Over the past month I’ve been attacking my ADD-inducing online work habits and substandard online “productivity” tools, such as email.
Email is one of the worst inventions ever, in terms of human-machine compatibility. We typically ”become one” with our tools, but somehow email systems (along with CD jewel cases) don’t quite get integrated into the neural network…. our brains can seamlessly handle a whooshing jet plane, a zooming automobile, heck, even a watermelon in one hand and a razor-sharp kitchen knife in the other, but for whatever reason, our brains don’t deal well with a rapidly accumulating email inbox.
Back in June, I wrote a simple Facebook status update / plea for help:
Dan Spira yearns for Inbox (0) but is at Inbox (4228)
The comments and updates that followed from there became a Mission. I pledged to bring myself down from Inbox (4228) to Inbox (0) and achieved that goal within a week – but with some important lessons along the way that I’m still processing and attempting to sustain.
In the meantime, I want to share the video below (HT Gil Yehuda) on the Pomodoro Technique, which I’ve started using with success. I vaguely remember seeing this a few years ago in passing… I thought it was a silly gimmick. But no. For certain working styles and situations, it is a simple yet profound solution to increasing productivity and reducing distraction, procrastination and burnout.
More to come on this topic.
Filed under: Learning, Productivity, Project Management
Interesting hypothesis on the dynamics of email addiction by Dan Ariely: http://danariely.com/2010/08/23/back-to-school-1/