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Simpler tools. Lesser tools.
If you’ve been following this blog for some time, you know I can get nerd about productivity and tools at ends. It’s an exciting topic that has profoundly affected the way I work and live. Over the years, however, I have also realized that productivity tools, routines, and tips can only take you so far.…
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The last productivity advice you’re ever going to need
You’re not a machine. So, measuring your productivity shouldn’t be your ultimate goal. And optimizing and managing your priorities is a life-long process that will go through a thousand iterations by the time you’re finally through. Instead of focusing on GTD or any other complex methodologies, create a system that’s easier for you to understand…
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How constantly reacting can screw your time and energy management
This quarter I’m researching COVID-19’s impact on time management at the workplace, and I bumped into this quote by Jeff Weiner, Executive Chairman at LinkedIn. Part of the key to time management is carving out time to think instead of constantly reacting. And during that thinking time, you’re not only thinking strategically, thinking proactively, thinking…
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The best way to kick start your day
You know I’m big on processes. And that’s got less to do with my project management background but more to do with my experience of getting the biggest, baddest, and seemingly impossible (at the outset) things done. Having a project management lens has helped me get a lot of personal projects off the ground. Processes…
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We rise and fall to our systems, not habits
I might have spent the better part of the last decade researching and developing methodologies on personal, team, and workplace productivity. And what I’ve observed time and again is that productivity, at any level, has two aspects to it: intention and extension. Our intentions set a robust foundation for what we want to achieve in…
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Nobody likes to write but…
… everyone loves having written. If you’ve been following this blog, I’m sure you’ve come across this theme quite a few times. That’s primarily because getting my butt to the chair to write is one of the hardest things I can do on a day-to-day basis. And that’s not because I’m not too fond of…
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The Goldilock’s Theory of Creativity
Over the years, I’ve met two types of people: Ones who’re way too happy to work (only a few of them) Ones who’re way too depressed to work (quite a few of them, actually) I don’t know the secret of these folks who’re way too happy to work — they have a way of getting…
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The lifehack that always works
Regardless of race, gender, age, nationality or financial status, there’s one assessment that’s available to anyone and everyone — the power of questions. If you went, “huh?” Remember, that’s a question as well. Questions are way more powerful than people think and way undervalued in communication, analysis, or even leadership. I’ve personally found questions the…
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Unclutter your immediate surroundings
Over the years, quite a handful of my colleagues and peers have inquired how I get so much stuff done in a single day. I used to shrug because I didn’t have a clue what the heck they were talking about — as you know, I’m perpetually worried about productivity and effectiveness! Not that I’m…
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Writing apps for Windows
I’m a productivity nerd of the highest order, and I’m constantly refining, exploring, and experimenting with the latest and significant when it comes to apps, frameworks, and methodologies. So, much so that I’m thinking maybe “productivity” should be one of my considerations for a research topic for my PhD thesis. I’m not kidding. The other…