5-Bullet Monday #40 (12/10/2020)

Happy Monday!

I updated my article on email productivity tips: 23 Best Email Productivity Tips That Will Boost Your Game Right Now.

It’s now a much more complete article. If you have suggestions on other tips I should add simply reply to this email.

I also updated my notes on Deep Work. It felt great to revisit one of my favorite books on productivity.

I was interviewed by Joshua Galinato for his podcast Lifelong Learning. You can listen to the podcast here. We talked about productivity, habits, reading, and traveling. Show notes here.

I had a great experience which makes me wonder if I should do more podcast interviews or even start my own. It’s an idea that has been on my mind for quite a long time now.
 

Here is your weekly dose of “5-Bullet Monday,” a list of what I’m pondering and exploring.

On producing —
As a creator/maker, your “job” is to produce new things (content, art, videos) consistently. But other things can get in the way. It’s easier to manage than to make.

A great essay on this his “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule” by Paul Graham. So remember: produce first, manage second.

Block time in your week to produce new things (a technique called time blocking). And then use the rest of the time for managing things.

What I’m reading —
I finished “The Now Habit” by Neil Fiore and I highly recommend it.

I’m now enjoying “Procrastinate on Purpose” by Rory Vaden. I’m just a few pages in but was surprised to discover I’ve been using the term “Multipliers” in the same way Rory uses it. I just thought of a word that made sense. But, apparently, I was not the first one, ha! His definition: “A time multiplier is a strategy or tool that creates more free time for you in the future. It’s the time-management equivalent of sharpening your axe.”

So rather than asking ‘What’s the most important thing I can do today?’, time multipliers ask ‘What’s the most important thing I can do today that would make tomorrow better?’ In other words, by thinking about how we use our time today, we can free up our hours in the future. Interesting concept. More on his TED Talk “How to Multiply Your Time“.

What I’m watching —
I had the video on “How The Economic Machine Works” by Ray Dalio on my bookmarks for a while and finally got around to it.

Obviously, it’s simplistic (hard to explain the entire economy in 20 min). But it’s a great primer and intro to economics and markets.

An article I enjoyed —
I enjoyed reading by “Why books don’t work” by Andy Matuschak. In his words: “(…)as a medium, books are surprisingly bad at conveying knowledge, and readers mostly don’t realize it.”

My solution? Write book summaries and notes.

Not only you’re writing your own version and interpretation of the book, you’re creating a database of knowledge that you can revisit in the future to relearn the concepts. Each summary might take 2-3 hours but makes the knowledge stick, both in the short and long-run.

If it takes 10 hours to read a book, it makes sense to invest a few more minutes to 10x the value of what you just read.

300 + productivity hacks —
Added new hacks to the Productivity Vault. These are all the productivity hacks I’ve spent years collecting and testing.

Everything that works with simple step-by-step instructions on how to apply to your work and life.

Want to get access to this database with 300+ proven productivity hacks? Get immediate access by clicking here.
 

Please give me feedback on Twitter. Which bullet above is your favorite? What do you want more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @dansilvestrecom and put #5BulletMonday at the end so I can find it.

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Have a great week ;)

Dan