The power of a 'not-to-do' list
bbc.com
bbc.com
* Don't step on someone's ego (people are very egoistic and I have or had a habit of cracking worst jokes, without an ounce of remorse)
* Don't get emotionally involved with takers (there are givers and takers in the world... it's so much better to give to givers)
* Don't make important decisions when tired (prevented me from sending emails when I was too tired and silly ones)
I have been a freelance developer and an entrepreneur for last few years. They might seem silly but did help me out become better at managing things. :-) Does anyone else wants to share theirs.
That seems a sad self-limitation. Stepping on egos can be fun, especially in VC and start-up circles, where there are so many overinflated ones. I mean, it's probably not good for your chances of getting funded or networking, but...
Come to think of it, I think I know why I'm bad at networking.
> It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return.
I wonder how that's defined at work, considering intellectual knowledge work isn't something you can physically give, match or take.
And 'not-to-do' list is something that is meant for your memory. I would keep these lists in the mac dashboard (sticky pads). Since I did not know when I would need them, having them in front of the eyes was a constant reminder. Once they were sufficiently ingrained, they would go to a docs (out of the sticky pads).
I feel the need for a not-to-do list again.
Actually, I also had a when in doubt list (this was because I said 'yes' too often). It had a few points like - (1) does it help me get better at running a startup, (2) does it help me get healthier, and (3) do I have a reason why I am doing it...
Anyone else :-) When 'in-a-doubt' list...
Or angry. Or even hungry.
It is amazing how easily we can move from a thinking being into a completely irrational animal.
“Problems frequently get easier if you turn them around in reverse. In other words, if you want to help India, the question you should ask is not ‘how can I help India,’ it’s ‘what is doing the worst damage in India and how do I avoid it?”
“A lot of success in life and business comes from knowing what you want to avoid: early death, a bad marriage, etc.”
“It is remarkable how much long-term advantage we have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent.”
Prioritization is key for making meaningful progress every day. Your list of 'to-dos' will seem endless so you must learn to pick and choose only the most valuable activities. And sometimes that means saying no to other valuable but not as critical ones.
- Recognizing "anti-matter-blocks" on my calendar: Letting go of blocks of time in which I _should_ be productive and constructive, but am not. I kept a log and found that the 1-3:30 p.m. time block was ridiculously unproductive and typically filled with high self-pressure, so I decided to completely let it go. Now I use that block as a rest period and do whatever I want. Watch a movie? Great. Two-hour hike? Done, many times. This is still an experiment to which I make little tweaks (going on about 3 years now) but it taught me to accept my roadblocks for what they are and use them to some other advantage (in this case, mental health / recuperation). To top it off, as a stress response I was feeding a bad habit during that block of time for about 10 years, and as of two years ago, it's completely gone.
- Intuitive task priority. I fill my to-do list with fun things and not-so-fun things, and start with whatever "speaks to me." If nothing on the list speaks to me, chances are I have neglected to add fun things. And if my work items do not seem fun _ever_, I need to alter my work and seek out different forms of work or set firmer boundaries. This latter fact is difficult but worth facing up to.
- Verbalizing my problems with the day to other people. This is hard for me because I don't want to sound like I'm whining, but has worked surprisingly well. Sometimes I get feedback like, "well, why don't you just do X instead," where X is an idea I hadn't considered. Other times there's no one around so I consult with a person I deeply respect as if they're present & ready to help me (the cabinet of invisible counselors idea) or even say a prayer. I've had amazing results with these last methods, somehow even better if I'm typing them out as I experience them.
- Blocking in things I really look forward to. This is mentioned in the article. I enjoy achievement and find that it helps reverse feelings of exhaustion. For me, little achievements peppered in here and there throughout the year are where it's at. I blocked in the ARRL amateur radio licensing exams as a personal challenge and downloaded an app to help study. I blocked in a couple of conferences that are outside of my field but very interesting. I block in webinars in various fields and even ended up pursuing and earning certificates in those fields. I built a new website to help those who are interested in one of those fields and challenged myself to add 1,000 new items of content before the end of the year. I'm at 250 so far after 2 weeks (I count links! The currency of the web...but it's a niche field so it's still hard).
Well, this went longer than I thought. But with some serious achievements finally under my belt, with bad habits conquered and work going better than ever, I figured it might help someone to share.
It's that echo chamber of "you can do it" that often leads to people actually doing it.
But I can see how a positive echo chamber could help get something off the ground.
Besides, in a work context it's more likely to be people who want your time and effort for something that's not in your goals. Or simply bores. I used to work somewhere with a negative productivity manager: not only did he not do anything useful, he had a tendency to stand next to you and tell dull long stories of How It Was In The Old Days.
Contrary to the Medium post, I schedule each meeting as first thing of the day, so it’s out of the way and doesn’t cockblock deep work I want to do. Even better is no meetings, but sometimes they’re just unavoidable.
I can't always control my schedule to this degree, because I work for others, but it's ideal for me.
I suppose it works this way for "morning people".
Internal meetings are kept short. 30 minutes each morning, 30 minutes after lunch.
* Don't look at porn for more than 30 minutes today.
* Don't eat any chocolate or other unhealthy food.
* Don't work on that side project.
the internet is borderline unusable without proper adblocking. Its the same on all platforms.