Being productive

I hate spending the day working hard and then realising that I have actually accomplished NOTHING:

My to do list was as long as it was in the morning

My inbox was even fuller

I was frazzled!

I was working longer and harder each night just to try and start the next day with a clean slate, my efforts were always in vain.  I looked on-line and being the natural northern skinflint tried to find some useful resources that might help me out.  YMMV but they might help you too.

How to live on 24 Hours a day

This book is free on amazon kindle, if you don't have a kindle then you can download the free app for your phone/tablet or there is web application that you can use.  Although the book is old, the points made are still relevant.  One of the main focuses of the book is that if you want to do something then you can always make time for it, if it's important enough then the phrase "there aren't enough hours in the day" will cease to apply.  I know I have used this phrase before, in particular while watching stupid TV programmes.  I had to ask the question, is what I want to achieve more important than watching TV? If yes then my priorities are wrong.

Bit Literacy 

Again another free e-book, This book shows how digital embodiments of physical objects causes us to become overloaded.  Take music as an example. We used to buy music on CD, Cassette, vinyl etc but now buy it digitally, because we no longer have a physical 'thing' to organise we tend to make multiple copies, have disorganised filing structures etc.  Ask a vinyl collector where his copy of tubular bells is and he can find it.  How many digital users could do the same.  The same paradigm applies to email, calendar, to do lists etc.    Mark Hurst (author) has finally got me to the point where I have a ZERO length inbox.  twice a day (no more) I go through my email and ruthlessly use one of three actions against it.

1. Do it and Delete it
2. File it (into a place which is indexed)
3. Save it as a to do with a start date

Now my inbox is free I am no longer drowning in digital email.  I can see the new stuff and I can action it accordingly.  I now longer and constantly interrupted by having to firefight my inbox.  The same applies to my personal email too. 

How to be a productivity Ninja

Some very good tips in here (a lot shared in the other sources) that I agree with.  Especially around the matra of just getting stuff done.  Don't moan and winge about it just do it and then "It's done".