Stuff that helps you be productive

[sclitheroe]

Pressure helps me be productive. My best technical work and creative problem solving occurs when its a vexing issue, a late night catastrophic failure, potential data loss, etc. I'd be tempted to say that its likely that I only think this, but when I look at my body of work, its clearly an accurate assessment.

I think people that tend to procrastinate might operate like this too (some of them anyways) - the very real pressure of an imminent deadline amps up their productivity and quality.

I'm trying to create this artificially using the GTD methodology - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

[Hack&Lube]

At the very worst of times, when my procrastination overcomes every ounce of my volition and every drop of reason and responsibility...

Tobacco and 80's montage music.

I definitely have to write down the recommendations you guys have here, especially you IT guys and it's funny how you can tell who we are. The things you guys use definitely will help me in the future.

[malcolmk14]

I need pressure or I can't get anything done.

I have a paper due on Monday that I haven't even started yet and probably won't start until Saturday. If it's not due NOW, I can find better ways to spend my time. Like browsing Calgarypuck....

[carom]

I use the thanks button instead of posting.

[Travis Munroe]

Making a list of the next days "must do's" before bed really helps me get into a groove the following day. It sounds so minor but plays a huge role in my daily productivity.

Ipad - Having my business with me wherever I go has allowed me to do so much more than before.
Multiple computer screens - having CP open on half of 1, email on the other half, and my work on the 2nd screen is awesome and saves a ton of time IMO.

[Nammer403]

Music and my blackberry helps me be productive.
Keyboard short cuts and hot keys

[BCGirl]

Prioritizing helps in keeping you from freaking out! No matter what your job is, devide everthing it a "must be done by today" or "extra today or wait tomorrow" pile. This helps you focus on the most important things you need to do therefore being more organized and also feeling productive.

[Rathji]

At work, I use a few strategies:

My inbox is my to do list. If something is in my inbox then it needs to get out. My goal is to have it empty every day when I leave. If it can't be empty, or there is something for a later date there, I turn whatever is left into an appointment reminder for the appropriate time. Sure I could make it a task, but I ignore tasks.

For everything else, ie larger or long term projects I am working on, I write a big to do list, that is broken into manageable chunks, on the whiteboard and if I ever find myself on the internet (aka CP) for more than about 5 mins (I use Nanny in Chrome to help remind me), I look at the list and pick something to work on.

For school work, I put it all off until the last minute and play video games instead.

[WilsonFourTwo]

I'm gonna brag a bit because this is (a rare) area where I can, having earned a reputation for being highly productive. My tips (that I assume will work for anyone) include:

1. Sleep. I went from 6.5-7 hours a night (typical for adults) to 8-9 hours. Words cannot express the difference it made in mood, ability to think critically, and ability to focus.

2. Limit your reliance on electronics. I use an Outlook Calendar with reminders for critical items (my memory is horrendous) and a running task list in my notebook. I used to spend a time fortune updating devices, spreadsheets, lists, etc all in the hopes of being 'Organized'. Now, I get reminders for meetings and specific deadlines, and spend the off time working my list.

3. Planning - You know what they say, a failure to plan is a plan to fail. It takes me 15-30 minutes each morning (and a little longer Monday mornings) to review where my tasks are at, request/review key updates from staff, update my calender/list, and choose determine what I'm going to focus on next. Once the plan is set, it takes a MAJOR issue to make me alter course.

4. Achievement breeds achievement. My favorite trick for beating procrastination is to accomplish something simple. Success feeds on itself.

5. Separate Home from Work. If I need to work a bit extra (and I am mindful of when I do so), it gets done at the office. My home (including my personal devices) is for me - not the business. I don't bring my movie collection to the office.....

Anyhow - best of luck.

[Robotic]

I've also been thinking about this with work getting pretty demanding recently. I've started to take multi vitamins and a brain formula that helps with memory and concentration. I've noticed that it helps quite a bit and my memory response to questions has improved. Has anyone ever tried or heard of Alpha Brain? Joe Rogan is a big fan of it and talks about it on his pod casts. I'd suggest taking daily vitamins and a Ginko supplement.

[GP_Matt]

Can anyone recommend a good to-do list program?
I just want something really simple where I can key in a task id and a few details and then cross it off when I am done. I normally use paper as crossing tasks off is pretty satisfying but have been getting a lot busier lately and am finding that I get to the end of the page before most of my list is crossed off so I waste time copying the incomplete tasks to the new page.

I am a huge fan of writing things down though. Anytime I am stressed about having too many things to do I start a list and always make sure to throw a couple quick/easy tasks on there so I can knock them off if I find myself getting distracted or depressed by the size of the list.

[CaptainCrunch]

um the possibility of making more money

Since I'm paid a base + commissions + bonus based on business, I don't really need anything else.

I decide on what I want to make at the start of the year, then calculate how I can make it, then drive towards that.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Nothing. I chose to be productive when i have to be.

[Rathji]

^^^

I used Wunderlist for a while, but stopped because I would never check it since my Blackberry wasn't supported. I should start again now that I have an iPhone.

Apps for all the common devices. Decent web interface so it all syncs up.

[Azure]

I use Evernote for to-do lists.

Just make a note, and update it as you go. Syncs across all your devices.

[freedogger]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

Can anyone recommend a good to-do list program?
I just want something really simple where I can key in a task id and a few details and then cross it off when I am done. I normally use paper as crossing tasks off is pretty satisfying but have been getting a lot busier lately and am finding that I get to the end of the page before most of my list is crossed off so I waste time copying the incomplete tasks to the new page.

I am a huge fan of writing things down though. Anytime I am stressed about having too many things to do I start a list and always make sure to throw a couple quick/easy tasks on there so I can knock them off if I find myself getting distracted or depressed by the size of the list.

It's pretty hard to beat paper. Lately I have been using a plain text file that's droped boxed to every device I work with. For the iphone and ipad plaintext puts it in reach. My PC's just have quick shortcuts directly to the file.

For productivity on a team, scrum, unit tests and continuos integration are 30 %, the rest is hiring the right people.

[undercoverbrother]

Asian sub-continent. We outsource much secritarial work to Indian.

[Milt Schmidt]

I try to do as much as possible in plain text, that's the thing that makes the biggest difference for me. I use
http://todotxt.com/
and I keep todo lists in dropbox so I can access them on any computer/phone that has or can have installed a text editor, which is all of them. I tried using evernote, and it's got all of the functionality I need, but getting files out of evernote in a format that I can continue to work with was too much trouble so I went back to plain text.

I also tend to use a lot of keyboard shortcuts, scripts, and command line programs. The amount of time that can be saved by learning the keyboard shortcuts or scripting repetitive actions is amazing, and it accumulates so much over time that even the smallest of time savings becomes invaluable over months and years. The command line is something that most will never bother with, but it's definitely worth being comfortable enough to run scripts, especially on a Mac or Linux system where using the command line makes the system 2-3 times more powerful.

I also like to use the Pomodoro technique
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
Basically you work as hard as you can for 25 minutes then take a 5 minute break, repeat. It works well when I've got to produce really fast, there's something about sprinting through work for 25 minutes then breaking that seems to get me really focused and effective.

Other than that I do pretty much the same things freedogger mentioned, still meaning to get into a speed reading class though.

Milt

[Sr. Mints]

Fast approaching deadlines motivate me like nothing else.

I have an article due on April 13, and I haven't even begun it yet. There's no point: without a fire under my ass, I can't make myself sit down and get to work.

[freedogger]

Originally Posted by Milt Schmidt

I try to do as much as possible in plain text, that's the thing that makes the biggest difference for me. I use
http://todotxt.com/

I am a huge proponent of plain text. For the life of me, I don't understand why more business people are against it. The amount of time people spend formating internal company .doc files is a huge waste of time. Another thing, you can't use a diff program to compare previous versions of docs, excel and powerpoint (although excel is probably one place where it may be the only option depending on your needs).

If you want to pretty up your text files, consider using markdown. My favourite text editor right now is sublime. Finally made the switch from notepad2 after about six years of using that one.

Meetings: If I am running the meeting I will put the agenda on the white board prior to it starting. It is also on the invite. I write down key decisions and action items with the name of the person actioned and the due date on the white board as the meeting progresses. If we get into something technical or interesting business rules etc come up, that too will be whiteboarded. It is a good way to get consensus on these things and to ensure that what was said was understood. I ask everyone if photos of the whiteboard will suffice for the meeting minutes. Most of the times, especially for internal meetings, no one has an issue with it. I'll store the photos in our source control in a folder that names the meeting date and the title of the meeting. I send the photos out in the follow up email. Saves a lot of time.

This reminded me, I forgot to mention my most powerful weapon. Slickrun - opens any program on your machine. I have a slew of customizations for it. One of them is to type the letter t and then anything that follows gets appended to my todo list. This helps me to not get distracted when something from another project or task pops into my head. I can put it aside very quickly.

Hard Technical problems: get up and walk away from your computer if you are stuck. Take a break, go for a walk, go help somebody with something else. Talk it out with someone competent. You have to do something to take your mind off it. Usually this lets your subconcious work on it and a different angle will force its way back into your brain. Sleeping on hard problems is very effective too. I usually try to start hard tasks that take about a day at noon. I get a basic idea and approach worked out and then go home. Over the evening and especially the next morning, new ideas will surface that really improve the way I solved it.