Six Subtle Things Highly Productive People Do Every Day

I should do me some of these.

Eric Barker, writing in Business Insider, heads the list with this unexpected advice:

If you start the day calm it’s easy to get the right things done and focus.

He's got much more to say about why that works and also what specific steps you can take to make it happen, to make it happen every day. Plus another five detailed things that I know I've done some times. And must do more.

Read the whole piece on Business Insider – though sorry for the irritating ad page you have to tap through first.

Productivity for the Neurotic

Writer Tim Ferris just opened up on the Huffington Post:

We all like to appear “successful” (a nebulous term at best) and the media like to portray standouts as superheroes.

Sometimes, these dramatic stories of overcoming the odds are inspiring. More often, they lead to an unhealthy knee-jerk conclusion:

“Well… maybe they [entrepreneur/artist/creator painted as superhero] can do it, but I'm just a normal guy/girl…”

This post is intended to give a behind-the-scenes look at my own life. Though I've occasionally done profiles like A Day In The Life with Morgan Spurlock's crew, I rarely let journalists follow me for a “normal” day. Why?

I'm no superhero. I'm not even a consistent “normal.”

Forgive me, I'd no more heard of this guy than I have used Digg. I'm learning a lot today. Ferris wrote The Four-Hour Week, which just makes me shudder, and in this feature he lists all the fantastic things he's done recently – right alongside all the bad. Some lazy, some trivial, others seriously concerning but they're all there and he says he's written all this out so that:

Most “superheroes” are nothing of the sort. They're weird, neurotic creatures who do big things DESPITE lots of self-defeating habits and self-talk.

Personally, I suck at efficiency (doing things quickly). Here's my coping mechanism and 8-step process for maximizing efficacy (doing the right things):

Productivity Tricks for the Neurotic and Crazy (Like Me) – Tim Ferris, Huffington Post

You know I'm going to recommend that you read the full piece to see what his “coping mechanism and 8-step process” is and I am. Here I am, recommending it. But also read what he's done well and what he has done badly. Right in itself, that's got me thinking about what does and doesn't matter.

Do more this weekend – if you must

I used to treat Saturdays and Sundays more or less the same as any other day. You'd get family expectations but eventually they figure it out and let you alone as you carry on working. Since doing The Blank Screen and managing my time better, I've tended to take weekends off like a normal person. Not entirely, there's no need to be daft about it, but far more than ever before. I have even lazed around on a Saturday. And yet there's always someone to spoil it:

On Saturday morning I make a list — it usually includes hoovering, cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry, reading a book of choice, a gym session, some research or catching up on my Pocket reading etc. By having a list I can see how I progress throughout the weekend. Although I leave large gaps for general relaxing or wandering time (for a relaxing walk for example) usually I do something that’s on the list.

My proven ways to turn a lazy lie in — into a productive active resting and satisfying weekend
Krystian Szastok – Medium

Krystian has a lot of good ideas like that, dammit. Read the whole piece to see if there is any bit of it that you'll be able to do yourself for real.

Be all you can be, you complex little soldier you

I like quotes. I am genuinely inspired by certain quotes. There’s this one from Steve Jobs –

Great artists steal

Though actually what I find inspiring about it is that Jobs stole it from Picasso.

Then there’s this from Cervantes:

Translation is like reading the back of a tapestry

Though actually what I find most inspiring about this one is that Cervantes presumably said it in Spanish.

What I don’t like are quotes that seek to inspire. That seek to be a touchstone for your life. I’ve written before about the worth of finding a line that encapsulates the piece you’re writing – such as a sentence about its real theme so you don’t keep wandering off – and as ever and always, what works for you works for you.

So maybe you’ll take this new free app more seriously than I do. Maybe you’ll find it helps. In which case, go grab it: Daily Productivity Quotes is out now on the iOS App Store. It’s an iPhone app so it looks a bit ugly on an iPad but I’m not very likely to be opening it often.