Essentialism - the secret of the success of Tiny Wings, and people who still have time
Productivity / / December 23, 2019
McKeon Greg (Greg McKeown), author of "Essentialism"Essentialism - it's not about how to get more done in less time, and about how to do just what you need to do.
Yes, I could never boast that I feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, even if it had a very productive. But I found two secrets that have helped me get back on the path essentialism and focus like a laser sight on the things that need to be completed.
Now my to-do list for the day looks like this:
- To outline a plan for the article.
Not bad, huh? Just wonderful! We made the task and enjoy the moment. I would have patented this technique, but it is - just the result of my irrepressible geymerstva. I explain everything in detail.
Something you are doing wrong now!
Right now. I'm sure. You're doing something wrong. And you do not even realize it until the end. Lift up your eyes a minute in the top line of the browser. What do you see? About it?
Not two, not three, but all 10 tabs are open. And how long have you been with the screen? Day? A week? Month? It seems that you are suffering chronic cerebral multitasking. And these tabs is just the tip of the iceberg. And there is no doubt that your performance suffers from this.
For each project, executed in multitask, you punish yourself the quality loss, loss of time and stress. If you do not believe me and think that you have everything under control, play in Game. I bet you will not last a minute. Here are my results:
First lesson: we can not multitask. And if you say you can, chances are you're lying yourself. Why is it so difficult to play this game? Let's see what happens in the brain when you play.
How multitasking affects the level of skill
Without going into details, let us consider the point. When you do one task, your brain works like this: both hemispheres are involved and work together.
But as soon as even the second task is added, the left hemisphere is switched on it, while the right continues to work on the previous one. That is, the hemisphere are working independently of each other in pursuit of different goals. If you constantly switch between two tasks, MRI it would look something like this:
Instead of a single brain, full power of the working on a task, you now have two less powerful halves who work short periods. And if only the two halves, what happens in the brain when you connect the third task? Correct: chaos!
In one study, participants were asked to place the letters in accordance with the alphabetical order, color and size (upper and lower). Participants constantly forget about one of the tasks, and the two performed allowed a lot of mistakes.
In addition, the performance of work in a mode multitasking It takes 40% more time than focus on a single task. This happens because the brain as a computer processor, allocates time for each task. Whenever you switch tasks, it is necessary to restore the context. Imagine that on your computer you switch from application to application: it is necessary to retrieve data from memory, update, load the image. It takes time. Therefore, the more time you will continuously work on one task, the best results are obtained.
How is the essentialism and the game Tiny Wings
Is there an application or video game, similar to the one in which you played at the beginning of the article? Not. Because it is not fun. She stressful.
Here is the story of the game right ...
In February 2011, the German designer Andreas Illiger (Andreas Illiger) released the game Tiny Wings. It sold 10 million copies of the game. And humble developer became an overnight millionaire.
Zero budget. No marketing. Without a team. Just focus on the task at hand.
Andreas wanted to make a game that will be able to play even the children fifteen years. Being a true essentialists, he focused on only one aspect of the game.
Andreas IlligerThere are so many destructive and negative games that I wanted to make one that brings happiness.
Year-olds can not to think in the mode multitaskingSo Andreas took the most simple game that plunges into a state of happiness: a tiny and cute main character, rhythmic music and the easiest gameplay that he could think of.
There are no levels of the system, nor dazzling graphics, but there is one key component of gamification: motivation. Players are driven by the desire to get positive emotions, feel the happiness, pleasure. And that they find in Tiny Wings.
You - a bird with tiny wings, which wants to fly high in the sky. The only thing you need to do - just Tapan finger across the screen to the bird jumped on the hills. On the way, it is necessary to collect coins. the game pace is accelerating, and your task is just and Tapan Tapan on the screen again and again.
And when you reach progress in the game, you want to keep playing. This is the "state of the streaming," which described the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). You can get into the flow, reaching a balance between challenge and skill, and when you get bored, and you will not be disappointed. That's why the game is addictive.
And the second lesson: when you focus on one task, you are doing it well.
Let's see how these two lessons to use in every day life.
What does this all have to do with productivity
First, I dare to say that you are cheating yourself. Makes you believe in things that are untrue.
Let's say it's your to-do list:
- Take out the trash.
- Work on the project.
- Go for groceries.
- Lunch.
- Respond to emails.
- Go to the gym.
- Swim.
- Choose a gift to mum.
- Send an offer to the client.
- Call a doctor.
The usual list, right? And he looks like at the end of the day? I do not here right?
-
Take out the trash. - Work on the project.
- Go for groceries.
- Lunch.
-
Respond to emails. - Go to the gym.
- Swim.
- Choose a gift to mum.
-
Send an offer to the client. - Call a doctor.
Drawing up proposals to the client take a little longer than you expected. The whole day, to be exact. All you had to do in addition, - take out the trash and answer letters.
This is a major drawback lists. You are deceiving yourself into thinking that you know in advance how many will be able to do for the day.
How to take the path of essentialism
How to choose a structure to organize your day, if the list does not fit in the previous paragraph? Remembering the lesson Tiny Wings: spend all your energy on one thing and you get a delicious result.
Single-tasking - the trend of all the latest business books, and I encourage you to support him. Let's learn from the great essentialists. In his book "Essentialism"Greg McKeon shows two images that explain the single-tasking.
If you sleep 8 hours a day, it remains 16 hours of wakefulness. Assume 4 hours you spend on shower, walk, exercise. It remains 12 hours and they have to spend to achieve the objectives.
Each arrow - one o'clock:
- Post to blog.
- Progress in social networks.
- Preparation and invoicing.
- Work on client projects.
- Calls to potential clients.
- A meeting.
- procrastination and viewing YouTube videos.
- Thinking long-term business strategy.
- Market research.
- Current letters.
- Answers to customer questions.
- The path from home to office and from office to home.
A lot of cases. And some days they manage to alter. But even then, progress sensations you do not.
Now, for a moment, imagine that you will spend the day as follows:
What happens if you spend all 12 hours on a single task? You will not write for 1 hour and 12? If you write 500 words in an hour, then 12 you write 6000 words! That is the progress that you will notice. In many books, no more than 25 000 words. Yes, you can write a book for 4 days. Yes, the whole book. Certainly, 12:00 you can hardly devote one lesson. But even if it's 4:00 or 6, it is still enough to quickly finish some big deal.
Just compare the pictures. In which case you will arrive faster from point A to point B?
When you focus, The results grow exponentially. Well, enough talk and pictures, let's take action!
Three steps to achieve an all-consuming focus of
Follow these three steps to your list consisted of only one task on a daily basis. I do it in Evernote, you can use Trello, Wunderlist, pen and paper - as you wish.
Step one: draw up a list of actions
I spied this idea in the book by David Allen (David Allen) «How affairs in order». It is to break a big problem into tiny pieces. For example, my goal for August has been successfully placed two guest post. That's how I crumbled this task.
- Analyze popular posts on this topic.
- Come up with a caption for the post.
- Write a plan for the post.
- Write entry.
- Fit to post the story of life.
- Add to post scientific justification.
- Write about the first step.
- Write about the second step.
- Write about the third step.
- Write a conclusion.
- Insert pictures.
- Edit post.
- Submit post.
One step is to take no longer than 25 minutes, and steps should be as simple to understand instructions could even four-year child.
Step two: choose the most important task of the day
Select one item. If you have already tried and write actions in the order in which they should be performed, then simply select the next item. Record deal of the day on the sticker and hang it on the monitor. This is your goal for the next 24 hours.
Deal of the day - to plan the post.
And yet it is desirable to put a reminder that will ring at the time when you usually start to work, and will remind you to start from the day the case.
Step Three: learn not to be distracted from the basket
This basket can be created in the same application that you use to compile a list of cases. There you add up everything you distracts. That's what I say ...
Once you have plunged into the work as a message arrives in the messenger:
- Will you come home, to come around to buy bread.
- Okay.
Blyams!
- Buy white. And you can donuts.
- Okay.
Blyams!
- Oh, no, do not need donuts, croissants better.
Yes, the tree sticks! Even if you are after all the messages will return to work, but choose not to drink a cup of tea and a rest, in the head you will spin the thought of these donuts, croissants and focus will be impossible. These thoughts should be out of his mind. Throw in your shopping cart. All messages, phone calls, letters, notices, memories - all ruthlessly throwing into it.
Basket:
- Buy croissants.
- To wash a car.
- Call the pharmacy for vitamins.
How to use this system for maximum productivity
When the morning bell reminder of the beginning of work, look at the business of the day. Set the timer for 25 minutes and start working. All distractions, both external and internal, throw in the basket: You can deal with them later.
If for some reason you do not have time to finish the job of the day for 25 minutes, take a break for 5 minutes. Do anything but work: take a walk with the dog, vacuum the floor in the room, do some sit-ups, walk around the office corridor. Of course, to finish the job of the day you have for the next 25 minutes, otherwise you have something screwed up when the compiled a list.
The beauty of this system is that I started my day with a compilation of articles Plan. And now I'm writing the last of her words, though it took only 5 hours.