Damon Zahariades

More like a 3.75. I work on a downward curve. This is the second of Damon's books (guides?) I've read now and I find him to be a generous writer. His books are accessible, his ideas pragmatic and attainable and they're a good investment on your time reading them.

Rather than push a proprietary 'system' or selling a tool, I've found his books to have lots of practical tips and ideas to guide self-improvement and improve efficiency and effectiveness in a focused way. He would be the first to show more tell you to try some of the ideas, make 'em your own, and figure out what works for you specifically.

In this case, he's tackling better ways to approach to-do lists.

If you're an avid list maker (as I am), he 'gets' the satisfaction of making lists and ticking things off. He also gets and tries to counter where your Achilles' heel might lie in terms of getting things done with productive lists.

I took about a half-page of notes on ideas and best practices to try. It's probably nothing earth-shattering in terms of technique (e.g. have a current and a future list, each day complete the current, limit current tasks to 7, attach a deadline to each item, etc.). But, sometimes, I find myself entrenched in less than great habits and books like this are a refresher that gives a few easy ways into improvements to make my life easier, less stressful and more focused on what matters.

Anyway--I recommend this or any of his books that appeal to you. show less

It was fine. The book had a narrowly defined scope and stayed true and narrowly focused the whole way through. At points the book was literally offering ways to say "no." I suppose that's useful to some people.

I was more interested in the way that people set themselves up to make saying "no" as difficult as it is. If you read between the lines, you can see that information. For example, if one reason it is challenging for people to say "no" is that they don't want to dash a person's show more expectations, then perhaps the underlying problem is that you are cultivating unrealistic expectations. Or if people are challenged to say "no" because someone is busy and over their heads with a project then perhaps the underlying problem is an infrastructural lack of mentoring and resource management.

Saying "no" may be the short term answer but it in some cases it is also the short sighted answer. And I think that's what this book glosses and over simplifies. show less

A Very Timely Productivity Guide

"Psychologists and researchers claim our brains need up to 25 minutes to regain our momentum after each distraction."

Had I been teaching at school, much of this may not have applied. Teaching remotely from home,I found myself falling into unproductive. Patterns. This book got me back on track!

Between Google Classroom notifications, emails and phone calls, I was getting very little done. These types of distractions don't normally interrupt teaching in a school show more room. (Although during prep periods they may!)

This book was recommended by Michelle Ferre' who is a teacher, coach and vlogger. Her website, and more importantly, her youtube station "A Pocket Full of Primary" have helped my tremendously during the Covid 19 quarantine.

As I read this book it occurred to me: time is structured in a school so that teaching cannot/should not be interrupted.


This book makes suggestions that help you self-regulate your time.
For instance:
"Set specific times of the day to check your email. Pick two and treat them like appointments with yourself."
This may seem obvious to people who regularly work from home, but as a teacher, I did not check email more than 2 times a day... 6 am and 2:30 pm, due to scheduling and teaching obligations.
Having access to distractions became problematic because teaching remotely is so isolating. I had to take action! As Zahariades recommends, I closed my email software and made self-imposed restrictions on my schedule.

"Being perfect is more than just unnecessary. It’s harmful to your productivity...It’s easier to continue working on a current task than to start a new one, especially if the new one requires stepping outside your comfort zone."

This is another important recommendation for me. During a class period, all teachers do the best they can, but no lesson is perfect. How can it be? You cannot account or predict the turns real human interaction can take. Virtual lessons can be rewritten, reformatted, reworded over and over again! This was making me very unproductive!

"Embrace your mistakes. Instead of criticizing yourself, use mistakes as learning opportunities."

In short, I had to learn that students needed specific content, and my delivery, especially in video lessons, need not look like a text book or Hollywood production! show less

Some great tips for anybody who is even remotely self-aware about their productivity habits. Not everything here will apply to everybody, but Zahariades doesn't expect that. He also doesn't expect you to read in one sitting, but rather take it one day (or week) at a time to implement small changes. This will also be a great reference to open from time to time to review tips and steps to take to get back on track!