Boost your productivity: kill some variables in your life

While I don't disagree with the general sentiment of simplification by reducing choices, a pattern that I consider productive emerged and solidified for me over the years for buying food.

When I first moved to Manhattan, I used to buy food from two deli's that were within a couple of blocks of my downtown apartment. Then I discovered FreshDirect and for almost a year ordered food online that got delivered to my apartment on the 29th floor at a time slot of my choosing. Ultimate efficiency (including, streamlined periodic re-order).

But then I discovered Whole Foods and would from then on walk to the TriBeCa store (the largest in Manhattan) every other day. The walk is about 10 minutes and is a great way to build in exercise, clear the mind, and stumble upon new things en route. I would usually buy the same stuff, with the occasional dipping into something new and interesting. The only times when I would change this pattern was some nights on my way back from violin class - then I would go to Zabar's or Whole Foods Columbus Circle; or if I crave something at 3am - then the 24 hour Duane Reade on Wall Street or the deli on John are there to satisfy me.

Now that I live in Palo Alto, I have a similar, pattern - I walk to Whole Foods (sometimes taking a detour so that the walk is a little longer) and pick up the few things I'll need for the next day or two. I never buy food for more than 3 days out. Alas, there are no decent 24 hour options anywhere but Manhattan, but I've learned to cope.

EDIT: grammar

I find the biggest productivity-killer is feeling uninspired. So I actively seek out a certain amount of variation and randomness, just to have more chances at those moments of serendipity that give you a really good idea.

For a short list of 3 things, I don't think clothing qualifies to be on there as a priority to simplify. As long as you're not wearing a lot of clothing with special dry cleaning needs, it's not hard at all to have a little bit of variety in your closet.

I probably spend less than 20 seconds 'picking out' my attire for the day. Am I going to shave that down to 5 or 10 because I only have one kind of shirt? The downside of seeming like that guy who wears the same thing every day is worse than the extra 10 seconds spent.

Except: Have some kids, realize that no amount of planning can predict a fever, a boo-boo in the playground,etc.

These three examples seem to me to be coming from a person with ridiculous amounts of time at their personal disposal. Let me know how this goes once you have a kid or two.

As someone who has been interesting in tweaking personal productivity for a while I found this post to be rather simplistic. I also do recurring supermarket orders with a few clicks as probably many does that here already. Not a big deal. Automatic clothing? Meh.

I was expecting to find more insight into the real variables to kill when thinking of startup productivity. To implement certain features or not? Allocate that much energy into that refactoring or not now even if its looks prettier? Cost vs time of delegation and so on. A more in deep discussion about what we do when we're actually working I think may trigger much better results in real productivity.

This article is open-ended but still incomplete. Incomplete in sense that it does not define a replacement or how to benefit from saved time. It should say: Boost your productivity by replacing X with Y. If I leave farther from my workplace, replace "time spent to commute" with "exercise/recreation etc" or "an extra hour of billing" - "increase in rent".

To minimize the subjective speed of time (and thus maximize the perceptual length), one must constantly vary one's routine [citation needed]. The disciple of those recommendations will feel freer, and perhaps more creative, but is sacrificing experience on their alter of efficiency.

Kind-of unrelated: the recent fashion of bolding certain parts of one's blog posts really turns me off reading them. If you have to tell me which parts of the text are important, you're not writing properly!

Great (but kinda short) overview of useful productivity techniques. I like this concept of minimalism. Does anybody know some extended articles on this? (kind of minimalism: best practices)

In the case of clothing, limiting your choices seems just like a patch to the problem. When ever I find myself looking for an especific shirt I try to focus on the real problem: find a shirt. Same for shoping.

The more you condition the solution to a problem the harder it is to find it. Sometimes the problem is the solution I propose to the problem.

It probably takes longer to have to wash/dry 'only a handful of tshirts and jeans' very often than it does to have a whole wardrobe full and take (literally) an extra few seconds deciding what to wear every day

"Grocery-shopping normally takes hours and is a pretty redundant activity."

Really? I offer that "hours" may be an exaggeration here. It doesn't match my experience, anyway.

Where/how do you order groceries online in North America?

def agree to the time-scheduling point! I also use really specific time-slots for doing tasks that distract me from important stuff!