The QLog: 101 Days of Productivity

May 22, 2006

101 Days of Productivity

Every day has just 24 hours. Every week has just seven days. When asked by colleagues what I’d like for Christmas, I have a standard joke that I’d like a “ten-pound box of time”. I admit, it is a very dry Non Sequitor and probably low on the humor meter; however, it certainly gets the point across! We all have the same time limitations; however, some individuals are able to do more in two hours than other can do in ten. Why? It isn’t luck or good fortune smiling in their direction. However, I’m not sure that ‘Why’ is the right question. I think ‘How’ is a better question: How are some people able to be produce superior results? I am dedicating the next 101 days to search for the answers as I'll be focusing my attention on the mysteries of productivity. From May 23rd to August 31st, I will blog on Productivity 101: tips, techniques, and secrets that are used by a select few to achieve more with less. I'm always looking for new methods, so, please feel free to share as well!

Posted at 02:05 PM in Business, Life Management, Productivity, Productivity 101, Success, Time Management | Permalink

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» Productivity 101 (Day 2): Myth One from The QLog
When reflecting on today’s topic, I was reminded of poem by Stephen Crane:A man said to the universe: Sir I exist! However, replied the universe, The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.Time is much like the [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 1): Agendas from The QLog
Welcome to Productivity 101. As the poet Lord Bryon wrote ‘Nothing is so difficult as a beginning.’ I was planning to start with some productivity myths; however, I find myself beginning with a totally different subject due the announcement of [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 3): Myth Two from The QLog
I had a friend in high school who could never accept his limitations. In fact, anytime we played a game, and he failed to score, he’d make the claim that “he was the perfect athlete, just his equipment was bad.” [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 4): Myth Three from The QLog
Myth Three: None of the techniques from the 20th century work any longer. Any body of knowledge is progressive; new ideas build on older concepts. In this respect, Life Management is no different than the fields of Biology or Economics. [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 5): Myth Four, Part 1 from The QLog
“To do two things at once is to do neither.” - Publilius SyrusMyth Four: Multitasking is effective.Although folk-wisdom for many years has been that doing many things at the same time is good way to tackle a number of tasks, [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 6): Myth Four, Part 2 from The QLog
Instead of Multitasking, I’d like to propose a better method: Serial Tasking. This is a great way to insure you focus on important, high-level tasks. The Serial Tasking Rules 1) Before doing anything else, write down a list of all [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 7): General Sayings from The QLog
Today is Memorial Day. As part of this day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service, I offer the productivity and leadership wisdom of General George S. Patton Jr. who was one of America’s great soldiers. [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 8): Myth Five from The QLog
Myth Five: Life management is about getting more done in less time.Life management is not about a frenzied existence. At one time in my life, I believed the secret to “time” management in this the hectic world was simply “do [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 9): Focused Procrastination from The QLog
The other day, I wrote about serial tasking. The flip side of this approach is focused procrastination. Together they make up different parts of the same strategy. As a sentient being, it is important to realize the following about your [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 10): Time Wasters from The QLog
No one lives within a temporal utopia. Therefore, it is a wise idea to evaluate the items that add little value to your life but do eat a large part your day. I recommend doing the below exercise every 90 [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 11): The NO TV Challenge from The QLog
“When television is good, nothing — not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers — nothing is better. But when television is bad, nothing is worse. I invite you to sit down in front of your television set when your [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 12): The 80/20 Kitchen from The QLog
Question for the Day: Does one really need two crock-pot slow cookers or three blenders? A few days ago, I got a wonderful surprise from my grandma: a popover pan! If you are new to ‘joy of popovers’ I suggest [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 13): Play as a Strategy from The QLog
Last Night, I spent the evening at the excellent Isthmus Jazz Fest on beautiful Lake Mendota at the UW Memorial Union Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin. It was an ideal mix of summer weather (cool breeze, clear skies, setting sun), amazing [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 14): Choosing Reality and the Duck Test from The QLog
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” - Philip K. Dick Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be...You have to see the world in the [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 15): Try Wildstorming from The QLog
Wildstorming is a group activity I developed in 2005; it is true play that leads to new breakthroughs, enhanced productivity, and better teams. I'd love for more people to take advantage of it. Wildstorming is the radical cousin of traditional [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 16): Back to Basics! from The QLog
Although technology can greatly assist one’s ability to be productive, it is not a magic bullet. If you have not mastered the basic ways of tracking tasks and monitoring progress, even a gold-plated PDA would not be of much assistance. [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 17): Late Fee Litmus Test from The QLog
How do you know if you are really organized or not?This ‘litmus test’ will help you decide. I should start out by stating this is not a universal litmus test; however, I think it works very well for the majority [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 18): Goals Friday #1 from The QLog
Welcome to Goals FridaySurprise! I’ve decided to run a 'mini-series' on goals within the Productivity 101 program. Today is the first Goals Friday, a 12-part series. I hope you find them both enjoyable and helpful. Question: how likely are you [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 19): iPod University from The QLog
Old Wine in New SkinsFor years, many motivational speakers have encouraged their audiences to join ‘Automobile University’ to grow mentally during long commutes in their car. MP3 Players open up some new avenues with the same end-goal. Due to the [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 20): Parallel Tasking from The QLog
Question: Can you chew gum and walk at the same time? The problem with multitasking is that the human brain can not do certain things at the exact same time and able to fully process the information. For example, one [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 21): Magazines from The QLog
Cull the HerdOver the years, I’ve subscribed to a wide variety of periodicals, from the scientific journal Nature to the frugal advice magazine Budget Living. One day in 2002, I realized I had 11 different magazines coming to my house, [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 22): Seneca Speaks! from The QLog
A few hundred years ago, every advanced education was a ‘classical’ education where students would read the writings of ancient Greeks and Romans. Although these works were what Jefferson, Washington, Adams, and all the other founding fathers had studi... [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 23): Triangular Theory of Productivity from The QLog
Although some of the techniques I’ve discussed, such as serial tasking, can be very helpful to get the right things done in a very efficient manner, these are not enough by themselves. I hope this model is helpful for thinking [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 24): Free Prizes! from The QLog
You guessed it: a contest! Do you have a great productivity tip, technique, or secret you’d like to share with the world. Is it one that you believe is rarely utilized or brand-spanking new? I’d love to hear your thoughts [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 25): Goals Friday #2 from The QLog
“Nothing happens unless first a dream.” - Carl Sandburg Over the years I’ve talked to a number of people who do not believe in goal setting. They argue that they do not forget to eat or go to bed without [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 26): Good Morning from The QLog
It is Tuesday morning and your alarm clock goes off: Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz! After you wake-up, what happens next? Do you check your email or voice mail first thing in the morning? This is a common way to begin the [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 27): Tee Time from The QLog
Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads in cyberspace! In honor of the holiday, I thought I’d look at the 7 Ways that Golf is Like Life Management. I hope you enjoy this analogy. 1) Goal-Oriented: Golf is complex sport, [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 28): Brainstorming Redux from The QLog
“If you want to have good ideas you must have many ideas. Most of them will be wrong, and what you have to learn is which ones to throw away.” - Linus Pauling, Nobel Laureate (Twice) Last Monday, the WSJ [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 29): Important? from The QLog
I love email. It is a great way to send quick messages to family, friends, clients, and colleagues...even at 3:00 AM. Yet, we all know that the sweetest roses have thorns. Email is so easy that in the past few [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 30): Be Prompt from The QLog
If you want to be very productive, you must make sure you are on-time for all appointments.BusinessWoody Allen once remarked that “90% of life is just showing up”. I’d like to modify this truism to state to “…showing up on-time”. [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 31): Time Cushions from The QLog
When I first become an IT Manager, I often allowed my schedule to become jam-packed, with no breaks. The end-result was that I often let my daily calendar look like a Multi-layer cake with 8 or 9 hours of meetings [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 32): Goals Friday #3 from The QLog
Just having one set of goals for each individual year is not enough. You should have goals over diverse time spans to achieve successful short-term and long-term planning. Here are the six time frames that I suggest: · Quarterly Goals [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 33): Smile More from The QLog
Today’s advice might sound squishy, like something you might find in a new age or self-help book; however, I think your own experience will jive with the scientific research on the topic. Food for Thought1) If all other things are [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 34): Quid Pro Quo from The QLog
An argument can be made that a good life is one that maximizes the number of meaningful moments; yet, our life span is finite. This can not be achieved by simply adding more. Just as a glass of water has [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 35): Stop List from The QLog
Many people create a daily ‘to do’ list; however, few use another essential tool which I call a Stop List. In many ways, this is a ‘NOT to do’ list. Yet, this document does not need to be created daily [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 36): Learn to Say No from The QLog
Two-Year old children quickly learn how to employ this powerful word: NO! Some individuals retain this ability from childhood through their elder years; yet, for many adults, saying ‘Yes’ is easier than ‘No’. People want to please managers, direct repo... [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 37): Constraints and Catalysts from The QLog
Question: Why do traffic jams occur, even when no accident has taken place? It turns out such slow-downs are simple manifestations of physical rules, meaning that the slowest car becomes the speed constraint on the cars following it. This is [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 38): Always Ask Why from The QLog
Question: Why do you do the things you do? Due to habits, people often are unaware of the core reasons that they do certain things. Never be afraid to question why something is done or why the process is the [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 39): Goals Friday #4 from The QLog
You should have a set of written goals; however, for all them to work, you must insure that they are congruent with one another. They can not conflict with one another for your time or resources. Below are some examples [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 40): Cost and Value from The QLog
When considering any task or purchase, ask yourself these two questions: · What is the total cost? · What is the overall value? Recently, a friend of mine said he did not buy a particular paperback book because it cost [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 41): Practice from The QLog
You learn to ride a bike by doing it again and again. After many, many tries, it becomes second nature. Practice is the only way to really learn a skill. The same is with being productivity. Just by reading a [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 42): Skills List from The QLog
If you want to be extremely productive, you only need to master a small subset of core skills. The question is: what are they for you? What are the fundamental skills that you need to be successful and happy? Of [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 43): Thomas Jefferson from The QLog
Happy 4th of July! The Declaration of Independence is certainly the most famous document produced by Thomas Jefferson. Clearly, the ideals of political and economic freedom are foundations for this entire series. It is hard for one to be extremely [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 44): The Law of Sleep from The QLog
Even the sleepiest little children try to avoid going to bed. Kids are so excited by their world they attempt to stay awake, lest they miss an opportunity to learn or play. However, eventually, the sandman wins out and they [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 45): Power Sleep from The QLog
Question: Since 1/3 of our life is slept sleeping, is their a way to super-charge our sleep to be more productive?The Russian Chemist, Dmitri Mendeleyev, when wrestling over the problem of construction of the first modern periodical table of elements, [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 46): Goals Friday #5 from The QLog
Do goals work? When talking to a few of the current scientific researchers in the field of psychology and goals, I discovered something interesting. One of the most quoted studies in books and on the web is the 1953 Yale [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 47): Eat Less from The QLog
“Eat not to dullness” - Benjamin Franklin “We seldom repent of having eaten too little.” - Thomas JeffersonI can not count the number of times I’ve heard people come back from lunch and complain, either publicly at a meeting or [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 48): Walks from The QLog
In order to assure a certain progress in this reading, consider what hours you have free from the school and the exercises of the school. Give about two of them, every day, to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 49): Stress from The QLog
Many people claim they work best under pressure. This is likely both true and false...depending on several conditions. Stress can lead to improved performance; however, this relationship only applies to certain levels of stress. The Yerkes-Dodson Law, ... [Read More]

» Productivity 101 (Day 50): OTO from The QLog
FTF stands for First Things First, a time management technique where one does the toughest, hardest, or most important task first. However, sometimes a task list can be distracting and, like a menu, offer a variety of temptations, especially if [Read More]

Comments

I will be watching your posts with interest and applaud your focus.

Personally, I advocate that time cannot be manage and that we should Manage Your Attention To Manage Your Energy and Time.

I found your site via my podcast buddy Phil Gerbyshak.

BTW: an RSS feed would be nice as that is how I read blogs.

Posted by: Greg Balanko-Dickson | May 23, 2006 at 11:16 AM

P.S. enabling trackbacks would also allow people like to me to link back to this article from similar content on my own site, which would increase your traffic.

Posted by: Greg Balanko-Dickson | May 23, 2006 at 11:18 AM

Thanks Phil and Greg! I am working at getting all the bells and whistles together for my new blog. RSS and track backs are coming. Also, I too dislike the term "Time Management" and will be discussing why I prefer the term "Life Management" in a future post.

Posted by: Thom Quinn | May 23, 2006 at 05:10 PM

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The QLog

Business Coach Thom Quinn presents a daily look at the philosophy and psychology of Productivity, Life Management, Leadership, Creativity, Problem-Solving, Peaceful Conflict Resolution, and Eudiamonia (the good life). I invite you to join the conversation!

May 22, 2006

101 Days of Productivity

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