I continue to be amazed with the application of the ideas within “Getting Things Done.” Literally anything that I see as functional in my life I implement immediately, and I’m having a blast doing it. 

For a long time I have been diving in to ideas like “productivity” and “priorities” (including my first long philosophical treatise which dealt with these activities directly), but there’s a lot covered here that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Here’s what I’ve been up to recently:

• Organized a workflow for my room and my car. Things are no longer randomly put in nice places, but placed in the most functionally efficient places possible, along with other related items. For instance, I have my reference files directly next to me by my desk, and I have a specific role for each drawer in my desk (writing utensils and office equipment, electronics, financial records, etc…
• I’ve begun reading “Keeping Work Simple.” This is another interesting book relating to uncluttered, stress-free work and productivity. Fascinating stuff. I’m currently digesting it in chunks (during discretionary time, such as lunch break at my internship) and taking notes on the poignant tips and tricks that I extract.
• I’ve begun consciously scheduling 60 to 90 minute blocks of time for important work. Its not a simple algorithm given my currently lifestyle, and it takes away more time from sleep (which as some of you know, I’ve been getting away from lately). However, these blocks of time are integral in genuinely becoming immersed in a project and producing the kind of quality work that comes from flow.
• I’ve organized the way I write in my daily planner. Used to be strait down chronologically with “maybe” actions in there with cemented issues. Now my calls are written on one side, with specific times listed next to those that require them. My “maybe” actions are fitted at the bottom, these are the actions I refer to when I find discretionary time. What’s written down chronologically are things that must be done. Different contexts are underlined to make things cleared (IE: At Jiu Jitsu Academy, At YMCA, At Internship, etc…).

There’s so much more to go into with this project and I’m eager to dive into it. One thing I’ve got to work on now is finding blocks of time to turn the phone off so that I can focus appropriately and not have intermittent distraction and random, fleeting topics cross my mind.

Much more to come, and in fact I’m sure this isn’t a complete list of the things I’ve updated.

 

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Recently I’ve been thinking about a new Life Experiment to engage in. I had a fantastic time with my productivity project, and I liked the fact that it involved constant management and recording – it forced me to put myself under a microscope.

About a week ago I wondered… “What would it be like if I took the time to envision an ideal outcome before engaging in anything?”

I realized that this would likely have a genuinely positive effect on my emotional state, my alignment to my desired ends, and my tangible results. Right then and there I knew it would be an experiment I’d have to go for.

 

The question remained, how do I make such a project manageable and measurable? 

I determined to do this in 2 ways:

 

• By recording the amount of time and experienced intensity of the visualization:

 

The amount of time will be recorded in minutes (IE: 1 minute, 2 minutes, 10 minutes), and the intensity of the visualization will be rated on a 1 – 10 scale in terms of the involvement and enjoyment invested in it (1 will imply very weak and fleeting engagement in actually visualizing without compelling feelings, 10 will imply an extremely joyous and enthusiastic experience of the imagined future). In this segment I will write a blurb about the visualization process itself.

• By recording the degree of enjoyment, fulfillment, or “flow” experienced in the activity itself:

The fulfillment, joy and “flow” involved in an activity will be measured on a 1 to 10 scale (1 being a very dismal experience, 10 being an optimal state of positive flow). Here I will write in detail about my experience of my tasks and activities. This information will only later be processed and used to understand the relation between visualization, enjoyment, and productivity.

 

I will aim to write these little reports on all the major activities that I take part in during the course of a day, which usually implies at least 3 things.

After 2 weeks of Focus on Positive Outcomes, I will write a massive final report on my experience with this life experiment, and how I have drawn from it.

 

I will be saving all of my reports over the next two weeks, after which I will process them all and post them up as new articles in the “Life Experiment” section.

Pumped, tomorrow is day 1! I’d better pack a notebook…

 

 

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I’ll just kill some time before we go out tonight.

 

I’ve got to find a good way to kill some time.

 

Nothing much, just killing time this weekend.

People tend to be interested in “getting through” extended periods of time in order to get to other, future periods of time. 

They might “get through” work so that they can come home. Or they might “kill time” watching TV until they head off to work. Some do both (oh, the horror!).

People “kill time” when they are stuck in a traffic jam, or in line at a bank. Some do so with friends, or while they are getting paid to be productive at work.

 

What this boils down to is disengaging yourself from your life. It involves holding so little value for the present moment that one wishes for time to be “fast forwarded.” 

This shocks me. WAIT a second… is this moment of your life not worth something? Would you really rather just get to the future? How short would your life be if you actually COULD fast forward it?

The fact of the matter is, we have to live our lives, there is no fast forward option. We must live every second of it some how or another, or we must perish. But:

 

Can it not be said that we can enjoy, learn from, gain from, and somehow find the richness in every millisecond of our lives?

 

This is the question I pose, this is the call I make to engaging fully in our lives.

 

So you’re stuck in a traffic jam…

•     Do you have some audio programs of great music with you?
•     Do you have some business calls to make?
•     Could you shoot out a group text to meet with your friends this week?
•     Could you look program your GPS to identify certain places as “Favorites?”
•     Can you at least roll down the window, breathe in, and appreciate this very second of your life?

You could make up your own list for nearly any situation you will ever face in your life.

 

Even in the face of emotional pain, living in this second could be seen to be part of the richness of life – something to learn from and experience to develop a stronger resolve, to instill a deeper desire to make the most of our own lives.

The “worthwhile-ness” is in the experience of the beholder. It is the meaning we find in this very moment that determines its value to us.

 

At any given moment you can find meaning, joy, growth, and/or benefit from a situation. When you find yourself eager to “fast forward,” or yearning to “get through” or “kill time,” ask yourself:

• What can I appreciate and enjoy in this situation? It could be a wonderful visual scene, a fun experience with others, an opportunity for problem solving, etc…
• What can I learn from this situation? It could be something new about someone you know, it could be how to deal with stressors and still take the best action, it could be studying a book on a topic of real interest to you.
• How will living this moment benefit my entire life? Maybe you will know not to make that same mistake again, maybe you’ll learn something important that you can refer to for the rest of your life, and just maybe you can drink in the situation and be grateful for your life.

When you understand your self-determined purpose for being alive, you can relate any situation in your life to your values and determine how to act in accordance with your deepest purpose. I consider this to be a main constituent of fulfillment and an invaluable step in being engaged with our lives adequately.

Savor this second, you only have so many of them.

 

 

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So the official Speed Reading Life Experiment is over.

Maybe not TOTALLY over, but I set a deadline by the end of June, and with that deadline was a goal to read 1000 word per minute with around 50% comprehension. 

 

Time to face the music. Over the last few months I’ve been speed reading regularly, but only up until very recently did I attempt reading 1000 words per minute for longer periods of time.

Just today I read 10,000 words (around 36 pages) in 10 minutes. My comprehension was probably about 20 – 25%. Some main points I missed, some I got, some details I read, some were skimmed completely to keep the speed up. 

 

It seems as though I’ll have to do these 10 min / 10,000 words experiments more to see decent comprehension for longer reads – but I think overall this experiment was fantastic. I had a great time moving faster and faster and developing the pacing and the honed focus to read and retain material at such a faster rate.

I’m glad I’ve cultivated the speed I have, just a little bit of effort over 2 months has definitely created massive changes in my ability to read quickly and effectively.

When I do some more speed reading or have an update, I’ll post it up here – but the official experiment is over now as a main focus of my development. On to something new…

 

 

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Can you remember a situation when you made a heartfelt VOW with yourself?

This usually happens after a disturbing and painful experience – maybe you offended a friend – maybe you lost a lot of money – maybe you drank too much. You wanted to change, to develop yourself or take meaningful action.

You have such a FEELING about what’s going on, about what you want for yourself… you VOW that you will NEVER do (X), or that you’ll ALWAYS remember to do (Y).

 

Yeah, you feel it big time. Here’s the thing (I love saying “the thing” by the way, I think its hilarious… back on track): 

You can probably think of a time – not too far after your vow – when you broke it.

 

We’ve all been there. Why didn’t it “work?” Why didn’t our vow bring about change in our own behavior? We felt so strongly, we wanted to change, we really did!

Even a heartfelt, genuine vow often cannot change our behaviors because it does not provide us with action to follow, with measurable progress or feedback – it simply states a strong preference.

When the situation comes around where you could enact the change, you don’t think of the specific actions to take in order to fulfill your vow, and even if you do, you might unsure if it is best in that scenario. So nothing changes.

 

This is why planning is necessary. With a legitimate plan, we can do our thinking beforehand and find appropriate ways to implement the change we desire. We can THINK ahead of time, and so when the time comes we know what to do and how to do it.

Maybe we turn down invites to specific bars, or to be around certain people. Maybe we determine a logical method for reminding ourselves of our important meetings. Maybe we draw up a full blown business plan with the help of some friends who are also business owners.

These activities imply determining how to get to the outcome we desire – the strategies and actions involved!

 

So… what, then, is the worth of a genuine, heartfelt vow?

It is a starting point for meaningful change – it can be the diving board for real, meaningful, congruent plans for changing your life drastically for the better.

If you catch yourself making a heartfelt vow NOT to do this or to ALWAYS do that, determine wether this is a rational vow to make, and if it is, begin planning the specifics immediately.

Stating your preference, even with feeling, will not bring about the kind of change that you seek. Only determining what that change would require can do that. That requires thinking ahead of time – that means planning!

 

Vowing? Are you sure you’re serious about it? Well then… make plans and make it happen – otherwise it probably won’t. Give your brain something to reference, something that makes sense, something you can be sure of, something that you can act upon.

(Go back to “Combining Tasks“)

Purposeful Action:

What is Productivity all about, anyway? 

To me, it has no reference outside the realm of accomplishing meaningful activity.

What is meaningful activity, you ask?

It could be writing a book, composing music, playing with your children, or advancing in your corporate ranks. It could also be none of those things.

The fact of the matter is, that your productivity is always drawn from your VALUES and BELIEFS about what is important to you, and ultimately about what you see as best for your long term quality of life.

In this part in our series on maximizing productivity, we can go about understanding our purpose and using it to compel us, and we can go about determining which actions are actually of highest priority.

- Understanding and Using Your Purpose:

Many people claim to be “too lazy” to accomplish tasks. This always translates into low productivity, of course, but I pose that the “laziness” is not innate.

Show me a single “lazy” person who has numerous exciting, meaningful goals and a clean idea of their self-defined purpose. I know of none.

We act because of our “reasons,” and with compelling reasons to act, we see action. Otherwise what is the purpose of any growth or any action? Unless we associate joy and fulfillment to the result of our actions, “relaxing” is a more valuable way to spend time.

Understanding what you most value in your life and how to gear your life towards making the most of it on those terms is essential to any fulfilling pursuit of productivity. 

If your actions aren’t gearing you towards these things, if they aren’t drawing you out of your current comfort zone and into something more expansive, more creative, more fun, more fulfilling – then you will not act.

What do you value most in your life? What are you doing right now to develop that area of your life, to appreciate it more, to get more involved? Find your meaning here and allow yourself to be drawn by your dreams. That is the only way that visionaries have created on a grand scale – that is the only way to massive change.

Check out my article on determining purpose right here.

- Identifying Priorities: 

Finding what tasks and goals are highest in relevance to our life’s purpose is essentially the process of identifying priorities. Here are some concise principals for discerning what actions will take us where we ultimately want to be.

 

 

 

• 80 – 20:

 

 

The infamous 80 – 20 rule states that 80% of your results stem from 20% of your activity. Look clearly at your absolutely highest goals, the goals that mean the most to you in your life. You will likely find that most of your day to day activity is not geared towards your highest goals, and that many of your extraneous projects are not in fact productive in light of what you’re most interested in achieving. 

Understanding this idea was huge for me. I was growth-oriented, and goal oriented, but my resources were being scattered – not inching me consistently towards my few major life goals. If you want to see massive change, you must determine your highest objectives which you are undeniably committed to reaching. Then you must develop your plan (yet keep it flexible enough to edit), and act in the direction of that objective.

If your major goal is to design new parts for combustion engines, then your most productive time is likely spent experimenting with newly designed parts and talking with other specialists about improving the functions and mechanisms of engines. 

Understand for you: what is the highest pay-off task? What activity ultimately makes you successful or not? Whatever this activity is, it sure seems like something worth focusing on.

 

 

 

• Bottleneck:

 

 

There is always a portion of your grand life plan that will take more time that the other parts, a segment of your plan that will set the pace for all other growth and development.

For instance, if you are in a marketing division of a company, your biggest bottleneck to developing new sales material and designing new websites and pamphlets might be the confirmation of your superiors. Your team might slow down action, or hold off on its important tasks because they need to ensure that its alright for them to build in that direction i the first place.

This seems blatantly inefficient. Hence, in such a position it would be wise to set up a faster system of support and more open communication with the higher level executives. This might involve limiting their involvement in your department so that you work more independently, or it might a quick daily email informing him or her of your current on-goings and getting the go-ahead. 

Do you know what is keeping your strongest horses behind the gate? 

Take time to write down what factors limit your productivity, performance, enjoyment or accomplishment at work. Determine which is the largest and allocate resources to solving this problem. You’ll find that determining a plan to deal with the issue is not difficult once you have identified the issue itself.

• Stop the Small Stuff:

This is an active approach to taking priorities seriously. Are you ever aware of yourself when you procrastinate on important life goals? 

Given our limited resources we are constantly neglecting certain possible activity when we decide our courses of action. The question is, what options are you eliminating?

In economics there is a term called Opportunity Cost:

The value of the next best alternative given up as the result of making a decision.

We must consistently consider the value of that which we are passing up as a result of taking the action we are taking. As was mentioned previously a prerequisite here is a firm understanding of our values, since we cannot determine which decisions are best for us unless we have a reference to what our values and objectives (specifically what out highest values and highest objectives are).

Am I instructing you to… procrastinate!?

Hmmm, not quite. Here’s why: You can only get so much done in a day, or a week, or a month. So, there will always be tasks that you hold off from. Make sure they are the ones that you WANT to hold off – so that you can engage NOW in those activities that will yield the greatest return on your own terms.

The difference between this function of Prioritizing, and the act of Procrastinating, is that when we Procrastinate we still carry the task as active, and we often carry psychological baggage in terms on stress and a decreased sense of self-efficacy. When we Prioritize we often eliminate a task altogether, or we actually feel good about not getting to it at that time, because we know that we have more productive tasks at hand.

This key difference between procrastination and prioritizing is simultaneously a key difference between failure and success.

 

 

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Combine Tasks:

Even when you’ve learned how to do things more effectively, you may very well realize that combining tasks will be more efficient in certain instances. For example, you may have realized the very fastest route to drive to your fiend’s house… but you can do plenty of other engaging, “productive” things while you drive that best route.

I’ve sometimes heard general statements like: “multi-tasking will only slow you down, its proven that while multitasking people are actually less productive.”

I can see some truth in a statement like this. In fact what I “see” is a hilarious mental image. I see a guy cutting his toenails, replying to emails with his other foot, and trying to hold a corporate webcam meeting and pour creamer into his coffee at the same time. It is obvious that combining tasks randomly will likely result in disaster… and big time potential humor.

However, I pose that:

“Multitasking is only unproductive when different tasks compete for the same limited human resources available us.”

This is my recent realization, and I’ve had a lot of fun experimenting with this idea without even realizing that this is the concept I’ve been playing with until recently.

Here’s how it frame it:

Any activity you name can be said to take up a certain amount of your human resources – this usually involves different and potentially varying amounts of use or energy from different aspects of our faculties.

For instance, driving a car usually involves at least one arm, the majority of our vision focus, some of our hearing focus, some other conscious attention to make sense of the scene around us, and at least one foot to push the pedals. 

The vast majority of you make phone calls and listen to music while driving because you’re able to use the rest of your latent conscious attention and hearing capacity to fully draw from a phone conversation, fun album, or audio program. Heck, some people learn most of a foreign language simply while driving.

However, we might all consider an activity like reading books to be “unproductive” (frankly… deadly) while driving, because it needs a degree of vision that you cannot let go of while still driving. Your tasks are competing too much for that key resource (and possibly other resources, like your conscious attentional focus).

Trying to keep track of all of our “resources” and all of our “activities” might be pretty overwhelming, and its certainly not necessary. I’ve made a simple model of distinctions to categorize our faculties:

• Attentional Focus - The faculty of churning and processing ideas in our mind. This is a conscious process and implies our aware involvement, and includes all intellectual activity. For instance, reading a textbook in order to take notes implies an involvement of the intellectual capacities. 
• Sensory – The faculties of touch, taste, smell, see, and hear. Taste and smell are the least commonly used of the  five, and sight is arguably the most important in most people’s lives. For instance, skateboarding primarily implies the use of the senses of sight and feel.
• Physical - The general faculty of our body. This includes the use of our limbs and torso, and the use of our muscles. For instance, the physical resources needed to eat a steak are more than those required to eat a ham sandwich. One involves two arms engaged with utensils and a head over a plate, while the other simply implies one arm an nearly no attention paid to the food itself. 

So how does this apply to increasing productivity? We apply these ideas to pair up tasks that do not involve the same resources within us and so we can accomplish simultaneously.

Most people instinctively have an idea about this, and they take advantage of it when they listen to music when they drive.

However, we might get a little bit deeper. How about making sure that our lunch is a sandwich so we can check emails or look for an online article (or do anything that can be done when one arm and the mouth are being used towards the task of eating) with our time during lunch? With spaghetti or a big salad, we might spill on our work, and at the very least we need to look at the food before we eat it. A sandwich doesn’t require this.

How about eating breakfast and looking at your project list at the same time? Instead of reading the cereal box in front of you (which likely doesn’t further any of your major life goals), you gain a bit of perspective on what you will be able to work on in the day.

The easiest of all of these combinations is listening to educational audio programs while you exercise or drive. This is time when your hearing resource (physical) is usually not taken up, and since your intellectual capacity (attentional focus) is not being used either, you’re able to learn and drive. Brilliant!

It is still very possible that going about multiple activities can work against us. If we are driving in a very unfamiliar place where we must engage our minds fully, listening to audio programs likely will not be effective. If we are cycling so hard of the stationary bike that we are shaking and drenched in sweat, reading a book might be out of the question.

The general rule is:

If you are on the fence as to wether your resources are being competed for, they probably are and you aught to hone in on only one or find a different activity to pair with the first.

Dealing with Intermittently Involved Activities: 

Some activities involve certain resources in oscillation –  they involve attentional focus, then they don’t. They involve some physical resource, then they don’t.

A good example of this would be periods where you are waiting for your computer to load, or you are waiting for another text message.

“Waiting” itself is a dirty word in the productivity world. We aught always to engage ourselves in activity that moves us toward our highest goals is we are interested in achieving them.

If we know that there will be tasks with intermittent engagement, we can plan for them by preparing other activities. 

Examples:

• I am making call to my phone company and I am always put on hold. I may leave my text messaging for the day to be done during that time when I have little intermittent blips of time when I have nothing I can do to move my phone company objectives forward. This way I can do something with my thumbs other than twiddling them – maybe make a few appointments, set some plans, keep in touch, shoot out some invites, gather some information, etc…
• You are doing some online research and you know that most of your time will be spend rummaging through links without doing to much thinking (IE: without much involvement with the intellectual resources). When you find articles that are worthwhile you will read them and make notes. You might plan to listen to an audio program while you “sift” the web. There is no need to keep your intellectual capacities unused when you have the hearing faculty open as well. This way, as you do your research and use very minimal brain capacity, you can be engaged in learning nonetheless. 
• You are cooking a meal, periodically you must wait for the water to boil or let something sit in the over or on the stove. Making a phone call at these times wouldn’t be logical because you wouldn’t be able to gauge the length of the phone call and the amount of time between steps in the cooking process. Instead, you might read an interesting article you’ve been meaning to get around to. 

Applying this simple rule can allow for so much additional productive activity. I’ll give you a few more quick examples from my own life. Take some of these and play around with them, find ways to get things done in your own unique activities.

Lately I’ve been listening to audio programs in my car and periodically pausing to voice record the most poignant points on my phone. Then when I’m on break from my internship I take these “audio notes” and record them into a “keeper” file on my computer.

I’m also always carrying a small notepad with me, one small enough to fit in a pocket. When I’ve got a second at my internship, I jot down things I’ve learned so that I can record them later as well. Its a great way to use up those periods in inactivity.

 

 

In summary, it might not be a good idea to try to put on your pants, brush your teeth, and shave at the same time – but if we can understand what we are “using” from ourselves at any given time, we can fill the remainder of our potential with meaningful activity.

In the last strategy in this series, we talk about what “meaningful” activity is, and how getting a grip on this idea can skyrocket our personal effectiveness.

Forward to: “Purposeful Action“

 

Have you ever stopped to think about how much time you spend brushing your teeth over a lifetime? How about driving in your car? How about holding conversations with people you don’t want to be holding conversations with because you are unable to interrupt them? How about checking emails? Organizing your house?

Through my college career, and especially as of late, I’ve looked for ways to get more meaningful tasks done – and at a quicker pace.

In this Productivity article series, I’ll provide (3) Strategies that can be combined to massively increase what you “get done.”

• Cultivate Swift Effectiveness:

I personally find this to be a fascinating and never-ending endeavor. How can we do things very well and very quickly? How can we achieve our objectives as soon as possible and now to held up by other tasks?

Though we can strive for swift effectiveness in any area of our lives, it may be easiest to begin to apply these ideas to things like washing the car, doing the dishes, or preparing and eating food. These tasks might sometimes have a value in themselves, while other times they simply serve as logistics that you certainly might enjoy – but you’re still looking to get onto working on your bigger projects or other activities (wether that’s building a shed, writing a book, or picking up a friend from the airport).

World renouned speaker Brian Tracy calls this “fast tempo” – bringing about a general diligence or briskness in your actions.

By understanding the dynamics of the activities involved, you can find ways to limit your time involved drastically, and provide yourself with far more time on your higher priority tasks.

Here’s some ideas that you can apply at home tonight:

– Preparing and Eating Food: How can you make, eat, and clean up as quickly as possible and reach your objective to supply your body with the proper balance of nutrients and calories? The ideal in this category would be a food that takes the least time to prepare, eat and clean up, and serves our body well nutritionally.

One idea is to cook up a pot of rice (whatever variety you like), and mix it with some black beans and whatever vegetables you like (I like cucumbers and peppers myself). Throw in some olive oil and vinegar and BAM throw it in the fridge. Now you have something that you can eat whenever you want without preparation. In addition, you won’t get your hands dirty or anything else dirty eating it (unlike pizza or spaghetti), and cleanup is as simple as one bowl and one fork.

By taking away time cooking, time preparing before every meal (or having to spend money on take-out), and by making the food easy to eat while working, we can provide ourselves with far more productive time in one small behavior change that will likely also benefit us in terms of money and nutrition (if we play our cards right).

- Car Wash / Wax: You want your car to look good and you’d like to keep the rust off of it. You might listen to some audio programs while washing or waxing, and you might have fun out there with the hose and squeegee. However, its not an activity you’d like to spend the day doing – it doesn’t more you forward on other important projects and objectives.

You might determine the best spot to park the car where you can easily hit it with the hose from all sides, and you might find a specific pattern you use for the washing and waxing so that you can accomplish this objective as soon as physically possible. Maybe you keep all the towels, sponges, buckets and soaps in the garage. With a clean “workflow” on this objective, your wash and wax times might drop significantly, and if you add that up over the course of a lifetime, thats a lot of time that you were able to reallocate yourself to other, higher priority goals.

Those are just two little examples, but you might apply this same idea to finding the best strategy for vacuuming the house, finishing an article you’re writing, or getting in your workout. All of these activities have too to be tightened, and some semblance of strategy and understanding can allow you to develop a better “workflow” in these activities and meet your quality / creative goals while being swiftly effective.

Let it be known that I don’t believe we should live our lives for the sake of seeing how much we can “get done.” I do believe, however, that actively striving towards meaningful objectives that we set for ourselves is an integral component of fulfillment and active engagement with our own lives. Brian Tracy says “Time management is life management.” Agreed.

Hence, the purpose here is not simply to “do more,” but to eliminate time floundered on activities that could be shortened with little additional effort – and at the same time develop the skill of effectiveness (and cultivate the habit of seeking new ways to strive for effectiveness).

• Of course in many instances in our lives, speed may not be a priority or objective whatsoever. This might include a dinner with the family, where your objective is to have exciting and interesting conversation and share warm human contact. Maybe its a walk on the beach, where your objective is to find a few unique stones and enjoy a sunset. If you’re objective is something other than speed, thats great! I’d say go for it and really make of it what you want. With the family, maybe structure some fun things to do before people arrive and entropy sets in, or at the beach, apply some of your meditation ideas or choose to let your mind go while you’re there.
• It should also be stated that swiftness and “done”-ness is only in reference to our own standards. For instance, getting dressed quickly might take one person 5 seconds, and another person 5 minutes. The first person may have no concern for dress, and so the nearest items will be thrown on. The second person might value their attire and their image (possibly for professional reasons), and might iron their shirt and pick out a pair of pants and shoes that fit perfectly. All of these ideas are just continuations of living in accordance with our values and purpose. “Productivity” and “doing things in the shortest possible time” just happen to be one little aspect of that life equation that we’re isolating and looking at here.

On to the next article: “Combining Tasks“

 

Here’s my last update on the Speed Reading Life Experiment before the finale at the end of this month. Wow, that went by quickly…

The goal is 1000 words per minute with around 30% comprehension (enough to get the basic gist of the work as well as some important details and names). 

Am I there yet? I better be, I’ve only got about a week left to go!

Currently I AM in fact able to read at about 1000 words per minute, but my comprehension is not always at 30% (not stable) and I am not able to sustain 1000 WPM for long stretches of time – my comprehension wanes.

Today, however, I am going to read 3000 words in 3 minutes, then 5000 words in 5 minutes and do a write-up afterwords to determine my reading speed.

I have had a heck of a lot going on, especially with my internship, the Summer FunBoys, and running my Jiu Jitsu Academy. I’m also still working on an ebook about applied Sport Psychology that should be tremendous. 

Despite this, I’ve still found time to do weekly comprehension tests and relatively regular speed reading exercises. 

My next post will be the finale of this Life Experiment, so this week I’m going to actively dig into bumping up my comprehension and really testing myself. 

 

The brutal truth, next time…

 

 

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I’m digging into “Getting Things Done” big time right now.

Since I have a bunch of other large projects in the works right now, I’ve mainly been listening to the material on audio while I drive. When I hear something poignant I type it into my phone and keep listening.

I’ve done some tweaking lately, and I figure I’d run through some of the changes that I have gotten a lot out of:

• I added a “Waiting For” list to my ongoing Project List. Until GTD I had never though of having such around, but now I see its validity. Making lists and getting ideas out of your head and somewhere where you can actually refer to them on your own time is brilliant. However, having a “waiting for” list provides me the ability to keep track on all of the phone calls or deliveries I’m expecting to receive (and by when). I had a million lists but for some reason never had this one, and now I can sense the relief of knowing those items are kept track of.
• Started processing notes immediately. As soon as I get home from my internship or from anywhere where I’ve recorded information about things I need to do, or delegate, or remember, etc… – I run through the notes swiftly and put them where they belong. This means writing that future event on my calendar, updating my project list, making phone calls (or making note to call later), recording important finance information, putting paperwork and receipts in appropriate files, and whatever else I need to do in order to process all of the random information floating around me and put it in its appropriate place.
• Consolidated my notes to a specific pads. This was certainly an important detail for me. I used to take notes in my day planner, on a scrap of paper, on the back of an envelope, and in my school notebooks. Keeping track of this information (be it a phone number, ideas for future writing projects, a reminder of a future action, etc…) was tough, and frankly I don’t think I can ever remember going through all of this stuff at the end of a week – nevermind at the end of a day – to figure out what I needed to keep and what I could throw away.
• Organized my car. This is different than making it “neat.” Sure I took out all the cloths, flyers, shoes, papers that didn’t need to be where they were (which wasn’t all that bad, I don’t allow it to overflow). I also designated where certain things would belong. Essentially, I treated my car like a desk. “Neat” just looks pretty. “Organized” means things are where you want them to be in a way that makes sense for functioning. No more chap stick in the glove box, alcohol towlettes in the side door, marketing material and beach stuff on the back seat. Now marketing material is under the driver seat, hygiene items are in the passenger door, notebook and pens are in the driver door, etc… Makes me think about applying this idea to other areas. What if my whole house could be like this??

These are a few new distinctions for productivity, but collectively these increases are going to pay off. Its about getting the “flow” of what I’m doing and what I will be doing, and streamlining it.

The biggest step here is in immediate processing. Of items. Notes, business cards, reminders – everything getting run through right when you get home. Its a pretty big change from the wishy washy processing I was more accustomed to, I already like it a lot more.

David Allen talks about having NO tolerance for the accumulation of unprocessed things. Even if you process a few, the rest might still take up space in your mind, and information to move projects forward will be left in the dust. Not to mention the nagging feeling that you’re missing something, or that you could be doing something more important than your current task.

I think cultivating an appreciation for this kind of processing is well worth it.

Let the experiments continue —–