I’ve no good excuse for not posting other than maybe that I need firmer discipline (ouch!).
Harnessing passion, vision, determination fuelled by an unwavering sense of purpose with superior logistics = crystallised genius. It’s the latter bit of the equation I’ve been missing.. and it’s starting to hurt. [Acceleration demands integrity so all the particles move in the same direction so they don't get blown apart and descend into chaos].
Beginning an thought experiment this week that deeply challenges my inherent need for freedom. By commiting wholeheartedly to a crisp time schedule [with a much needed overlord (thanks Dr Don) to oversee the proceedings for good measure - he comes bearing a big steel ruler]. He promises to be formidably icy if I try to crack the system with charm! Good luck bru :-P
Freshly inspired by the temporal-warping thoughts of the legendary Steve Pavlina, particularly on productivity and applying classic Max style, I’m giving it horns!
This HAS to work or I’m screwed. (I’d have to surrender: hand my little spirited self back to the deadening dumbed-down drone-thronged world of work that bright humans get suckered into with the false promise of freedom, at the cost of fullbodied thumping ALIVENESS and meaningful, maybe even legendary effect) WHAT!? what am I thinking!?
This has to work.
Do you have a life/work/time altering master-secret that really works? If you have any secrets or clues to refining focus to laser point and being hyper-productive yet still happy PLEASE share!
It’s a daily battle not to sweetly surrender to the narcoleptic siren call to just chill that CapeTown suffuses softly, but firmly around those who might dare to be productive.. so for the geopsychologically challenged in particular who have overcome..bring it on!
All tweaks welcomed.. with the baseline requirement that it allows me to actually drink the coffee and not obsess about the cup.
PS. just discovered that I am not alone in this endeavour this week .. thanks Scott for the links (quietly thinks : excellent, more Work Avoidance Behaviour incoming.. reams of reading & research on how to just get things done, and then the bonus of organising the necessary GTD support group) …mmm can see I’d be well on the way to a very sore bottom if I try to make this an artform as many time-management devotees have discovered.. instead of just bloody doing it
The most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not!
Rafiq is spot on… Education teaches us the rules of the game we play.
Discipline is the key. Thing is though, that we can’t be disciplined until we have rules.
Discipline or rather self discipline is not just a state of mind, it is a way of life. It does not translate into a life of masochism but rather it rewards with freedom. The freedom is a result of having done what needed to be done when it needed to be done and not having to carry it around in the clutter of mental baggage that weighs one down and is ultimately exhausting. It is when that state of exhaustion is reached that the ability to focus is lost and the chaos that is lack of self discipline ensues.
well this just scares me.. clearly I’ve been so efficient that I’m replying to comments without even realising it. Either way, I will indeed backup what I appear to have said in support of rafiq (who has to be one of the most mysteriously efficient and prolific bruthas I have ever come across.. so I’m paying attention, especially since I saw the Web AddiCT(s) stats this morning!! holymoses)
Well I have done the Getting Things Done tasks and set up my inboxes, tasklists, project folders, post-its for the 30 day experiment.
I’ve been using various project management software (RPM, Basecamp), tasklists on Outlook, everything on my mobile (that has now sadly shimmered out of existence), portable folders, files, diary and 10000’s of pieces of papers & prayers of productivity which has only served to accelerate entropy :-( [context past tense] ..am occassionally prone to over-maximise stuff, binary switcher problem.
Simplicity and empty-mind are my new best friends.
For the next 30days I will prostrate my clutter to the rationing calm of GTD.. wishfully to emerge prolific productive & peacefully passion8.. and yes Rich, looking forward to the delicious promise of a free mind.
sounds kif
GTD seems to be working for a lot of people (including me, most of the time)- but there are 3 essential things to make it work: keep your inbox(es) clear, do your weekly review, and choose contexts that work for you- there might be a bit of tweaking with contexts in the first couple of weeks.
…Oh, if you’re using a paper system, find a pen you like, then buy a box of them (ok, maybe that’s just for me- i keep losing mine)
Peter.. thank you for the clarity, been working on the principle of a short pencil better than a long memory, and started using the paper sytem and beautiful coloured tabs (like yr illustrations!) instead of carrying a Palm and synching across 2PC’s and finding tasks that should go into Outlook or RPM dissolving into digital dreamland.
Oldskool sometimes just more predictably peaceful and elegant (if not as sexy)
Hello Max. Some musician input- while figuring out your productivity shtick, think sustainable! The secret is rhythm. Make it fun, otherwise why do it?
Asked how to improvise, my band leader replied
“Play:
Something high, something low.
Something fast, something slow.”
A piece of music in a musician’s mind is a blueprint. But s/he won’t know how s/he’s going to perform it that day. It’s a conjured mindset: getting the rhythm first gives you the feel, and then it just does itself. All the training, practice, good habits etc just take over. Your work day could be the same. Translated into workaday terms, this would be something (short pencil) like you’re doing:
1) get a feel for what needs to be done.
2) play around with it - add, discard - make it fun - until it’s “yours”
3) gradually you’ll see yourself performing it
4) you’re ready - just do it!
Example of work day performance:
Something fast = answering emails
Something slow = carefully motivating someone
Something high = group brainstorming
Something low = routine calls, chores, tea, lunch
Workday reggae beat: (behind tune of: “Everything’s gonna be alright”)
think-it, think-it, think-it, get-it-done
think-it, think-it, think-it, get-it-done
Music shows us how to “always want to do it”.
Miles Davis said: “It’s not what you play that counts. It’s what you don’t play”.
Same goes for work. It’s not what you do that counts. It’s what you don’t do. It’s a trick!
Have a great day-week-month-relativity!