Thread by @david_perell

Thread!

Productivity tricks that work for me...

I like @sama's approach to prioritization:

1. Make sure to get the important stuff done
2. Don’t waste time on stupid things
3. Make a lot of lists

Make lists of what you want to achieve each year, each month, and each day.

Every day begins with a daily review.

Highlights:

* Organize Evernote and personal task manager
* Clean workspace
* Review daily goals checklist
* Set a schedule for the day

Cleanliness is everything. "The average person loses an hour a day looking for misplaced items."

I optimize my day around energy.

Early Morning: Finish the most important thing
Late Morning: Creative work
Early afternoon: Chores, email and phone calls
Late afternoon: Nap and workout
Evening: Learning and reading

Prioritize in a way that generates momentum.

What I've learned from @tylercowen:

1. Do the most important things first in the day.
2. Estimate “most important” using a zero discount rate.
3. In the morning, focus on long term goals and don’t make exceptions.

"The hours from 7 to 12 are your time to build for the future."

Systems are everything.

As @JamesClear says:

"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

"The costs of your good habits are in the present. The costs of your bad habits are in the future."

perell.com/podcast/james-…

Breaking down long-term goals into daily checklists helps me stay on track.

Here's what I try to do every day...

How to accomplish “Dread Tasks.”

1. Break the task down
2. Never, ever, ever have an ominous task on your list.
3. Ask: What is the smallest step you can do today and make any progress towards that goal?

Thanks, @danielgross.

dcgross.com/accomplish-dre…

Here’s a brilliant insight from @nateliason:

Procrastination is fine, you just want to keep it small and quick.

Procrastination is a simple, easily understood process. It’s what you do when you’re not sure what to do next.

Races are run in the turns, not on the straightaways.

Meetings destroy productivity.

”Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything” — J.K. Galbraith

"The best way to do nothing and to perpetuate inaction or ineffective action is to hold frequent and tedious meetings."

Productivity for writers:

1. "Your biggest enemy is a day spent not writing, not a day spent writing too little.” — @tylercowen

2. Get as far away from your phone as possible.

3. Disable Twitter and the internet.

And here’s my writing guide.

perell.com/blog/writing

The math is simple: Learn keyboard shortcuts.

They'll save you tons of time.

h/t @rands

Work on the right thing.

"Picking the right thing to work on is the most important element of productivity and usually almost ignored.” — @sama

"What you choose to work on, and who you choose to work with, are much more important than how hard you work.” — @Naval

When it comes to productivity, I've learned more from @fortelabs than anybody else.

Tiago says: "The most important thing in productivity is to end every cycle with a clear milestone or deliverable."

These notes are a 10/10.