The Psychology of Getting More Done (in Less Time)

[ajseph 21]

I stumbled across this interesting article yesterday morning while watching an ASAP science vid on youtube. It offers a practical way of staying productive and gaining some discipline based off of the Ultradian Rhythm which is 90 mins of work followed by 15 to 20 mins of rest. This rhythm follows our natural energy cycles according to Peretz Lavie and an accountability chart could be made using this. For instance: set a time for a task (9:00 to 10:30) and then write what you have achieved after the allotted time has passed. After this rest for 20 mins and repeat the cycle with a new aim or a continuance of the previous task. It seems this is how top class violinists become so well at playing their instruments rather than the conventional way of hours of straight work with no rest.
http://www.sparringmind.com/productivity-science/

 

[sarek]

I have no doubt this works wonders.

My question is, should we want to go to those lengths. It is all about enhancing productivity beyond what it already is. I get the feeling that all this accomplishes is to further accelerate the treadmill we are so desperate to get off.

I believe thinking in terms of optimising productivity methods too much can easily provoke increased identification with life and the material world.

 

[ajseph 21]

Hey Sarek, I was thinking along the same lines of this turning someone into a robotic drone worker if taken to the extreme. I would say it could be useful if it's used only when you're procrastinating about getting a task done and the rest periods are to avoid a burnout. What I used the method for were things like 1) reading life is real 2) exercise and read sott 3) EE and so on. The Ultradian Rhythm could give a helpful structure and pattern to the day if used correctly or a brutal stress factor if used for identification with the material world like you pointed out.

 

[Muxel]

My question is, should we want to go to those lengths. It is all about enhancing productivity beyond what it already is. I get the feeling that all this accomplishes is to further accelerate the treadmill we are so desperate to get off.

Unless you're living in a beautiful serene place and are relatively trauma-free, I'd say that most people in this world lack concentration and long attention spans. Both John Taylor Gatto and Sir Ken Robinson have something to say about school bells that routinely interrupt kids in the middle of whatever they're doing and get them to do something else. (You can read John Taylor Gatto's book for free on his website.) It is increasingly becoming my conviction that one way the Law of Entropy works, one way our hyperdimensional adversaries work, is to sabotage our devotion to the task at hand, thereby precluding any real productivity on our part.

I understand that you are concerned about productivity turned to wrong pursuits, but the truly, admirably productive people are outnumbered by the dismally average masses as it is. The world is in need of "great power" and of course "great responsibility" is part of the package but we will cross that bridge when we get there. One way "great responsibility" could play out is someone doing the Work, realizing if his train is running on the wrong track and stopping it, the stuff from Timothy D. Wilson, David McRaney, Daniel Kahneman, etc.

I believe thinking in terms of optimising productivity methods too much can easily provoke increased identification with life and the material world.

Only if that is one's intention to begin with. Otherwise there is nothing wrong with being a good obyvatel.

 

[Muxel]

Which reminds me, SOTT carried this article which referenced the same study that Ericsson et al conducted (pun not intended) on violinists in Germany:
If You're Busy, You're Doing Something Wrong: The Surprisingly Relaxed Lives of Elite Achievers


Suprisingly relaxed and high-achieving lives of...
people running on ketones for fuel
people without fatigued adrenals
people uninhibited by unresolved trauma
people with lots of knowledge in their minds and bodies
people who are able to access and apply that knowledge as and when they wish
and so on

If we think about what the Paleolithic people might have been capable of...!

 

[Muxel]

Video: Peter A Levine, PhD speaks to ADHD in Relation to Trauma
[quote author=Peter Levine]...But when I observe ADHD kids, they look to me very much like the kids that I worked with many many many many years ago, before there was an ADHD, who had trauma. And then, when we would work with them, many of those symptoms go away. I mean look, if you are experiencing danger and threat, you're going to be looking around, "Where's the source of threat?" And especially in schools where you have kids behind you, sometimes kids are throwing things, it's not a safe environment, not perceived to be a safe environment...[/quote]

 

[Rich]

Useful advice in that article, thanks ajseph 21. The 'get started' one is simple but a goodie. So many times I've dreaded starting a project only to find that when I do bite the bullet and start it, all the fears of how horrible the task would be simply vanish. :)

 

[ajseph 21]

I'm glad it was able to help you Pob and I feel the same way when it comes to getting started on something and then when it's done it's not even that bad!

 

[Anthony]

Thank you for this insight, I will try to experiment with it to see if there's truth to it.

 

[l apprenti de forgeron]

I believe thinking in terms of optimising productivity methods too much can easily provoke increased identification with life and the material world.

Only if that is one's intention to begin with. Otherwise there is nothing wrong with being a good obyvatel.

Yes, agree.

Useful advice in that article, thanks ajseph 21. The 'get started' one is simple but a goodie. So many times I've dreaded starting a project only to find that when I do bite the bullet and start it, all the fears of how horrible the task would be simply vanish. :)

That happens to me too (and millions ). Must Remember this to make the effort in the first step, and then more motivated by having left the inertia, go for the second, etc.
Thanks for the article ajseph 21!

 

[Buddy]

I stumbled across this interesting article yesterday morning while watching an ASAP science vid on youtube. It offers a practical way of staying productive and gaining some discipline based off of the Ultradian Rhythm which is 90 mins of work followed by 15 to 20 mins of rest. This rhythm follows our natural energy cycles according to Peretz Lavie and an accountability chart could be made using this. For instance: set a time for a task (9:00 to 10:30) and then write what you have achieved after the allotted time has passed. After this rest for 20 mins and repeat the cycle with a new aim or a continuance of the previous task. It seems this is how top class violinists become so well at playing their instruments rather than the conventional way of hours of straight work with no rest.
http://www.sparringmind.com/productivity-science/

I came across similar advice on an AD/HD forum a few years ago and have used a rhythm method like this ever since. On days when I have several boring tasks - or some task with many routine procedures involved, I'll work for 60 to 90 minutes on one, then switch to another, then switch to another or a rest period, depending on what is most interesting or more refreshing as a change of pace. It does work wonders for me! Sometimes I even do 20 minutes followed by a rest or change of pace. It just feels natural.

 

[Rich]

Revisiting this thread after seeing a productivity tip that allegedly originates from comic Jerry Seinfeld:

He revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here's how it works.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."

"Don't break the chain," he said again for emphasis.

_http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret

Saw this simple A4 calendar that can be printed and put up on the wall: _http://luminarious.planet.ee/calendar/ - you just mark each day with a line that you did the thing you wanted to do.

You could have a few for the different tasks you'd like to make a regular habit or use different colours. I can usually start projects OK but struggle to maintain consistency, so I think this will help.

 

[patty2292]

Revisiting this thread after seeing a productivity tip that allegedly originates from comic Jerry Seinfeld:

He revealed a unique calendar system he uses to pressure himself to write. Here's how it works.

He told me to get a big wall calendar that has a whole year on one page and hang it on a prominent wall. The next step was to get a big red magic marker.

He said for each day that I do my task of writing, I get to put a big red X over that day. "After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to not break the chain."

"Don't break the chain," he said again for emphasis.

_http://lifehacker.com/281626/jerry-seinfelds-productivity-secret

Saw this simple A4 calendar that can be printed and put up on the wall: _http://luminarious.planet.ee/calendar/ - you just mark each day with a line that you did the thing you wanted to do.

You could have a few for the different tasks you'd like to make a regular habit or use different colours. I can usually start projects OK but struggle to maintain consistency, so I think this will help.

This is a great idea! Definitely for-filling seeing that chain get longer. My counselor linked me a website with printable worksheets that involve simple activity calendars like this.
One that caught my eye is similar to this, but it also involves logging enjoyment and mood involved with the activity/work.
http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk/docs/ActivityDiary.pdf

Noting down the mood/state of mind and enjoyment level to the activity calendar can help reflect on it and possibly see why the mood/focus was not at its best for that day. As with myself, there could possibly be certain days where focus is less than required due to a number of factors. Or maybe there is a certain mood that prohibits work altogether, so noting this down can be very beneficial for when next week comes along.