Index

absentee and lower productivity rates, 32

accommodation, 104

achieving more by doing less, 19, 37

Act, 21, 159–221, 227

Activate, 21, 205–21

affirmation, 105–6

air traffic controllers, 183–84

“alone zone,” 164

American Psychological Association, 15

apps, 129–30

aptitude, 46

assembly line, 26

attack, 104

attention, as finite and valuable, 115, 228

Attention Deficit Disorder, 215

Attention Deficit Trait, 215

Automate, 21, 115–36, 168

Automation Worksheet, 135

avoidance, 104–5

Back Stage, 166, 168–70, 171, 173, 178–79, 197

Basil the Great, 40

Bertolini, Mark, 70

Bezos, Jeff, 70

boundaries, 210–11

breakthrough moments, 72

Brin, Sergey, 81

Brown, Stuart, 79

Buffet, Warren, 81

Burkeman, Oliver, 11, 13, 16, 211

Burnett, Dean, 217

burnout, 32, 102

Bush, George W., 81

busyness, 16

buying back time, 141, 156–57

Carter, Jimmy, 81

cell phones. See smartphone

Center for Creative Leadership, 15

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 74

Chesterfield, Lord, 162, 180

Churchill, Winston, 71, 81–82

circumstances, 61

clarifying one’s objectives, 225

Clayton, Russell, 75–76

clearing the decks, 224–25

Cloud, Henry, 77

clutter, 218–19

commitments, 96–99

elimination of, 108–10

to free time, 111

confusion, 193

connect, 195

connections, 77–79

Consolidate, 21, 161–81

contribution, 48

control, taking vs. surrendering, 196

coordination, 168–69

Costolo, Dick, 81

counterproductive productivity, 17–18

Covey, Stephen, 191

coworkers, 78

“cozy rut,” 99

creativity

and changing environment, 72

through disengagement, 37

freeing up, 117

and play, 79

Currey, Mason, 117

Cut, 19–21, 89–158, 227

Daily Big 3, 196–202, 204, 220, 226

Daily Rituals Worksheet, 135

decluttering workspace, 218–19

deep work, 33, 52, 164, 197, 210, 215, 218

deferring, 190

delayed communication, 208–9

Delegate, 21, 137–57, 168

levels of, 148, 149–56

and mentoring, 153

process, 145–49

as smart and organizationally sound, 140

Delegation Hierarchy, 141–46

Designate, 21, 183–204

Desire Zone, 49, 51–53, 55–59, 97, 98, 101, 140, 144–45, 146, 199–201

developing potential, 61

development, 168, 169–70

Developmental Zone, 53–55

digital technology, 14–16

Dillard, Annie, 161

disappointing people, 107–8

discipline, 59–60

Disinterest Zone, 49–50, 55, 100, 116, 143–44, 146

disruptions, minimizing of, 221

Distraction Economy, 13–14, 185, 206, 227

distractions, 35, 212–15, 226

Distraction Zone, 50–51, 55, 99, 100, 144, 146

doing nothing from time to time, 36–37

Doland, Erin, 218

dopamine, 209, 215

downhill tasks, 213–15

drink, 73

Drudgery Zone, 48–49, 50, 55, 58, 100, 109, 116, 142–43, 144

eating, 72–74, 195

Edison, Thomas, 71

efficiency, 27–30

Eisenhower, Dwight, 81

Eisenhower Priority Matrix, 191–94, 199

Eisner, Michael, 69

Eliminate, 21, 91–113, 168, 190

email, 13, 15–16, 29, 85, 120, 163, 179

filtering software, 130–31

signature feature, 124

templates, 123–24

energy, 74, 86–87

energy drinks, 73

energy flexing, 68, 87, 101

energy management, 78

energy producers and drains, 78

environment, taking charge of, 218

Ericsson, Anders, 54

Evaluate, 19, 43–64, 87

evening ritual, 119

Evernote, 127

exercise, 74–77

exhaustion, 66–67

Fabritius, Friederike, 208, 220

Facebook, 71, 78, 213

factory workers, 28, 38

fake work, 14, 99, 214

family and friends, time with, 35–36, 41, 170

fear of missing out, 193

feedback, 149

focus, 33–35, 180, 206

Focus@Will, 217

Focus Defense Worksheet, 221

focus tactics, 215–20

food, 72

Ford, Henry and Edsel, 38

Ford Motors, 38–40

Formulate, 19, 25–42, 87

freedom, 41

Freedom (app), 215–16

Freedom Compass, 45, 55–58, 64, 96–97, 195, 226

freedom (productivity objective), 33–37

freedom to be present, 35–36

freedom to be spontaneous, 36

freedom to do nothing, 36–37

freedom to focus, 33–35

free time, commitment to, 111

frenetic schedules, 84

Fried, Jason, 164

friendships, time for, 79

Front Stage, 166, 167–68, 171, 173, 176, 178–79, 197

frustration tolerance, 219–20

gardening, 97

Gates, Bill, 81

Gazzaley, Adam, 213

Gernsback, Hugo, 205, 212

Google Voice number, 210

Grant, Ulysses S., 81

guilt, 193

Hagemann, Hans, 208, 220

Hallowell, Edward, 215

Hansen, Morten T., 67

Hardy, Benjamin, 218

Hastings, Reed, 71

health, 228

Heinemeier, David, 164

hobbies, 41, 79, 228

Holland, Barbara, 71

Ideal Week, 119, 162, 172–81, 226

Ideal Week template, 182

I Love Lucy (TV program), 25–26

impairment, 70

Information Economy, 13

innovation, and changing environment, 72

instant communication, 207–11

instant-gratification culture, 84

interruptions, 207–11, 226

Isolator, 205–6, 212

Jobs, Steve, 111

Johnson, Paul, 81–82

Jones, Charlie “Tremendous”, 50

journaling, 220

karoshi (death by overwork), 32

Kennedy, John F., 71

King, Stephen, 223

knowledge workers, 28

Koch, Jim, 200, 202

Lewis, Penelope A., 70

liberating truths, 59–63

lifestyle objectives, 38

limiting beliefs, 59–63

“loss of separation,” 184

lunch, 72

MacArthur, Douglas, 71

McCartney, Paul, 99

McKeown, Greg, 183

macro-processing software, 131–32

maintenance, 168, 169

margin, 33, 36, 52, 111, 157, 224, 225, 226

meals, and building relationships, 74

meetings, 197

MegaBatching, 162, 163–66, 172, 180–81

mental health, 83

mentoring, 153

Michel, Alexandra, 65–66

Michelangelo, 21, 100

micro-breaks, 82–83

micromanagers, 149

Miller, Megan Hyatt, 54

mindset, 54

Minor, Dylan, 78

morning ritual, 119

Mortimer, Ian, 223

movement (exercise), 74–77, 195

multitasking, 161–62, 212

music, 217

musicians, 46

Musk, Elon, 67–68

Naish, John, 161, 212

naps, 71

Nashville, 46

natural foods, 73

nature, 82–83

necessary routines, 147–48

Netflix, 71

Newport, Cal, 161–62, 164

Not-to-Do List, 93, 99–100, 113

Nozbe, 202

nutrition, 73

nutritional supplement protocol, 73

offloading tasks, 138, 225–26

Off Stage, 166, 170, 173, 176, 195

OneNote, 127

Opipari, Ben, 75

outdoors, 82–83

overgrowth. See pruning

overlong hours, 65–67

Pang, Alex Soojun-Kim, 179

Pareto principle, 198

passion, 45–46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 58

physical activity, 74–77

physical and emotional distress, 66

Pieper, Josef, 32

Pink, Daniel H., 179

play, 79–83, 195

poker, 93

“positive no,” 104–6

Postrel, Virginia, 81

priorities, 102, 190, 197

process automation, 125–26, 134

productivity

as getting the right things done, 37

as interpersonal, 77–79

old methods of, 224

purpose of, 19, 27

and saying no, 93, 97

as skill to be developed, 61

Productivity Assessment, 22, 225

productivity objectives, 27

productivity systems, 17–18

productivity vision, 40–42

Productivity Vision exercise, 42, 45

productivity zones, 48–55

proficiency, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 58

Project Vision Caster, 158

pruning, 97, 99, 111, 184, 225

reflection, 84–85, 195

Rejuvenate, 19, 65–87

rejuvenation, 170, 176, 177–78, 194–95

Rejuvenation Self-Assessment, 88

relationships, 228

relaxation, 81, 170

restoration, 82

rituals, 117–21

Ronalds, Francis, 223–24

Rosen, Larry, 213

Rule of Fifty, 66

saying no, 92–99, 100–108, 111

scarcity mentality, 100

scheduling, 190

screencast utilities, 133

screens, turning off, 71

self-automation, 116–21, 133

self (theme), 176–77

Seneca, 202, 203

setting one’s baseline, 225

Shirky, Clay, 212

Silverman, Rachel Emma, 14, 166

Simon, Herbert, 13, 227

skill plus contribution, 46

Slack, 16, 86, 115, 120, 163, 173, 179, 207, 208, 209, 214

sleep, 69–72, 86, 195

sleep-deprived, 70

smartphone, 15, 29, 32, 35, 85, 162

social audit, 78

social media, 84, 146, 163, 206, 213

spontaneity, 36

Stop, 19, 23–88, 224, 227

stress, 12, 15, 32, 74, 76

success, 30–33

Sullivan, Dan, 78

SweetProcess, 127

switching, 161–62

Task Filter Worksheet, 94, 113, 135, 158

tasks, 184–85, 190, 197-201

Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 27–28

Taylorism, 28

technology, 29–30, 62, 215–16

technology automation, 129–33, 134

telegraph, 223

template automation, 121–25, 134

text-expansion software, 132–33

text messages, 210

theming, 176–78

“think time,” 166

Thomas Nelson Publishers, 43–45

Timashev, Ratmir, 200

time, 59, 86–87

control of, 60

as finite resource, 101–2

as fixed, 95, 157

as zero-sum game, 95

time and energy, 67–68

time blocking, 103

time famine, 137–38

Tolkien, J. R. R., 71

“total work,” 32

trade-offs, 95–96

trial and error, 141

true north, 55, 57, 58, 96, 225

Twitter, 78

unplugging, 83, 85–86, 195

uphill tasks, 214–15

Ury, William, 104–6

vision. See productivity vision

Weekly Big 3, 187, 191, 192, 202, 204, 220, 226

Weekly Preview, 185–96, 202, 204, 226

Whillans, Ashley, 137–38, 140

Whitehead, Alfred North, 115

why, as value or principle, 92

workday shutdown ritual, 119–20, 163

workday startup ritual, 119–20, 163

workflow, 125–29, 147

Workflow Optimizer, 129, 136

working backwards, 66

work obligations, 35

workout, 75

work (theme), 176, 177

worry creep, 85

zero-sum game, 93–95