So many book recommendations! I look forward to reading (or listening) to them. Thanks!
I love GTD, Deep Work, and productivity podcasts, but only insofar as they help me to accomplish as much as I can during my working hours so that I can go home and let go of the office without any sense of lingering guilt or obligation. Same goes for my 'home' work - I try to be as productive as possible so that I can maximize my leisure time and do the things that leave me feeling healthy, renewed, and happy. But there is definitely something wrong with society's approach to work, work, work and I look forward to reading more about the counterculture that is emerging.
I think if people can find techniques that help them get their work done, that's great (I mean, my to-do list isn't fancy or reflective of a particular philosophy, but it is a technique and it works for me). I worry when I see productivity becoming an end in itself and a way to demonstrate our worth. Like when people obsessively process emails so we can achieve Inbox zero as if Inbox zero is a meaningful and important goal. A goal of having more time for non-work activities is very different. If we feel itchy/uncomfortable because there are still emails in our Inbox at the end of a day/week or if we leave a project unfinished at the end of the work week, it's worth questioning why that bothers us so much. It'll all be there when we get back to work. :-)
I’m looking forward to reading the next posts in your series! As someone who also used to be a dues paying member of the David Allen party, I still feel I have a toe stuck in the GTD mindset. To that end, Oliver Burkeman’s “Four Thousand Hours” has been an important transitional text for me. It helped me think beyond the productivity-focused approach to time.
Yes! I loved Burkeman's book too! If you haven't already read Counterproductive by Melissa Gregg, it's also a really thoughtful critique of productivity literature and its rejection of collectivity in particular.
So many book recommendations! I look forward to reading (or listening) to them. Thanks!
I love GTD, Deep Work, and productivity podcasts, but only insofar as they help me to accomplish as much as I can during my working hours so that I can go home and let go of the office without any sense of lingering guilt or obligation. Same goes for my 'home' work - I try to be as productive as possible so that I can maximize my leisure time and do the things that leave me feeling healthy, renewed, and happy. But there is definitely something wrong with society's approach to work, work, work and I look forward to reading more about the counterculture that is emerging.
I think if people can find techniques that help them get their work done, that's great (I mean, my to-do list isn't fancy or reflective of a particular philosophy, but it is a technique and it works for me). I worry when I see productivity becoming an end in itself and a way to demonstrate our worth. Like when people obsessively process emails so we can achieve Inbox zero as if Inbox zero is a meaningful and important goal. A goal of having more time for non-work activities is very different. If we feel itchy/uncomfortable because there are still emails in our Inbox at the end of a day/week or if we leave a project unfinished at the end of the work week, it's worth questioning why that bothers us so much. It'll all be there when we get back to work. :-)
Absolutely.
I’m looking forward to reading the next posts in your series! As someone who also used to be a dues paying member of the David Allen party, I still feel I have a toe stuck in the GTD mindset. To that end, Oliver Burkeman’s “Four Thousand Hours” has been an important transitional text for me. It helped me think beyond the productivity-focused approach to time.
Yes! I loved Burkeman's book too! If you haven't already read Counterproductive by Melissa Gregg, it's also a really thoughtful critique of productivity literature and its rejection of collectivity in particular.