I'm OmniFocused!

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The holidays are here and it's time to review the year that's gone by (too fast as usual) and plan for the upcoming big '09. As part of that, I took a good look at my productivity tools, and decided to finally migrate all my stuff to OmniFocus, including all my projects, tasks, references, etc. It's not perfect, but it's probably the best application I've tried so far for my GTD obsession. And it has a very nice iPhone app too, so it's easy to grab your tasks-to-go.

One thing I noticed when I was migrating is how hard it is to move completely from one system to another. On one hand, it takes a lot of time to move stuff over (maybe there's a market for GTD data migration tools?) so it's tempting to do it in multiple sessions. However, on the other hand, if you don't migrate everything right away, you are using two systems which is probably worse than having any system at all! So I limped along for a few days with almost no control of my life, it was like driving without a steering wheel, felt horrible. But I survived - made me wonder if this whole task-management thing mattered at all. Maybe I was just on a straight highway and didn't need the steering wheel?

Anyway, I'm back on track, and trying to map my behavior to this new tool (for example, my daily list of tasks is now the tasks that I flag in OmniFocus - doesn't quite accomplish the same results, but also has some integrity benefits since I have to choose from tasks that are on my list of things to do) but net-net I'm pretty pleased with it.

We also got a new puppy for the girls. Turns out that having a puppy does not increase your productivity, but does make everyone happier. How does that fit into my productivity equation? :)

- Gummi

About... to... fall... asleep

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Today was one of those days. I just kept almost falling asleep in front of my computer. Very unproductive. So what do you do when you're just so tired and not in the mood to do any work? I've never used this before, but a long time ago I bought the Observation Deck just for fun. It's a tool for writers who have a block and need some nudging. And I needed some serious nudging.

I was working on some ideas for products that we should look into developing for 2009, and I really wanted to get the draft out before the end of the day. So I pulled out the deck and got "Be Specific." So that's what I did. And it worked! I did not expect this to help me, but I started to write out very detailed, specific descriptions of how our users might use some of our products and the text just started flowing. I finished the draft and could go home happy that my most important tasks of the day got completed.

Of course the real underlying issue here is that I was just tired. I got home, cooked dinner for my younger daughter and mother-in-law (my wife was at my older daughter's ballet performance, second out of five), got my younger daughter into bed (she's been sick at home the whole week) and then just crashed. Almost fell asleep standing.

And now it's 11:26 PM and I'm wide awake...

- Gummi

Obsessed about productivity, part one: the Basic Package

Quite a few people have recently asked me about my email checking habits, or have been surprised about my observation that not drinking coffee could make you less tired and more alert. That's all good, but mostly I've realized that I'm obsessed about this stuff. So I'm going to be a little more structured in my writing about it, starting with this post.
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There are a few "levels" of productivity obsession that you can get to, but you have to be comfortable with each level before proceeding to the next one. So here are a few things which I consider "level one" productivity obsessiveness, let's call it the "Basic Package". This is not GTD or anything like that, and for a lot of people, this is more than enough to maintain a sane life and stay above the water level of life in general.

Check email twice a day

I've talked about this before in a previous post, and it's quite simple: don't spend your day checking email. Email is a wonderful, often necessary tool to stay in touch with people you work with, your loved ones and other friends, but if you let it take over your life, you won't ever get anything done. No work gets ever done via email. Actual work gets done by writing code, preparing briefing documents, analyzing data, digging ditches, preparing building sites and so on.

Stay on top of things

Quite simple to say but hard to do: know what's coming at you and never let inbound stuff pile up. This may sound obvious, and at the same time somewhat counter to the email advice above, but it's quite important that you clean your email inbox, open your mail, listen to those voicemails and just know what's being thrown at you. This does not mean you should act on everything right away, but rather just make sure there are no time bombs waiting to blow up in your face. My usual schedule is to empty my email inbox at least once a day, listen to voicemails as soon as I see them, and open my mail as soon as I get home from work.

Figure out your priorities

It's very easy to get sucked into just doing "stuff." That's not productivity, that's busy work. You need to be proactive about what matters to you, and stick to those priorities. And it really helps to be explicit about those priorities, at least to yourself. You can keep it in your head, or write it on a list, or just scribble on random post-its and stick it, doesn't matter, but you really need to have that conversation with yourself.

Block time for things you want to do

Now that you've stopped wasting time on email all day, and know what you want to do, it's time to actually do it! Ask any productivity guru, and the one thing they will all agree on is that the mind is not designed to multi-task. If you have the habit of checking email while you're calling the airline to change that ticket and trying to finish that presentation for that important meeting this afternoon, stop. Block off time for the stuff you want to do, and you know what? It will actually get done.

Take time off

Finally, just like you need to rest between gym exercises, you need to rest your body and soul between work. Plan your time so that you get time to hang out with friends, spend time with your spouse and kids, and just plain be yourself without the constant nagging feeling that you're not doing something you should be doing. My rule here is simple: I don't work on weekends (unless there's a real, real, real emergency; which almost never happens by the way) - make your own rule and stick to it. You'll have more energy when you actually get back to work, and you'll enjoy life more :)

That's the Basic Package. No complicated systems to master, just simple rules that will make you feel more in control of your life - and hopefully just a little more obsessed about productivity.

- Gummi

Jujutsu Email

I check email twice a day (unless some crisis warrants more frequent checks, but that's very unusual), once in the morning and once in the afternoon. And every time I check email, I empty my inbox completely. That's right, twice a day my inbox shows "0 unread". Makes me feel like a Ninja.

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When I explain this to people, lot of people are stunned, and initially consider me a slacker. What if someone wanted to reach me at noon? I have a cellphone, and it's always on, so if it's really urgent, call me. It's like jujutsu: it sounds contradictory at first, but when you study it, it's actually quite powerful. And the more others assert their force on you (send you emails) the more powerful it becomes for you (you're not wasting those little extra minutes switching context to check those email). Everything is batch processed, and you get long uninterrupted stretches of time in between to get actual work done.

I also constantly ask myself: could I check even less often? Sometimes I won't really do a full check in the afternoon, but just a quick scan to see if there's anything important, and leave the full scan for the morning after. It works. And even more amazing is that people who have no idea how I work actually have told me they're amazed at my responsiveness!

Could I do once a week? Probably not. At least not in my current job. But I encourage you to find your minimal email-check-frequency. Big productivity boost lies ahead.

- Gummi

3 tasks

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Are you one of those task ninjas who empty their inboxes twice a day, keep a tidy list of next actions, and treat your weekly cleanup like a ritual that's more important than your daughter's birthday? That's great! But are you really getting the right stuff done?

It's all too easy to be a task management guru, but lose sight of the bigger picture, and never really accomplish anything that matters. It's what some people call busywork, and that's a great word for this because it's really keeping a lot of people busy at work! There are so many people trapped in this mindless mode, people who never stop to smell the flowers... or at least figure out why they should be doing what they're doing.

In order to break this pattern, you need to proactively decide to do certain things, and do them because you think they matter. My method is very simple (and so very, very powerful): in the evening, when I've stopped working and my mind is wandering, I write down 3 tasks that I want to accomplish the next day. I consciously pick tasks that are important, and I would feel good about finishing during the day. They're not reactions to some emails I got during the day, or other isolated external factors. Then I strive to finish these tasks as soon as possible the day after.

Now let's do the math. Sometimes I finish all three, sometimes I finish none, but on average, I probably get 2 out of 3. So that's about 10 really important tasks every week. That's 520 (!) important tasks over the course of the year. When you look at it that way, that's not bad.

Assuming you have the basic task management in order, this is probably the best productivity (or effectiveness) boost you can get. Highly recommended.

- Gummi

Checking out OmniFocus

Just found out about this pretty cool application called OmniFocus. If I'm not mistaken (which I've been many times before on this topic) this might be the first application that truly makes GTD possible. There are so many tools that "sort of" help you do GTD but always fail at some critical piece. I've got my fingers crossed and will report back when I've given it a full spin.

Btw, I'm a huge fan of online services, and have been using Gmail (sometimes with GTDInbox) to manage my GTD system, especially because I can easily turn emails into actions (a large portion of my work is unfortunately conducted via email), send myself actions to remind myself, and access the system virtually anywhere. However, I also feel that a lot is missing from my setup to make the system truly effective, so I'm going to give a client solution a spin (or I might end up with a hybrid solution... hope not though).

Anyway, will have more details soon, just wanted to share this in case others wanted to try it out. If you have tried, share your thoughts in the comments.

- Gummi

No more coffee

I love coffee.

So much, in fact, that I was drinking many, many, many cups every day. And I got into a very bad cycle. So I stopped drinking coffee, had a splintering headache for 5 days, and just felt miserable. And now I feel great.

But I still love coffee, too bad I can't drink it. It's my forbidden fruit.

This may not apply to you, but my coffee drinking was impacting my sleeping habits, causing me to feel misearble in the morning, and generally making me addicted to more coffee. It's a very negative cycle, if you get caught in it.

So here's my productivity tip: if you're addicted to coffee (or any other highly caffeinated drink, such as some sodas) and always feel tired, stop! Just throw this habit away, suffer through the withdrawal pains and then enjoy the renewed energy that will flow into your life.

- Gummi

Productivity Tip: Don't check email too often

Are you keeping one eye on the mail notifier all day long? Hmmm... the invention of the email popup, a.k.a. "You've Got Mail", is probably the biggest cause of productivity drop in the past 2 decades. Our mind is very good at focusing on one thing at a time (yes, regardless of gender; we all know women are better at multitasking, but they're even better when focused :) so when there are constant distractions, our productivity drops.

Well, we all know this. The question is what can you do about it?

The key thing here is to remember that email should not be used for time sensitive communication. True, your boss might think otherwise, but it's your job to educate others about the same, and in return you'll be more productive. Sounds like a great deal to me!

So what does this mean in practice? First of all, check email as seldom as possible. Your rythm will depend on the type of job you are in, but for most people twice a day is more than sufficient. And tell people about your schedule and that they can call or text you if they need your attention urgently. And trust me, the world will not end.

Second of all, make sure you empty your email inbox regularly; that way you know there are no fires going on, and nothing will bite you because you weren't on top of things.

Try this, and you'll have more time to read the paper, listen to the bird sing, take a neighborhood walk, read for your kids, spend time with your spouse... oh, and of course more time to do actual real work.

- Gummi

Productivity Tip: Meetings != Work

This one is for you all working in big companies (if you work for a startup and find this true as well, run... run very fast!)

A lot of people think that going to meetings is equivalent to work. A full day of meetings is a productive day! Wrong. For most lines of work, meetings are necessary tools to coordinate and make decisions, but the actual real work happens in between, when you're sitting at your desk, reviewing work plans, or making sales calls, or writing proposals, or taking on whatever is next on your prioritized task list. And no, email is not work either in most cases, so that's not an excuse.

Following on my experience yesterday about days that have scattered meetings throughout the day, there are sometimes days that have just a lot of meetings. And today was one of those. So what do you do in those situations? My rule of thumb is very simple: question every meeting on your calendar. That doesn't mean all meetings are bad, but too often meetings are set up for the wrong reason, or regular meetings stagnate and lose their purpose, or people show up unprepared and just looking for a break from work (meetings are a great excuse to not work, what a shame...)

The point is, for every meeting that either you've set up, or someone invited you to, think hard whether this meeting is likely to help you achieve your top priority goals. Your work is not a social club, don't go to meetings just to hang out with your colleagues. If the meeting does not seem likely to further your goals, reject it. If it seems like an appropriate meeting, but is too long or you're not clear on its exact purpose, ask for a shorter meeting and make sure the meeting has a clear agenda. In fact, make sure every meeting has a clear agenda, and has a clear purpose of discussion, coordination and decision making.

For most people in meeting heavy jobs, this should allow you to cut off a significant portion of your meetings, which gives you time to do actual work - or even have a life outside of work if that's what you prefer! :)

- Gummi

Productivity Tip: First Things First

When I got to the office this morning and looked at my schedule I realized I wouldn't get a ton done today. What I saw resembled more a minefield than a smooth sailing productive day, with lots of small slots in between several meetings. The outlook was pretty grim.

I've gotten into the habit of jotting down a few "must-do" tasks the night before. I usually have 2-3 per day, and the idea is that by the end of the week, assuming I finish all those tasks, I've accomplished 10-15 meaningful tasks. Doesn't matter if I screwed everything else up, as long as I chose my tasks carefully and aligned them with my important goals (easier when you're at home at night, outside of the daily "chatter" from other people). Usually I tell myself that I will do those tasks first, and then everything else... but I usually don't do that.

But today, I figured that wouldn't even finish my 2 must-do tasks given the limited time I had to actually work (as opposed to the "work" called meetings) - unless I simply focused on the must-do tasks and nothing else. So that's what I did. Just 5 minutes email scan to make sure nothing was burning, and then I dove in. And you know what? It actually turned out to be a very productive day after all!

The point is, figure out what's most important for you to do, be ruthless when prioritizing, and stay focused on getting those things done. It's very easy to fall off this path, but if you try it, you'll immediately feel the impact.

- Gummi

Productivity Tip: Work the Pile

[Really have to get this blogging going...]


In addition to writing in details about how I manage my daily tsunami of tasks and activities (and in survive each day in general), I'm going to start a new, more serendipitous thread about random tips that I think of during my normal course of activity.

These won't be structured at all, but will hopefully be helpful to some of the readers of this blog. So here goes my first one.

I got back from Tokyo last Friday (very cool to take off at 6 pm and land at noon - on the same day!) and then went camping (in cabins though) with my daughters overnight, spent all Saturday in activities at the camp site, rushed back home in the afternoon and attended a wedding on Saturday night, and then went to a carnival downtown on Sunday with my daughters. Needless to say, I was exhausted, but even worse: my email inbox was overflowing!

I've recently gotten into the habit of cleaning my inbox twice a day. It has a lot of positive side effects, but most notably I know that I'm on top of things. No timebombs. No lurking unread message about some time critical thing that you have to do before end of tomorrow or the world will end (spoiler: it never really does regardless). So this was unusally long for me and a bit frustrating. It was tempting to let it slide and start working on things instead. But I resisted the temptation and spent a couple of hours chopping the pile down and getting it to my favorite unread count: zero.

The point is, keep processing inbound traffic at a regular interval and don't let anything sit to rot. You will feel better about your work, you'll be more productive, and you'll know for sure that you really are in control.

That's it for the first tip, I'm going to try to post these tips regularly.

- Gummi

On productivity and the three steps

I haven't been as actively blogging as I was planning to, but nevertheless I'm starting a new topic for this blog: productivity. This will be along the lines of Getting Things Done (GTD) kind of productivity, i.e. I don't care whether someone becomes more productive selling cars, working as an i-banker or just slacking (yes! there is such a thing as more productive, believe it or not), it's all about doing more of what you want to get done.

The reason I'm starting this topic is that I've recently developed simple methods for myself to become more productive and more effective in general (hey! I'm blogging again, do you need more proof? :) and judging by my conversations with people whom I have discussed this with (basically anyone who doesn't run away within 2 minutes, he he, ergh...) I think I have some basic lessons to share.

I'm not pretending to be a pioneer in this field (just search for "GTD" on Google) and I've learned a lot of good techniques from various places, such as David Allen's various books and blogs and other good sources, too many to quote here (and to be honest, most of them provide just a small nugget of my overall system, so hard to track).

Let's get down to the real work. First of all, the basic setup of any task management is what I'll refer to as a "system". A few suggestions on that topic:

• You need a "system", but don't let anyone tell you their system is the right one. You need to develop your own system, and it has to meet your needs. For example, do you travel or commute a lot? You probably need a system that's very portable and allows you to both capture and retrieve information on the go. Sit in front of the same computer 99% of your waking hours? Your system can probably be predominantly on a single system with occasional printouts as needed. Use Outlook? Consider using Outlook as your starting point. Don't use Outlook? Probably not a good idea to force yourself to use Outlook for task management. And the list goes on and on.
• The "system" will not do the work for you. Probably the most common fallacy of task management. No matter how good your system, it will never have a button saying "what now?" and when you press it you get your next task. The system supports you, but you need to work to make the system work.
• Don't spend weeks setting up the perfect system. Set up a few basic methods, try them out, and then build more as you learn your own work methods.
• Stay with the system. Once you've set up a system, follow it through for a couple of weeks at minimum and see if it's working for you. In most cases, it will take quite a bit of discipline
  

Wow, enough abstract fluff on systems. Where do I start? Well, before we start developing a system, I would recommend that you read (or at least skim through) David Allen's classic book on productivity, Getting Things Done (see link at bottom of post if you want to buy it on Amazon).

Done? Well, all you have to do then is to wait for my next blog post, where I'll start explaining my system, starting with the basics (that's also when I'll explain what I mean by the "three steps" :)

- Gummi

Young Entrepreneurs: Where's the Lemonade Stand?

My daughters and their friend were playing in our backyard this weekend and noticed that our lemon tree was ripe for picking. Needless to say, they immediately found a bucket and picked a whole bunch of lemons. Then they pulled the batch into the kitchen and set up a very detailed and complicated process for turning those lemons into lemonade. They even had sophisticated roles such as "head taster" and "master squeezer", so that everyone felt involved.


Once the lemonade was ready, I was kind of hoping they would bring out the table and sell the goodies to the neighbors, but they opted for a typical girlie tea party instead, and drank all the produce themselves... well, maybe next time they will take the more entrepreneurial route. We'll see.

Storm alert!

It's funny. We always laugh when the California weather news reporters talk about "Storm alerts!" because it's usually just a little bit of rain. This time we didn't laugh. A major storm has just passed the Bay Area (in fact, it's not just 1 but 3 storm systems, and the final one is expected tomorrow).

On Friday, the winds were extremely strong (the canopy we had in our backyard collapsed so I guess we have to buy a new one for next summer), and reached about 105 mph in the hills above my hometown, Los Gatos! Keep in mind that hurricane is defined as winds above 74 mph, so it shouldn't be a big surprise that trees were literally flying around in the area. In the Sierra mountains, the winds supposedly were in the 150+ mph range (!)


- Gummi

Happy new year!!

Yet another new year, with a new set of resolutions and hopes. I think 2008 will be a great year, and yet again, I'm going to be healthier and blog more :-)

If you want to know what me and my family were up to last year, check out my wife's blog entry at http://rondottur.blogspot.com/2008/01/ramtaannll-kalifornubanna.html (Icelandic, sorry to those few of you unfortunate enough to not understand that language).

That's it for my new year's blog post.

- Gummi