8 ms·

How to murder your productivity

73 points by jirinovotny 14y ago

bemmu 14y ago
Adding everything to a to-do list isn't so bad, as long as you consider it a "rough list of ideas it might be a good idea to do, but need to be seriously prioritized" instead of a MUST do list.
- jirinovotny 14y ago
  What you describe is not a to-do list. It's a list of ideas. And if you start putting urgent stuff into your list of ideas, you are in trouble. Have two lists. It's that simple, really.
  - oscilloscope 14y ago
    If you have two lists, why not three? Maybe you should just have a list of lists.
    - leviathan 14y ago
      After trying a lot of approaches, I found that the two lists approach is what works best. One list has the general overview of what I need to do, the second list is what I need to do right now. List one is edited only when a change in schedule is required, or a new project is added. The second list is edited and revised daily. More importantly, those two lists are done using pen and paper, which I found to be the best tool for the job.
    - SatvikBeri 14y ago
      I actually do maintain a list of lists and find it extremely useful-the software I use is www.checkvist.com , and I use it for short term to-do lists, long term goals, brainstorming, project planning and status updates, notes on books, notes on people, etc.
    - aGHz 14y ago
      You just described Trello
tluyben2 14y ago
It depends on the work you do. The bad chair obviously not and besides that I have most of these things. I'm very productive for what needs to be done by me in the position I hold currently. As developer, this would be a great way to destroy my productivity indeed.
- coffeecheque 14y ago
  It does indeed depend. I work in the media, so it's my job to react to what is happening. Information comes through to my email and if I miss it, we are behind competitors. Notifications at essential to immediate communication between colleagues who need me to certain things for program output. That said, I would like a new chair...
Craiggybear 14y ago
Sadly, for me, this is an average day right now :(
vbtemp 14y ago
Quite simply, the best way to strangle your productivity and toss it in the bay is to work at an office with a regular 9-5 weekly schedule. For innovative types (e.g., software engineers) and people with my temperament, what ends up happening is that you build a lifestyle based around the daily schlep to work, and you end up doing just enough to get by.
- dansingerman 14y ago
  Absolutely true. I have recently changed my career from mostly office-based to mostly working at home. I think the days I now spend at home are about 200% more productive. The typical office environment is the antithesis of what you need to achieve 'flow'.
  - vbtemp 14y ago
    I'm not sure if it's the "office environment" per se. It's the lifestyle built around the daily routine. The problem is, in big organizations, it isn't really fair to everyone. A receptionist, for example, has to be there during work hours, or many managers, and many other types of engineers such as RF guys or mechanical guys. It wouldn't be fair to yield tremendous flexibility to the software engineers, despite higher productivity.
    - jiggy2011 14y ago
      Simple, just give them more holidays or better pay or something.
    - RollAHardSix 14y ago
      Sure it would. If they want to become an Engineer help them. Obviously most of them won't. When you take a job, you're taking that lifestyle to boot. I remember the exact MOMENT I didn't want to do sales for the rest of my life. I was at an award conference for being in the top 5% of performers (yay me) and the discussion was on reality tv shows (oh so boring). One of the managers sitting across from me remarks how he's never seen most tv shows because he's worked 2nd shift for 15 years straight. It wasn't anger in his voice, or jealousy, it was simply a statement of fact. Fact is, I did not want to be him working 4 - 1 for the rest of my life. Most sales jobs require odd hours, pushes on weekends, and a different skill-set than other types of jobs. No thanks, I'll take my 9-5 in exchange of other crappier hours, working on weekends, etc. You take a job, you know what effect it will have your lifestyle, that's really all I'm saying.
Zanon 14y ago
I'd prefer fewer self-post spam blog entries on HN. Seriously. http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=jirinovotny http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=jirinovotny
- DenisM 14y ago
  So if a person has something to say to HN that does not fit small text box, he should not say it at all?
  - Zanon 14y ago
    It becomes pretty obvious when a person views HN as just a SEO fountain. Occasional self-posting is fine. This is extreme. Especially when you consider he seems to be involved in both componentowl and dextronet. That's blatant continuous self-promotion.
- mainguy 14y ago
  I don't care so much about self-posting (I do it all the time), but it was a little bit of a shill (and I'm guilty of that too, so I can't be too critical). I think the overall article was amusing and made sense... I see no problem with it (other that the plug at the end which wasn't a big deal IMHO).
dfan 14y ago
According to Jiri Novotny, 'As popularized by Tim Ferris, according to Josh Waitzkin, “A study at The British Institute of Psychiatry showed that checking your email while performing another creative task decreases your IQ in the moment 10 points." '. Only three levels of indirection from the (purported) original source! I'm convinced. I tried tracking down the original study, because I have access to the internet, and eventually found http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002493.html http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002493.h..., in which the guy who ran the original "study" says how ridiculous the reaction to it is. Too late now, though - every other blog post about productivity mentions how Tim Ferris mentions that Josh Waitzkin mentioned that he heard about it. The next one I see will probably use this post as its source.
chhantyal 14y ago
This is so true. Is there any post just opposite of this one: How to save your productivity?

73 points by jirinovotny 14y ago

bemmu 14y ago

Adding everything to a to-do list isn't so bad, as long as you consider it a "rough list of ideas it might be a good idea to do, but need to be seriously prioritized" instead of a MUST do list.

jirinovotny 14y ago
What you describe is not a to-do list. It's a list of ideas. And if you start putting urgent stuff into your list of ideas, you are in trouble. Have two lists. It's that simple, really.
- oscilloscope 14y ago
  If you have two lists, why not three? Maybe you should just have a list of lists.
  - leviathan 14y ago
    After trying a lot of approaches, I found that the two lists approach is what works best. One list has the general overview of what I need to do, the second list is what I need to do right now. List one is edited only when a change in schedule is required, or a new project is added. The second list is edited and revised daily. More importantly, those two lists are done using pen and paper, which I found to be the best tool for the job.
  - SatvikBeri 14y ago
    I actually do maintain a list of lists and find it extremely useful-the software I use is www.checkvist.com , and I use it for short term to-do lists, long term goals, brainstorming, project planning and status updates, notes on books, notes on people, etc.
  - aGHz 14y ago
    You just described Trello

tluyben2 14y ago

It depends on the work you do. The bad chair obviously not and besides that I have most of these things. I'm very productive for what needs to be done by me in the position I hold currently. As developer, this would be a great way to destroy my productivity indeed.

coffeecheque 14y ago
It does indeed depend. I work in the media, so it's my job to react to what is happening. Information comes through to my email and if I miss it, we are behind competitors. Notifications at essential to immediate communication between colleagues who need me to certain things for program output. That said, I would like a new chair...

Craiggybear 14y ago

Sadly, for me, this is an average day right now :(

vbtemp 14y ago

Quite simply, the best way to strangle your productivity and toss it in the bay is to work at an office with a regular 9-5 weekly schedule. For innovative types (e.g., software engineers) and people with my temperament, what ends up happening is that you build a lifestyle based around the daily schlep to work, and you end up doing just enough to get by.

dansingerman 14y ago
Absolutely true. I have recently changed my career from mostly office-based to mostly working at home. I think the days I now spend at home are about 200% more productive. The typical office environment is the antithesis of what you need to achieve 'flow'.
- vbtemp 14y ago
  I'm not sure if it's the "office environment" per se. It's the lifestyle built around the daily routine. The problem is, in big organizations, it isn't really fair to everyone. A receptionist, for example, has to be there during work hours, or many managers, and many other types of engineers such as RF guys or mechanical guys. It wouldn't be fair to yield tremendous flexibility to the software engineers, despite higher productivity.
  - jiggy2011 14y ago
    Simple, just give them more holidays or better pay or something.
  - RollAHardSix 14y ago
    Sure it would. If they want to become an Engineer help them. Obviously most of them won't. When you take a job, you're taking that lifestyle to boot. I remember the exact MOMENT I didn't want to do sales for the rest of my life. I was at an award conference for being in the top 5% of performers (yay me) and the discussion was on reality tv shows (oh so boring). One of the managers sitting across from me remarks how he's never seen most tv shows because he's worked 2nd shift for 15 years straight. It wasn't anger in his voice, or jealousy, it was simply a statement of fact. Fact is, I did not want to be him working 4 - 1 for the rest of my life. Most sales jobs require odd hours, pushes on weekends, and a different skill-set than other types of jobs. No thanks, I'll take my 9-5 in exchange of other crappier hours, working on weekends, etc. You take a job, you know what effect it will have your lifestyle, that's really all I'm saying.

Zanon 14y ago

I'd prefer fewer self-post spam blog entries on HN. Seriously. http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=jirinovotny http://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=jirinovotny

DenisM 14y ago
So if a person has something to say to HN that does not fit small text box, he should not say it at all?
- Zanon 14y ago
  It becomes pretty obvious when a person views HN as just a SEO fountain. Occasional self-posting is fine. This is extreme. Especially when you consider he seems to be involved in both componentowl and dextronet. That's blatant continuous self-promotion.
mainguy 14y ago
I don't care so much about self-posting (I do it all the time), but it was a little bit of a shill (and I'm guilty of that too, so I can't be too critical). I think the overall article was amusing and made sense... I see no problem with it (other that the plug at the end which wasn't a big deal IMHO).

dfan 14y ago

According to Jiri Novotny, 'As popularized by Tim Ferris, according to Josh Waitzkin, “A study at The British Institute of Psychiatry showed that checking your email while performing another creative task decreases your IQ in the moment 10 points." '. Only three levels of indirection from the (purported) original source! I'm convinced. I tried tracking down the original study, because I have access to the internet, and eventually found http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002493.html http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002493.h..., in which the guy who ran the original "study" says how ridiculous the reaction to it is. Too late now, though - every other blog post about productivity mentions how Tim Ferris mentions that Josh Waitzkin mentioned that he heard about it. The next one I see will probably use this post as its source.

chhantyal 14y ago

This is so true. Is there any post just opposite of this one: How to save your productivity?