Reading Time: 4 minutesHow We Usually View Procrastination In productivity circles, we typically view procrastination as a negative force that keeps us from doing what we want to do. We try to devise strategies to help us fight against procrastination. Just a year ago, in June 2024, I published a post titled “How to Overcome Procrastination.” While I …
Reading Time: 4 minutesYou Are Not What You Produce Many productivity nerds start the day feeling like they owe a productivity debt to the universe. They feel like they have to prove how much they can get done in the day to prove their worth as human beings. Many of us focus on our task managers, which contain …
Reading Time: < 1 minuteI typically publish two blog posts each week, on Tuesday and Thursday. I’ve kept up a consistent schedule of two posts a week since last Fall. The Mountains Are Calling With springtime greening and Summer on its way to the Black Hills of South Dakota, where I live, I plan to do much more hiking …
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe False Promise of Getting Everything Done We typically think the goal of time management is to ensure we finish all our important work. That’s what systems like Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen and most other productivity systems are all about. We think that if we manage our time …
Reading Time: 4 minutesIs Fiction Worth Reading? Some Say No Some people think that the only books worth reading are non-fiction books. I’ve heard a podcaster in the tech field talk about his reading and say that he was not interested in fiction books because they didn’t add anything to his life or his knowledge. He felt only …
Reading Time: 7 minutesWhy NotePlan and the Productivity Field Guide Work So Well Together The Productivity Field Guide by David Sparks is a comprehensive system for defining your life roles, discovering what matters to you, and then determining and implementing ways to improve yourself in all of those roles. It’s a happy accident that the NotePlan app is …
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Offer I Couldn’t Accept Recently, I was offered a part-time job that I usually would have been excited to accept. However, I had to turn it down because of my previous one-year commitment to being a part-time National Park Service ranger. I was offered a “dream job” opportunity, which I’d have loved. But because …
Reading Time: 4 minutesWhy the “Consumption-Only” View Misses the Mark Recently, I’ve been reading and hearing Apple power users say they only use the iPad for consumption, such as reading, watching movies, or surfing the web. Two weeks ago, I listened to a guest on a podcast who said that he felt it was too difficult to work …
Reading Time: 2 minutesWhy I Say This Every Morning Every morning, as a part of my morning routine, I read and experience the phrase, “It’s going to be a great day.” It’s the first item on my Day One journaling template. Even if I’m anticipating a tough day, I read it and take a moment to feel some …