Leo Babauta

I would only recommend this to a person who has NEVER read a blog post or a book on how to be productive. Otherwise, you pretty much know all the stuff here. It emphasizes the simplification of your productivity system.

Since I have loads of tasks to do that have deadlines (from school), I have no problem being organized. I use the iPhone app iStudiez Pro for scheduling all school work/exams/courses/lectures...etc. That's it. No calendars, no notepads, nothing. But whenever the weekend comes and I need to do personal errands/tasks, things get messy. I am currently working on a project and I need to organize my time and be efficient and effective, which is why I read this book in the first place. A friend of mine recommended I use asana.com, and I am currently using it. It's great and easy to use. Let's hope I stick to it!

Best advice this book has:
Keep things simple.

If you're comfortable with a notebook and a pencil, use that only. Don't be attracted to constantly trying out new systems, since that will waste your time.

Set 1 goal a year, or 2-3 max, and don't set goals that you do not really want to achieve. That will only distract you from your real goals.



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Finished the free edition of Focus [1] by Leo Babauta (2/5). Leo writes Zen Habits[2] a blog about simplicity and creativity for those of us living in this modern, hectic world. The blog is great, and I dip into it from time to time when I need a refresher on simplicity.

The book has all of the merits of the blog: the content is clear and concise, the writing good, and the advice useful without being accusing. However, while the style and the content are both good, the chapters read as lengthy blog posts rather than a book -- information is repeated across chapters, and there is no overarching narrative thread. (That said, it seems like a lot of books from traditional publishers have that sort of feel these days.)

Focus wasn't a great book, but it was a good reminder of techniques for achieving greater focus and creativity.

#books

[1] http://zenhabits.net/focus-book/
[2] http://zenhabits.net… (more)