Tag Archives: Hacks

Recommended Reading

Recommended Reading for Week 21, 2021

Here are this weeks’ reading recommendations. Included are more discussions about hybrid working, measuring success, a great productivity hack, and the difference between professionals and amateurs.

  1. Work From Home to Lift Productivity by 5% in Post-Pandemic U.S. – Bloomberg
  2. A new measure of success: Counting hours worked isn’t cutting it anymore – Fortune
  3. Find a To-Do List Strategy That Works for You – Entrepreneur
  4. A Harvard professor suggests we all steal the ‘Feierabend’ productivity hack. – Inc. Magazine
  5. Professional Amateurs and Amateur Professionals – Thrive Global

If you’ve read something interesting and worth sharing, pass it along and I might include it in future posts of Recommended Reading.

Coaching, Techniques

Regaining your momentum with @kickstart

Regaining your flow when you’ve been interrupted or have lost focus can be an almost herculean effort if you haven’t planned in advance. There’s a hack I recommend regardless of the system to get your momentum back with some quick wins in being productive.

It’s all about preparation

Personally I use Todoist to track my tasks but this hack works for almost any system. The hack is a simple one. When reviewing my tasks if I find one that can be accomplished in under five minutes but doesn’t need to be done right away, I tag it with @kickstart. I usually have anywhere from 5-10 @kickstart tasks in my lists waiting for me. Where the hack comes in is when I realize I need to get back on track.

Using the hack

Part of regaining momentum comes from a few small successes to act as a positive motivator. By filtering my list for @kickstart I can find a few tasks I can knock off the list right away, have a sense of accomplishment, and get back in the being productive flow so I can move on to bigger and better things.

Being productive is about more than just checking off task boxes.  It’s about putting yourself in the right state to continue to be productive again and again in a constant and predictable manner.

Pro tip for analog people

If you’re not a digital person but rather an analog one, you can duplicate the same type of effect. Create a list in your notebook of @kickstart tasks and then just refer to the list when you need to restart your flow.

Another article you may find helpful is Regaining your momentum.

 

Uncategorized

Living a hack-free 2016

Some of the most common titles in my social media threads are, “Top ten hacks for…” or “Six easy hacks to succeed at…” I’ve come to the decision that for me at least 2016 is going to be a “hack-free” year.

Hacks have developed the connotation of being a quick fix for a problem, perceived or otherwise, in our daily lives.  They are the scratch-off lottery ticket of the productivity world, with us trying over and over again to find the one that makes everything better.

For the foreseeable future, every time I see a “hack” it’s going to be measured and evaluated by three benchmarks:


1. Will it make an immediate impact on my everyday productivity?

2. Is it sustainable over the long term without the addition of work to my daily routines?

3. Does it require a change in mindset to implement?

Based on these three benchmarks hacks are going to fall into two categories: implement and inspire.  You see, I’m not implying hacks are bad; far from it. What I’m suggesting is not all hacks have the same impact for all people.  Being able to evaluate based on that and determine which hacks will truly make a difference for me versus which are simply good ideas worth acknowledging and retaining for future inspiration.

No more chasing the golden ticket.  It’s time for a practical and pragmatic approach.


Posted via Blogaway Pro