An Afternoon reading about Productivity...

I stopped by Barnes and Nobles today to check out some books on productivity and organization. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed by the number of things I want to do and it's negatively affecting my work and my relationships. I've never been very good at being organized (my desk is usually messy) and I often do not prioritize things I need to do (I've spent anywhere from hours to entire weeks doing unimportant tasks). As a result, I feel a lot of anxiety when I think about what I want to accomplish, I don't get much important work done, and that in turns fuels the anxiety and saps my energy throughout the day.

Being more productive is something I've thought a lot about but not something I've acted on consistently. I remember coming up with an organization system on Evernote for managing projects that helped me complete a few important goals but it eventually fell into disuse. I went into the store today looking for very action oriented and simple plan to get me back on track.

I just went into the business section and skimmed three books that looked relevant off the shelves.

Here are my notes of some key points:

The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey

• Know why you want to be more productive. What do you want? When you're able to free up more time, what do you want to spend that time doing? Helps you stick with it. 
• Focus on three things you want to get done every day (do it day before) as well as three things you want done every week. Why 3? Because that's easy to remember and doesn't overload your brain. We're good at holding groups of 3's in our heads. 
• When do you have the most energy during the day? For Chris it's about noon - 3pm and 5-8pm. Monitor your energy level. Use this time to work on your most important work. 
• There's a difference between urgent tasks and important tasks. Just because something is urgent doesn't mean it's important. Learn to say no. No will be the most effective word in your productivity toolbox. 
• Externalize your ideas about what you want to do so you don't fret over them. But don't go overboard - keep in mind that making todo-lists is not the same as doing. 
• Have a maintenance day for getting all your unsexy but must do stuff done. These have minimal life level up effects but can impact life negatively if left untend to (like cleaning your apartment). Make it easier by listening to podcasts or some shit. If you can't do it in one day, schedule time each day when you have the LEAST energy to do them. 

7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

• Be proactive. We can't control what others (environment, people) do to us. If someone wants to walk up to you and push you, then they're going to do that. We do have control over how we respond. Being proactive is focusing on how we respond to what life gives us. The alternative? Blame and make excuses (reactive). Proactive people focus on verbs. I will. I prefer. I'm going. Not I can't. If only, blah blah blah. We all have a circle of concern and a circle of influence. Being proactive means focusing on what you can control and taking action rather than blaming. Doing so increases your circle of influence because changes take place. Act or be acted upon.
• What's your center? Are you self-centered? Family-centered? Work-centered? What is your predominant center? Being principle-centered allows you to act with greater consistency and without being swayed by circumstance / emotion. You act according to values that are independent of how you feel at any given moment. 

Organize Tomorrow Today by Dr. Jason Selk and Tom Bartow

• Product goals versus process goals. 85% of your focus should be on process goals. Focusing on the end result creates anxiety.
• Productive people get the most important work done, not just as many things done. 
• Channel capacity = the limit of how much information we can process and retain. You can't get every thing done so don't even try to. Every technique needs to account for channel capacity.
• List three goals today (preferably noon - 3pm aka middle of day) for tomorrow as well as WHEN you expect to complete it. Then of the 3, identify one MUST COMPLETE goal. Identifying goals early rather than end of the day means maximizing time for your subconscious to work on the goals. Identifying a MUST COMPLETE means focusing on the most important.
• Don't dwell on your failures. Focus on what you succeed at to sustain motivation and become solution / action driven. Focusing on failures often leads to negative self-talk that does nothing.
• Keep a success log. What 3 things did you nail today? Doesn't have to be big. What's 1 thing you could improve? What is 1 action you can take tomorrow to make that improvement?  

I've noticed a few ideas that come up over and over again in both the books I looked at today and other productivity books I've read in the past:

• Externalize your ideas about what you want to do. Make lists. This reduces anxiety, reminds you of what you need to do, and enlists the help of your subconscious.
• Make a todo list for tomorrow TODAY. Almost every author suggests doing it the day before between noon to evening. 
• Focus on 3 things. 3 is the magic number, apparently. 
• Do most important thing when you have the most energy (for most people, this is in the morning). Eat your frogs first. 
• Less is more. Don't try to do too much or you will burn out / give up / not get much done because your attention is scattered. 

I really, really like the simplicity of the todo system outlined by Jason and Tom. There's two main components:

1. Identify 3 process goals for tomorrow between noon and dinner time. Write down a short description of each and when it needs to be complete. 
2. Of the three, mark the most important one that needs to be done. This is one you must try to complete at all costs. 
3. Evaluate your progress and stay motivated by keeping a success log. What are three things (doesn't have to be related to your goals) that you nailed today? What is one improvement you can make? What's one specific action you can take tomorrow to help make that improvement? 

This will really help me clarify what I want to do and holding myself accountable for it.