Productivity tip #1: Focus better with post-its.
I had the idea yesterday of helping myself to focus by writing down exactly what I’m going to do next on a post-it note and put it on the bottom of my monitor. When I’m done with it, I throw it away and put up another one. If I cannot avoid switching tasks before it’s done, I’ll stick it to my desk and put another in its place until I finish that one. When that’s finished, I put the other post-it back up.
If my mind starts wandering or I ever wonder what to do, I just look at the post-it on the bottom of my monitor, go “Oh yeah!” and get back to it.
I definitely use a To-Do list, but the bigger it gets, the harder it is to focus on just one thing at a time with all the noise around it. Having a single post-it note with a single to-do on it has been helping tremendously.
It’s been working really well so far for me. If you have a huge, varied workload and have problems focusing on one thing at a time, try this. :)
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September 28th, 2006 at 1:26 am
I art back!
As I read that, I immediately had to think of meditation. :D
You know those cliché-monks, just whispering “Ohmmm…” all the time.
The “Ohmmm…” is a post-it-note, too. :)
You concentrate on it, to not being distracted by all those thoughts flying through your mind and to focus on your actual meditation.
So basically, you’re using a meditation-technique to focus on your work!
Great stuff! ;)
October 4th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
Hey again! :)
And yeah, that’s exactly it. I have given a bit of thought and mild research into meditation and tips on increasing concentration that I’ve been utilizing lately with fantastic results. That’s definitely something everyone should look into. Not really meditation for its own sake, but just as a potential means for helping you concentrate better or perform on a higher level.
October 10th, 2006 at 12:43 pm
I don’t know. A lot of this seems grandiose to me.
Sometimes it’s better to think in terms of simplicity and macro managing rather then micro managing….see the big picture, rather then obsess on the small things.
I work with a boss that has OCD, and he has a tendency to cause unnecessary anxiety…too much micro managing and not trusting his so called ’subordinates’ to do the right thing.
Sometimes you can think ‘too’ much.
October 10th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I think being concise and too the point is often lacking in most working relationships.
Have an objective and define it….no ambiguity.
However, I think that requires being less restrictive on details and more definition on how what you do relates towards your objective?
Eh, whatever.
October 13th, 2006 at 6:40 pm
Dude it has been a Month. I am beginning to get the shakes. I need me some Smartist!
October 16th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
Ive started to do this post it thing at work and had great success with it so far! Another programmer here has always done it, and then after hearing about your success as well finally decided to try it for myself.
October 20th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Oh, cool! Glad you’re having success with it. :)
I’ve slipped a bit with it lately as I’m changing tasks SO fast that I sometimes don’t keep up with it. But I’m going to keep at it.
Starting to think of dividing my days up into online\offline time blocks. No IM, no browser, etc, for better focus.