The Two Minute Guide To Getting Started With Productivity
December 7th 2008 08:17 am
1) Get your to do list out of our head
The mind is for generating ideas, not storing them. Don’t keep your to do list in your head- you risk forgetting something. Plus with your mind freed from your to do list it can work on generating better ideas.
2) If It Takes Two Minutes Or Less Do It Now
If you can do something in 2 minutes or less, dont put it on any lists, just do it. You’ve already accomplished something. This is especially true for tasks you need to delegate e.g. have other people help you with.
3) Be Conscious In Whatever You Do
While working on something, even (especially) routine tasks, ask yourself, why am I doing this? How can I stop doing it? How can I do it better? Asking yourself these three questions will help you improve quality, eliminate unnecessary tasks and gives you automation opportunities.
photo credit: Roby Ferrari
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Martin Wildam responded on 09 Dec 2008 at 7:47 am #
Very great compacted post bringing it to the point!
Thanks!
Maybe two points to add for those who have another minute
:
4. Know what you want (your goals)
This is helpful to be able to focus and reduce danger of being caught by distractions.
5. Plan your day/week/month (have more or less concrete plan)
This is helpful to get conscious about the limitation of available time and set priorities. And it helps in controlling.
Heshy responded on 09 Dec 2008 at 9:31 am #
I agree those are very important/fundamental. The problem is people who are just getting started with productivity want to see immediate results and dont want it to be complicated.
I touch on those items in my other two minute guides:
The Two Minute Guide to Getting Things Done (GTD)
The Two Minute Guide To Success
Marie Adams responded on 11 Dec 2008 at 2:20 pm #
Sorry about the author mix-up over on our blog and thank you for bringing it to our attention, it’s been corrected. We think your tips are great and think our readers will enjoy them as well. Thanks again for the great advice and pointing out our (quite embarrassing) mistake!
Heshy responded on 11 Dec 2008 at 3:29 pm #
Marie,
Don’t worry about the author mix up. Thanks for the kind words.
Keep up the good work.