productivity

Take care of the minutes; the hours will take care of themselves.

The person who focuses on fewer things goes further than the person distracted by many.

I generally try to avoid people and situations that put me in bad moods, which is good advice whether you care about productivity or not.

If you need 10 of something, make 30. Then pick the best.

Unfortunately, there have been fewer experimental studies on effective productivity and time management methods than there have been on effective study methods. For an overview of scientific opinion on productivity, I recommend pages 121-126 of Psychology Applied to Modern Life. According to those pages, common advice from professionals includes:

1. Doing the right tasks is more important than doing your tasks efficiently. In fact, too much concern for efficiency is a leading cause of procrastination. Say “no” more often, and use your time for tasks that really matter.
2. Delegate responsibility as often as possible. Throw away unimportant tasks and items.
3. Keep a record of your time use. (Quantified Self can help.)
4. Write down your goals. Break them down into smaller goals, and break these into manageable tasks. Schedule these tasks into your calendar.
5. Process notes and emails only once. Tackle one task at a time, and group similar tasks together.
6. Make use of your downtime (plane rides, bus rides, doctor's office waitings). These days, many of your tasks can be completed on your smartphone.