Productivity Tools?

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ktz
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Productivity Tools?

Post by ktz »

A few years back I mentioned to my cousin that I was having trouble following through on some personal hobby projects I was working on, and he recommended that I try David Allen's Getting Things Done method for productivity help. I thought the ideas were interesting, but in the years since it seems that I tend to fall off the wagon after putting it into practice, especially after a busy period in life or work pop up.

I might give it another go-round, but I thought I'd ask if anyone here would be willing to share their personal approach to task management, avoiding procrastination, or productivity resources in general? Has anyone found a strategy they've been able to stick with effectively for a long period of time?
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Eduk
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by Eduk »

Have you tried involving other people? Making a commitment to other people is much harder to break than a commitment to yourself.
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Papus79
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by Papus79 »

I can at least talk supplements a bit. I've had times where I was pushing my max in terms of processing and I found out that Lion's Mane supplements tend to be quite helpful with that. Taking B complex vitamins can be helpful as well occasionally although I'm not quite as sure of the megadoses that come with some of that.

Past that, over my lifetime, I've noticed that sticking with things has been a split between just showing up for at least a month, getting something ensconced into habit, and getting myself to enjoy process rather than constantly hoping for end goals quick.
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Fooloso4
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by Fooloso4 »

I have productive and unproductive periods. Although procrastination can be crippling, it can also be beneficial to put a project aside for a while. Kind of like the mandate in the Torah to leave a field fallow every seventh year. My non-productivity is usually not deliberate, but I do find that it can actually be productive. I find that I can see things with fresh eyes. I also find that even though I am not actively working on something work is being done, neural connections formed. For example, I have periods where I spend a good deal of time and energy working on the upright bass and then “hit a wall”. I put the bass aside. Coming back to it weeks or months later things I struggled with are no longer a struggle.
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Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes »

I use a daily to-do list. It takes me about 10 hours to get through each day, so I try to get that done with the first 10 or so hours I am awake.

Many other folks are probably different, but I find I could only reliably count on myself to be productive in the first half of the day. So for instance for me it would be a mistake to go to the beach for 6 hours in the first half of the day and then try to get 10 hours of work done after that. To get things done, I need to work on my to-do lists first, and save the relaxation and recreation for after. Work hard, play hard, in that order. :)
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by Fooloso4 »

Scott . What would your favorite philosopher Diogenes the Cynic say about all your hard work?
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chewybrian
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by chewybrian »

Scott wrote: December 14th, 2018, 12:19 pm I use a daily to-do list. It takes me about 10 hours to get through each day...
Fooloso4 wrote: December 14th, 2018, 12:52 pm @Scott . What would your favorite philosopher Diogenes the Cynic say about all your hard work?
How does it take 10 hours to clean out a clay bucket and wash one cloak?
"If determinism holds, then past events have conspired to cause me to hold this view--it is out of my control. Either I am right about free will, or it is not my fault that I am wrong."
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ktz
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by ktz »

chewybrian wrote: December 14th, 2018, 1:18 pm
Scott wrote: December 14th, 2018, 12:19 pm I use a daily to-do list. It takes me about 10 hours to get through each day...
Fooloso4 wrote: December 14th, 2018, 12:52 pm @Scott . What would your favorite philosopher Diogenes the Cynic say about all your hard work?
How does it take 10 hours to clean out a clay bucket and wash one cloak?
:lol:
You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.
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ktz
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Re: Productivity Tools?

Post by ktz »

Scott wrote: December 14th, 2018, 12:19 pm I use a daily to-do list. It takes me about 10 hours to get through each day, so I try to get that done with the first 10 or so hours I am awake.

Many other folks are probably different, but I find I could only reliably count on myself to be productive in the first half of the day. So for instance for me it would be a mistake to go to the beach for 6 hours in the first half of the day and then try to get 10 hours of work done after that. To get things done, I need to work on my to-do lists first, and save the relaxation and recreation for after. Work hard, play hard, in that order. :)
Could you talk a little about your strategy for prioritizing stuff? I find when I've tried doing this in the past, this strategy for me eventually devolves into two separate lists -- a collection of fantasy someday-maybes, and the rest a large pile of "Oh no this was due soon?"
You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.
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