Want to
spend all day writing a research report? Do it!
Want to
spend all day coding? Do it!
Want to
spend all day at the cafe down the street reading a book on personal
productivity? Do it!
By not keeping a schedule, I mean by
refusing to commit to meetings,
appointments, or activities at any set time in any future day. As a result, you can always work on
whatever is most important or most interesting, at any time.
When
someone emails or calls to say, "Let's
meet on Tuesday at 3", the appropriate response is: "I'm not keeping a schedule for 2007, so I can't commit to that,
but give me a call on Tuesday at 2:45 and if I'm available, I'll meet with
you." Or, if it's important, say, "You know what, let's meet
right now."
Clearly
this only works if you can get away with it. If you have a structured job, a
structured job environment, or you're a CEO, it will be hard to pull off. But
if you can do it, it's really liberating, and will lead to far higher
productivity than almost any other tactic you can try.
Related Posts