Topics of the #productivity channel
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Below are key topics that we have discussed in the #producivity channel. Message links should take you to the rough start of the topics below the link. They are meant as quick bookmarks, so occasionally you may want to scroll up for full context.
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J A N U A R Y - 2 0 2 1
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In January the channel was started, and we talked mainly about topics that most people associate with productivity in general - todos, procrastination, energy, and motivation.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/800367767211081758- energy levels, physical limits
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/800488623644082176- yearly themes
- planners / planning styles
- todos, actionable todos
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/801170237302898728- procrastination, focus tools
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/801849715129319485- Pomodoro
- perfectionism, when are you "done"
- resting, recharging
- motivation through being public
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/803190147842703366- game jams and productivity
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/804500331785486358https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/804655590000295966- productivity talks and impostor syndrome
- circumstances within and out of your control
- apologizing and being assertive, navigating social relationships
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/805480534884614194- energy levels
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F E B R U A R Y - 2 0 2 1
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This month people have tried tracking their time, game jams were a topic, and we discussed productivity under difficult conditions. Resting, and a bit of philosophy were also on the menu.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/805573128670806036- time tracking, habits
- separation of actionable todos and non-actionable projects / reference
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/807567816718024724- Hell Yeah or No
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/808054313921413151- game jam actual working time
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/809446575331999795- FOMO, fear of missing out introduction
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/80981524304704314- meditation
- philosophy (Epicurus, the Stoics)
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/810234760290500679- short and sweet motivation boost
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/811062655426625556- lunch break productivity (maximizing small windows of time)
- physical hobbies
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/812921167194750977- hobbies and learning
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/813437809842061362- finishing a project
- CLT construal level theory
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/813447664729194526- the "dip" visualization of the artistic process
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/813543651438624808- types of rest
- failure percetptions around the world, survivorship bias
- testing out the Intellect app
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M A R C H - 2 0 2 1
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This time people shared a lot of personal experiences and tried more approaches to productivity, often experimenting with new ideas and personalized schedules. We mainly talked about planning, pacing yourself, and finding time and motivation when external factors interfere.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/815888629565882398- post-jam productivity, and perceived closure
- updates on time tracking, negative tracking ideas
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/817003036471328819- creating a schedule
- personalizing schedules, free / alert time
- commutes
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/818385891943776256- not losing sight of motivating factors
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/818539845269454859- bad coping mechanisms: escapism, worrying, denial, venting...
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/819020170671947787- making significant changes to your life / schedule / work load
- cutting things out from your life
- taking longer breaks
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/819204122753368084- ABCD journaling / cognitive behavioral therapy CBT
- dealing with limiting external factors
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/819214310580027403- physical well-being
- staying up late vs. interrupting the flow to get enough sleep
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/819774890914611271- measuring writing productivity
- short motivational comic
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/820492783848128522- working on less pleasant tasks, repetitive activities
- using schedules and compartmentalizing or layering to accomplish unpleasant tasks
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/821310472371961857- big table of productivity terms
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/821407134846812240- getting quick control over tasks
- online services like HacknPlan, Trello
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/822039791934898197- pacing yourself, negative effects of the flow
- creating an effective break routine
- blocking unwanted distractions, blocking apps
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/822076523816419338- Cortex podcast
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/822083883242749982- setting up schedules
- updates on trying out scheduling and planning ideas, kaizen
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/824282204477456435- update on Routinery app
- routines vs. habits, benefits of both
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/825653892179820554- overcoming learning curves
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/825830043384545300- paper planning
- creating a monthly plan
- paper vs. digital planner (vs. combination)
- kanban
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/826454312883978250- perfectionism
- self-esteem and its reliance on external factors
- letting go / finishing a piece of art
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/826573910480650271- affirmations, looking back, seeing progress
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A P R I L - 2 0 2 1
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This month discussions focused mainly on analog organization systems, paper planners and ideas how to mark up and structure information with the advantages and limitations of paper & pen.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/828916583447134208- the "now" page, information on current projects
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/829735778636660836- day planner usage
- pens and paper
- markup systems
- Panda Planner
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/829750787659268166- Bullet Journal
- Dash/Plus system
- ring binders vs. bound note books
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/829801931723112559- printables, templates for organization
- Emergent Task Planner
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/830037825096384532- daydreaming, The Secret, success visualization
- premature sense of completion
- early project announcements and motivation
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/830166607858237511- perfectionism, setting standards
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/830445790127980564- writing down tasks, relying on externalized info only
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/832230290012373072- "start-stop-keep" review system
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/835791711966986251- game jam fatigue / cycles
- seasonal hobbies
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/837276634440400927- employment search
- resumes, portfolios, hiring managers, broadening search
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M A Y - 2 0 2 1
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This month a lot of the talk was about large undertakings, be it a magnum opus, dealing with large amounts of work, or tidying / organizing big parts of one's life. We also talked about "work mode", and overcoming blocks by simply doing things.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/837749061254643742- environmental triggers to working
- music and audio for working, categories, apps, services
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/839246246304284672- seasonal creativity
- creative cycle metaphor of seasons, multiple cycles
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/840138386365874176- overcoming blocks to writing advice for others (external article)
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/841092114876334120- burnout help: exercise, motivation / achievements
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/841257402006241292- simply doing
- working without structure as long as possible
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/841316279276273725- separating work from free time, space to unwind
- ideas for work spaces, physical and mental separations
- work rituals, signifiers for "work mode"
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/843414298625048576https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/845623162329759754https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/848937121363263547- cleanup week(s), taking time to organize
- how to organize a mess / collecting into temporary place first vs. putting it back immediately
- benefits of tidying (space for new ideas + self-respect)
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/843762879621496842- minimal planning, simply doing II
- limitations and benefits of structuring free work
- the 9-5 structure
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/844208731352858664- working on two large projects in parallel
- prioritizing, making time to finish
- tracking progress of a large project
- kanban
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/845769891029712938- benefits of hand-written plans
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/847547037784473610- DevTalk weekly progress report initiative statistics (20 weeks in)
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/849029531457290400- large amounts of work ahead
- daunting project scale, slow visible progress
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J U N E - 2 0 2 1
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As summer and holidays come nearer, people's interest in productivity decreases, but even so we discussed several items such as planning and being overbooked, how to tackle overwhelming projects, and some thoughts about understanding other people's comments in the right contexts.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/850678324370866206- time blocking vs. scheduling, benefits
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/852167596642926602- paper planner / Panda Planner experiences
- being overbooked, stretched too thin
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/852516682609328128- analog gear, pens on different types of paper
- erasable notebooks / GreenBook
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/852927732430012523- breaking down tasks into smaller bits
- larger context of Getting Things Done (GTD) and need for a Weekly Review
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/854708413862117396- multiple viewpoints on feedback to creative works, from Cortex ep.112
- generalizing from a narrowed down selection
- inevitability of extremes occurring
- repeated comments and their relative value
- criticism read in your own voice
- activation energy of comments
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/855558501747916860- periods of no output
- finishing open obligations
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/855896594532532235- Pomodoro meets ASMR
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/859366092312936508- the Eat That Frog method, introduction
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J U L Y - 2 0 2 1
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Finding a dev lifestyle that is sustainable was one of the core discussions in July, starting from burnout and too many "spinning plates", and wanting to do it all, to balancing fulltime jobs and dev work. Also we discussed practices that work in jams, but not so well in regular development.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/862033647242444840- burnout
- burnout tactics: success journals, minimum viable product (MVP), pacing
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/862301884101951488- burnout and overwhelm
- too many projects
- sustainable dev lifestyle
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/864571731586187304- portability of scripts to work on the go
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/866395928012783657- change of environment
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/867154870368993310- jams and productivity
- jam habits unsuitable for regular/longterm work
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/868213301472002079- day job and dev work
- doing pre-planned work to increase efficiency
- waking up early / doing mental work at optimum time
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/870109820827631656- Focusmate, online co-working
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A U G U S T - 2 0 2 1
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Game jams and their effects on us was the main theme of this month, from benefits of jams and public deadlines, to how we can predict (or not) jam results in a diverse environment, as well as shifting focus to appreciate the positives in deciding not to join a jam at a certain point.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/871194508640026645- pros and cons of participating in jams
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/871518162233987072- publicly committing to a deadline, positive and negative pressure
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/872202459735543908- relocating (physically), timing of moving to a different city, place
- economy of moving
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/878253310057009163- VN statistics article
- estimating VN jam results
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/882240746697154610- benefits of NOT joining jams
- countering FOMO Fear of Missing Out
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S E P T E M B E R - 2 0 2 1
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This month "paper productivity" was the main topic, and we were revisiting systems which were popular from the in the 2000-20210 era, as well as some "timeless" analog tools and approaches.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/883604824195739709- "just do it" productivity advice and its issues
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/883867621597007932- Agile project management
- hybrid GTD Getting Things Done and Agile setups in Notion
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/884695093364285490- GTD setup in paper form
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/885064997330386944- sticky notes, paper productivity
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/885980241510694942- prioritizing projects
- questions to assess project load and relevance
- reducing project count / increasing focus on specific projects
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/887707844131033108- Mark Forster's "algorithmic" lists
- Autofocus, Superfocus, Final Version and other list-sorting systems
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O C T O B E R - 2 0 2 1
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This month we discussed a few individual situations with multiple aspects to them that aren't easily solvable. In the process, we talked about individual elements of motivation, burnout, and restarting previously stalled projects.
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/893939187701649440- tackling difficult tasks first
- picking up old unfinished works after much time has passed
- resistance, dread and paralysis, tasks that "have your number"
- layering production technique
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/895965357087555624- risks of submitting in the last day of a jam
- submitting too close to the deadline
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/896915291571888149- picking up hibernated projects, stalled projects
- sunk cost fallacy
- refamiliarizing phase
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/898230534239580230- keeping a consistent schedule
- word count limits, minimum word count techniques
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/899198540956450866- biological prime time
- time to write, but no energy / inspiration
- lunch break productivity
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/899562030648934430- layering technique when it comes to writing
- entire script or chapter by chapter implementation
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/900730146712059925- vanishing motivation
- motivation to think vs. motivation to work
- outgrowing projects
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/902300830714196048- starting a paper planner
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/902318178884026378- formulating goals vs. setting targets for levels of proficiency
- finishable tasks vs maintenance tasks
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/902582633261846658- using collaborative note books to merge ideas
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/903346643699654718- burnout
- public pressure and obligation to others
- over-visioning leading to too much abstraction
https://discord.com/channels/426908711844315146/800366350270201857/904400754524168242- completion, succeeding
- escalation of commitment / sunk cost fallacy