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HOWTO: Be more productive——Aaron Swartz“WithallthetimeyouspendwatchingTV”he____sme“youcouldh__ewrittenanovelbynow.”It’shardtodisagreewiththesentiment—writinganovelisundoubtedlyabetteruseoftimethanwatchingTV—butwhataboutthehiddenassumptionSuchcommentsimplythattimeis“fungible”—thattimespentwatchingTVcanjustaseasilybespentwritinganovel.Andsadlythat’sjustnotthecase.Timehasvariouslevelsofquality.IfI’mwalkingtothesubwaystationandI’veforgottenmynotebookthenit’sprettyhardformetowritemorethanacoupleparagraphs.Andit’stoughtofocuswhenyoukeepgettinginterrupted.There’salsoamentalcomponent:sometimesIfeelhappyandmotivatedandreadytoworkonsomethingbutothertimesIfeelsosadandtiredIcanonlywatchTV.Ifyouwanttobemoreproductivethenyouh__etorecognizethisfactanddealwithit.Firstyouh__eto__kethebestofeachkindoftime.Andsecondyouh__etotryto__keyourtimehigher-quality.SpendtimeefficientlyChoosegoodproblemsLifeisshortorsoI’mtoldsowhywasteitdoingsomethingdumbIt’seasytostartworkingonsomethingbecauseit’sconvenientbutyoushouldalwaysbequestioningyourselfaboutit.IstheresomethingmoreimportantyoucanworkonWhydon’tyoudothatinsteadSuchquestionsarehardtofa__uptoeventuallyifyoufollowthisruleyou’llh__etoaskyourselfwhyyou’renotworkingonthemostimportantproblemintheworldbuteachlittlestep__kesyoumoreproductive.Thisisn’ttosaythatallyourtimeshouldbespentonthemostimportantproblemintheworld.Mine__rtainlyisn’tafterallI’mwritingthisessay.Butit’sdefinitelythestandardagainstwhichImeasuremylife.H__eabunchofthemAnothercommonmythisthatyou’llgetmoredoneifyoupickoneproblemandfocusonitexclusively.Ifindthisishardlyevertrue.JustthismomentforexampleI’mtryingtofixmypostureexercisesomemusclesdrinksomefluidscleanoffmydeskIMwithmybrotherandwritethisessay.OverthecoursethedayI’veworkedonthisessayreadabookhadsomefoodansweredsomee__ilchattedwithfriendsdonesomeshoppingworkedonacoupleotheressaysbackedupmyharddriveandorganizedmybooklist.InthepastweekI’veworkedonseveraldifferentsoftwareprojectsreadseveraldifferentbooksstu___dacoupledifferentprogramminglanguagesmovedsomeofmystuffandsoon.H__ingalotofdifferentprojectsgivesyouworkfordifferentqualitiesoftime.Plusyou’llh__eotherthingstoworkonifyougetstuckorboredandthatcangiveyourmindtimetounstickyourself.Italso__kesyoumorecreative.Creativitycomesfromapplyingthingsyoulearninotherfieldstothefieldyouworkin.Ifyouh__eabunchofdifferentprojectsgoingindifferentfieldsthenyouh__e__nymoreideasyoucanapply.__kealistComingupwithabunchofdifferentthingstoworkonshouldn’tbehard—mostpeopleh__etonsofstufftheywanttogetdone.Butifyoutrytokeepitallinyourheaditquicklygetsoverwhelming.Thepsychicpressureofh__ingtorememberallofitcan__keyoucrazy.Thesolutionisagain______:writeitdown.On__youh__ealistofallthethingsyouwanttodoyoucanorganizeitbykind.Forexamplemylistisprogrammingwritingthinkingerrandsreadinglisteningandwatchinginthatorder.Most__jorprojectsinvolveabunchofthesedifferenttasks.Writingthisforexampleinvolvesreadingaboutotherprocrastinationsystemsthinkingupnewsectionsofthearticlecleaningupsenten__se__ilingpeoplewithquestionsandsoonallinadditiontotheactualworkofwritingthetext.Eachtaskcangoundertheappropriatesectionsothatyoucandoitwhenyouh__etherightkindoftime.IntegratethelistwithyourlifeOn__youh__ethislisttheproblembecomesrememberingtolookatit.Andthebestwaytoremembertolookatitisto__kelookingatitwhatyouwoulddoanyway.ForexampleIkeepastackofbooksonmydeskwiththeonesI’mcurrentlyreadingontop.WhenIneedabooktoreadIjustgrabthetoponeoffthestack.IdothesamethingwithTV/movies.WheneverIhearaboutamovieIshouldwatchIputitinaspecialfolderonmycomputer.NowwheneverIfeellikewatchingTVIjustopenupthatfolder.I’vealsothoughtaboutsomemoreintrusivewaysofdoingthis.Forexampleawebpagethatpopsupwithalistofarticlesinmy“toread”folderwheneverItrytochecksomeweblogs.Or__ybeevenawindowthatpopsupwithworksuggestionsoccasionallyformetoseewhenI’mgoofingoff.__keyourtimehigherquality__kingthebestuseofthetimeyouh__ecanonlygetyousofar.Themuchmoreimportantproblemis__kingmorehigherqualitytimeforyourself.Mostpeople’stimeiseatenupbythingslikeschoolandwork.Obviouslyifyouattendoneoftheseyoushouldstop.ButwhatelsecanyoudoEasephysicalconstraintsCarrypenandpaperPrettymucheveryoneinterestingIknowhassomesortofpocketnotebooktheycarryatalltimes.Penandpaperisimmediatelyusefulinallkindsofcircumstan__s—ifyouneedtowritesomethingdownforsomebodytakenotesonsomethingscratchdownanideaandsoon.I’veevenwrittenwholearticlesinthesubway.IusedtodothisbutnowIjustcarrymycomputerphoneeverywhere.Itdoesn’tletmegivepeopleinfor__tionphysicallybutit__kesupforitbygivingmesomethingtoreadallthetimee__ilandpushingmynotesstraightintomye__ilinboxwhereI’mfor__dtodealwiththemrightaway.__oidbeinginterruptedFortasksthatrequireseriousfocusyoushould__oidgettinginterrupted.One______wayistogosomewhereinterrupterscan’tfindyou.Anotheristosetupanagreementwiththepeoplearoundyou:“don’tbothermewhenthedoorisclosed”or“IMmeifIh__eheadphoneson”andthenyoucanignoretheIMsuntilyou’refree.Youdon’twanttooverdoit.Sometimesifyou’rereallywastingtimeyoushouldbedistracted.It’samuchbetteruseoftimetohelpsomeoneelsewiththeirproblemthanitistositandreadthenews.That’swhysettingupspecificagreementsisagoodidea:youcanbeinterruptedwhenyou’renotreallyfocusing.EasementalconstraintsEatsleepexerciseTimewhenyou’rehungryortiredortwitchyislow-qualitytime.Improvingitis______:eatsleepandexercise.YetIsomehow__nagetoscrewupeventhis.Idon’tlikegoingtogetfoodsoI’lloftenworkrightthroughbeinghungryandendupsotiredoutthatIcan’tbringmyselftogogetfood.It’stemptingtosaytoyourself“IknowI’mtiredbutIcan’ttakeanap—Ih__eworktodo”.Infactyou’llbemuchmoreproductiveifyoudotakethatnapsin__you’llimprovethequalityoftheday’sre__iningtimeandyouweregoingtoh__etosleepsometimeanyway.Idon’treallyexercisemuchsoI’mprobablynotthebestpersontogiveadvi__onthatbitbutIdotrytoworkitinwhereIcan.WhileI’mlyingdownreadingIdositups.AndwhenIneedtogosomewhereonfootIrun.TalktocheerfulpeopleEasingmentalconstraintsismuchharder.Onethingthathelpsish__ingfriendswhoarecheerful.ForexampleIalwaysfindmyselfmuchmoreinclinedtoworkaftertalkingtoPaulGrahamorDanConnolly—theyjustradiateenergy.It’stemptingtothinkthatyouneedtogetawayfrompeopleandshutyourselfoffinyourroomtodoanyrealworkbutthiscanbesodemoralizingthatit’sactuallylessefficient.SharetheloadEvenifyourfriendsaren’tcheerfuljustworkingonahardproblemwithsomeoneelse__kesitmucheasier.Foronethingthementalweightgetsspreadacrossbothpeople.Foranotherh__ingsomeoneelsetherefor__syoutoworkinsteadofgettingdistracted.Procrastinationandthementalfor__fieldButallofthisissortofdodgingtheissue.Therealproductivityproblempeopleh__eisprocrastination.It’ssomethingofadirtylittlesecretbuteveryoneprocrastinates—severely.It’snotjustyou.Butthatdoesn’tmeanyoushouldn’ttrytostopit.WhatisprocrastinationTotheoutsideobserveritlookslikeyou’rejustdoingsomething“fun”likeplayingagameorreadingthenewsinsteadofdoingyouractualwork.Thisusuallycausestheoutsideobservertothinkyou’relazyandbad.Buttherealquestionis:what’sgoingoninsideyourheadI’vespentabunchoftimetryingtoexplorethisandthebestwayIcandescribeitisthatyourbrainputsupasortofmentalfor__fieldaroundatask.Everplaywithtwo__gnetsIfyouorientthe__gnetsproperlyandtrytopushthemtowardseachotherthey’llrepelfier__ly.Asyoumovethemaroundyoucansortoffeelouttheedgesofthe__gneticfield.Andasyoutrytobringthe__gnetstogetherthefieldwillpushyoubackoroffinanotherdirection.Thementalblockseemstoworkinthesameway.It’snotparticularlysolidorvisiblebutyoucansortoffeelitaroundtheedges.Andthemoreyoutrytogotowardsitthemoreitpushesyouaway.Andsonotsurprisinglyyouendupgoinginanotherdirection.Andjustasyoucan’tgettworepelling__gnetstosittogetherjustbypushingrealhard—they’llflingbackassoonasyoustoppushing—I’veneverbeenabletoovercomethismentalfor__fieldthroughsheerwillpower.Insteadyouh__etobesneakyaboutit—youh__etorotatea__gnet.Sowhatcausesthementalfor__fieldThereappeartobetwo__jorfactors:whetherthetaskishardandwhetherit’sassigned.HardproblemsBreakitdownThefirstkindofhardproblemistheproblemthat’stoobig.Sayyouwanttobuildarecipeorganizingprogram.Nobodycanreallyjustsitdownandbuildarecipeorganizer.That’sagoalnotatask.Ataskisaspecificconcretestepyoucantaketowardsyourgoal.Agoodfirsttaskmightbesomethinglike“drawamockupofthescreenthatdisplaysarecipe”.Nowthat’ssomethingyoucando.Andwhenyoudothatthenextstepsbecomeclearer.Youh__etodecidewhatarecipeconsistsofwhatkindofsearchfeaturesareneededhowtostructuretherecipedatabaseandsoon.Youbuildupamomentumeachtaskleadingtothenext.Andasyourbraingetscrunchingonthesu__ectitbecomeseasiertosolvethatsu__ect’sproblems.ForeachofmybigprojectsIthinkofallthetasksIcandonextforthemandaddthemtomycategorizedtodolistseeabove.AndwhenIstopworkingonsomethingIadditsnextpossibletaskstothetodolist.SimplifyitAnotherkindofhardproblemistheonethat’stoocomplicatedoraudacious.Writingabookseemsdauntingsostartbydoinganessay.Ifanessayistoomuchstartbywritingaparagraphsum__ry.Theimportantthingistoh__esomethingdonerightaway.On__youh__esomethingyoucanjudgeitmoreaccuratelyandunderstandtheproblembetter.It’salsomucheasiertoimprovesomethingthatalreadyexiststhantoworkatablankpage.Ifyourparagraphgoeswellthen__ybeitcangrowintoanessayandthenintoabooklittlebylittleaperfectlyreasonablepie__ofwritingallthewaythrough..ThinkaboutitOftenthekeytosolvingahardproblemwillbegettingsomepie__ofinspiration.Ifyoudon’tknowmuchaboutthefieldyoushouldobviouslystartbyresearchingit—seehowotherpeopledidthingsgetasenseoftheterrain.Sitandtryandunderstandthefieldfully.Dosome__allerproblemstoseeifyouh__eahandleonit.AssignedproblemsAssignedproblemsareproblemsyou’retoldtoworkon.Numerouspsychologyexperimentsh__efoundthatwhenyoutryto“in__ntivize”peopletodosomethingthey’relesslikelytodoitanddoaworsejob.Externalin__ntiveslikerewardsandpunishmentskillswhatpsychologistscallyour“intrinsicmotivation”—yournaturalinterestintheproblem.Thisisoneofthemostthoroughlyreplicatedfindingsofsocialpsychology—over70stu___sh__efoundthatrewardsundermineinterestinthetask.People’sheadsseemtoh__eadeep__oidan__ofbeingtoldwhattodo.Theweirdthingisthatthisphenomenonisn’tjustlimitedtootherpeople—itevenhappenswhenyoutryto____yourselfwhattodo!Ifyousaytoyourself“IshouldreallyworkonXthat’sthemostimportantthingtodorightnow”thenallofthesuddenXbecomesthetoughestthingintheworldto__keyourselfworkon.ButassoonasYbecomesthemostimportantthingtheexactsameXbecomesmucheasier.Createafalseassig__entThispresentsaratherobvioussolution:ifyouwanttoworkonX____yourselftodoY.Unfortunatelyit’ssortofdifficulttotrickyourselfintentionallybecauseyouknowyou’redoingit.Soyou’vegottobesneakyaboutit.Onewayistogetsomeoneelsetoassignsomethingtoyou.Themostfamousinstan__ofthisisgradstudentswhoarerequiredtowriteadissertationamonumentallydifficulttaskthattheyneedtodotograduate.Andsoto__oiddoingthisgradstudentsendupdoingallsortsofotherhardstuff.Thetaskhastobothseemimportantyouh__etodothistograduate!andbighundredsofpagesofyourbestwork!butnotactuallybesoimportantthatputtingitoffisgoingtobeadisaster.Don’tassignproblemstoyourselfIt’sverytemptingtosay“alrightIneedtoputallthisasidehunkerdownandfinishthisessay”.Evenworseistotrytobribeyourselfintodoingsomethinglikesaying“alrightifIjustfinishthisessaythenI’llgoandeatsomecandy”.Buttheabsoluteworstofallistogetsomeoneelsetotrytofor__youtodosomething.Alloftheseareverytempting—I’vedonethemallmyself—butthey’recompletelycounterproductive.Inallthreecasesyou’vebasicallyassignedyourselfatask.Nowyourbrainisgoingtodoeverythingitcantoescapeit.__kethingsfunHardworkisn’tsupposedtobepleasantwe’retold.Butinfactit’sprobablythemostenjoyablethingIdo.Notonlydoesatoughproblemcompletelyabsorbyouwhileyou’retryingtosolveitbutafterwardsyoufeelwonderfulh__ingaccomplishedsomethingsoserious.Sothesecrettogettingyourselftodosomethingisnottoconvin__yourselfyouh__etodoitbuttoconvin__yourselfthatit’sfun.Andifitisn’tthenyouneedto__keitfun.IfirstgotseriousaboutthiswhenIhadtowriteessaysforcollege.Writingessaysisn’taparticularlyhardtaskbutitsureisassigned.WhowouldvoluntarilywriteacouplepagesconnectingtheobservationsoftworandombooksSoIstarted__kingtheessaysintomyownlittlejokes.ForoneIdecidedtowriteeachparagraphinitsownlittlestyletryingmybesttoimitatevariousformsofspeech.Thishadtheaddedbenefitofpaddingthingsout.Anotherwayto__kethingsmorefunistosolvethemeta-problem.Insteadofbuildingawebapplicationtrybuildingawebapplicationframeworkwiththisastheexampleapp.Notonlywillthetaskbemoreenjoyablebuttheresultwillprobablybemoreuseful.ConclusionTherearealotofmythsaboutproductivity—thattimeisfungiblethatfocusingisgoodthatbribingyourselfiseffectivethathardworkisunpleasantthatprocrastinatingisunnatural—buttheyallh__eacommontheme:acon__ptionofrealworkassomethingthatgoesagainstyournaturalinclinations.Andformostpeopleinmostjobsthis__ybethecase.There’snoreasonyoushouldbeinclinedtowriteboringessaysorfilepointlessmemos.Andifsocietyisgoingtofor__youtodosoanywaythenyouneedtolearntoshutoutthevoi__sinyourhead____ingyoutostop.Butifyou’retryingtodosomethingworthwhileandcreativethenshuttingdownyourbrainisentirelythewrongwaytogo.Therealsecrettoproductivityisthereverse:tolistentoyourbody.Toeatwhenyou’rehungrytosleepwhenyou’retiredtotakeabreakwhenyou’reboredtoworkonprojectsthatseemfunandinteresting.Itseemsalltoo______.Itdoesn’tinvolveanyfancyacronymsorself-determinationorpersonaltestimonialsfromsuc__ssfulbusines__en.Italmostseemslikecommonsense.Butsociety’scon__ptionofworkhaspushedusintheoppositedirection.Ifwewanttobemoreproductiveallweneedtodoisturnaround.。