Habits | Productivity501

Top 5 Time Wasters

2009 by Mark Shead 12 Comments

Here is my top 5 list of items that can waste my time without achieving anything of real value. These aren't necessarily bad things, they are just areas where it is easy to lose precious time without realizing it. Everyone has their own top 5 list of time wasters. If you would like to share yours, please do so in the comments below. Television - It is very easy to lose a few hours mindlessly flipping through channels on the remote. For many people, a subscription in something like NetFlicks will provide a ready source of entertainment without dealing with commercials. Also, with watching a specific movie, you have a definite end point, unlike channel surfing that can go on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Misc Tagged With: efficiency, habits, Time

Overcompensating to Change Habits

2009 by Mark Shead 5 Comments

The strobe light in the device flashed and made the wheels look like they were spinning one way or another. Fred adjusted his pressure on the lever and watched the wheels closely while plucking the last string. "I think that does it" he announced as he shut off the power to his tuner and started to pack up. I was eleven, and completely fascinated watching the piano tuner work his magic on our family instrument. I learned a number of things that day. One of the more interesting facts was the way that the pegs in the piano hold a tune. I noticed that Fred would never tune directly to a note, he would always over-tune and then come back to the desired pitch. He explained that if … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Development Tagged With: change, habits, music

Making Bad Things Hard

2009 by Mark Shead 9 Comments

In high school I had braces. During college, my retainers broke and I didn't get them replaced. Over time, my teeth shifted and became crooked again. About a year ago, I decided to do something about it and went with Invisalign braces. They are a type of clear plastic mold that fits over all of your teeth. Every two weeks, you switch them out with a set that is slightly closer to the final position for your teeth. One of the side effects of having your teeth encased in plastic is that you have to plan out your eating a bit more. You have to take them out before you eat. When you are finished, you have to wash them and then brush your teeth really well before putting them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Misc Tagged With: habits, health, lifestyle

Interview: Successful Habit

2009 by Mark Shead 4 Comments

What productive habit do you feel is most responsible for your success? (960) Getting started. It's only by getting started that you progress and learn simultaneously. Lodewijk van den Broek from How to be an Original (rss) For many things, I find that the first 10 minutes are the most difficult. Habit: Having a second reason to do something important. Since none of us can change the amount of time we have (24 hours a day flat), the only way to be more productive is to extract "more value" out of every hour. Suppose you can find a second reason to do something important, you immediately found a way of getting more out of the time you assigned to engage in that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Productivity Tagged With: habits, interview, proofed, success, work