Category: Productivity

I like to think that I do a good job of getting things done. Certainly the way I do things is not going to be the perfect solution for everyone, but perhaps readers will get some ideas.

Probably the best, most effective and unique productivity tool I use is a custom notification script. I have been running various versions of this code for the better part of a decade now. It is the foundation of how I have been able to consistently maintain this website and write so many blog posts since the early 2000s. The psychological hurdle that it helps to avoid is the problem of “out of sight, out of mind” for recurring tasks. It can watch two types of things for me: RSS feeds – like this blog, youtube channel or podcast, and recently it has been improved to check my Google Drive files. For things that I want to make sure I do I add a check to this script, if the blog/youtube/podcast/file isn’t updated according to my goal schedule then I get an alert. The alert is delivered every hour, after it is due, until it’s done.

The code I use for this is on Github for anyone who would be interested in trying it for themselves. https://github.com/mfwarren/BlogPostingReminder

My next most effective hack for getting more things done is a physical journal. I leave my journal open and on my desk so that it is always front and center. Note taking apps and todo list apps on the computer or smartphone have never worked for me. Again, the out of sight problem. Once the app is closed, I have to remember to check it without having the memory hook that triggers me to check my todo list it gets forgotten too easily. A physical book has a presence, and the act of using a pen to make notes helps to cement those things I write down into permanence. Being unable to copy/paste or delete afterwards are good attributes for commitments not to be forgotten. For the Journal, I roughly follow the Bullet Journal patterns, I write down the date and 3-5 bullet points for goals for things to do that day. It helps to keep my day deliberate.

The final hack I use is a policy of “Just do it!” for small chores. This is a fight against the desire to procrastinate. For small things that aren’t worth putting into my journal as a daily goals like clean the basement or fix a broken toy I try to get it done quickly and move on to something else. Many things, that psychologically feel like onerous chores have a higher perceived time cost than reality. Tidying up the basement usually takes me less than 2 minutes when I time myself. Folding a basket of laundry: less than 10 minutes. If you can keep the list of tasks from building up by knocking off these deceptively small tasks immediately it creates room to breath and relax. Plus it just feels good to get things done. Like you’ve accomplished a lot.

But hey, I’m not perfect, life is always a work in progress. I’m always looking to level up my productivity. If you have your own favorite productivity tips feel free to leave a comment below.

Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Albert Einstein

When looking at the world there are lots of things that are beyond the limits of human cognition. Not only do we not understand these complex systems but it is physically impossible for us to ever understand them. This is information theory, we cannot encode more information than we have space to store it without some loss of information.

The human memory is good at lossfully encoding information in the billions of neurons and dendrites. But there are very real limits. For instance, it would be impossible for me to losslessly add another persons memories into my own without also doubling the size of my brain. It is impossible to encode the information without the physical space to store it.

Complex systems such as how the brain works are possible for humans to understand only through the help of simplifications. We can’t possibly track billions of interacting neurons mentally the way we might be able to visualise 2 + 3, so we reduce the brain to regions and sub-regions. The value of sub-dividing the brain into regions is not because it simplifies the complexity of billions of neurons, but because it adds complexity to the brain as a single mass of grey matter.

Our inability to completely understand other people results in compromises. Instead of taking time to get to know people at work, HR often advocates for personality tests. By putting labels on people’s personalities, we believe we can then extrapolate and make assumptions about them. This is inherently inhuman. Rather than having deep conversations and personal relationships we can do a quick test online by ourselves, register the result with HR, and that data point can be used to direct our future opportunities. Like a distopian sci-fi thriller.

The world is filled with complex systems that are too complex for humans to really grasp intuitively. Ecology and Climate are complex systems with billions of interactions – humans cannot apply intuition and common sense to gloss over these complexities. Traffic and stock markets also are complex systems for which intuition and common sense often fail us.

Traffic is a common topic of conversation. Everyone has their opinion on fixes for the congestion problems. The evidence shows that you can’t build roads to fix congestion – major roadworks projects around the world just provide temporary relief – see Boston after the big dig, Houston’s grand parkway. There are rarely simple solutions to complex problems. Rarely are complex solutions palatable to those in power. If we were able to build a complex city simulation and model growth against zoning changes, tolls, bike lanes, road works, and taxes, etc. maybe we could find some optimal solution – but note that even optimal solutions have trade-offs. Fixing traffic might require making single family homes illegal to improve density. It would be impossible to create an optimal solution that everyone is happy with. To make things more complex, majority rule doesn’t always result in ethical decisions – deciding how to decide can also be a complex system.

There is a natural desire for humans to try and simplify things, or see simple solutions to things, and then be frustrated when they are not done. We see road workers on seemingly perpetual coffee breaks and complain about it as if the project manager who spends all their time trying to keep the worksite working hasn’t considered some simple fix.

I like to think that there are some complex systems that require complex solutions which are beyond human understanding. That’s Ok. Accepting the limits of the human mind is the first step to transcending them. Computers provide the tools to augment our memory (hard drives) and thought processes (AI). In that regard it seems inevitable that AIs will produce answers that we do not, and perhaps can not understand.

As Einstein suggests, we should strive to make things simple as possible. But in some instances that will still be too complex for us to understand within a single human brain. In those cases we need to be careful not to push simplifying things past the limit. We should attempt to recognise and resist the desire to simplify things that are inherently complex. Embrace the complexity.

It was two years ago that I learned about a system of keeping an agenda/journal that really made sense to me.  Bullet Journal is a flexible way to organize a plain physical journal so that you get exactly what you want out of the practice without the rigid space limitation and structure of pre-printed agendas or digital note taking apps.

I have tried various attempts to use things like Evernote, Google Docs, Apple Notes, and a few smaller todo list apps.  All of them suffered from a lack of physicality. Apps disappear into the background or get forgotten about when the browser tab is closed. It is easy to copy/paste huge amounts of content into an app that you will never read and won’t remember. 

A journal that sits on my desk has a permanent presence. Looking at it is a reminder to continue with the ritual and to revisit my goals on occasion. Everything in it has to come from my own written hand which makes it easier to remember. Hand writing takes more time to do, and that is kind of the point. By taking up physical space as a book with a single purpose, and by requiring time each to consciously think about it and write in it adds to the importance and effectiveness.

By asking simple questions every morning: “what is the date?”, “what do I want to accomplish today?” “What events do I have today?” and then taking time to flip back though pages occasionally to answer these questions, each day is given more intentionality. It makes me feel like I’m writing my own life instead of having Google Calendar dictate it to me. Some things in life are better left not automated.

If the climate models recently published by the IPCC are accurate, then things are not looking great for the future. Indeed, if we continue on the same path that we are currently on then it is unlikely that my daughter will live long enough to die of old age.

When rising ocean levels force a mass migration in India and other highly populated coastal cities, then our recent experience with the mass migration of Syria foretells just how bad of a situation it could be.

More frequent and more intense storms threaten to destroy our infrastructure and homes. Increasing droughts and desertification put our food production at risk.

It is a seriously bad situation.

We know the cause. Greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere are capturing more of the suns energy.  It’s our fault. But even if it wasn’t, we still need to do something to stop it from getting worse.

There are a few things we can do, and there are multiple concurrent things we need to work on.

1. Everyone’s next car should be electric. The shift to electric transportation is critical to staying below a habitable temperature increase.
2. Minimalism. I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t like having stuff. There’s a lot of wasted time and money on things we don’t need. I’m trying to reduce my consumption of things as low as possible.
3. Eat less meat. Cows are a horribly inefficient way to grow food calories and nutrients. We’ve cut our meat consumption way back and eat more vegetarian meals than we used to.
4. We should be encouraging Plan B options. Elon Musk’s colony on Mars or Jeff Bezos’ vision of living in space needs some serious consideration and funding.
   
5. We need some geo-engineering technology to sequester carbon out of the air. 
6. Urban planning needs to take a good look at efficiency.  Higher density housing, and mixed-use zoning make walking, biking, or mass-transit an option for more of our trips.

Right now it seems like we are living on the edge of it being too late to act. IPCC has determined that a 1.5 degree rise is only possible with carbon sequestration technology that currently doesn’t really exist. Current government policies are on a course for an unlivable planet.

This century is looking pretty bleak to me right now.

Leaving my job and subsequently taking a month long vacation to visit family and reset was quite disruptive to my usual routines. Focusing again on my entrepreneurial adventures is very different now that I’m back. 

On the one hand it is amazing to be fully in control of my schedule, I can allocate time between family, projects and health with freedom. But on the other hand I’m only accountable to myself to get things done.

I’m glad that I am the type of person that doesn’t procrastinate. Otherwise this whole venture would be non-productive.

Perhaps the most important thing is the need to create my own structures for allocating my time. Closing the office door and asserting the importance of dedicated and uninterrupted time away from distractions is critical for making progress. It’s a lot harder to do without the social pressure that comes with having a job and a team that depend on each other.

My Journal is such a critical piece of my daily routine, now more than ever it is helping to maintain focus on daily, weekly and monthly goals. Without which I would be going in 10 directions at the same time and get nowhere.

This disruption is giving me a chance to re-evaluate my morning routine as well. My morning is in flux right now. I’m hoping to create a regular practice of exercise to jump start the day, and am starting to try more bike rides and strength exercises to find something sustainable.

I’m still super excited to get this project I’m working on to a beta release in the near future. So much good stuff on the plan to accomplish.

Since I stopped running due to ankle pain several years ago nothing has really filled the void of regular exercise to keep me fit and healthy. Every now and then I do use percussion massage guns to ease my back pain, but the pain due to no exercise just comes back. For several months now I’ve been more conscious of the aches and pains and generally feeling kind of gross.

So as I start to shift into a new daily pattern of running my own business a ritual of exercise will have to be a more important aspect of my lifestyle which is why I have already begun going through the articles such as how to swim faster? And what to do about back pain? All available on HealthWriting website written by the fitness professionals of the world. Starting with a morning run or bike ride, and followed by some body weight exercises – pull-ups, pushups, dips, etc.

I’ve been working from home for over 2 years and slowly the act of sleeping in has destroyed my mornings so I’m starting to take them back. And dedicate that time to getting a workout done before the heat of the day arrives.

My best advice for having a good morning:

• No phones or tablets in the bedroom – If I can’t tell the time it makes me unsettled and I’ll be more likely to get up to check
• Leave the phone & alarm in another room. Generally I wake up before the alarm anyway, this forces me to get up and go find my phone
• Have things I need for morning exercise ready the night before – especially important in the winter when it’s dark out and annoying to fumble around finding things
• Go to bed early