Productivity-Crazed Shit I Do:

I am fascinated by productivity. For one reason I believe to succeed you will need enormous amounts of it; to make the most efficient use of the time that has been given to us, you have to actually be using that time.

For another completely different reason, I have a ridiculously short attention span. If I could have cosmetic surgery on my attention span, I would.  But in between my bouts of productivity and being distracted by fluffy animals on the Interwebz, I find some decent original productivity helpers.

  • I use My Blackberry as my walk-writer. I’ve filled it with all these different notes: When I have a stroke of inspiration, I get out my phone and rapidly-fire the thoughts into text. I have lists with ideas for projects and blogs, possible presents for my boyfriend I update whenever I get a good idea, (half finished) drafts for articles and tweets I like enough to write down whenever I’m in a wi-fi less zone. I mostly do this when I’m walking: I may look like a 24/7 texting douchebag, but at least I can’t forget.
  • I have a few hours between the two groups of students I supervise on Monday. I used to spend these 2,5 hours mindlessly browsing the Internet and talking to my colleagues but I’ve opted out of that now: Instead I take my regular 30-minute lunch break and then go to my classroom (where there is no Wi-Fi) to write.
  • Speaking of no Wi-Fi, if I really need/want to get a lot done I go to Wi-Fi less coffee places. It’s super effective against an Internet addict such as myself.
  • I have a page in my iPad notes with a big list of potential articles to write for the website. I update it whenever I have a good idea but zero time to write the entire article. This way, I can always come back to it later.
  • I audiorecord entire blogs on my iPod or iPad whenever I’m cycling to work, to yoga or to the grocery store. I can’t really be bothered by people listening in to my one-sided conversation. Most people assume I’m on the phone anyway and those who think I’m crazy are a lot less likely to be in my way whenever we encounter each other again.
  • Because I used to go with the subway a lot I trained myself to use my time effectively with reading articles for my university classes. This has stuck: I write or read. The only time I’m not doing something useful in public transit is when I’m craving a level of Plant versus Zombies, which I believe I’m entitled to every once in a while.

These are my main extra productivity ‘hacks’; I’m pretty sure they are occasionally the difference between pulling something off and crashing down completely, mental breakdown concluded. You know what they say: It’s the little things.

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5 comments

  1. I love the idea to audiorecord something while cycling. I always have these ideas when on my bike, but by the time it’s possible to write things down I’ve thought them trough so completely that I haven’t really got any motivation to write them down. I’m going to check if my phone can do this!

  2. Just what I needed! Again. 🙂

    I use public transport a lot and am completely addicted to Plants vs. Zombies. 🙁 But I would very much like to spend that time writing. But somehow I convinced myself that I can only get something done if I have a large amount of time ahead of me. I need to realize that that is something I made up. And also use some of your tips. Write on my phone while walking. That’s briljant! 😀

  3. Goede tips, zeker met alle mobiele telefoons en internetopties van tegenwoordig benutten we heel veel loze momenten niet zo goed als het zou kunnen.
    En grappig, dat op de fiets iets opnemen! Mij zou het denk ik ook niet zo opvallen hoor, maar who cares? Jij bent goed bezig!