To take it further, maximization as a concept just isn’t interesting to me. I don’t care about maximization. Not maximization of profit, revenue, people, reach, productivity, etc. Not interesting.
via A loose rant on maximization by Jason Fried of 37signals.
It is important to remember that we strive for productivity to have more time for fun, cool and, yes, time-wasting things. Time to play, experiment, think, create, talk, love, laugh and cry. No one will remember you for being a great to-do list jockey.
I have to continually tell myself this everyday:
“Actually Getting Big Things Done” starts with not waiting to get picked, rather taking the single step forward toward making your idea a reality: learning a programming language, finding publishers, or whatever it may be. You don’t need to have all the answers or steps mapped out before you start, because even if you did have a map sitting in front of you, the path is going to change along the way. Only focusing on that first step will keep you nimble and able to adapt as you move forward and realize new things.
via Stop Waiting.
First of all, most of us put way too much stuff on our lists. Social psychologist Roy Baumeister and journalist John Tierney, authors of Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, report in their book that one person typically has at least 150 different tasks at a time, and that an executive’s to-do list for a single Monday could take more than a week to finish. Sounds like a set-up for failure.
via How to Master the Art of To-Do Lists by Understanding Why They Fail : iDoneThis blog.
No company can grow revenues consistently faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth and still become a great company.
David Packard
From the Vanity Fair article on Microsoft:
More employees seeking management slots led to more managers, more managers led to more meetings, more meetings led to more memos, and more red tape led to less innovation. Everything, one executive said, advanced at a snail’s pace.
My aversion to non-optimal experience is such that I would rather fritter my time away on harmless distractions that don’t add much value to my day; in my primitive slug brain, the treat that pains me less is preferred to the possibility of something frustrating. It has gotten to the point where even allocation of time becomes an activity fraught with negativity; my assumption is that most chores and difficult tasks are going to be frustrating or confining, and my subconscious generates the negative anticipation.
Via Miser of All Time from David Seah.
Like Dave I have this problem too. His list of suggestions to counteract this problem were spot on.
