In Part 11, I introduced the concept of a “critical path” of tasks in a project, and the rationale for pushing tasks as late as possible on
In Part 10, I argued that digital knowledge work was fundamentally different than other kinds of work, because its structure, features, and
In Part 9, I explained why it is so important to create placeholders for your work-in-process: to allow you to pursue multiple projects acro
In Part 8, we looked at divergence and convergence as the two fundamental modes of all creative work. Now let’s see what this looks like in
In Part 7, I argued for the importance of interacting with information, instead of just passively consuming it. Interaction results in bette
In Part 6, I recommended treating any deliverable (whether it’s a simple email all the way to a full-fledged product) as a series of evoluti
In Part 5, I introduced The Iron Triangle of Project Management and the idea that any given deliverable can be reduced or expanded in scope
In Part 3, I argued that having a personal knowledge base is the linchpin of success in a creative economy. A knowledge base allows you to r
In Part 4, I introduced the idea of “intermediate packets.” Instead of delivering value in a big project that spans huge amounts of time, we
In Part 1, I introduced Return-on-Attention (ROA) as a way to evaluate how we invest our most precious resource – our attention. But there i
In Part 2, I described the sublime and powerful experience of flow, which could be considered the “holy grail” of productivity. I argued tha
Technology has transformed every aspect of business, from the tools we use to communicate and collaborate, to how products and services are
There have been 3 Eras of Productivity in modern times, each defined by a seminal book: The Values-First Era at the dawn of corporate Ameri
In P.A.R.A Part I, I argued that the Project List was the lynchpin of modern productivity, serving as a dashboard of your current commitment
I recently finished listening to the audiobook of Trekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek (Amazon Affiliate Link), by Manu Saadia. It was pr
In Part I, I introduced Progressive Summarization, a method for easily creating highly discoverable notes. In Part II, I gave you examples a
Welcome to the Project List Mindsweep, a step-by-step exercise to help you properly identify every project in your work and life. Your Proje
I previously described how the weekly review is an operating system, funneling each bit of information you captured during the week to its p
Reading through the previous three parts, a question probably popped into your mind: does this apply only to text? It’s an important one, be
In Part I, I explained Progressive Summarization, a method for easily creating highly discoverable notes. In Part II, I gave you many exampl
Let’s look at how a single source can proceed through the layers of progressive summarization. These are Layer 1 notes I took on an article
Modern digital tools make it easy to “capture” information from a wide variety of sources. We know how to snap a picture, type out some not
You enter your kitchen for a quick lunch: how is it exactly that your brain solves the problem “prepare lunch as efficiently as possible”? Y
In The Weekly Review is an Operating System, I detailed the process I go through each week to capture any new open loops, clear my workspace
