life is? Mitch: No what? Curly: This! (Holds up an index finger) MItch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else dont mean shit!!! Mitch: Thats great but whats the one thing?? Curly: Thats what you gotta figure out!
- First Things First - Stephen Covey (Author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). Multi-tasking is counter productive. Studies have shown that multi-tasking can negatively effect productivity and efficiency. Its a focus-killer and energy drain. Covey discusses the idea of single tasking much like Keller does in the previous book.
— Dat Midroll —
Segment 3 - Obstacles to Productivity
- (Nic) ADHD
- “Although many adults with ADHD have very successful careers, others struggle with a variety of challenges, including poor communication skills, distractibility, poor memory, time management issues, lack of interpersonal skills, procrastination, hyperactivity and difficulty managing complex projects.” I Experience Bursts of Energy, and periods of inactivity. This weekend I finished 5 classes after an almost two month hiatus.
- (Mom) Anxiety and Depression also Prove to be Obstacles to getting shit done.
- These mental health issues can cause procrastination (avoidance) which leads to being less productive.
- You can utilize single tasking to reduce stress and anxiety
- Studies show that time management benefited work productivity which decreased anxiety, stress, and depression. A researcher on the study stated that Time management helps people feel better about their lives as it helps them schedule their tasks around both values and beliefs, which gives them a sense of self-accomplishment.
- Hyper-Productivity
- Parkinson’s Law - is an axiom that says “Work expands as to fill the time available for its completion.” Meaning the more complex a task, the more the task grows as more time is allotted for its completion. Example: if you give yourself 3 days to complete a task that only requires 2 hours, that 2 hour task will increase in complexity necessitating more time to complete. Point is giving yourself too much time can backfire.
- Take Away: Set realistic deadlines.
Wrap-Up
Outro