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Ass-Kicking Email: How an MIT PhD, successful author and blogger finishes his work

Hey,

Today is about productivity. In this email I’m going to discuss the
audio training from your starter package with Cal Newport.

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In this email:

1. 30-Day Trial progress
2. Why productivity trumps learning tactics for academic success.
3. Audio training with Cal Newport on becoming accomplished.

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Unless you’ve been missing the emails, or living under a cave,
you’re probably aware that we’re using 30-Day Challenges to begin
train the rapid learning ideas.

If you haven’t already written about your 30-Day Trial in the FORUMS
please do so! That way you can get advice, feedback and track your
training efforts:

https://scotthyoung.com/members/?page_id=109

For those engaged in their 30DTs here are some quick tips:

1. Know exactly how much work you need to do each day. The trial I
discussed in the video is 30 minutes per day of reading/listening in
French.
2. Don’t skip days! The point of the trial is to complete 30 days
consecutively. If you miss 1-2 days, keep focusing. If you miss
a lot more (say 4-5) you may want to refocus for a new 30-day
period. Consistency creates habit.
3. Feel free to practice tactics outside your trial. The point of
the trial is to commit to one change, but that doesn’t mean you
can’t work on other tactics without committing to them.

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In January of 2010 I wrote this article, which reflects a lot of
my philosophy for the course:

http://bit.ly/7NkUgM

The idea behind the article is my 3 O’s for managing a busy life:

1. Omit – Cancel commitments you don’t need to do.
2. Organize – Organize your time to get tasks done.
3. Optimize – Optimize the way you complete tasks to do them faster.

My feeling is that generally, you should progress through these
three links in the chain if you want to save time, with the easiest
wins coming from omit, and the harder earned wins coming from
optimization.

Note, however, that organize comes above optimize. I believe that
creating a reliable productivity system outpaces the gains (usually)
from optimizing how you learn.

I’d argue that if your work systems are a mess, then it’s probably
better to start on fixing that than to master learning techniques
which won’t have the same immediate productivity payoff that being
organized can offer.

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Cal Newport is an MIT postdoc who has written multiple student
advice books. In addition he runs the most successful student advice
blog on the web. Despite this accomplished life and heavy workload,
he always finishes his day at 5pm.

If you aren’t already subscribed to Cal’s fantastic blog, go here:

http://www.calnewport.com/blog/

Cal and I shared a conversation in which we discuss his unique
method to stay productive, as well as what it means to become an
accomplished student and live a remarkable life.

Note: once again the audio quality isn’t perfect. Skyping between
Boston and France can result in a few glitches. But believe me, the
ideas Cal shares more than make up for any auditory imperfection:

Go to the CONTENT area under BONUSES to listen to the entire
interview:

https://scotthyoung.com/members/?page_id=42

That’s all for this week. Don’t hesitate to email me if you have any
difficulty implementing the tactics!