Getting Things Done, Really! (Day 280)

Whether you are working on your indie projects on the side or full-time, you probably have tons of tasks queued up in your project management tool.

To keep us current, we need to spend time learning new skills and tech stacks. To keep us physically healthy, we need to spend time working out, and we spend time to unwind for the mental health.

Time is the universal and basic unit of capital that everybody has equally. Doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, you get 24 hours a day. How you spend your time determines your future half of the time; the other half are random events beyond our control.

While many of us log our goals in a productivity tool, it won't get done unless we put them on the calendar. And it still won't get done if we don't follow through.

For example, you can subscribe to a roadmap for developers (see banner image), but it won't get done until you put each item down to your calendar and follow through. Sometimes the goals we set, such as learning, never get any progress because we simply have never set aside the time to work on them.

To improve your productivity, in addition to managing time, it is more important to manage your focus. Will you be able to accomplish what you set out to do during the time you committed yourself to?

I found it hard if the process is relying on self-discipline alone. I would convince myself to skip a workout, easily, at the end of the day when my self-discipline is depleted from a full day's work. I would totally ignore the alarm I set for myself to wake up and study.

The only time I'm always punctual is when I have committed a meeting with others. I am a responsible person and I respect other people's time. Last year, I started using focusmate, a meeting scheduler with a total stranger, or any partner of your choice. Each person will tell the other what they are going to do for the next hour and then shut up. By the end of the hour, you will update each other on the progress. Each meeting is 1 hour long.

Focusmate works for people like me. You may find it useful or you may find other ways to keep yourself disciplined. I have since stopped using it as I'm able to just focus on my own after a while.

The other obvious way to stay focused is to close all your social media and notifications, maybe except 1 or 2 emergency channels that you'll get notified only during emergencies. Context-switching is expensive, it costs a lot of time and you'd want to stay in the "zone" without constant interruptions.

To summarize, to get things done, really!--there are the three essential steps:

1. Break down your lofty goal into bite-size tasks where you can put on calendar

2. Follow through on your committed time on the calendar, use tools to help you commit to your schedule if self-discipline is unreliable

3. Manage your focus so you maximize your productivity during the scheduled time

Image credit: roadmap.sh