SUMMARY:

Have you ever spent an entire day frantically working, only to finish and wonder if you’ve actually accomplished anything significant? Is there a way to truly be more productive and not simply busier? Paula Faris interviews New York Times best-selling author Charles Duhigg on how to distinguish between mere busyness and true productivity, and also shares real-world, practical techniques to super charge not only your own productivity, but also the productivity of the teams you lead.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Defining Productivity

• Busyness and productivity are not the same thing.

• The most important question you can ask yourself is, “What deserves my attention right now?”

• Productivity looks different for different people and different contexts.

• We need systems and habits that give us space and time to ask ourselves, “What is most important right now?”

• Knowing your “why” helps you define productivity for yourself.

Building Better To-Do Lists

• Make shorter, not longer lists. A “To-Do List” is not the same as a “Memory List.” Just 3 things suffice.

• Ask yourself, “What’s the most important thing to do today?”

• Productivity comes from prioritization.

• If you’re putting something off because you dread doing it, it’s likely the most important thing you should be doing.

• Look at your Memory List and ask yourself, “Which of these items, if I accomplished them today, would I feel best about?”

Principles of Productive Teams: Psychological Safety

• Saturday Night Live succeeded, in part, because of the psychological safety created by show creator Lorne Michaels.

• Ostentatious listening from a team leader allows people feel heard and encourages everyone else on the team to start listening as well.

• Team norms differ from team to team, but what matters is that the team feels like they are able to choose those norms for themselves.

Principles of Productive Teams: Effective Culture

• The most effective startup culture is a “Culture of Commitment”: culture is not based on rules or stars but rather based on a company maintaining its commitment to its people at all costs, helping them to be their best at their work.

Principles of Productive Teams: Lean Management

• Whoever is closest to the problem is often the expert on that problem (and therefore should be empowered to solve the problem).

RELATED LINKS:

Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business

Paula Faris

Called Out: Why I Traded Two Dream Jobs for a Life of True Calling (Paula Faris)

The Premonition: A Pandemic Story (Michael Lewis)

The Surfline App: Check the Ocean From Wherever You Are

Dawn Patrol App: Track your waves, Relive your surf, Share your session

Jamie Franklin, True Leadership Builds a Culture Where People Thrive

Rory Vaden

Amy Edmondson

Global Leadership Network

Global Leadershp Summit

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