October 5, 2014 at 19:00Enhancing personal performance: tips from Marc Andreessen
- Transfer
One of my favorite pleasures is productivity porn, performance pornography. Or, for those in the topic - pr0n. This is a set of techniques, tactics and tricks to maximize personal effectiveness. What is called, "getting things done."
The following techniques I use in combination, but maybe not all of them will be useful specifically to you. Even if you draw one or two ideas, it means that my goal will be achieved. So, let's start all of a sudden.
Yes, you are crazy! - you tell me. No, I'm serious. If you manage to live without a schedule (which is impossible in many works), then you will greatly increase your effectiveness. By the absence of a schedule, I understand the following: refusal from meetings and other events that are tightly tied to any time in the future. As a result, you can work on what is more important or interesting to you now.
Want to write a research report all day? OK. Coding? You are welcome. Sit all day in a cafe with a book on improving personal effectiveness? No problem.
If someone writes to you “we will meet on Tuesday at 3 o’clock”, the correct answer will be: “I do not compile a calendar this year, therefore I promise nothing. Call me on Tuesday at 2:45 - if possible, I will meet. " If this is very important, write "come on now."
Of course, not everyone will be able to. If your work is clearly scheduled, or you are CEO, it will be difficult to do. But if you can - it is very liberating, and leads to higher productivity than any other methods. I took the idea from A Perfect Mess , which describes how the lack of a schedule helped Arnold Schwarzenegger become a star, politician, and businessman over the past 20 years.
Want to meet Arnold? Come on in. If he can, he will accept you. But it’s better to call first. No, he does not plan meetings in advance. As a result, he worked for 20 years on what was most important at any given time. Anyone who has been following his campaign in California knows how he launched a frantic activity and easily won the election. The book describes that all this time his calendar was empty, and he could spend the whole day in his career as a politician, without worrying about agreements and not being distracted by anything.
If at some point in your life you existed according to a strict schedule, you know that there is nothing more liberating than looking at the calendar, to realize that you have nothing scheduled for weeks ahead, and you can do what is important and necessary you. It also increases your chances of a successful entry and work " in the stream ", which is the topic of a separate conversation, although it is strongly related to the issue of productivity.
I conducted such an experiment on myself in 2007, which can be confirmed by those who tried to arrange a meeting with me or invite me to a conference. And I became so happier that I can’t even convey. I had time to concentrate on really important things - in my case, these were two companies, charitable organizations and my beautiful wife.
The good thing is that this tactic does not force you to completely abandon something. Some things that are simply impossible to refuse, nevertheless penetrate the calendar. But you can still draw the line between "necessary" and "kind of interesting, but I do not comply with the schedule."
Enter three, and only three, lists: a todo list, a watch list, and a to-do list later.
In the to-do list, enter all the things that are “necessary” to do. Promises, duties, and so on. One list that can be categorized by time (today, week, next week, next month).
The tracking list includes everything that needs to be tracked - what do you expect from someone to answer, reminders of future affairs, and so on.
Everything else falls into the list “for later”. All that you would like to do when there will be time for this.
If something does not fall into one of these lists, it is discarded.
Every evening, prepare a small card with a list of 3-5 cases that you will do tomorrow. And do these things tomorrow. Personally, I sit down at the table before going to bed, open my todo list (I have it stored in Microsoft Word in Outline mode, by the old habit), and select 3-5 cases that I am going to do tomorrow and write them down on a card. The next day I try very hard to do these things. If I succeed, the day is considered successful.
Many who have tried various productive porn will tell you that this technique is the most effective of all that they have tried. When it becomes your habit, you will realize how many days you spent without doing these most important 3-5 things.
During the day, use the back of the card for a list called anti-todo. Each time you do something important, write it down on a list. You will feel a rush of endorphins. At the end of the day, enjoy this list of things done. Then tear it and throw it away - and another successful day has passed.
I really like this technique - notching my achievements belt, so to speak. When I write down all the important things that I have done, I feel extremely productive and efficient. Much more than if I was just doing something and not recording. In addition, remember those days when you rush about like a squirrel in a wheel, talk to people, call, answer letters, fill out forms - and when you return home, completely exhausted, you think: “What did I do today?” . Anti-todo will give you a clear answer. By the way, for this you should always carry a pen with you.
This great thing was invented by John Perry, a professor of philosophy at Stanford. I recommend reading the original description of this technique. There is a photo in which a professor on the beach jumps through a skipping rope from algae, while he is waiting for work.
The essence of the technique is that you do not need to fight the desire to procrastinate - on the contrary, you need to use it for your own purposes. Often things appear that you are not going to do because you are procrastinating. And while you procrastinate - just do a bunch of everything else.
The professor writes: “The to-do list in the head is always sorted by importance. The most important tasks are at the top. But there are always worthy deeds located a little lower. And when you do them, this is a way not to do those that are high. In doing so, the procrastinator becomes a useful member of society. Thus, in general, you can earn a reputation as a person who manages a lot - how I managed it. ”
Reading an essay was one of the revelations of my life. For example, I hate making phone calls. I love email, personal meetings - but I hate calls. I can do so much as long as I avoid the call - it's even hard to believe. Right now, for example, I'm doing it.
The best way to ensure that you are not asked to do something is to completely overwhelm the work the first time you are asked to do it. Better yet, try to immediately convince the person requesting that you fill up the job. Of course, provided that there are more important things that you need to do, and which you understand.
Organizing a corporate picnic, sending faxes or parcels, communicating with insurers ... The list of cases in which you may be strategically incompetent is endless.
Post twice a day. For example, in the morning, and at the end of the working day. Allocate for half an hour, or how much you need, and the rest of the time do not start the email client and do not configure confirmation of receipt of messages. If someone urgently needs to find you, they can call, send a messenger, give a smoke signal, or come up with something else. And the best thing is to find someone else who does what they need.
If you communicate with your beloved relatives by email during the day, just set up a separate account for them and check it. And do not open the worker. And do not give this family contact to anyone. By doing so, you will experience increased productivity. The fact is that receiving and responding to emails, you get the same stream of endorphins as a result of the task. This creates the effect of achieving something. Therefore, you are constantly distracted by incoming mail and get satisfaction from this. But in fact, you break your schedule, exit the flow and kill the possibility of focusing on the long-term tasks that make up quality work.
This is easier said than done. And this is difficult to do when you are busy with a project that constantly has updates. Personally, I'm still trying to reduce the number of mail scans to 5-6 per day. Work with mail as follows.
First, end your mail processing session with empty Inboxes. When I know that I have letters left there, it's hard for me to concentrate on other things.
Secondly, each letter you receive either save to the right place or answer it. If you do not work according to the schedule, this makes the task easier - you can often answer “sorry, but I do not work according to the schedule, so I can’t promise”.
Thirdly, letters related to current projects or urgent things go to the temporary subfolder of the special section “Urgent”. In this section there should be subfolders only for really necessary and urgent things. You process letters from these subfolders while working on related tasks throughout the day.
Fourth, in addition to these folders from “Urgent”, keep only three additional folders: “Waiting”, “To penetrate” and “Storage”.
Letters go to “Waiting”, to which you will have to return - for example, someone promises you something, and you want to not forget about it.
Letters go to Insight, which will need to be studied in more detail.
The rest goes to the Vault. Periodically check the subfolders from “Urgent” and the “Waiting” and “Understanding” folders, and drop off everything that is no longer needed in the “Storage”.
And that’s it. You do not need to fence a lot of different subfolders, because modern clients are well able to search in letters. Of course, you may need additional folders, for example for contracts, or letters from a doctor, etc. - but these are exceptions that do not change the main procedure.
Let everything fall into voicemail, and then you periodically check it, and answer to the necessary. For example, twice a day. Now it is quite possible to afford two phones or two sim cards, one of which will be intended for relatives, close friends and the boss, and the second for the rest. Only answer calls first.
One of the easiest ways to reduce distractions is to wear headphones. For some reason, people feel worse, distracting a person in the headphones. This is a great way - often people walk around, start to say something, then notice that you are on the headphones, apologize and leave. Because in half the cases, they really don’t really need to talk to you, and in the other half it will be enough for them to send you a letter that you can see at the end of the day during the mail processing session.
However, you do not have to listen to something. You can generally keep the headphones turned on nowhere.
I will not talk about the regime of the day, because everyone has it individually. Personally, I am 99% of the time - an owl, and 1% of the time (I want to bring up to 2%) - an early bird. But a more important point, no matter what time you get up, be sure to start the day with a hearty breakfast. There are two reasons for this.
First, you refuel. Breakfast is actually the most important meal. It is very important to nourish yourself before a busy day, and it is also important in order to stay slim, or lose weight. Those who have a poor breakfast usually eat more at lunch.
Secondly, you can calmly and quietly think about the upcoming day. It seems to me that you should try to lie down a little earlier, to get up early and be able to have breakfast and think calmly for 45 minutes.
Agree only when the mind and heart together say yes. This is a Robert Evans rule, I recommend his audiobook . It is very easy to find yourself in a situation where you are asked to do something, and you understand that it is necessary, but the heart says “no” - and the mouth says “yes”. As a result, your calendar is full of events that at the time of the discussion seemed necessary and important, and now you do not want to do them. And what's more, they distract you from really important things. And you become aggressive, withdrawn and angry.
To distinguish whether you agree with your head or with your heart, experience is required. It seems to me that the main difference is whether you experience joyful excitement at the same time. If you feel a pleasant rush of adrenaline, then your heart says yes. By the way, if suddenly the heart says “yes” and the head says “no”, you still better say “yes”. But not the other way around. Do what you love.
In general, from the above it should be clear that it is better to strive to free your life in order to achieve your dreams and follow your basic interests. If most of the time you are not doing what you love, and you have at least some personal freedom - it's time to change the situation. And I'm not talking about what you might like to do. Just about what you really like in reality.
The following techniques I use in combination, but maybe not all of them will be useful specifically to you. Even if you draw one or two ideas, it means that my goal will be achieved. So, let's start all of a sudden.
Do not schedule yourself
Yes, you are crazy! - you tell me. No, I'm serious. If you manage to live without a schedule (which is impossible in many works), then you will greatly increase your effectiveness. By the absence of a schedule, I understand the following: refusal from meetings and other events that are tightly tied to any time in the future. As a result, you can work on what is more important or interesting to you now.
Want to write a research report all day? OK. Coding? You are welcome. Sit all day in a cafe with a book on improving personal effectiveness? No problem.
If someone writes to you “we will meet on Tuesday at 3 o’clock”, the correct answer will be: “I do not compile a calendar this year, therefore I promise nothing. Call me on Tuesday at 2:45 - if possible, I will meet. " If this is very important, write "come on now."
Of course, not everyone will be able to. If your work is clearly scheduled, or you are CEO, it will be difficult to do. But if you can - it is very liberating, and leads to higher productivity than any other methods. I took the idea from A Perfect Mess , which describes how the lack of a schedule helped Arnold Schwarzenegger become a star, politician, and businessman over the past 20 years.
Want to meet Arnold? Come on in. If he can, he will accept you. But it’s better to call first. No, he does not plan meetings in advance. As a result, he worked for 20 years on what was most important at any given time. Anyone who has been following his campaign in California knows how he launched a frantic activity and easily won the election. The book describes that all this time his calendar was empty, and he could spend the whole day in his career as a politician, without worrying about agreements and not being distracted by anything.
If at some point in your life you existed according to a strict schedule, you know that there is nothing more liberating than looking at the calendar, to realize that you have nothing scheduled for weeks ahead, and you can do what is important and necessary you. It also increases your chances of a successful entry and work " in the stream ", which is the topic of a separate conversation, although it is strongly related to the issue of productivity.
I conducted such an experiment on myself in 2007, which can be confirmed by those who tried to arrange a meeting with me or invite me to a conference. And I became so happier that I can’t even convey. I had time to concentrate on really important things - in my case, these were two companies, charitable organizations and my beautiful wife.
The good thing is that this tactic does not force you to completely abandon something. Some things that are simply impossible to refuse, nevertheless penetrate the calendar. But you can still draw the line between "necessary" and "kind of interesting, but I do not comply with the schedule."
To-do lists
Enter three, and only three, lists: a todo list, a watch list, and a to-do list later.
In the to-do list, enter all the things that are “necessary” to do. Promises, duties, and so on. One list that can be categorized by time (today, week, next week, next month).
The tracking list includes everything that needs to be tracked - what do you expect from someone to answer, reminders of future affairs, and so on.
Everything else falls into the list “for later”. All that you would like to do when there will be time for this.
If something does not fall into one of these lists, it is discarded.
Every evening, prepare a small card with a list of 3-5 cases that you will do tomorrow. And do these things tomorrow. Personally, I sit down at the table before going to bed, open my todo list (I have it stored in Microsoft Word in Outline mode, by the old habit), and select 3-5 cases that I am going to do tomorrow and write them down on a card. The next day I try very hard to do these things. If I succeed, the day is considered successful.
Many who have tried various productive porn will tell you that this technique is the most effective of all that they have tried. When it becomes your habit, you will realize how many days you spent without doing these most important 3-5 things.
During the day, use the back of the card for a list called anti-todo. Each time you do something important, write it down on a list. You will feel a rush of endorphins. At the end of the day, enjoy this list of things done. Then tear it and throw it away - and another successful day has passed.
I really like this technique - notching my achievements belt, so to speak. When I write down all the important things that I have done, I feel extremely productive and efficient. Much more than if I was just doing something and not recording. In addition, remember those days when you rush about like a squirrel in a wheel, talk to people, call, answer letters, fill out forms - and when you return home, completely exhausted, you think: “What did I do today?” . Anti-todo will give you a clear answer. By the way, for this you should always carry a pen with you.
Structured procrastination
This great thing was invented by John Perry, a professor of philosophy at Stanford. I recommend reading the original description of this technique. There is a photo in which a professor on the beach jumps through a skipping rope from algae, while he is waiting for work.
The essence of the technique is that you do not need to fight the desire to procrastinate - on the contrary, you need to use it for your own purposes. Often things appear that you are not going to do because you are procrastinating. And while you procrastinate - just do a bunch of everything else.
The professor writes: “The to-do list in the head is always sorted by importance. The most important tasks are at the top. But there are always worthy deeds located a little lower. And when you do them, this is a way not to do those that are high. In doing so, the procrastinator becomes a useful member of society. Thus, in general, you can earn a reputation as a person who manages a lot - how I managed it. ”
Reading an essay was one of the revelations of my life. For example, I hate making phone calls. I love email, personal meetings - but I hate calls. I can do so much as long as I avoid the call - it's even hard to believe. Right now, for example, I'm doing it.
Strategic incompetence
The best way to ensure that you are not asked to do something is to completely overwhelm the work the first time you are asked to do it. Better yet, try to immediately convince the person requesting that you fill up the job. Of course, provided that there are more important things that you need to do, and which you understand.
Organizing a corporate picnic, sending faxes or parcels, communicating with insurers ... The list of cases in which you may be strategically incompetent is endless.
post office
Post twice a day. For example, in the morning, and at the end of the working day. Allocate for half an hour, or how much you need, and the rest of the time do not start the email client and do not configure confirmation of receipt of messages. If someone urgently needs to find you, they can call, send a messenger, give a smoke signal, or come up with something else. And the best thing is to find someone else who does what they need.
If you communicate with your beloved relatives by email during the day, just set up a separate account for them and check it. And do not open the worker. And do not give this family contact to anyone. By doing so, you will experience increased productivity. The fact is that receiving and responding to emails, you get the same stream of endorphins as a result of the task. This creates the effect of achieving something. Therefore, you are constantly distracted by incoming mail and get satisfaction from this. But in fact, you break your schedule, exit the flow and kill the possibility of focusing on the long-term tasks that make up quality work.
This is easier said than done. And this is difficult to do when you are busy with a project that constantly has updates. Personally, I'm still trying to reduce the number of mail scans to 5-6 per day. Work with mail as follows.
First, end your mail processing session with empty Inboxes. When I know that I have letters left there, it's hard for me to concentrate on other things.
Secondly, each letter you receive either save to the right place or answer it. If you do not work according to the schedule, this makes the task easier - you can often answer “sorry, but I do not work according to the schedule, so I can’t promise”.
Thirdly, letters related to current projects or urgent things go to the temporary subfolder of the special section “Urgent”. In this section there should be subfolders only for really necessary and urgent things. You process letters from these subfolders while working on related tasks throughout the day.
Fourth, in addition to these folders from “Urgent”, keep only three additional folders: “Waiting”, “To penetrate” and “Storage”.
Letters go to “Waiting”, to which you will have to return - for example, someone promises you something, and you want to not forget about it.
Letters go to Insight, which will need to be studied in more detail.
The rest goes to the Vault. Periodically check the subfolders from “Urgent” and the “Waiting” and “Understanding” folders, and drop off everything that is no longer needed in the “Storage”.
And that’s it. You do not need to fence a lot of different subfolders, because modern clients are well able to search in letters. Of course, you may need additional folders, for example for contracts, or letters from a doctor, etc. - but these are exceptions that do not change the main procedure.
Do not answer calls
Let everything fall into voicemail, and then you periodically check it, and answer to the necessary. For example, twice a day. Now it is quite possible to afford two phones or two sim cards, one of which will be intended for relatives, close friends and the boss, and the second for the rest. Only answer calls first.
Hide from distractions in your headphones
One of the easiest ways to reduce distractions is to wear headphones. For some reason, people feel worse, distracting a person in the headphones. This is a great way - often people walk around, start to say something, then notice that you are on the headphones, apologize and leave. Because in half the cases, they really don’t really need to talk to you, and in the other half it will be enough for them to send you a letter that you can see at the end of the day during the mail processing session.
However, you do not have to listen to something. You can generally keep the headphones turned on nowhere.
I will not talk about the regime of the day, because everyone has it individually. Personally, I am 99% of the time - an owl, and 1% of the time (I want to bring up to 2%) - an early bird. But a more important point, no matter what time you get up, be sure to start the day with a hearty breakfast. There are two reasons for this.
First, you refuel. Breakfast is actually the most important meal. It is very important to nourish yourself before a busy day, and it is also important in order to stay slim, or lose weight. Those who have a poor breakfast usually eat more at lunch.
Secondly, you can calmly and quietly think about the upcoming day. It seems to me that you should try to lie down a little earlier, to get up early and be able to have breakfast and think calmly for 45 minutes.
Agree only on what you are interested in
Agree only when the mind and heart together say yes. This is a Robert Evans rule, I recommend his audiobook . It is very easy to find yourself in a situation where you are asked to do something, and you understand that it is necessary, but the heart says “no” - and the mouth says “yes”. As a result, your calendar is full of events that at the time of the discussion seemed necessary and important, and now you do not want to do them. And what's more, they distract you from really important things. And you become aggressive, withdrawn and angry.
To distinguish whether you agree with your head or with your heart, experience is required. It seems to me that the main difference is whether you experience joyful excitement at the same time. If you feel a pleasant rush of adrenaline, then your heart says yes. By the way, if suddenly the heart says “yes” and the head says “no”, you still better say “yes”. But not the other way around. Do what you love.
In general, from the above it should be clear that it is better to strive to free your life in order to achieve your dreams and follow your basic interests. If most of the time you are not doing what you love, and you have at least some personal freedom - it's time to change the situation. And I'm not talking about what you might like to do. Just about what you really like in reality.
