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[WHAT]

  1. ] how to create a personal productivity scaffold - thes are my notes on Merlin Mann’s Inbox Zero talk , most of it is what he describes as ” advanced common sense,” but that doesn’t make it any less valuable. Be sure to check out the actual talk.
  2. ] this is my summary of his summary :)

[WHY]

  1. ] get a system
    1. ]
  2. ] Most valuable natural resources for knowledge workers are Time and Attention
    1. ] Where I put attention says something about me as a person.
    2. What would the last two weeks of electronic life say about your priorities.
    3. Walls honor where you time and attention go.
    4. Demands are infinite.
    5. Email burgles time.
  3. ] Joel Spolsky (on software) says: It’s good to think of available time and effort as a box
    1. Every task is a block.
    2. Limited cu.in.
    3. Opportunity cost — putting crap in keeps cool stuff out.
    4. It’s a way of saying keep the stupid blocks out so you don’t have to take them out.
  4. ] Managing actions means that time and attention match to priorities.
    1. ] Should take time away from email.
    2. Admit that email is just a tube, a medium
    3. Don’t focus on it at the expense of other things
  5. ] There is a single place for anything(everything)
    1. Know where stuff goes and put it there
  6. ] Process to Zero
    1. ] Never check (email) without processing to zero, ] Make sure you do something about it, ] Convert to actions
      1. ] Decide in the moment what to do about it, then move on
    2. ] Just checking is not enough, but there are other processing actions besides replying/responding…
      1. ] But processing not equal replying.] To process answer the question: So what?  ->   Find the gold in the email.
    3. ] processing actions ( verbs)
      1. ] delete - anything that has no place, // archive is 1 folder,
      2. ] delegate - horizontally or vertically forward, use a reminder to followup
      3. ] reply - limit 3 lines, keep the ball moving,
      4. ] defer -  messages that are em based but may require, create a seperate folder* for 'to reply'
      5. ] do - the 'task(s)' described in the message, if its a meeting schedule it, keep a seperate task list
    4. ] make processing a habit -  "We are what we frequently do" — Aristotle
      1. ] Processing regularly gives you time to get out of email — lets you do email less.
    5. ] processing TIPS
      1. ] Customize as needed.
      2. ] Turn off autocheck.
      3. ] Don’t leave email on. 
      4. ] Schedule once-per-hour dashes of 10 min. to process email.
  7. ] to do lists
    1. What ever goes on the to do list has a magical importance.
    2. Make a task list of things that are similar.
    3. Contexts.
    4. Technique-agnostic, but ubiquitous capture is important.





[WHERE]

  1. ] http://productivity.tumblr.com/

[WHEN]

  1. ] 2014-05-06

[EXAMPLE]

  1. ]

[HOW-TO]

  1. ]

[REFERENCE]

  1. ] src = ?

 



Cheat

Filter stuff out that doesn’t need to be checked frequently.
But can’t filter stuff that requires mental engagement.
Use templates to automate frequent responses.

No Fiddling

If you’re acting and not getting anything done, you’re not working.

Remember, Finite?

Do the actions-to-priorities check once in awhile 

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