This is the first post on Productivity95 and I made it intentionally provocative. This is to show you how everybody, I mean virtually everybody, can pick up productivity, change perspective, and do something (e.g. blogging) that he never ever dared thinking of. Before we dive in, let’s have a look at the term productivity.
The first known use of the word productivity dates back to 1808 as “the quality or state of being productive” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. It leads us to the second term productive which is the quality or power of producing especially in abundance. Productivity has its own meaning in economics and ecology as well.
The “productivity literature” also comes up with its own definitions. It’s imperative that we acknowledge that productivity isn’t about doing more and therefore it does nothing to do with the abundance definition. Productivity, as Greg McKeown puts it, is about doing less, but better.
Paul Minors defines productivity as the overlap where your time, energy, and attention all work together and contribute to more effective and efficient work.
I look at productivity as a philosophy of life.
Productivity is all about living a meaningful life; to find one’s passion and by working towards this passion, become a devoted father, husband, son, colleague, and, perhaps most importantly, a better self. It’s a toolbox or rather a treasure house of information that helps us to do what we’re supposed to do. What would you call that if not a philosophy of life?
Why productivity?
Once I was told in a bike shop that if I ever ride a 29er, I never want to ride a 26-inch bike again. It’s so true and it applies to productivity as well: If you ever dive into productivity and get the first results―definitely, you will―you want never get back your old life. In other words, there is life before and after productivity.
Productivity is a never-ending journey. A journey into being a better self, to get the best out of yourself. The best thing is that it never ends and you never know what comes tomorrow.
For some people productivity comes natural, for some, including me, it comes from various resources.
Let me introduce you to my journey.
My journey into productivity
Have you ever found that there is simply too much on your plate? The year was 2015, and I felt completely buried under my to-dos and goals. I needed a framework to see the light at the end of the bureaucracy tunnel. I then searched the literature for some inspiration.
David Allen’s Getting Things Done quickly grabbed my attention. This was my first “business-flavoured” book purchase in my life―hey, I’m a biologist!
It all started with this book, which by the way promised that it will change my life, and finally it did. I would call this book as a cornerstone of productivity both in terms of methodology and inspiration. I was introduced to mind mapping and the basics of task and time management. This book opened a new chapter in my personal and professional life and initiated a domino effect.
I purchased a GTD guide for MS Outlook and quickly leveraged the power of the GTD system. Something exciting was in the air.
I then quickly grew out my system and wanted to get a task manager―the best one, no joking here―to handle my tasks and projects. I spent most of my free time by reading reviews and downloading different apps. Switching a couple of times between Asana and Nozbe, it really took a lot of time until I get settled with the latter.
I dived into the productivity literature and consumed productivity in all forms: books, productivity blogs, and podcasts. I was listening to productivity podcasts while driving or washing the dishes. (Strange as it sounds, we don’t have a dishwasher; maybe this blog will generate an income later to invest my money in:-))
My productivity balloon just floated.
Next, I found myself in a launch team of a productivity book (“10 Steps to Ultimate productivity” book by Michael Sliwinski―https://productivitycourse.com/). This was the first time when I came across like-minded individuals―productivity geeks―and got nice feedback.
Then I wrote my first guest post. Then a couple of more guest posts.
Today, I’m writing this blog post with a sincere hope that you’re willing to take your own journey some day. Maybe tomorrow…
Final thoughts
If I had to sum up what’s the key to productivity, I would say that you take action. Take small steps ahead. I know it’s a bit clichéd, but keep moving.
I’ll end most of my blog posts with a single takeaway. This doesn’t mean that it’s the only or the most important thing you want to remember. This is only to guide you and encourage you to take action.
To learn more about this blog, please visit this page.
Your one takeaway: Read Getting Things Done by David Allen.
Image credit: Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
