Lifehack.org: Are You Lifehacking Too Much?
Posted by Michael | Filed under Craphack, GTD
Interesting article over on Lifehack today linking to Nick Cernis’s of Put Things Off blog. Here we ask ourselves: Is productivity, or at least the concept if not the practice, really and truly “dead”? Is calling it dead a bit drastic? Or are we simply moving into another way of thinking about what it means to be “productive”? Or, are we realizing that the pursuit of productivity really is something we fool ourselves into believing — as a cult-like pursuit of salvation — that being more productive should be the end all, be all of our existence? Are we perhaps missing out on something larger, those of us with a myopic focus on achieving productivity Zen?
“[lifehack.org] He said that “our obsession with ‘productivity’ is getting in the way of our lives.” Nick started out by saying that the productivity industry is out of control, and that it’s making us less efficient, not more. I agree with Nick, and I can tell you why the productivity industry is like that: it’s about making money. more…
[putthingsoff.com] At the end of 2007, I stopped almost all the beeps in my life. I sold the PDA that had been bipping away at me, dutifully organising my days. Instead, I picked up a pencil and paper. So far, 2008 has been my most productive year ever. I went further too. I’ve given up on GTD and trying to bend my life to fit a complex blueprint. I stopped actively seeking online offerings titled 13 Even More Productive Ways to Wash Your Socks That Will Blow Your Mind. I realised far too late that the productivity industry has become a techno-spiritualist movement. People are now using productivity ’systems’, software and small beeping devices just because almost everybody else is. more…
Your thoughts?
Tags: GTD, Lifehack, productivity
links for 2008-04-12
Posted by Jered | Filed under Asides
Lifehack.org posting on Living Scared
Posted by Michael | Filed under Asides, Recommended, Site
Check out this great posting over on Lifehack.org about the fear of living life. Definitely a thought-provoking posting to read in its entirety. Towards the middle, and relevant to this blog, are the following passages:
[Excerpt] Some people have been almost creating their best life for far too long. Some people have been standing at the threshold of greatness for years, twiddling their thumbs, wasting their time and talent and hoping in vain that success might somehow find it’s way to them. An interesting, if not totally unrealistic notion.
[Excerpt] Some Personal Development Junkies are masters of this. Just one more workshop, one more conversation, one more mentoring session, one more self-help book and just one more day and then I’ll do it. Okay, maybe two more days. Sadly, they don’t understand that what they really need is not more time, books, workshops or more motivational fluff, what they really need is some balls.
Tags: craphacks, fear, Lifehack, productivity
Lifehacker: How to Ditch Dedicated GTD Apps
Posted by Michael | Filed under Craphack, GTD
As Jered and I talked about in our first podcast episode, many of us tend to look for new and “better” ways to make our lives simpler. Unfortunately, by doing so we only add yet-another layer of management to our work, thus defeating the point. We called these “craphacks.”
I came across this post over on Lifehacker that brought our point home.
[Lifehacker.com] Mac user Dennis Best says that using David Allen’s Getting Things Done productivity system on your Mac doesn’t mean you need to find the ultimate GTD application—that the tools you already have in Mail.app, iCal and Finder get the job done fine….Not to be all finger-waggy, but ultimately it’s up to you, not your software, to work the system. [more...]
Read Dennis Best’s extensive original posting on his blog here:
Getting things done (simply) in Leopard: The best Mac GTD app might be right under your nose
Although Best’s post addresses apps on Mac OS X, the same principle applies for any OS, or any technology that promises to increase your productivity.
[dennisbest.org] GTD’ers like myself are jumping from app to app looking for the right fit. (How productive is that?) The fact that none of them fit probably says more about my shortcomings than the talents of the developers. Fact is, I’m lazy when it comes to using this stuff and fall off the wagon quickly. [more...]
Best makes an excellent point that following the GTD habit (and other methods for that matter) tempts us to be on constant watch for the next best thing, which really goes against the whole idea of GTD as it is outlined by David Allen. Also, we can’t blame the developers; we only have our mistake of not doing the deep self-reflection necessary in order to adopt the right productivity tools for us as individuals, not the newest that “everyone” is talking about (or selling).
Finally, no tool will ever prevent us from being Human. Sometimes we do fall back on old habits, and we have to be okay with that every now and then. Truly following GTD (or another good method) provides the means to get back on track. Nevertheless, those of us who are “productivity tool addicts” tend to look for the next perfect tool to help get us back onto the proverbial wagon. I’ll go so far as to liken it to allowing an drug addict to relapse, then allowing him/her to try out some new drugs off the street before getting back into rehab. It just doesn’t make sense, but we still do it anyway.
Tags: GTD, Lifehacker, productivity, workflow
Measuring Good
Posted by Jered | Filed under Choice
Regardless of your productivity system, be it Getting Things Done, the 4 Hour Work Week, or something else, part of the struggle is defining accomplishment. At the end of the day, when reviewing the completed tasks, how do you measure success when your to-do list continues to grow every day?
In determining value in my day I have used two criteria, based on Buddhist philosophies: Have I decreased my suffering? Have I decreased the suffering of others?
Donald at Life Optimizer has written a great post about how he maintains balance, which I also interpret as a way to measure success. Using the four facets of prosperity, borrowed from C. Peter Wagner in his book The Church in the Workplace:
- Material prosperity
- Spiritual prosperity
- Physical prosperity
- Social prosperity
These things are over arching, not necessarily relating to a task list, but these things, I think, are very important to a work/life balance. Completing work- or home-related tasks would most often fall into the Material category.
Finding or practicing some form of religion, I have found, has been very balancing. While I am not the best practitioner, aiming to do something related to my religion allows me time to focus on myself, outside of work, a task that should be done daily.
Physical prosperity means doing something physical, everyday. As a recent New York Times article (unfortunately, registration required) highlighted, your health cannot be under estimated, especially if you are knowledge worker. I think knowledge workers have a tendency to undervalue their health for more time in front of the monitor.
Keeping up with the relationships in one’s life is important, human beings are social creatures. Donald says he tries to contact one of his contacts every day, which I think is admirable. In the age of Facebook pokes, instant and text messaging, it should be easy to check in on a friend every day (Not the same friend, a different one).
So the next time someone asks you what you “did” today, or “how you measure success”, think about these four gems acting as a guide post. It may lead to a balance and productive life.
Tags: accomplishment, balance, finishing, prosperity, spiritual
