Instigator Blog

During BarCamp Montreal 2 Mitch Joel of Twist Image cornered me and threw a microphone in my face. He then peppered me with a bunch of very tough questions trying to extract all my secrets.

It was fun.

Check it out at Mitch Joel’s blog.

I haven’t done many interviews, but hopefully it comes across reasonably well.

Mitch’s podcast is called Six Pixels of Separation and he’s already on episode #49. Pretty wild.

We do a 15+ minute interview about blogging, business, copywriting, linkbaiting, digg and more. I talk a bit too much about digg (I actually say, “I love digg.” I wonder if Kevin Rose will notice…)

Funniest part of the whole thing: Mitch calls me a “hot property.” Sweet!

Thanks Mitch…I hope people enjoy Six Pixels of Separation…

Um…how should I know?

Luckily, I don’t have to know all the answers. All I had to do was ask everyone else for their productivity tips and let the magic happen.

On Tuesday, April 24th I launched the Ultimate Guide to Productivity Group Writing Project. The idea is simple (and on-going, so feel free to participate):

1. Write a blog post about your best productivity tips. Challenge yourself to pick one.
2. Tell me about it, either by linking to my blog and/or emailing me.
3. Link to other productivity posts that would be worthwhile to your audience. (Spread the link love!)
4. Tag others by linking to them, and encourage them to participate as well.

The goal is to compile the ultimate list of blog posts on productivity, and give people a great resource for finding new blogs, new content and useful stuff.

So far 28 people have linked back to me. I’m sure others have written tips after being tagged and haven’t linked back — which is totally fine — so this group writing project / meme is spreading wonderfully. And I hope more and more people participate. Even if you haven’t been tagged, write a post anyway and let others know about it!

I’ll eventually create a permanent list of posts, but for now, here’s a list of the first 28 people who participated either through being tagged or out of their own initiative. What’s always the most fascinating with projects like this is to see where people take it. Some people write about big life issues, others tackle nitty gritty details. Some run off on tangents, others stick precisely to the task-at-hand. It’s incredibly interesting and enlightening to watch others take something like this and make it their own.

1. Up Your Productivity and Profits too! by Andrew Wee
2. Meme Tagged, Meme Slayer…I Give In by Wayne Porter
3. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Janet Barclay
4. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Lorraine Pirihi
5. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Kathie Thomas
6. 14 Tips to Get More Done in Less Time by engtech
7. Work-Life Balance and Productivity by David Bohl
8. My Contribution to the Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Harrison
9. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Wendy Piersall
10. How Productivity Comes From Clarity by Adam Kayce
11. How To Stay Focused For Greater Productivity by Dawud Miracle
12. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity - Wanna Share One Big Secret? by Ponn Sabra
13. My Productivity Secret - The Joy of Flow State by Chris Garrett
14. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity - MomGadget Style by Gayla McCord
15. If you don’t have passion and purpose, greater productivity won’t help you! by Alister Cameron
16. Building a Home Business One Weekend At a Time by Tony Clark
17. Ultimate Guide to Productivity Group Writing Project by Jennifer Louden
18. Be Aware, Make Choices by Alex Fayle
19. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity by Digging into the Blogpond
20. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity meme by Doris
21. Ultimate Guide to Productivity by KM
22. Ultimate Guide to Productivity for Adult ADD Sufferers by Deborah Petersen
23. How to become a Productivity Super Hero who Rights Wrongs, Saves the Environment, and Rescues Cats from Trees by Aaron Potts
24. Zugunruhe Ultimate Guide to Productivity: Time Budgets by Tara Robinson
25. " onclick="javascript:urchinTracker('/outbound/workathomemomrevolution.blogspot.com');">What Are Your Secrets For Personal Productivity by Lisa Mills
26. Blogging Productivity & Criticizing Goals by Andy Beard
27. The Ultimate Guide to Productivity - what’s your secret? by The Kiss Business
28. Secrets to Personal Productivity by The Practical Chick

What’s your secret to being productive?

In the spirit of keeping this going, I’m tagging a few more people: Dave Olson, Daniel, Tony Hung, Pamela Slim and Robyn Tippins.

BarCamp Montreal 2 was a great success. I can’t imagine anyone thinking otherwise. And some worthwhile reviews are starting to surface.

Evan Prodromou does a good job of reviewing some of the best presentations, highlighting the positives and pointing out some of his perceived negatives as well.

Shawna Nelles had a positive experience, participating in her first BarCamp and echoes what I suspect are most people’s feelings about the importance and value of Martine Page’s talk about the lack of female speakers at conferences. It was a fairly heated, but engaging discussion that ensued, and I think this is exactly what BarCamp should be about. There should be an aspect of serious debate and discussion.

Having said that, BarCamp should also be fun. No one should walk away frustrated! And Martin Dufort of Kakiloc took care of that by organizing Powerpoint Karaoke. Funny, funny stuff.

I look forward to the next BarCamp and any other *Camp unconferences people want to put together and make happen. We’ve had a couple DemoCamps and one CaseCamp, and more such events are on the way.

Of course nothing is perfect.

Evan’s got a few “cons” he lists, and the bulk of them can be boiled down to two issues:

1. Participation; and,
2. Money.

Lots of people give presentations - so there’s no problem of participation on that front. But I do think people like Simon Law deserve more help. Self-organizing only works if people actually step up to organize. I’ve seen what Simon and Fred (and others) put into organizing things like BarCamp and it’s not nothing. I’m as much to blame as everyone else that came and didn’t help, although I got there early to help set up.

More people have to volunteer. Simple as that. It’s not hard. Spread the word, show up a bit early, stay late if you can, and pitch in where you might be needed. I also think that more people should be involved in the organization process, to help develop and define what a Montreal BarCamp should be all about.

In terms of money, BarCamp only had a couple sponsors this time, including the SAT which donated the space. Had they not, we would be having BarCamp on the street.

Evan recognizes that things cost money - he wants coffee, tables and t-shirts (all of which would be great!) - but not enough people step up to donate money. That’s a shame. Few of us might have the capacity to donate $500-$1000+ for BarCamp, but maybe people can find other sponsors. Knock on a few doors, get your employers involved, or ask businesses to step up. There’s gotta be a computer store somewhere that’d be interested…

My key suggestion for the next BarCamp is this: reduce the number of presentations (set a limit: 15 perhaps?) and allow for more breaks. Part of what makes an event like BarCamp great is having so many interesting people in the same room, but we need more time to hang out, chat, and get into our own discussions as offshoots of the presentations. Reducing the number of presentations will also lessen the burden on organizers to keep such a fast pace. Every presentation needs to have a brief discussion after - that’s where we get the real community value.

Great job all around - kudos to the organizers, and it was great meeting and talking to everyone (that I had a chance to!) I look forward to the next BarCamp and count me in to get more involved.

On most days, I wake up extra early in the morning to get stuff done. It doesn’t always work, but it’s part of the productivity rhythm I’ve developed over the last year. This time is critical for me; no one else in the house is awake, the phone isn’t ringing and there are very few people online to chat with (no offense to people I chat with!) It means I can focus on a few important things to gear up for the day. Waking up early sets the entire tone for being productive.

But getting up early to get things done is completely useless if I have to ask myself:

What am I supposed to be doing today?

This is the most unproductive question you can ask. If you start your day not having a clear picture of what you want to accomplish you’re lost.

A better approach is to figure out your to-do list the day before.

Here’s why:

1. Ending a day with a clearer picture of tomorrow will set your mind at ease.
2. The day you just finished is clearer in your head. And since tomorrow’s tasks will flow from today’s tasks, your to-do list will be better written and prioritized if it’s done immediately after finishing work.
3. Figuring out what has to be accomplished requires time and brain power. When you start a day it’s better to jump right into things and not have to spend important time planning. Doing your planning at night when other things are calmer allows you to focus better.

You need to dedicate time each day to planning the next one.

It’ll make you more productive, and help you stay in a productive mindset. If you have to ask yourself, “What do I need to get done today?” the day is already slipping past you…

Babies and young kids thrive when they have a routine. They feel more comfortable and safer knowing what to expect and when. A regular routine or schedule helps kids develop and succeed. Creativity loves constraints, after all.

Are we really that much different?

Harrison at Journal To Financial Freedom tells us that one of his best productivity tips is to know his best working time. That’s an interesting idea. Figure out when you’re most effective during the day, and build your schedule around that.

As crazy busy entrepreneurs and business people we can’t expect to have routines and schedules that stay the same every day. That’d be impossible, and perhaps just a touch boring. But there is something to be said for developing a routine that works for you, a routine you can fall back on when you’re frazzled, exhausted or unmotivated.

To be productive, you need a rhythm.

A rhythm is looser than a routine, it has equal parts internal feelings + emotion and robotic-like execution. Your productivity rhythm lets you move in and out of a rigid routine without falling completely apart. It helps you understand when you’re at your best, and when it’s time to take a break.

I’ve been doing a few things to institute a routine and rhythm for myself. I wake up early to write and prioritize email. I take breaks at certain times during the day. I allot time to read and catch up on what others are doing. I usually spend my mornings being very productive on getting things done and my afternoons in meetings, conference calls and conversations.

None of this is down to a perfect science. Nor should it be. It’s about what feels right and good, but what also works efficiently.

Without some form of constraints many of us would be running around like headless chickens. Getting overwhelmed would be the norm of every day. There’s no way we could stay productive. Setting schedules, routines, developing patterns and a productivity rhythm can help; and it’s the type of thing that’s always evolving, which means you have the potential to constantly improve your productivity by always working on your rhythm.

So we can all learn a thing or two from babies and young kids. Routines are important. Drooling…not so much.