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A Guest Post for Haters and 4 Other Things

Contrary to the smack-talking I’ve done about numbered list posts, I recently wrote one for Zen Habits.  It’s called Living the Prolific Life: A How-to Guide.  Haters should note that the article follows several of the rules delineated here.

That’s announcement #1.  Here are 4 more:

  1. Kelly Rigby over at She-Power.com recently interviewed me.  The questions were thought-provoking, and a couple were difficult (I dodged at least one of them).  Anyway, Kelly’s one of my favorite blogger’s and I’d definitely recommend checking her out.
  2. After reading The Alternative Productivity Manifesto, a good friend recommended that I submit it to ChangeThis.com.  A little investigation left me feeling very impressed with CT, and I ended up taking her advice.  If you enjoyed the Alt. Productivity Manifesto I’d be grateful for your vote (no login required).
  3. This post has resulted in far more phone calls than I expected and I’m really sorry if I haven’t gotten back to you yet.  I’ll be returning all calls by the end of next week.
  4. I’ve been compiling responses to two questions: (1) "what is productivity to you?" and (2) "what isn’t productivity."  Please email me at TheGrowingLife [at] Gmail [dot] Com (or post your thoughts in the comments) if you’d like to chime in on the discussion. Note: If you’re a blogger, please be sure to send me your blog’s URL so I can link back to you after responses have been complied.

Hope to see you back here tomorrow (I’ll be posting this site’s first video Anti-Hack).

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  • any updates coming ?
    Mine: mov
  • I agree with many of those points on productivity, it is a bit of a misnomer. Balanced productivity to obtain more time to do things we enjoy is the ultimate goal. I wrote a post on this idat at http://www.zendad.net just today in a timely coincidence.
    Zen Dad
  • RJ
    1. "What is the opposite of the economy of time and energy?"
    - Oh I don't know, abundance? (Gasp!) No flaming please:p Here me out...
    Time and energy are finite resources (there are only 24 hours in a day and you only have so much energy to spend in any given day). As a result, to accomplish anything you maximize output from the resources that you have available, thus being productive. Now imagine what might happen if time and energy were inexhaustible? If you had endless stamina and cannot die? What would happen then? Wasting time would have no consequence because time would have very little value. And since you will never tire, the reasoning to finish a task before running out of energy becomes moot. As a result, there would be no motivation to do anything because there would be no reprucussions to just sitting around doing nothing(Seems like a pessimistic view of immortality doesn't it? I just appreciate the limited nature of life and how it's a great motivator ^_^)

    2. "Do you think the economy itself is productivity?"
    - Good question. Since economy can be defined as the management of resources for alternative uses, it seems to be a good fit:)
  • Productivity is doing enough of the right things.

    Productivity is not spending massive amounts of time engineering a system that could possibly save you a tenth of a second on a task you shouldn't be doing.
  • Clay Collins
    @Michael: Thanks Michael. I had a lot of fun doing the interview.

    @RJ: Interesting. Two questions, however. What is the opposite of the economy of time and energy? Also, do you think the economy itself is productivity?
  • Great interview! Good work on answering the questions. Not always easy when some came from the blog readers. :)
  • RJ
    1. Economy of time and energy = Productivity
    2. Opposite of number 1 = Not

    ^_^
  • Clay Collins
    @Everyone: thanks to everyone who has emailed definitions or left them in the comments. I'm lovin' em. Thank you.
  • Dude! You are now the "She-Power Man!" Neat title for someone who's really good in this productivity stuff you have been writing for TGL. Rock on! :D
  • "Productivity" always stirs up some quick cognitive dissonance for me. On one hand, I envision a bunch of productivity posers who are very busy getting nothing done; and on the other hand, I see people who kick arse and take names. My take is if you're gonna be productive, then kick arse ... if you want to just be, then just be ... but don't be a wanna be.

    Personally, I don't mind just being in the moment (kicking it peaceful warrior style), but when I need to get results, I'm quick to whip out a can of whoop-arse, and get results Jackie Chan style.

    > what is productivity to you?
    - in the zone (the flow of results)
    - more with less
    - progress on stuff that matters
    - outcomes over activities
    - gaining time
    - energy mgt over time mgt
    - moving towards your goal
    - balance (mind, body, emotions, career, financial, relationships)


    > what isn
  • Productivity has less to do with action than perspective. It's knowing where and when to apply your life energy for the most impact, and just as crucially, where not to.
  • Of course I want to chime in! The promise of link love from you is quite
    enticing.

    But I suspect many of the responses will be very similar since most of
    us that read this blog probably share the same outlook?

    My 2 cents:

    Productivity is going as fast as I can through the tediousness that is my
    to-do list, so that I can spend as much time as possible doing what I
    enjoy doing (family, friends, travel, ski, reading, theater and opera).

    Productivity is NOT about turning people into uber-functioning robots that
    are using every waking minute for WORK, and are never allowing themselves
    to relax, and make mistakes, and mess up, and have fun, and be HUMAN.
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