Thread by @noididntreadit

Notes on Productivity for Precious Snowflakes by @fortelabs ribbonfarm.com/2016/01/28/pro…

1/ Narratives and states of mind are what make you you

"They’ve reached the conclusion that only the life narratives of sentient beings hold intrinsic, ultimate value."

"Subtle shades of subjective consciousness are the only irreducible, indivisible things in the universe"

2/ Productivity as a concept is changing

"Delayed gratification is obsolete in a world dominated by VUCA...the pain you’re pulling into the present might not even be necessary, and the gratification you’re pushing into the future might never materialize."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatilit…

3/ Most of what you want to do doesn't matter

"It becomes ever more clear that most of the tasks we execute don’t make much of a difference...the absolute fastest way to complete a task or reach an objective is to realize you don’t have to."

https://twitter.com/noididntreadit/status/1095879351361568768

4/ You want the ability to flow with conditions instead of fighting them

"Instead of one massive To Do list that you have to decipher every time you glance at it, you should divide the list into “context lists” based on the tools...your energy level...or other constraints."

5/ Your state of mind is the most important context

"States of mind drastically influence the amount of energy it takes to complete a given task, which gives them leverage."

"...it actually increases your energy as you feel the delicious alignment of necessity with inertia."

5a/ "Only internal feedback loops can reach the speed and internal coherence necessary for the act of synthesis."

6/ Abstract all of your states of mind as separate selves

"What if we thought of our different selves as literally completely different people, with different priorities, skills, and attitudes? How could we use principles of self-organization to get them to work together...?"

7/ There are 4 parts to joining the forces of your varied selves:
1) Alignment
2) Specialization
3) Workflow
4) Aggregation

8/ Alignment comes from aligning task and mood

"Instead of forcing all of them [selves] —past, present, and future—to line up with an unchanging predetermined outcome (a “mission” or “purpose”), it makes more sense to start with what excites your current self right now"

9/ Specialization is the act of doing so

"Changing the task to match your mood is...where each person works on whatever matches their skills and state of mind"

"Changing your mood to match the task is the realm of...cues, like the Cathedral Effect"
slideshare.net/AndreaSo2/cath…

10/ Workflow makes sure the whole process keeps running with task interdependence over time

"Heylighen provides a clue: 'There is no need to plan when a particular agent should execute a particular task, as long as enough agents are available so'"

10a/ "When the creative mood appears, I want to be able to integrate as many sources as possible before that temporary state of mind passes"

"I’m time-shifting as much mundane reading and summarizing as possible from that...creative state of mind to...more common mental states"

10b/ Using the mundane nature of common mental states, and the trigger to leave them, as an indicator of something interesting/important to note

"Instead of making a mini-outline...just wait in low-power mode for reactions like surprise, delight, intrigue, and outrage."

11/ Aggregation brings it all back together at whatever the endpoint ends up being

"Having access to more diverse states of mind allows you to create more diverse definitions of success"

12/ The quick reference version

13/ "States of mind are a better guide to modern work than values (which don’t always motivate), goals (which often change), and processes (which try to prescribe the unprescribable) precisely because moods are the only things that change just as fast as the world around us."

https://twitter.com/noididntreadit/status/1096468245857619969