Tag Archive for: productivity

Anatomy of an Action Item

I have written before about the hierarchy of tasks (i.e., action items) in OmniFocus. In this post, I will zoom in on the base unit of productivity, an action item, and identify the characteristics every action item should have.

I like using OmniFocus and calling tasks “action items.” Regardless of the program you use, and whatever you call the things you need to do, you should think about how they are composed. As of March 2021, I think these are the essential parts of an action item. When I clear to neutral every day, I make sure each action item that goes into my system has been reviewed for each of the following characteristics.

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Single Threading

A stylized image depicts a person at a desk with a laptop, surrounded by an explosion of colorful paper cut-out layers representing data, documents, and technology symbols, symbolizing information overload or multitasking in a digital work environment.

Except for the contexts of my high school students’ minds and technology, I am probably too young to be considered old. However, when it comes to personal computers, I am something along the lines of an Ent.

The first computer I have memories of using had a single 75 MHz processor. An iPhone 12 has (essentially) six processors in it, which total (at least) 13,400 MHz of proceeding speed.

My formative years using a computer were colored by having to choose the one thing I wanted to do with my computer, which on that computer was usually the MindMaze game in Microsoft Encarta.

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Sunday Chores

A stylized 3D illustration of a cozy living room in warm beige tones. Two figures made of paper, an adult and a child, are tidying up the room. The adult is standing and cleaning a coffee table with a cloth, while the child is kneeling on the floor, picking up paper stars. The room is filled with paper furniture and decor, including a sofa, shelves, plants, and a lamp, creating a serene and orderly scene.

Maybe everything old is new again, or perhaps I am becoming an old man, but I think chores get a bad rap. A few years ago, I started building myself a list of weekly chores, and I believe it has been a huge success! I hope you think about doing the same for yourself by the end of this post.

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Letter of Recommendation Automation

Octobers are busy for me. Not only are there a ton of fall family adventures, but several annual school projects are active in the time of pumpkin-flavored beers as well.

Additionally, I get inundated with requests from students for letters of recommendation.

This post has resources to help you automate tedious (but important) tasks; so you can focus on what matters and what you have to do.

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11 Habits You Should Definitely Steal From Ultra-Productive People

I have recently been going through my “read later” list. You know those articles you see on Twitter or Reddit and think, “Oh neat, I should read this… later” so you save it, but then never read? Same!

Recently I have been auditing that list and reading the ones that still look interesting. This post from TheMuse.com, 11 Habits You Should Definitely Steal From Ultra-Productive People was a great find!

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