Stress-free productivity does exist

Have you ever tried to define the concept of productivity? If we take it as an economic term, an organization or a country is productive when it effectively uses all its resources, capital, materials, land, labor, information, and energy in the production of goods and services. If we’re talking about personal productivity, we’re still close to that definition. To make it as simple as possible, it means using all our resources (mainly time) to produce the best results with our work.

What is it that makes people successful? There are so many answers to this question, and interestingly, very few of them are untrue. Everyone seems to have a different idea as to what it is that makes a person successful, and we all share the need to become one. At its core, success is a result of numerous factors, the ultimate one being productivity.

While some people believe that GTD is a personal management system somewhat complicated to implement, the truth is that it’s extremely simple. Technically, it’s just about managing lists, and that’s something that is available to all of us. Lists let you capture an inventory of all your activities and review it when necessary.

Batching is a working method that has always been associated, rightfully, with high rates of personal productivity. It basically consists of grouping tasks of the same type — they require the same tools, the same preparation or the same mental state — and complete them one after the other, remaining undisturbed.

Recently I’ve been reading the book Deep Work, by Cal Newport. If you, as myself, are too a knowledge worker that regularly needs to work a lot of hours really focused in one specific task, not only to finish it, but also to get the highest possible quality result, I recommend you to read this book.