[…] The ever excellent Merlin Mann of 43 Folders has summed up his top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life: […]

[…] Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life | 43 Folders # Reduce noise # Write things down # Focus on action # Get out of your inbox # Get pickier (tags: life lists) […]

[…] Following up on Merlin Mann’s knee-slapping anecdote of Productivity and the “Perfect Apostrophy,” he recently alerted me to an interview he gave for the National Post, which contains this related nugget of a story about his ill-fated book on productivity: One of my favourite stories about that is I’m on my cellphone, walking down the street, talking to my co-author and we are saying, ‘The book! The book! This is terrible!’ And in my hand I’ve got a Netflix [mail-delivered DVD] and a copy of the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I’m going to the library and the mailbox,” he recalls, speaking even faster now. “I’m having this heated conversation and I drop my Netflix in the mailbox but then I realize it isn’t my Netflix I’ve put in the mailbox but the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, which is funny if you know that not only is Benjamin Franklin the philosophical godfather of the life-hacks movement, but he was the first postmaster of the United States. So, I threw my library book in the mailbox. That is how my mind works. […]

[…] 43Folders: When I was up in Toronto, I was interviewed by Samantha Grice from the National Post about 43 Folders, productivity stuff, and the sad sorry state of my own day-to-day productivity. Very “Brady’s Bits.” […]

[…] Merlin Mann has a few nice, obvious tips for improving your life in the short term. I particularly found number four to be helpful, as I stare at my over flowing inbox next to my desk. I think I have to get that sorted through this weekend. “Get out of your inbox - Many of us are habituated to living out of our email inbox, voicemail, and the other “in baskets” of our lives. Instead, try to set aside regular, periodic times when you trawl for the new content in your life — then get back to work! Inboxes are delivery systems, not workspaces. The real work is happening in your brain and practically every other place that’s not an inbox. Stop allowing yourself to be brow-beaten by the latest, loudest, or most dramatic item that’s landed in your world.”   […]

[…] Read the entire article here […]

[…] Meanwhile, along comes the guru in these matters with Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life - a post on the always stimulating 43 Folders. […]

[…] Meanwhile, along comes the guru in these matters with Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life - a post on the always stimulating 43 Folders. […]

[…] I det flotte øyeblikket mellom at uken er over og man begir seg ned til kneipa for et dusin velfortjente øl er det rom for å se litt fremover: Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life […]

[…] I’ve been a 43Folders reader for sometime now (a year?) and I’m embarrased to admit that I just don’t follow Merlin’s advice well: Get pickier - You are the sole person in your life who gets to decide where your time and attention can go. Take that responsibility seriously by not wasting time on junk. You know in your heart what’s really important to you — does the current direction of your time and attention reflect that? Is “kid hugging” time where it should be in proportion to “Blackberry checking” time? Be mindful at the highest level about where you focus your energy, and always strive not to squander it on undeserving activities. […]

[…] A lista inteira é muito interessante. Veja aqui um link para a página traduzida para o português, mas não recomendamos a tradução porca do Google pra ninguém….. Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life [43 Folders] […]

[…] 43 Folders Get pickier - You are the sole person in your life who gets to decide where your time and attention can go. Take that responsibility seriously by not wasting time on junk. Be mindful at the highest level about where you focus your energy, and always strive not to squander it on undeserving activities. […]

Excellent word pictures, Merlin. My thoughts: I carry a Moleskine journal where I right ALL of my notes. I don’t have random pieces of paper anymore. Don’t want a Moleskine? Use a spiral notebook of the size you prefer I check e-mail 4 times a day plus times when I access my calendar. I turned off the e-mail alert chime. Much better.

GTD Rocks!

This is GREAT stuff, I’m thinking, as I sit sedentarily in the middle of our living room while people talk back and forth across me and I dwell in my inbox and blog surfing aimlessly hoping for inspiration. If only I was up to writing these tips down!

I just did a podcast about these topics and some more handy tips how to survive a life on the sidewalk next to the information highway. http://www.knightwise.com/content/view/206/0/ You might wanna have a listen .. if you have time.

[…] Merlin Mann’s cocktail-napkin version of what… 43 Folders has to say to people is well worth a look. Even if it’s old news to those familiar with Getting Things Done (GTD), it is a lesson in delivering old news: select the news carefully, then deliver it concisely and vividly. I don’t mind being reminded to write things down when the reminder finishes with this lovely sentence. Remember that your brain is a creative organ with limitless creative possibilities — but it makes a really crummy whiteboard. […]

[…] 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life. Technorati Tags: Jive […]

[…] Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life | 43 Folders (tags: productivity gtd tips 43folders Lifehacks procrastination time) […]

[…] Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life | 43 Folders How to get organized and stay that way (tags: gtd productivity tips) […]

[…] Merlin Mann of 43Folders gives us his top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life. They all seem pretty obvious, but are not easy to execute on a daily basis. 1. Reduce noise - We all have innumerable inboxes, interruptions, and distractions that are part of work and life — you can’t change that. What you can do is get more hard-nosed about the elective diversions that you invite into your world. Cancel a subscription for a magazine you never read or sign off an annoying mailing list. Needles get easier to find when you aren’t constantly adding new hay to the stack. 2. Write things down - Ever find a piece of paper in your office with seven digits on it? You know it’s a phone number, but whose? Get ruthless about jotting down ephemeral information if you’ll need to recall it later. Remember that your brain is a creative organ with limitless creative possibilities — but it makes a really crummy whiteboard. 3. Focus on action - My favorite productivity book, “Getting Things Done” highlights how anything you want to do in life eventually comes down to intentional physical activity — even if it’s something as mundane as “take out trash” and “call Mom.” Learn the habit of planning your world around action verbs rather than fuzzy nouns. “Implement Strategy” is not a task; it’s a project. “Call Jim about strategy” is a very do-able “next action” that keeps the ball in motion. 4. Get out of your inbox - Many of us are habituated to living out of our email inbox, voicemail, and the other “in baskets” of our lives. Instead, try to set aside regular, periodic times when you trawl for the new content in your life — then get back to work! Inboxes are delivery systems, not workspaces. The real work is happening in your brain and practically every other place that’s not an inbox. Stop allowing yourself to be brow-beaten by the latest, loudest, or most dramatic item that’s landed in your world. 5. Get pickier - You are the sole person in your life who gets to decide where your time and attention can go. Take that responsibility seriously by not wasting time on junk. You know in your heart what’s really important to you — does the current direction of your time and attention reflect that? Is “kid hugging” time where it should be in proportion to “Blackberry checking” time? Be mindful at the highest level about where you focus your energy, and always strive not to squander it on undeserving activities. […]

Awesome Link Reads: 10.12…

To [or] For (Seth Godin)

Get More Done By Doing Nothing! (Lifehack) Why we (over) eat (Get Fit Source) Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life (43 Folders) Everything You Need to Know About Writin…

[…] Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life | 43 Folders “You are the sole person in your life who gets to decide where your time and attention can go. Take that responsibility seriously by not wasting time on junk.” (tags: gtd productivity lifehacks tips inspiration) […]

[…] Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life | 43 Folders (tags: gtd productivity) […]

Aren’t #1 and #5 the same?

[…] http://www.43folders.com/2006/10/11/5-ways-to-improve/ […]

Yeah. I am doing so all my life

[…] Merlin’s top 5 super-obvious, “no-duh” ways to immediately improve your life - 43Folders […]

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Still a great an totally relevant post. #4 especially resonates with me - I need to print that out and stick it to my monitor.

How ironic to point #4 that I was going through my RSS box when I read this. ^^)