Productivity

sukhanov.work@gmail.com@alex_sukhanov

Alexander Sukhanov

Disclaimer:

All of the following is the result of my personal experience and some stuff I’ve read over the time

I. Death

Death is the ultimate motivator

Levels of motivation by death

• First level: “I will die, I need to start doing something!”

• Second level: “I will die, It would be great not live my life in vain”

To be motivated

1. Realize and always remember that you will die sometime

This thought will be your Perpetuum mobile or Perpetual motion that will always fuel you.

To be motivated

2. Understand what do you want to do with your life so it won’t be in vain.

Don’t think about something specific. We are not designed to plan too far ahead. Think about abstract things. Formulate it and write it down.

This result of this process will be your direction and values.

For me it is

“to create the circumstances for me and my family to change the humanity for

the better and to continue to do so from generation to generation”

II. Goals

To start the journey you need a starting point

How to understand where we are?

Roles

• Write down each role that you play right now (e.g. son/daughter, husband/wife, relative, friend, your_job_title, etc.)

• For each role, write down a description of what you usually do or what would you like to do)

My roles• Husband• Son• Friend• Relative• Human being• Person who works• Specialist• Head of management @ S&P• Production director @ S&P• Partner @ S&P• Mafia player

My ‘son’ role decomposition

• I take care of my mom with love and respect• I don’t distance myself from her. I sincerely

talk to her everyday• I take care of her health

Start moving to your direction by setting goals for each role.

Setting goals

• Set a good, hard goal for this date next year• Set a hard goal within your year-goal for this

date next month• Set a weekly goal to achieve your monthly

goal• Iterate

My ‘son’ role goals

• For a year: – make so my mom will be happy with our

communication– make one of her dreams come true.

• 1st month: – set up a reminder to call her every day and made it a

habit– start to visit regularly

• 2nd month: – research on good photo camera (She wanted to start a

photographer)

My ‘son’ role goals

• 3rd month:– Buy and present photo camera– Find good articles and books on photography

• 4th month: – Make it easy to transfer photos from camera to iPad

(her only ‘computer’)– Make a habit for my mom to take pictures every

couple of days• 5th month (in progress): – Teach her how to share photos with others

III. Everyday tasks

How to manage everyday tasks

• Use Eisenhower's matrix for everyday tasks• Decide what no to do

Eisenhower’s matrix tips

• Q1 tasks won’t happen if you take care of Q2• If you’ve ever heard ‘be proactive, not

reactive’ – that’s your Q2• How to accomplish Q2:– Decompose a task– Set a deadline for the first part– Just start doing it

• Automate Q3 if you can’t delegate it

Eisenhower’s matrix tips

• Write down all the tasks• Assign each written task to a quadrant• Set a deadlines– for each task from Q1, Q2, Q3– no deadlines for Q4– don’t move Q1 and Q2 tasks.

Decide what no to do

• “I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things I have done”, Steve Jobs

• Say no to almost anything that has nothing to do with your goals or roles

• Read ‘Start with NO’ by Jim Camp

III. Physiology

Physiology affects your productivity

Physiology

• Good sleep– Duration: 7-8 hours for most people.– You are not an exception!– Learn about phases of sleep– Wake up while you are in a ‘fast sleep’– Use apps for sleep or a fitness bracelet– Set the right room temperature before going to bed

• Physical activity improves productivity– Exercise in the morning

Physiology

• ‘Eat a frog in the morning’– Start doing the hardest task in the morning

• Eat healthy food• Don’t overeat• Use sugar, coffee and other stimulants only in

extreme circumstances• Watch room temperature• Sit or stand while working

IV. Psychology

Psychology

• Learn to ignore the problem until you can act• Learn have limited attention span• Use ‘flow’ state– Minimize interruptions by others– Try to move from real time conversations to slow

time– Try to educate and reform your organization on

this subject– Use music / white noise if it helps minimize your

distractions

Psychology

• Try using something like pomodoro technique– Experiment with timers. 25 minutes could be hard

for ‘flow’ work• If something is not working for you– It’s okay! We all different– Adapt– Don’t forget your goals

V. Learning and habits

Learning curve

Forgetting curve

Forgetting curve

Learning

• Don’t get discouraged after learning becomes hard. It’s normal. Keep it up

• Repeat new important information:– The next day– After a week– After a month

• Use scientific approach to everything you can– HADI cycles– Say no to ‘because I said so’

Habits

• Learn useful habits!– All the time– You need 21 day on average– Write them down / use gadgets and apps

• Adapt– Don’t get discouraged– Make changes and check results– Iterate

• Read my group: https://vk.com/usful_habits =)

VI. Mechanics

Mechanics

• Touch typing• Don’t use mouse – use touchpad instead• Multifinger gestures with touchpad• Do learn hotkeys!– OS hotkeys– Browser hotkeys– Slack hotkeys– IDE / Photoshop / Office hotkeys– Everything else!

Demo

VII. Programs and OS

Programs and OS

• To Do / GTD apps– Wunderlist– Things– Remember the milk– Calendar– Evernote– Etc

• Use sublime text for text• Minimize amount of programs you use

Programs and OS

• Automate your webservices with Zapier• Minimize amount of notifications on your

phone and laptop• (Controversial!) Try to use OSX

Wunderlist for me

VII. Apply extra effort

Apply extra effort

Motivational picture. Hyperbolized =)

Apply extra effort

• Easy is the synonym for accustomed• If you try to do only the things you’ve

accustomed to – you won’t change and move forward

• So sometimes you need to do things that are hard. Not necessary complex, but hard

• Those extra efforts will have multiplicative effect

VIII. But! Remember to balance

Balance

• Problems from one part of your life will always spill over to the other

• So try to balance– Family– Career– Friends– Learning– Leisure

IX. Other people

Other people

• They are as important and unique as you• Learn their values. Work with those who share

yours• Give to others. They will help you back. In most

of areas they are much more productive then you

• Control your emotions. – If you are angry let those chemicals leave your

system. Drink a glass of water

Other people

• You could make mistakes. Own that!• Talk about ideas, not things and people• While solving problem in a group the only

thing that you are looking for is the best idea– Doesn’t matter whose it is– If you have other goals – skip that discussion– Learn about 6 hats of thinking. Make others wear

the same hat and change it through the conversation

Other people

• Win win is better then zero sum game• Learn how to delegate– State your goal (what, not how)– Set boundaries– Set rules (as minimum as you can). Think about fail safe– State recourses other person have in his/her disposal– Clarify the reporting– State Reward / Punishment (not money, something

from inner motivation)

What do you want to talk about next week?

Questions?

Thank you