Post written by Marlon Ribunal.
Follow me on twitter.
[Author's Note: This is the Fifth and Final Part of the Series "The 3 Fundamental Principles Of Productivity"]
Summary
Series Summary
We’ve come to the conclusion of our series dealing about The 3 Fundamental Principles of Productivity. We see that between productivity and slacking off is a thin line – much like genius and insanity. Let’s make clear, though, that the system and the tool have nothing to do with your productivity. Your choice of productivity system and preferred tool are nothing but simple extensions of your process. Your rituals have a great impact on the success or failure of that process.
Productivity is not only about staying on top of everything that you are responsible for; it’s also about managing the open loops that are left hanging at work, home, family, and relationships – the whole nine yards. Productivity means having total control over your life in general.
What we’ve seen in this series is quite different from the popular notion that we can achieve productivity by controlling – or we like to use the word managing – our tasks and the time we spend on accomplishing them. You cannot control your tasks – there is 99% chance that they keep on coming as long as you have some kind of work to do. Time is beyond anyone’s control – there’s no chance that we can control it. And time does not have an intrinsic value. As Tim Ferriss says in his book, The 4-Hour Workweek, “Attention determines the value of time.”
Attention determines the value of time.
- Tim Ferriss in “The 4-Hour Workweek”
Before we close this series, let’s take a quick look at few of the things that we need to pay close attention to that may pave the way for productivity:
Control the Process
Your tasks and time are beyond your control. The focus of productivity is producing quality output in the least amount of time that you can reasonably apply to process the input. And we’re not just talking about achieving quantity. Productivity goes way beyond the input-output ratio.
Elimination – The 80/20 Rule
Keeping your process lean eliminates the complexity of your productivity system. You should find ways to eliminate the unnecessary elements or procedures that are not adding value to achieving the desired outcome. A regular review of your process can only make you better at assessing your needs. Practice the 80/20 Rule.
Purging and Archiving
Tuck away your physical distractions. Archive the things or materials that you do not currently use but may have value in the future such as references, legal documents, etc. Instead of purging weekly or monthly, make that as part of your end-of-day ritual to keep your work area uncluttered. If you are like me, daily purging will improve your efficiency as far as your process is concerned.
Practice the 90/10 Rule
According to Stephen R. Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.” Quit on whining and complaining. When adversity strikes, you have two options – win or lose. The 10% that happens outside of ourselves can hardly cause us our troubles and stress. Our reaction to such is where we usually lose the battle – it’s either you let it control you or take it as opportunity to grow.
I hope you liked this series on The 3 Fundamental Principles of Productivity. Now it’s time for you to share your thoughts regarding the following:
- What are your rituals that affect your productivity at work and at home?
- Discuss the system that you are practicing. What are the main features?
- How do your tools improve your efficiency?
- Do you have any other concerns that you want to share?
If you have further questions that you don’t want to post as comments, please don’t hesitate to email me at marlon@productivitybits .com.
Wow, this is something I really need to work on. bit in a hurry right now so this was the only post I read, but I will be back during the weekend to check on your productivity series, I really need to work on that.
See you soon.
Zarko recently posted…5 Easy Ways to Drive Targeted Traffic to Your Blog
Thanks, Zarko, for stopping by. We all need to look into how we deal with productivity regardless of what industry or work domain you are in. You can surely use the principles in anything that you do – business, relationship, and life in general. Make sure to come back!
I’ve delayed writing this response, because I’m thinking that it might end up being rather lengthy. So here goes, I’ll try to keep it brief.
I have only recently put together a system that really works for me, that isn’t just a bastardization of someone else’s system that I’m forcing to work for me.
My rituals:
I finally discovered that to get my day running smoothly, I have to enact a morning ritual. I get up, check my daily web sites and email (takes a max of 30 minutes) and then I’m not wondering what is going on “out there” online. So I’m mentally free enough to work on whatever my most important task for the day is. Plus, this initial immersion allows me to gradually wake up (easier since some of my daily reads are comics).
I have noticed that on days when I don’t have a quiet, gradual wake-up/get going period I tend to be more irritable and less productive throughout the day.
My system:
Hmm…. it’s a combination of a few systems, I suppose. I took parts from GTD, parts from Leo Babauta’s Power of Less, and who knows where I got the rest of it.
I have multiple places to capture information, to cover me anywhere I go: a 3-ring binder with dividers in it to organize the info, a moleskine planner with room for notes, my gmail account, google calender, and tasks within gmail. When I don’t have one of those nearby, I carry a pocketmod with my wallet for data capture.
At the end of each day I compile this information and move it where it needs to go. Sticky notes are used to create my daily todo list, which is posted to my planner. When a priority comes up, a new sticky note on top of the other one helps me to focus on that single project until it’s finished.
My tools:
The tools that make up my help free up my mind to concentrate on the current task. They also keep everything filtered down to one place so that I can see at a glance what needs to be next.
I loved reading Tim’s book. Highly recommend it. There are some great ideas in there that can be applied to anyone’s life, even if the over-all book isn’t for you.
The 80/20 rule can be applied to just about every aspect of one’s life. I’m putting it to practice with my todo list, my possessions, and soon even what I eat.
I think that the best summation is to be conscious of what you’re doing. It’s easy to fall into habits, or do what others tell you. If it’s not the most efficient and effective, however, then it’s the wrong way. Pay attention and continue to test new ways and theories. Take what works and scrap what doesn’t.
Well, it’s not as long as I expected.
Adventure-Some Matthew recently posted…When Was the Last Time You Drove Without the Radio On
We should look at these 3 Fundamental Principles from bird’s eye view. Sometimes we just get so engrossed with a new system or technology that we do not noticed we’re on it because of the hype and not that it actually helps use achieve our productivity goals. Like I said, it’s not really about the system or tool, it’s more about you.
“Pay attention and continue to test new ways and theories.” And you are right on that.Once you get stuck with a particular system chances are you’re going to stall your progress. Innovation is in fact the best “tool”. :-)
Hi Marlon:
Your blog post is outstanding as before. This time it is all about Productivity and the three fundamental principles of productivity.
Yes I did read Stephen Covey’s book, he is a great writer too. Then he added a mini book by adding the 8th habit and that was from “Effectiveness to Greatness”.
I do not know Tim Ferries. But I know you a great writer of my time, I love reading about personal development. It entices me to know how human beings can be so effective. I was also learning how to take care of children to have personal development and when I realized this can be done, I wanted to teach that professionally.to parents. But that was not right, a society where both parents are going to work, it is impossible for children to learn all this as they spend most of the day with someone else
Marlon I have taken a lot of your time.
Thanks for your email and comment on my blog.
Create a good day for yourself.
Fran Aslam
Fran Aslam recently posted…Online writer’s Pricing Standards – Get Paid to Write As Much As You Want
Lifestyle design might not be your thing but I always recommend Tim Ferris’ “The 4-Hour Workweek”. In it you’ll learn lots of life-hacks. I love the books for its take on productivity. I have queued many books in my wishlist lately, and Stephen Covey’s “The 8th Habit” is included in that. My book list is getting longer and the bookshelf is becoming cluttered. I think it’s time to grab a Kindle :-)
Very interesting stuff. I always like to see decent and invovled series and your on productivity not only fits that bill but has a lot of value. Thanks for sharing it!
Steve@Lifestyle Design recently posted…20 Things I Hate About Running
Thanks Steve! As always your blog and all your articles are source of inspiration. As bloggers, we have a responsibility to deliver “value” to those who are willing to read our content. :-)
Really great guide! I never read Tim Ferriss before, but I really like the “attention is the value of our time” quote. I often think of a similar analogy. I like to think of our mental resources as an economy (I think Minsky talks about this in “The Emotion Machine” actually – where I got the name for my blog), and then I think of consciousness as the currency we use in that economy. We can pay attention to thoughts, attitudes, viewpoints, values, speech, actions, or emotions, but it all comes down to how we allocate our awareness between them.
Looking forward to reading more from you soon!
Steven H recently posted…Mindfulness Practice- 10 Minutes of Sound
If you like reading about lifestyle design or personal development stuff, you should read Tim Ferriss’ “The 4-Hour Workweek”. But you might have already visited his blog http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/