Grow and learn with me: personal development, leadership, innovation. I am a project leader, coach, and visual creator, and I share all I learn through my posts and newsletter.
The purge approach for boosting our productivity, based on the Einstein principle 🚫 We are most productive when we focus on a few projects to which we can devote much attention. 🎯 🌟 It's called the "Einstein principle" because this method allowed Einstein to finish his theory of relativity. In a perfect world, we would each have only one or at least two projects in the three major spheres of our lives: professional, extracurricular, and personal. But we don't know which project might be "our theory of relativity." Because of this, we plant lots of project seeds. We expose ourselves to randomness by planting many seeds to maximize our chance of a big life-changing success. Many seeds, however, transform into weeds in an in-between state where they demand time but offer little promise of reward. 🧹 Enter the productivity purge. It works as follows: When our schedule is overwhelmed, we list all the major projects you are currently working on in three domains: professional, extracurricular, and personal. Under each list, we select one or two most important "star" projects. Next, we identify the projects we could stop working on immediately. We devise a 1-3 week plan for finalizing the rest of the projects. Then, we go for at least one month without starting any new projects; during these focused months, we'll progress on those activities that might become life-changing. 💪 Illustration by me 😊 Extract from an article by Cal Newport. Link to the complete sources in the first comment 👇 --------------------------------------- I am Roberto, and I curate hundreds of sources weekly about personal development, leadership, and innovation I share with you what excites me the most and will help you grow. If you enjoyed this, you might also like my newsletter, "Journal of Discoveries" (link in my profile) 📌📰
📌 Source: Cal Newport, "The Einstein Principle: Accomplish More By Doing Less" https://calnewport.com/the-einstein-principle-accomplish-more-by-doing-less/
The hardest part? Choosing the 2/3 most important projects. The most rewarding? Seeing our productivity improve while doing it. My secret weapon since I read The ONE Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan. Put my main focus on one project a year. It's not easy, but it's so much more effective. Thank you Roberto for reminding us. Have a lovely day
Simplifying our focus can be the key to unlocking real breakthroughs. Time to clear the weeds and nurture the stars!
Great advice. I often struggle when working at 4-5 projects, as well as I struggle working at a single project. I think that 2 projects is the sweetspot for me, as I have breaks on a projects in which I can focus my ideas. One project can become overwelming as well.
The idea of a purge is so appealing. It's difficult to go deep when you have to manage so many at once. Cultivating your star projects makes a lot of sense. Roberto Ferraro
Roberto Ferraro The ‘productivity purge’ is a great way to clear the clutter and double down on what truly moves the needle.
Insightful post and like it
Great strategy! ✨ Simplifying and eliminating distractions is a powerful way to increase focus and productivity.
Cutting the noise is often harder than adding more
Grow and learn with me: personal development, leadership, innovation. I am a project leader, coach, and visual creator, and I share all I learn through my posts and newsletter.
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