Tag: Productivity

Productivity is an issue one can easily become attached to. It is what Marc Andreessen calls Productivity Porn. I am also someone who likes to try new methods and new apps in order to manage my life more efficiently. In the past years, I downloaded dozens of apps, tried different productivity methods and I experimented with my sleep schedule to find out what works best for me.

I came up with my own productivity method or ritual which I will simply call The Schober Productivity Method.

For me, the hardest thing about being productive are the first 15-minutes of starting. If I successfully worked for around 15-minutes at a given task, I will usually stay focused until the task is done. What helps me to get started during the first 15-minutes is music or sounds. In this short article, I will explain how I use music and sounds to trigger a focussed state of mind which is a requirement for deep work.

Your 9-to-5 working hours originates from 19th century socialism as a way to protect factory workers from working over 100 hours a week. At that time, there was no maximum of working hours and employers demanded of workers to work more than 100 hours in hard labor factory jobs. This – by the way – included children work as well.

Work more to get more done? According to Mark Manson, this is an entirely old advice – I agree and here is why.

How bad are the consequences of smartphones? Every day we see the same scene, people staring at their smartphone everywhere and all the time. At home, in the restaurant, on the train, plane, school, at work, and basically everywhere. And we all know how unbelievable distracting and addicting smartphones are.

For every writer, there are days where you don’t feel like writing. But the greatest skill of an author is persistence. That’s what I learned in the first pages of “On Writing Well”. You need to write a certain amount of words every day. You need to force yourself to write your words. I found a great tiny program – for Mac and Windows – which will force you to do so.

Get More Done in Less Time

Do you know this feeling when you are about to go to bed when you suddenly realize that you didn’t get anything done today? If you know this moment when the day is over and you know exactly that you could have achieved much more with your time then please continue reading. I found two amazing techniques: Setting priorities and the Pomodoro technique which will help you work more efficiently and get more of the important tasks done.