Just finished an excellent read, “The Productivity Manifesto”, by Nathan Barry, a product designer, teacher and thinker. It’s a free PDF you can download to read from his site.
Below are a few highlights and important factors to boost your productivity:
Do Something Every Day
Try to focus on a new skill or task every day. Start slowly 10-20 mins a day and then build on that. The keys are repetition and consistency.
Distraction Free Zone
Nate touches on the subject of the major productivity killer – surfing the internet. To avoid that, he uses his computer to create content ONLY. While using his iPad / phone to browse.
Money and Time
Points out an interesting dichotomy between the two. With money don’t be frugal in all aspects of life, spend most on what is important for you. Similarly, never run out of time for things that you value.
Complete or Kill
Unfinished projects / tasks are the productivity killer and can distract your focus. “Finishing is the hard part”, so if something is hanging out there, the quicker you decide to complete or kill it, the more efficient you will be with other areas.
What makes this such a great read is the personal examples that Nate provides to supplement his principles. He provides different perspectives to how we should value what, how, and why we do things.
Whether you’re a manager or employee, team or individual, Weekdone allows you to see the big picture, prioritize, and apply some of these productivity principles to your life.