Konubinix' opinionated web of thoughts

The Procrustean Bed of Productivity - Nat Eliason

Fleeting

[2021-01-25 Mon 07:58]

If you can set annual goals and hit them on the expected timeline, you’re not thinking big enough or you work in a factory

[2021-01-25 Mon 07:58]

One of my worst habits is changing my productivity setup when I hit the limitations of my tools. I think I’ve used almost every popular productivity app at some point in the last few years.

[2021-01-25 Mon 07:59]

simple system I can stick to is more useful than a complex system that falls apart under stress

[2021-01-25 Mon 07:59]

goal is to get away from what I’ll call the “Procrustean Bed of Productivity.” When you design a complex, rigid system, you force your goals and projects to fit into its cogs

[2021-01-25 Mon 08:00]

Gantt chart style productivity, where you plan out the whole project and with deadlines along the way, is great when you’re working in a domain you understand. But it’s useless once you add a layer of uncertainty. And most interesting work requires a layer of uncertainty

[2021-01-25 Mon 08:05]

you shouldn’t peg them to our position around the sun. And you definitely shouldn’t plan out week-by-week what you’ll be doing in 2-3 months. Rather, you should have a target (whatever you’re tempted to call a “year goal”), and focus on making the next most important piece of progress on it.

[2021-01-25 Mon 08:06]

notebooks, word docs, or spreadsheets for their goal and project tracking were amateurs, but now I think those lightweight tools are best. A piece of paper doesn’t force its structure upon you. It gives you the freedom to set, track, and update your progress on your most important work without anything getting in your way

[2021-01-25 Mon 08:07]

A blank whiteboard may be the ultimate productivity tool, if you can bear to read your own handwriting