Proposed additions

Nir Cohen
Nir Cohen
Nov 1 · 3 min read

Re:4

I’d plan the next day at the end of the previous day.
This aids in getting rid of that loop you get into when you think “wait, what do I have to do tomorrow? 1, 2, 3… wait.. what do I have to do tomorrow?”

A by-product of planning at EOD is that it will help your brain process information better, as it’s less occupied.

In the morning, you can then just skim through what changed since forming your list, and adding that to your day if necessary.
By default, most things shouldn’t be that important that they’re added to the same day anyway.

I suggest reading Deep Work by Cal Newport and Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman for a deeper understanding of the subject.

Re:6

For Android, Daywise: https://getdaywise.com/. Best app I’ve ever installed.

I’d also invest time in configuring notifications to simply not appear at all. ~80% of notifications are pointless.

Also also, flip your phone. If you don’t see that notification led, or the screen turning on, you’re less likely to pick it up.

Re:7

Pomodoro should be tweaked per individual. Some people would do better with 52:17, some with 90:30, depending on the type of work they need to do.

Re:19

I’d emphasize that you should write down everything. That means “Send an email to…”, and “Open a GitHub issue on..”, etc..
If instead, you do those small tasks in an ad-hoc manner (they’re small, right?), you will switch contexts unnecessarily.

Re:21

Make it a habit to study the Importance vs. Urgency matrix. Once you’ve developed a state of mind for this, you will automatically start prioritizing by importance and ditching non-important non-urgent tasks.
Then, study to differentiate “important and not urgent” from “urgent but not important”, and slowly lean towards the former.

Re:22

Of course, 2m is an arbitrary number, and it depends on the type of work you do. I consider 2–15m, depending on the context.

Re:25

I’d also add that there should be a contract suggesting an automatic decline if no agenda is provided.

Re:26

I’d also encourage canceling meetings if people come unprepared. There’s this stupid tendency to hold a meeting no matter what.

Re:27

I’d also suggest that if you a. Don’t feel you can contribute to a meeting, or b. don’t feel you can gain anything from being in it, query the organizer to understand why you’re invited, and then make an informed decision. It will waste less time than being in that meeting and finding out you were right.

Re:28

So you can also use this to decide whether you should hold a meeting or not.

Also wik, you can explicitly dedicate time (I have it on my calendar) to optimize your calendar and to clean your task list (we’re all human).

Re:29

Gold: https://hbr.org/1999/11/management-time-whos-got-the-monkey

30

At any given point, your desktop (+browser) should only have exactly what’s needed to complete the task you’re currently working on.

For Chrome, for example, you can use Cluster or TooManyTabs.

31

Tidy your table. An untidy table is distracting.

Have a plant or two on it (green is good for focus).

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade